Refereed Original Paper
Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings
in Japan
Keywords:
Google, platform, ranking, search engine, World Wide Web

Atsushi UDAGAWA, The University of Tokyo

Abstract
The ranking of search engine results is commonly encountered media in daily life. However,most users are unaware of how search engines rank websites or even that the results are ranked,
and trust that search engines arrange results appropriately. The purpose of this study is to clarify
the history of the discourse on media (i.e., search engines) used to find webpages in Japan by
analyzing articles in major Japanese personal computer magazines published during the Web 1.0
era. Consequently, this study clarifies that (1) the World Wide Web was originally considered asa “plaything” before becoming a tool for content searching, (2) tools for searching websites
altered from semantic directories to computational rankings, and (3) discourse explaining
computational technology gradually decreased resulting from a change in the search engine
environment from over-competition to monopolization. Through this historical process, searchengine rankings have become the major media for finding websites. This suggests that searchengine rankings as media have become black-boxed, and implicit trust in the rankings wasconstructed. This study contributes to understanding how digital platforms affect daily
communications by applying a media studies perspective.

1

Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

This

1. Introduction

UDAGAWA

event

indicates

thenecessityofresearching search engine rankings as media as
Ranking is one of the most popular formats inthey mediate how users select information. To

today’s media. Among the different ranking

tackle this issue, this study focuses on thetypes, search engine rankings are one of thehistorical texts of computer magazines as they

most frequently used (Battelle, 2005). In searchreflect the general interests of Internet users

engines, webpages judged to relate to the queryover time. This study aims to clarify the history ofare presented in the format of a ranking. Many

discourse related to how search engine rankings

users consequently check for their desired

became a major format of media in Japan bycontent by accessing the top result before moving

analyzing texts about search engines in major

to those underneath, and lower-ranked webpages

Japanese personal computer (PC) magazines

are unlikely to be selected and viewed. In thatpublished during the Web 1.0 era.

sense, the rankings are not just a format but also

2. Previous Studies

function as media that construct communication(Udagawa, 2019). This concept of media is based

Previous studies on rankings have mainly

on socio-media studies undertaken by Mizukoshi

centered on the field of the “sociology of valuation(1999; 2014).
It is common for search engine users toand evaluation” (Lamont, 2012). In these studies,consider only top-ranked content, and it seems

scholars have primarily focused on how rankings

the order of the search results is undiscerningly

can change the political-based perceptions oftrusted as a “black box.” Occasionally, issues

socialarise, and one example is the “curation media”

companies, and governments. For example,

incident known as “DeNA’s WELQ,” which was

Espeland and Sauder (2007) analyzed thewidely discussed in Japan in 2016. WELQ, arankings of American law schools from the

popular healthcare-focused website owned by the

viewpoint of how “public measures” of ranking

Japanese company DeNA, was found to havecan reconstruct social reality. They found thatpostedandrankings represent a common effort to control

inaccurate quotes, but was attracting many

institutions that are in the public eye and makevisitors as it was highly ranked on search enginesthem more accessible to outsiders. They also

using

enginedemonstrated that the interaction between

optimization.” This incident was considered ainstitutions and society causes two effects: 1) The

kind of “fake news” in Japan (Fujishiro, 2017).

“reactivity” of rankings, which is shaped by “self-

According to a DeNA Third Party Committee

fulfilling prophecies” (Merton, 1948); and 2) the(2017) report, DeNA’s main business goal was to“commensuration” of rankings, which transforms

acquire a high number of daily visitors, known associal recognition into measuring various objects“daily active users.” Acquiring the top position in

on a single scale (Espeland & Sauder, 2007).

incorrecta

medicaltechniquecalledinformation“searchorganizations,

such

as

universities,

the search engine rankings was DeNA’s only

These studies provide a useful perspective ofpriority, and its content’s veracity and quality

public organizations’ political theories regarding

were disregarded.

rankings and constitute functional analyses of2

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 12 No. 1 Sep. 2019

rankings in an “audit culture” (Espeland &ranking as media rather than mere technology.

Sauder, 2007). However, they largely treated

Regarding the Japanese context, some studies

rankings as subordinate to social statistics andhave investigated Japanese Internet culture.

focused on the rankings of organizations. In

Hamano (2008) analyzed the Japanese Internet’sother words, they regarded rankings as tools forecosystem in terms of its structure using Lessig’s

evaluating(2006)

organizations.

