Strategy vs Tactic

For De Certeau’s definitions of strategy and tactics, the key word is “power,” stating that “a tactic is determined by the absence of power just as a strategy is organized by the postulation of power.” When thinking of different examples of strategies and tactics I just thought of what comes to mind when I think of “power.” While staring at my computer, it hit me that one of the most powerful corporations logo was looking right back at me. Google of course! Google employs many strategies, and there are individuals and groups who use tactics in return. For example, Google uses strategies to develop it’s highly used search engine, such as the PageRank algorithm. The corporation also use strategies to target users with their advertising as well. Even though Google is one of the most powerful corporations in the world, they are not exempt from falling victim to various oppositional tactics. An example of such a tactic would be “Google bombing.” A Google bomb is when Google’s search results are tampered with. The idea is to cause a web page to rank highly in the search engine results under an unrelated or irrelevant word or topic by heavily linking them. For example, in 2006, a search for “miserable failure” or “failure” brought the number one result of the biography of President George W. Bush.

An “I’m feeling lucky” Google search for “find Chuck Norris” brings this fake Google results page.

In 2011, pro-life activists were able to generate the Wikipedia page for abortion to the top of Google search results for the term “murder.”

Dailykos.com called on readers to Google bomb Bill O’Reilly in 2005, linking him to “terrorist sympathizer.”

Some of these tactics used are for political reasons, others just for the sake of humor. However, they all are in opposition to either the powerful Google corporation, or the various political figures or legislation. The Internet has given corporations such as Google its’ power and a medium for it to use its’ strategies. However, I think that the Internet has also allowed more accessibility for individuals to engage in oppositional tactics as well. You do not have to be a politician or major corporation to “Google bomb.” People from all over the world and from all walks of life can participate anonymously. Even though tactics do not come from a place of power as strategies do, they can still attract plenty of attention and possibly even distribute a powerful message.