On May 17, 2012, Google used their official blog to announce a new search
engine feature: the “knowledge graph.” The knowledge graph is Google’s attempt to
teach their search engine how to recognize the connections between a written word
and a real-life entity—a person, object, place, anything. The graph connects these
entities and their basic information to other, closely-related entities, and the
information contained within the graph is then combined with information that
people who made similar searches found useful. Thus, the search results will be able
to provide users with a basic overview of whatever it is they searched for, as well as
related people, places, and things. Hopefully, this new system—brought about in
part because Google took control of Metaweb and its information
database “FreeBase” in 2010—will make it easier for Google to answer its users’
questions directly in the search results. However, Search Engine Roundtable
columnist Barry Schwartz warns that Google’s attempts to consolidate information
might instead bring about more misinformation; for example, when he searched his
own name, Google said that he was an “SEO expert”, despite the fact that neither he
nor—to his knowledge—anyone else with authority has claimed this. However
problematic, hopefully Google will be able to correct the knowledge graph’s issues
with time.