Search queries capture users in an unusually valuable intentional state for advertisers.
Evidence
It didn’t take a genius to see that the safest and most immediate revenue stream for a firm with Google’s potential to harvest attention was in advertising. And that way it went. “Every day, millions upon millions of people lean forward into their computer screens,” John Battelle, cofounder of Wired, would write in 2005, “and pour their wants, fears, and intentions into the simple colors and brilliant white background of Google.com.” If radio had promised a “relaxed” audience, here was something better: people who really wanted something and ready to tell exactly what—“intentional traffic,” in the jargon. Google could serve up minds to advertisers in this particularly valuable mental state—open, desirous, and impressionable. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 872
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the crucial concept of ‘intentional traffic’ versus the passive radio-era audience.
- XREF: Directly contrasts with the radio-era ‘relaxed audience’ discussed in earlier chapters on broadcasting. — connects to: Search queries yield collateral behavioral data beyond the key words themselves — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 208; Google shifted advertising from matching keywords to targeting individual users — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 231; Google’s search ads sold only intent-rich moments rather than mass attention — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 889 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Google’s search ads sold only intent-rich moments rather than mass attention
#corroborates(0.85) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 889 - Google shifted advertising from matching keywords to targeting individual users
#expands(0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 231 - Google uniquely recognized and exploited search data exhaust that rivals ignored
#expands(0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 211