Therefore,thesearchitecture

concept.

He

analyzedstudies omitted other forms of rankings, such as“2channel,” a popular textboard in Japan, andsearch engine rankings and the fact that the

pointed out that compared to blogs, it has a lower

ranking form itself constructs various forms ofcontrol of architecture. Barbora (2014) also

communication.

highlighted the importance of 2channel andAnother area related to the social construction

blogs in Japanese Internet culture. These studies

of search engine rankings is the study of the

focus

information society. There are many discourses

uniqueness, but there are few discussions about

regarding search engines and related platforms.

search engine rankings themselves and Google’s

For instance, Gillespie (2010) highlighted thatpenetration in Japan.

on

the

Japanese

Internetculture’s

the word “platform” has a political meaning,

Conversely, the present study uses an analyticalindicating that platform providers hold a neutral

perspective on the morphological history of

stance. In these studies, the role of ranking is not

media, distancing them from politics and power,

discussed; the researchers instead focus on theand avoiding technological determinism. Thispower held by platforms such as Google. These

position is consistent with Hamano (2008), in thatstandpoints overlap with the concept of code as

he does not attempt to “resist powers” but focusesarchitecture (Lessig, 2006). Lessig (2006) pointed

on the analysis of “design structure” to discoverout that “code” functioned as the power thatits diverse possibilities. This viewpoint overlaps

regulates people. These are also referred to aswith Innis’ (1951) and McLuhan’s (1964) media“societies of control” and can be considered asstudies and Mizukoshi’s (1993; 1999) socio-media

the power to bypass recognition of people andstudies.

regulate living environments directly (Azuma,

Mizukoshi (1999) points out that media are

2007; Deleuze, 1990).

present in society with multiple layers. In thisManovich (2001) notes that “new media”

study, “media” is defined as a multilayered

supported by digital technology are fundamentallyconcept that includes “format” as a model, which

different from previous media due to a mediatingrefers to how communication is organized aslayer called “software.” Manovich’s (2001) new

well as being “an object which mediates

media concept focuses on the disconnection ofcommunication”

media technology before and after digitization.

extension of this concept of media is close to that

However, formats of media like rankings appear

of “communication media” by Luhmann (1968).

commonly before and after digitization. It is

Therefore, in this study, the term “Rankings asimportant to consider a history of media before

media” emphasizes the aspect that the format

and after digitization as continual change. The

level of rankings generates communications suchpresent study aims to clarify the history ofas “top-ranked items are important.” The present
3(Mizukoshi,2014).

The

Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

UDAGAWA

study aims to overcome the simple understanding

things, but as users gradually abandon possiblethat “search engine is power” and considers why

alternatives, the chosen media become tools.

search engine rankings are historically and3. Methodology and Data

socially adaptive by regarding search engine
rankings as media.
(2019)In this study, articles on search engines anddemonstrated the importance of researching

the WWW published in popular general Japanese“rankings as media” by analyzing text on major

PC magazines were analyzed. General PC

PC magazines in the U.S. and clarified how

magazines were examined because the changing

search engine rankings became “black-boxed.”

discourse in these magazines represents the

However, this is only a discussion of discourse ingeneral interests of Internet users over time.

From

this

perspective,

Udagawa

the U.S. The present study focuses on illustratingThis study is a qualitative analysis as it

how search engine rankings are constructed in

describes the history of search engine rankings

Japan by analyzing the history of discourse on

by tracing the discourse on the WWW and searchmajor PC magazines in Japan, where no previous

engines in articles discussing changes in searchstudies have been conducted. By comparing thisengine technology. Unlike strict discourse

to previous analyses on U.S.-based magazines

analysis, the methodological viewpoint of this(Udagawa, 2019), the role of search engine

study focuses not only on the texts but also on the

rankings in society, regarding both their global

historical and social setting of technology. In thisubiquity and local differences, can be illustrated.

case, it is impossible to cover all of the relatedThis analysis is also expected to clarify how

historical materials completely, and it is difficult

rankings became major and “trusted” media for

to guarantee perfect objectivity of the description

finding websites in Japan, both historically andof history. Based on Hojo’s (2015) methodology,socially.

