Why searching is like smack

I was recently reading Nina Platt's 5 Reasons Librarians are Better than Search Engines. The blog entry is mostly about how search engines will never replace a skilled researcher, but my eye caught the following:

My sister, while doing some research recently, likened searching on the internet to setting off fireworks.  The search is like an explosion that sends millions of answers off in several directions much like a firework can send fire and color up into the night for all to see.  While reviewing one set of answers, another set of fireworks could be set off distracting you from what you already found and taking you further away from what you need.  There is no one to guide you to the right materials.

While I can see the analogy -- sometimes the info I find does feel as ephemeral as a  fireworks display -- I also saw how a miniaturized version of "fireworks" is what keeps us searching.

You know how it gets sometimes, when you just can't put down the mouse, you keep finding one more web site to answer this research project... I just found a promising site - I have to keep going.... What's actually happening is that, each time you find a good lead or a new resource, you get a little shot of adrenaline - a mini-fireworks display. You click a couple more times and - kaboom - another little adrenaline shot. click, click. kaboom.

We find it hard to end a search because we're constantly getting little buzzes of excitement, and who wants to stop that?

Comments

[Rosemary Carstens]

I've had to do a lot of research, both on and offline for the book proposal I've been working on. It has definitely been addictive! I love the topic anyway, but I find one tidbit leads me right on to another and before I know it I have wandered down several unrelated paths and it's past midnight! It's kind of like opening a big bag of Lay's potato chips and telling yourself in advance that you'll just pour a few out on a paper plate and stop there. Yeah, right! As long as there is a salty crumb left in the corner of the bag, I'll be there pouring, pouring...
Rosemary Carstens
http://carstensFEAST.blogspot.com

[Mary Ellen Bates]

I agree that most people don't want continuous thrills. That's one area in which we info pros differ from the rest of the population, IMO. Think of it - librarians are thrill-seekers. (reminds me of that Bacardi commercial - "librarian by day, Bacardi by night." (http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_mistress/40461546/ )
:-)

[Nina Platt]

Hi Mary Ellen,

Thanks for mentioning my post on search. I do agree that it is the fireworks that keep us searching but I'm not sure that everyone else wants continuous thrills. My sister was making the point about the excitement as well but the conclusion she drew was that the fireworks didn't necessarily get her to the information she was seeking.

I think it was Roy Tennant who said "Librarians like to search, everyone else likes to find." Whether it is my sister searching for craft ideas, my brother searching for web design information or my husband searching for motorcycle parts, eventually the thrill of the search is gone if the many fireworks don't take them in the direction they want to be.