Wilma Renfordt - Google in Public

Mitte: „Hipness“
Berlin-Mitte, Münzstraße/Neue Schönhauser Straße
Suchbeginn: 12. Dezember 2007, 19:01 Uhr
Suchende: 20. Dezember 2007, 19:23 Uhr
Suchdauer: 192 Stunden, 22 Minuten





Theaterwissenschaft: „Performancekunst“
Berlin-Dahlem, Grunewaldstraße 35
Suchbeginn: 13. Dezember 2007, 8:30 Uhr
Suchende: 14. Dezember 2007, 14:42 Uhr
Suchdauer: 30 Stunden, 12 Minuten






FU Berlin: „Elite“
Berlin-Dahlem, Otto-von-Simson-Straße/Fabeckstraße
Suchbeginn: 13. Dezember 2007, 8:46 Uhr
Suchende: 14. Dezember 2007, 14:24 Uhr
Suchdauer: 29 Stunden, 38 Minuten





Neukölln: „Problemkiez“
Berlin-Neukölln, Reuterplatz
Suchbeginn:19. Dezember 2007, 10:14 Uhr
Suchdauer: ? (am 3. Januar 2008 um 19:42 Uhr war die Suchanfrage verschwunden)






SO 36: „Multi-Kulti“
Berlin-Kreuzberg, Adalbertstraße/Oranienstraße
Suchbeginn: 19. Dezember 2007, 11:25 Uhr
Suchende: 29. Dezember 2007, 19:53 Uhr
Suchdauer: 247 Stunden, 28 Minuten





Hagen: „Schrumpfende Stadt“
Hagen-City, Hohenzollernstraße
Suchbeginn: 22. Dezember, 22:04 Uhr
Suchdauer: ? (am 23. Dezember um 21:23 Uhr war die Suchanfrage verschwunden)




In the offline-public, google seems to be not as effective a tool as it is online. The results are limited in number and significance. How come? Offline-public is always situated at a concrete location, limiting the addressees of the request to those frequenting that place, whereas the online-public is ubiquitous. This not only influences the quantity of the results, but also their qualities – to the positive or to the negative. The advantage of offline-googling lies in its potential to tell us something about the respective public – the place and the people – whereas online-googling is place-less and anonymous. Moreover, offline-googling can provide a surplus to the word/image-results of its online counterpart: the process of searching becomes visible in the traces it leaves behind. That might be the mear disappearance of the request. Or some crumbled paper. Or the trace of someone trying to write on the plastic covering the paper – and then giving up.

-Wilma Renfordt