Did you mean Matt Haughey?

January 10, 2002 9:29 PM

How do you know when you're a star on the Internet?

Google attempts to correct the spelling of your name.
posted by willnot to MetaFilter-Related at 9:29 PM (18 comments total)

My name is a stop word and a city. Plus I try to keep a low profile, so no luck ego surfing for me. Still, does anybody know how google came up with their thesaurus?

I mean it can't be human edited if they are correcting spelling mistakes in peoples names...can it?
posted by willnot at 9:33 PM on January 10, 2002

It works for my name, and I'm not famus. It also corrected Parizparamus. Next theory....?
posted by ParisParamus at 10:00 PM on January 10, 2002

Google corrects a few spelling errors for and suggests my name too, but I am no netstar :)
posted by riffola at 10:37 PM on January 10, 2002

me as well, but thats because I share a name with some high falootin' vinyard jockey.
posted by mcsweetie at 11:36 PM on January 10, 2002

No, but the real test of internet stardom is to find out how many wrong letters you can put into your name and still have Google correct you!

This is the best I could do and I warn you now that it's quite good.

But the funniest thing is that once you've searched for a mistaken spelling and then go on to mess it up even more, the Google bots, having stupidly saved your previous attempts, then ask you:

"Did you mean [ridiculous spelling]?" .

Which then leads nowhere, of course.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:42 PM on January 10, 2002

Woohoo!
posted by crunchland at 12:55 AM on January 11, 2002

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=aammthiommy+yieouhhaas

I am duly impressed.
posted by youhas at 1:48 AM on January 11, 2002

I'm content to share my name with many others named "Carol Anne."
posted by Carol Anne at 5:19 AM on January 11, 2002

I think it's a much a matter of whether there are (m)any entries for the misspelled version as it is stardom. If there were enough "skalls"es out there, the correction wouldn't happen. And now we have two! skallas, your google-correction days are numbered.

And the fact that "aammthiommy" becomes "anthony" and "yieouhhaas" becomes "youhas" suggests SOUNDEX to me.


posted by rodii at 5:54 AM on January 11, 2002

I understand that the way it works is, Google's cookie tracks how bad a speller you are, and makes suggestions accordingly.

I think they plan to one day sell their databases to Dictionary.com, which will mercilessly spam bad spellers to death. This will of course be looked upon as a community service, and Google will again be lauded as a truly visionary company.
posted by mattpfeff at 7:32 AM on January 11, 2002

whoa, hey.

HOW DID IT KNOW TO PUT THE T!!!

heh.

and i'm in no way a netstar.
posted by sugarfish at 9:47 AM on January 11, 2002

I just want to note that I am the top "Oliver". Screw Oliver North, Stone, Sacks - even Wendell Holmes.
posted by owillis at 11:37 AM on January 11, 2002

feelingremembered
posted by feelinglistless at 1:23 PM on January 11, 2002

I pass the test as well, although Google would get modded up +2 if it capitalized the "A" in my last name.
posted by hijinx at 2:10 PM on January 11, 2002

I also pass that, and the first name test. And I certainly am no rockstar.
posted by fidelity at 8:14 PM on January 11, 2002

I'm totally insignificant really. I come up first on my shortened name 'Pete Cooper' and about seventh on my full name. But who comes up for just a search on 'Peter'? Someone we all know..
posted by wackybrit at 8:22 PM on January 11, 2002

Holy schmengies! It worked for my name too!
posted by Lynsey at 11:42 PM on January 11, 2002

Neato... it actually correctly corrects Milo Vueuurrmmmleullennnn. Any variation in my first name (or omitting my first name) makes it fail, however.
posted by milov at 7:13 AM on January 12, 2002