the argument in this study is a hypothesis

As a theoretical framework for this historical

proposal by abduction as an inference method forstudy, Mizukoshi’s (1999, 2014) generalized

determining possible causes from specific results“historical supplementary lines of socio-media(Hojo, 2015). As Hojo (2015) highlighted, limiting

studies” is referenced. This focuses on thehistorical analysis sources to specific texts duringhistorical construction processes of forms ofa specific time can increase the objectivity of themedia, considering the interaction between

selection of historical materials to a level that is

technology and society. According to Mizukoshi

reasonably acceptable by guaranteeing the(1999), when media establish institutional andcoverage in a certain range.

possible

A 13-year period was examined in this study:

alternatives are forgotten. Here, “Possible

from 1993, when Mosaic (the browser thatalternatives” refer to the variety of social

popularized the WWW) appeared, to 2005, whenapplications that were previously imagined or

the discourse on Web 2.0 (O’Reilly, 2005)

existed but later abandoned or forgotten. Further,emerged. For this study, this era is labeled “WebMizukoshi (1999) argued that media are regarded

1.0.”

industrial

positionsinsociety,Two Japanese magazines, Nikkei Paso-com

as “playthings” when they are recognized as new
4

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 12 No. 1 Sep. 2019(“paso-com” means “PC”) and Asahi Paso-com,

4. Results

were examined, which have a large circulation in
Japan and represent common Internet-related

4.1. The WWW as a “Plaything” (1993-1995)

discourse of the era. In order to trace the history

According to socio-media studies, new media

of ways to search and find webpages, all of theappear as “playthings” when first introduced

titles of the articles were reviewed and the(Mizukoshi, 1999). Accordingly, when the WWW

articles that included the phrase “kensaku

was first presented to the public, it was not(search)” or “kensaku engine (search engine)”

regarded as a tool for finding information but as a

wereconsummatory “plaything.”chosenfor

analysis,excludingadvertisements and flash news. Additionally,

In 1993, the Internet became a primary topic inarticles including the terms “Google,” “Yahoo,”Japan’s PC magazines. Initially, these articles

or other search engine names were used as

centered on the trends of advanced countries,

supplementary materials.

introducing newly developed technologies from

Nikkei Paso-com was launched in 1983 by

the U.S. For example, the September 15, 1993,

Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. Despite being

issue of Asahi Paso-com (pp. 104-109) discussed

sold through direct sales and not by general

U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s “information

bookstores, it maintains the largest circulation

superhighway” concept. The author of the article,

among

Yasuki Hamano, introduced the U.S. Internet at

generalPC

magazines

in

Japan

that time as follows:

consistently. The magazine provides a wide rangeof product comparisons and usage guides

This series of movements shows that personal

concerning the Internet, mainly relating to thecomputers are no longer independent frombusiness sector.

politics. The first politician to understand thisAsahi Paso-com was launched in 1988 by thewas Gore. Personal computers are about to be

Asahi Shimbun Company. From its inception, it

connected through both network cables andhas focused on personal computer use. This

politics, and we cannot return to the “hobbyist”
era. (p. 105)

includes product introductions and usage guides
for personal or hobby use of PCs and the Internet.

In 1993, Japan’s Internet penetration rate was

It also contains articles or essays related to the

only 0.4%, and that of PCs was 9.2% (Computer

information society.

Industry Almanac & eTForecasts, 2012). The

Major readers of these two magazines arearticle written by the “advanced” author regarded

different: Nikkei Paso-com is mainly for business“personal” computers as devices for hobbyists,

users, while Asahi Paso-com is for personal users.

individuals similar to hackers or geeks in the U.S.

Considering the above, this study attempts to(Levy, 1984; Nishigaki, 1997)

cover the general representation of the Internet

In early 1994, articles instructing ordinary

in Japan by analyzing both type of the two mostreaders on how to connect to the Internet

circulated magazines of the era.

appeared in Japan’s PC magazines. In Asahi Pasocom’s March 15, 1994, issue (pp. 118-119), Kenji
Muro described his experience of connecting to
the Internet in the U.S. and how to access5Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

Japanese-language content.

