Google gives ‘gaydar’ but only to US netizens
Googleâs new tool gives out âbest guesses" about the sexual orientation of celebrities but this new feature only works in the US and possibly other Western countries. Google is by far the worldâs most popular search engine, using advanced algorithms to scour the net for data to answer any query â or âqueery", as instinctmagazine.com staff would put it while wondering âDid Google silently roll out a gaydar search feature?" Those in the Philippines, or anywhere else outside the Western hemisphere, cannot avail of Googleâs gaydar feature. How it works The search engine attempts to automatically detect the internet userâs location. You can only specify a location within the country of your current Google domain. Hence, it is not possible to set a US address on www.google.ph, the Google domain for the Philippines. But those in the US need only type in the Google query box the name of the celebrity and the word âgay" (or âstraight" or âbi"). The top tier of their search result will generate these two lines: âBest guess for [name] Sexual orientation is [Straight, Gay, or Bisexual] âMentioned on at least [number of] websites including [links to some websites] â Show sources â Feedback â Reactions Gossip blog Gawker on noted that the google app âseems to only index celebrities who have talked about their orientation at length, either to come out of the closet or fight back the gay rumors." Sister site Jezebel pointed out that âif there's one thing we can trust when it comes to people's private sexual preferences, it's Google's algorithm." An article posted on Tulsa Marketing Online said: âPerhaps itâs accurate, perhaps itâs something one of the developers put in as an easter egg that got discovered, perhaps itâll be gone tomorrow. But for right now itâs yet another Google tool that can be used freely from your computer." Dissent An âeaster egg" is a hidden message, in-joke, or feature put in a computer program, web page, video game, or movie. But NowPublic.com sees the new feature as âa solution without a problem." âWe don't understand why even one second of development time would be dedicated to a âgaydarâ feature. The results either confirm what is already common knowledge or leave the question open, ignoring the fact that it's 2011 and we shouldn't even give a damn anyway." 'Walking gaydar' Over here on this side of the globe, perhaps someone could be found who is like âwalking gaydar" Remington in the movie âZombadings" so as to clue in those idle minds wondering whoâs in or out of the closet. â ELR, GMA News