than ever before. Focusing more on Google, itself, though, one downside is that the most immediately accessible search results are the most popular or high-traffic ones, which does not necessarily deliver the most substance or meaning.” —Anne Collier, co-chair, Online Safety & Technology Working Group, founder of Net Family News, co-author, MySpace Unraveled: A Parent’s Guide to Teen Social Networking

“Content and information will be driven by advertisers, not by knowledge seekers. This trend will become more pronounced before the Internet and its search engines become a really useful tool for generating real knowledge, wisdom, or critical thinking.” —Benjamin Mordechai Ben-Baruch, senior market intelligence consultant and applied sociologist, consultant for General Motors

“While the Internet provides the opportunity to make better choices, by enabling much more rapid access to a broader range of relevant information and inputs into a given decision, it is up to the decision maker about how to use this information. The danger here is in swapping critical thinking for faith in a technology backed by a strong brand (Google), an all too common occurrence given that most decision making falls in the realm of ‘satisficing.’ If the trend is to place greater faith in technology to quickly deliver the best answer, then the Internet will not enhance intelligence. However, if people can learn to critically analyze the greater volume of information while recognizing technology is not infallible, there is hope for a better tomorrow.” —Benjamin Hanna, vice president of marketing for R. H. Donnelly Interactive

“People will remain as intelligent as they are now, but being able to browse from a greater range of options and compare and contrast different thinking and positions they will naturally tend to make better choices. This will be primarily driven by the rise in user-generated content, which will start to drown out the messages driven by commercial or political needs, leading to an increase in the overall percentage of ‘better’ choices that are available, i.e., those choices that have no hidden agenda. Google’s position in this, as ever, will be as the facilitator that enables us to connect with relevant content simpler and clearer.” —Rich Osborne, Web manager and Web innovation officer, University of Exeter