UDAGAWA

this stage was that users could publish their own

In October 1994, the monthly INTERNET

websites. In Asahi Paso-com’s March 1, 1995,

Magazine was newly launched and featured theissue (pp. 130-131), Muro described this situation

article “Gopher, WWW (World Wide Web)”; thisin the U.S. in the column “Create a WWW

article stated that “on the Internet, many sites

Server.”provide information. Gopher and WWW are

The important thing is that anyone can startsystemssuch

publishing, broadcasting, or start a businessinformation” (INTERNET Magazine, Octoberusing it. Japan still seems passionate about

1994, p. 48). Further, the WWW was described asbrowsing the WWW server using Mosaic, but“an information search system compatible within America, the conditions for creating new

multimedia.” Here, “information search” did not

WWW servers are in place. You can become anecessarily mean a keyword search, and in thesender. (p. 130)that

efficiently

searchforsame article, it was paraphrased with the term

Muro described how individuals could create a“surfing,” implying that simply tracing hyperlinks

WWW server. As Muro highlighted, one of theand finding content constituted “searching.” At

main factors behind WWW enthusiasm was thatthat time, “surfing” and “searching” wereeveryone could become a sender; in other words,

considered identical in Japan, as in the U.S.

the enjoyment of “playing on” the Internet was(Udagawa, 2019).

considered as similar to becoming a sender while

In Nikkei Paso-com’s September 26, 1994, issue

surfing.

(pp. 174-176), the article “Using Mosaic to Ride

As in the U.S., an individual home page boom

the Wave of the Internet” also described thesoon arrived in Japan. A Nikkei Paso-com special

WWW as “searching.” In this article, there wasissue, published on October 9, 1995 (pp. 186-

also a complaint regarding using the browser197), declared “the user-centered era has

Mosaic as a search tool:

arrived.”The Internet is a maze of chaotic information,

Using search software such as Mosaic anddepending on how you use an interface like

Netscape Navigator, a user can get bored

Mosaic, you can either find something useful“surfing the web,” which involved searchingor trashy. (p. 175)

the WWW. The most interesting thing about

At this point, there was already an implicit

the Internet is that you can easily sendassumption that a search that only involved

information to the world using home pages.

following a link in a browser was insufficient for(pp. 194-195)

discovering useful information. The development

The article then explained how to write HTMLof this social expectation can be considered acode; furthermore, it presented several websites

starting point for considering the function of

published by individuals. It also described thatrankings as media. It implies the pure pleasure of

empowering everyone to become a “sender”

surfing the WWW itself would be gradually lost

represents the Internet’s attractiveness.

when users attempted to avoid encounteringHaving a home page makes it possible for you

unexpected content.

to become the lord of your own nation in the

Another aspect of the WWW’s popularity atInternet world. A home page for introducing
6

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 12 No. 1 Sep. 2019other individual users’ home pages has also

web directories such as Yahoo! became popular.

appeared. It resembles a phone book that canThis contributed to transforming the chaotic

easily search unique, individual home pages soInternet environment (Dreyfus, 2001) into a

you can easily find personal home pages you

hierarchical, orderly network.

did not know existed. (p. 191)

However, this semantic approach gradually

The WWW during this era was characterized bybecame more difficult as the WWW space

many websites that introduced other websites

expanded, and the information amount increased.

through mutual links, called “link collections.”

This meant that surfing by relying solely on a

Although these can be considered prototypes of

network of hyperlinks occasionally resulted in a

web directories, they also connected individual

failure to obtain useful information. Paradoxically,

websites to create a network. Unlike web

this inefficiency led to the diminishing pleasure

directories, however, at this point, the purpose ofof surfing the Internet: if Internet users could

link collections was not to sort or rank content

only find unwanted information, they became

but to expand connections and communications.

unsatisfied.

As the above discourse shows, at this time, theThis situation was described in PC magazines

WWW was considered a “plaything” where users

in 1996. For example, in Nikkei Paso-com’s

surfed and published websites to enjoy mutual

September 22, 1996, issue (pp. 145-153), thecommunication, and its role as a tool forphrase “from surfing to searching” was coined.

effectively finding information was secondary.

