M.C. Antil's CableFOLKS

Have you Googlewhacked? For those who have yet to hear about the latest sign that Armageddon is just around the corner, let me explain. Googlewhacking is a game whose object is to place two (English) words in Google, hit ‘search’ and end up with only one matching Web site. The game was invented by a Web designer in Michigan and is to cyberspace what ‘Trivial Pursuit’ was to dinner parties a decade ago. As one who is always looking to make work more enjoyable, I decided to do a little Googlewhacking myself this week. In my version, I Googled different words with the term "cable television," then made notes on some of the more interesting and prominent matches. (Keep in mind, I dismissed all personal blogs, index sites or rogue search engines.) Below is a snapshot of a couple of hours’ worth of cable Googlewhacking, broken down by "sponsored" and "un-sponsored" sites, along with a handful of intriguing tidbits. Although some scream for comment, I’ve decided to let the results speak for themselves. Google search words: "cable television best" Sponsored sites: Comcast, moveutilities.com, CNET, Dish Network; Un-sponsored sites: Playboy TV, NCTA, Comcast New England; Other sites: CATO Institute analysis "cable television rates" Sponsored: Comcast, moveutilities.com, Dish Network, CTAM Smart Brief ; Un-sponsored: Spanish Fork Community Network; Other: Miami Herald news story, City of Los Angeles fact sheet "cable television love" Sponsored: Comcast, expertsatellite.com, rapidsatellite.com, connectmycable.com, eBay (with the heading "Discount Cable Love?"); Un-sponsored: Time Warner Cable Kansas City, Oxygen; Other: Broadcasting and Cable news story "cable television broadband" Sponsored: Comcast, Road Runner, Verizon; Un-sponsored: CableLABS, Comcast, Sunflower Broadband; Other: Many international sites, including Cable Bahamas "cable television programming" Sponsored: CTAM Smart Brief; Un-sponsored: NCTA, NatGeo, Fort Worth Community Cable; Other: Canadian Cable Television Association, Shaw Cable (of Canada), press release from the Parents Television Council extolling the virtues of a la carte "cable television quality" Sponsored: Gateway, CTAM Smart Brief, Hitachi; Un-sponsored: Northland Cable Television, Comcast New England; Other: MIT Research paper "cable television stinks" Sponsored: Comcast; Un-sponsored: NY Times story on Judy McGrath taking over reins of MTV; Other: Manhattan Institute white paper on government campaign against cable "cable television monopoly" Sponsored: Comcast, switchtodish.net; Un-sponsored: Lafayette (LA) Advertiser letter to the editor on Cox, Consumers Union press release; Other: CATO Institute study, Northwestern/Annenberg white paper "steal cable television" Sponsored: moveutilities.com, connectmycable.com; Un-sponsored: hackerscatalog.com, decoderworld.com; Other: Columbia School of Journalism story "cable television guacamole" Sponsored: Comcast, internettvstation.com; Un-sponsored: Camden River Sharks baseball, Food Network press release, Time Warner Cable News 14 Carolina story; Other: Two L.A. Times stories that somehow found a way to combine cable and guacamole. M.C. Antil can be reached at [email protected].