September 16, 2004

Double Meanings and Search Terms

From the SimpleBits inbox just a few days ago:

I enjoy your Skoal Classic product, but 4 times within a 2 month period I recieved mint Skoal in a can marked Skoal Classic, at 7 dollars a can, living in Canada, this can add up rather quickly. I am a loyal consumer but not knowing what is inside a can of Skoal Classic does make me look for an alternative. Wondering what your organization will do.

At first glance, I'm a little confused. So I run a search for "skoal" and sure enough, result #7 makes everything cystal clear.

Skoal means "cheers" (or equivalent) in Swedish, and was part of the title of a notebook post I had written about a recent trip -- but it's also a popular brand of chewing tobacco. The double meaning was compounded by the fact that a comment on the SimpleBits entry had actually mentioned the words "chewing tobacco". Perhaps an odd coincidence.

Seeing how people search for, and assume credibility from, those results is what's interesting to me. It's apparent that some may not look closely at the results, but rather, if a site appears near the top -- they must know what they're talking about. And they will solve my problems.

I'm afraid I can't help those that are receiving mint Skoal in a can marked Skoal Classic. But I sure wish that I could.