The article introduction reads as follows:It is said that 10 million computers are now

4.2. 
From

SemantictoComputational

connected. Making the best use of thisSearching (1996-1997)

worldwide database is dependent on your skill

When media are in the process of expanding

level. Let’s introduce how to go one step

their role in society, there are many possible

further: to “net search,” which involves finding

alternatives. This occurred when media changes

information, differing from “net surfing,”from being a plaything to a tool (Mizukoshi,

which involves viewing a home page as is. (p.

1999).

145)

The WWW’s ability to allow everyone toHere, searching used as a tool is expressed as an

become a sender in addition to enjoying surfing

advanced-level skill. The article’s focus was

resulted in an information explosion throughcomparing various search engines, and it

website creation. Globally, since the mid-1990s,

coincided with the emergence of query-based

the number of Internet-connected servers has

search engines, which were called “robots.” As

doubled annually (Internet Systems Consortium,

Udagawa (2019) highlighted, articles comparing2018). Consequently, with the resultant flood ofseveral search engines were popular in U.S.

information, it became important to distinguishmagazines at that time, and similar interests

necessary and unnecessary information.

existed in Japan. However, many local search

In response, WWW searching transformed

engines could be used as possible alternatives in

into a screening of unwanted websites; further,

Japan, and major interest in search technologies

beyond the link collection of individual websites,

focused
7

on

how

well

Japanese-language

Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

UDAGAWAwebpages were indexed. Indeed, U.S. searchalternatives to rank webpages, and users wereengines, such as AltaVista, Lycos, and Excite,aware of the technological differences among

had weak technology for the processing ofthem.

natural languages other than English, and in

4.3. The Portal Era (1998-1999)

Japan, these were evaluated lower than local

In 1998, the “portal” concept was created;

search engines.
PC magazines evaluated these local search“portal” means “gate” or “door,” and implies aengines based on their indexing of webpages insingle entrance to a large enclosed space. In theJapanese; specifically, the number of indexes ofportal era of the Internet, users seemed to stop

Japanese pages was represented as the major“playing” on the WWW and considered it more as

differentiator. In Japan, there were searcha tool for finding information efficiently; it wasengines operated by companies such as NTT andthe beginning of uniting an interface andalso various search engines developed byeliminating the possible alternatives.

individuals and universities, such as Senri-gan,

The August 15, 1999, issue of Asahi Paso-com

ODIN, and TITAN. However, these local searchfeatured the article “How to Utilize Portal Sites”

engines did not index webpages outside of Japan.

that began with the following:

Therefore, users were forced to use both global

Portal means “main gate” or “front gate.” When

(U.S.-origin) and local search engines, depending

launching the Internet, the portal site is often

on the language of the content for which they

considered to be “the page displayed at thewere searching. In Japan, search engines werebeginning.” Many sites, including searchdiversified by the spaces or languages theyengines, aim to become “portals,” providing
services such as free e-mail. (p. 102)

indexed, a much more complex situation than in
the U.S. The abovementioned article compared

The article mentioned improvements in theboth Japanese and U.S. search engines in terms“search functionalities” of portal sites, stating,of differences in the variety of webpages and“they make it much easier to find desired orsizes of the indexes returned.

valuable information” (p. 103).
toPortals could be set as entrances, removing

understand the differences between the webpage

the necessity of directly accessing websites

groups indexed by each search engine and theseparately. This implies that by this time,user interfaces for searching. This meant users

comparing multiple sources of information had

were forced to independently determine whichbecome frustrating in terms of tool efficiency.

search engines, or even which webpages, mostUsers had become receivers by ceasing toclosely matched their objectives by comparing

publish information independently (as senders),

multiple search results. Thus, users did not

and the WWW had begun to be regarded as adepend on a single ranking of webpages provided

digital version of mass media. Mizukoshi (1999)

by each search engine; in other words, users

highlighted that these portal sites had becomeranked webpages semantically by referring todigital versions of newspapers, indicating that themultiple rankings of computational search engine

WWW had changed from media as networking

results.

“playthings” to media as broadcasting tools.

