h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Googlewhack - A1117658
Author: DMK - U233867

Thats all i have i'm afraid. not like, actually scared. just... well... y'know?

Okay, firstly, put in a link to the Google website.

And, seeing as you presumably got this from Dave Gorman's latest adventure, you could explain a little about what he did.

Finally, cheers! I was thinking of writing this!

sorted. forgot about dave gorman (doh!), friend of mine told me about them ages ago and i only found out what they were called recently.

DMK

Hmm...need some help here...

How about an explanation of what panahoehoe and curmudgeon mean, and what website is brought up by it, plus a link to that website.

I'd rephrase the DG bit to explain why he's a googlewhack (because a page on his official website holds a googlewhack).

Saw Dave the other day, the man not the show, am waiting for BBC2 to do it in a few months time.

It looks fun!

Can you help on this one? Or is it pretty much done.

Need a scout....

The entry seems a bit thin What else can you think of to flesh it out some? Any idea of where Googlewhacking originated? Are there other variations on the theme? I heard of one where you have to end up with no more than three results, but I can't recall how many words you have to input.

It really needs more content than this to be considered for editing.


Scout

Right, okay, theres some many thoughts buzzing around my head that I don't really know where to start. So I'm just going to, and you can re-arrange the thoughts as you see fit.

Firstly, this would probably become a better entry once you've seen Dave's show, in which he roamed the world visiting the people that are responsible for googlewhacks. He mentioned in an interview the other day that it was one the Dave Gormans he met a few years ago that started him on this. I'm guessing it's little Dave Gorman number 5. I could believe anything from him.

Given the clear and obvious link to Mr Gorman, you could put in a link to the guide entry on him. It's A857649.

And have you considered joining the h2g2 Dave Gorman Appreciation Club, Society, Fannish Thing at A847712? Always open for new members!

Oh, and one last thing, if you can't get to the stage show, Dave will be writing up his Adventure in a book next year. No word on a TV show yet though.


Geggs (advertising Dave and myself in one breath)

From reading your entry I don't get the game. I still don't know what a googlewhack is . ..
Could be that I don't know who Dave Gorman is . ..

I'd say the game is not explained properly.

Any 2 words?? The two you chose, are they even real words?

how about 'pinacle dungaree'?

May be you needed to give some more examples.

How is Dave Gorman one??

2of3

As I understand the game, you can use two complete randomly chosen words. If those two words, when searched for in Google, produce one and only one page, then that page is a Googlewhack.

So, for example, if 'pinacle dungaree' brings up one page on the Google search engine, then that page is a Googlewhack. Unfortunately those two words bring up three pages, there is no Googlewhack there.

Dave is one, in the sense that his site contains a page that is a Googlewhack, though he isn't revealing which two words bring up his page.

Hope that explains a bit.


Geggs

I get it now. Crystal clear.

So my suggestion to the author is use terms like 'one and only one'. Its redundant but everyone will get it right away . . .

and he should maybe incorporate some of your explanation in to the post.


Now . . . I'm off to hunt me some googlewhacks!!

It's a very thin entry ...

As it stands it would perhaps be better as part of an entry about Google in general. There's probably a lot can be said about Google ... it's lack of advertising, how it works / design erm, erm

You could go on to mention Googlism then ... that can be fun too.

If nothing more can be thought of to increase the content, why not expand the scope of the entry to cover other Google phenomena such as Google bombing.

And whilst I know what Google bombing is, I have no idea how it's done - you're the Researcher - research it


Scout

Googlism? Google bombing?

Has anyone else noticed that DMK appears to have disappeared....

www.googlism.com it uses the Google search engine. You put names in, and it tells you what Google knows about them. Can get some very strange results ...

And then there's Googlefight.


Scout

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

*Spontaneously combusts*

Well, just in case that DMK just went to the beach:

One chapter of Parkinson's law deals with the optimum help-wanted ad. If you, as the author of that ad, list all the benefits and goodies then you'll end up with 100s and 1000s of applications and the problem to sort out your best candidate. If you emphasise the drawbacks, you'll end up with no application and have to start over again. The optimum ad[*] is well balanced and will yield *precisely one* candidate, and that's the one to sign the contract.

You can link to Parkinson's Law at A563843



Bossel

[*] In order to achieve that, the ad would have to read something like this:
"Career Opportunity: head of a small country in Central America. You'll have all the powers, a villa w/ pool, 5 cars (you choose from Bentley, RR, Daimler). Official income: Mega-$$, unofficial income: unknown, your deal. Body guards, ammunition and poison detectors provided. You have to give the eulogy for your predecessor. Send application by covert mail to ...."

Does the above have any relevance?