Furthermore,

There

users

were

were

still

requiredmany

possible8

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 12 No. 1 Sep. 2019

In the U.S. at that time, Tim Berners-Lee, thedepend on one medium and were unaware of

inventor of the WWW, expressed concerns that

other technological options.

portals would limit the possibility to access any

After the creation of its beta version service incontent easily (Berners-Lee, 1999). In Japan, PC-

1998, Google gained the attention of U.S. PC

magazine readers voiced similar concerns. One

magazines,

article quoted responses to a questionnaire on

magazines began to introduce Google as a new

this topic, reporting that some users had createdsearch engine. In particular, after Google

their own portals through link collections tocommenced a Japanese-language service in 2000,

avoid depending on commercial portal sites.

it began to be compared with search engines for

and

from

1999,

Japanese

PC

These discourses implied that the ideal portal

Japanese websites. For example, Nikkei Paso-

should be an interface that can be accessed at

com’s special issue for New Year 2001 (pp. 91-

any time and provide all available content. In

115) featured the article “How to Utilize Searchreality, however, many existing portal sites at that

Engines” and specifically explained Google’stime were suspected of editing the results

PageRank technology in “Google Gathering

arbitrarily and guiding users to specific content

Attention and Stimulating Competitors.”

because of commercial intentions, such as foradvertisement

purposes.

thejudge relevancy based on the contents of web

neutrality of portal sites was distrusted. This

pages […] Google judges relevancy based on the

resulted in users preferring websites where

information contained in the links.” A detailed

there was no room for commercial-influenced

illustration of PageRank technology was also

semanticapresented, explaining that Google’s high-levelcomputational process where replicability was

search power was based on this PageRankguaranteed. This fostered the social expectation

technology.

editing

that

Consequently,

This article stated, “traditional search engines

insteadoperated

that portals could be replaced by computational

In the U.S., the relevancy of rankings became

programs or algorithms.

the most important factor for choosing searchengines (Udagawa, 2019). Conversely, in Japan, it

4.4. Google’s Penetration in Japan (1999-)

was more important that search engines be able

Suspicion of the arbitrariness of portals
fosteredtheaunifiedandto index all Japanese websites. This meant thatwebsite-selection

tool

that

ranking relevancy was evaluated based on searchafforded more trust. Consequently, through theresults for Japanese queries. At this time, Google

mutual interaction between this social demand

was not very advanced in this regard, comparedand the arrival of a technical innovation called

to traditional Japanese search engines.

computational

demandforto process the Japanese language precisely and“Google PageRank” (Page, Brin, Motwani, &In the same article of Nikkei Paso-com, the test

Winograd, 1999), ranking became a primary

results involving Japanese queries were reported,means of selecting websites and a substitute forand the number of search results was compared.

portals. Starting in 1999, media came to be fixed

Google processed Japanese queries, but theto a single ranking, and the previous possible

number of results was lower than those provided

alternatives disappeared, meaning users came toby “goo,” a popular Japanese search engine
9

Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

operated by NTT Resonant.
At

this

point,

although

UDAGAWAwebpages. Further, because it distinguished
PageRank’snatural rankings from advertisements, Google’s

technological merits had been widely describedalgorithm

in detail, goo was still evaluated higher in terms

reproductive process excluded any semanticof Japanese-language processing and coverage ofarbitrariness, such as commercial intervention.

Japanese websites. This implies that the websites

As a result, trust in Google increased, and users

Japanese users searched for were limited tobegan to depend only on Google’s rankings andthose in the Japanese language and that coverage

stopped comparing the results from multipleof Japanese websites was a primary factor

search engines.

arguedthat

itscomputational

regarding ranking relevancy. In a survey ofWhen Google became the sole search engine

search engine usage in Japan, included in the(or, at least, the primary option), the interests of2001 edition of the Internet White Paper, goo

users moved away from the technology toward(31.9%) was placed second, after Yahoo! (61.6%);

how to utilize Google fully. Consequently,

Google was ranked 11th (4.9%) (Internet

technology-based discourse decreased. This also

Association Japan, 2001). However, by 2003,

meant possible alternatives were forgotten, andGoogle surpassed goo and was in second placeranking as media became a tool. Google did not(46.2%); it then continued to increase its number

set out to be a black box, but users came to treatof users rapidly (Internet Association Japan,

Google as a black box on their own. This was2003). Given that Google’s index guarantees abecause many users who were searching forcomplete search of Japanese sites, its highcontent relevant to their interests had little desire

relevancy of ranking centralized its ability toto understand the technology or even to compare

operate as a portal.

multiple search results. Simply ranking websites

In the August 12, 2003 edition of Nikkei Paso-atcom (pp. 84-87), the article “How to Utilize aanacceptable

level

of

relevancywassatisfactory.

Search Site” introduced a basic method of using

Users now generally check ranked webpages

Google and methods of obtaining more specificin order, from top to bottom. This behavior isresults. The article only referred to Google as asupported by a belief that the algorithm processes“search site” and mentioned no other searchdevelopengines; further, there was only a brief mention

consistently, despite there being no guaranteeof Google’s technology, in contrast to the detailed

that the algorithm is invariant, and this typifies

explanations of PageRank that were provided

black-boxed ranking.

searches

computationallyandwhen Google had not been dominant.

5. Conclusion

Once Google demonstrated that it covered
virtually all of the websites in Japan, it rapidly
became the center of the WWW for Japanese

The media history of search engines andusers, as in the U.S. Consequently, other searchrankings described in this study can beengines, or possible alternatives including web

considered from two viewpoints: 1) The WWW

directories and portals became marginal. Google

transformed from a consummatory “plaything”

became the single interface for ordering all

to a tool for finding content, and 2) the major
10Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 12 No. 1 Sep. 2019

media for finding websites changed from

reproducible ranking process.

semantic links to computational ranking.

When Google established its position as a

The research question of this article focused

unified gateway to the Internet and replacedon clarifying the history of discourse related toportals, possible alternatives in the form of otherhow rankings became major media used to findportals, including search engines, were forgotten.

webpages in Japan. Originally, search engine

Coupled with this, discourse on media forms was

rankings were not necessarily considered major

also abandoned, and today, most people use

media; surfing was how webpages were normally

Google as their sole search engine and only

found during the Internet’s early years, which

consider its first few listings. As the media forms

could be considered more akin to playing rather

were fixed and it became unnecessary tothan systematic information hunting. As thedistinguish Google from other search engines, it

number of webpages increased, users began towas unnecessary for users to be conscious ofdemand an efficient tool for finding theother media forms.

information they wanted. At this time (around

Further, trust in the ranking diminished the1996), as the use of various search engines wasnecessity to confirm the validity of Google’s

still the norm, comparisons of search engine

algorithms. This trust represents a social act

technologies were common in PC magazines.

of taking risks by over-utilizing available

In other words, when the plurality of this new

information, as Luhmann (1968) discussed. By

media meant searching was somewhat chaotic,

abandoning the confirmation of the efficiency ofor when users had more control over media

rankings, trust became black-boxed, and users

selection, media forms and technologies werebegan to accept the rankings undiscerningly.

heavily discussed. As Mizukoshi (1993, p. 280)

This process in Japan was almost the same as

highlighted, “tremors in media can awakenin the U.S. (Udagawa, 2019). Throughout themedia theory1 ”; the fluctuation of search engines

period studied in this research, much of theas new media might have raised interest in the

discourse regarding search engines and rankings

forms or the technologies of the media.

that appeared in U.S. PC magazines was also

However, shortly after its creation, Google

found in Japanese PC magazines. Indeed, many

demonstrated its ability to provide sufficiently

Japanese articles referred to U.S. PC magazine

high relevance and coverage of Japanese

articles, and the development of search engines

webpages to allow it to dominate all of the otherin Japan was directly influenced by U.S. events

search engines. Technically, a major factor is that

historically. This represents one unique aspect ofGoogle built a system that enhanced its self-

the Internet as digital media that can be expanded,

compliance accuracy by converting ranking fromregardless of geopolitical borders. It contrasts

an internal to an external factor. However, morewith the fact that pre-Internet media, such asimportantly, it suitably matched the social

newspapers, radio, and television, were notexpectations of search engines at that time. The

expanded in this way.

users desired a single interface that covered theIt cannot be concluded that the history ofalmost infinite space of the Internet and thatsearch engine rankings as media has beenorderedidentical in the U.S. and Japan, and cultural

resultsthrougha

computational,
11

Historical Media Discourses of Search Engine Rankings in Japan

UDAGAWAdifferences can be observed in Internet content.
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