How Google’s algorithm rules the web

Want to know how Google is about to change your life? Stop by the Ouagadougou conference room. It is here at the Mountain View, California, headquarters of the world’s most powerful internet company, that a room filled with three dozen engineers, product managers, and executives figure out how to make their search engine even smarter. This year, Google will introduce 550 or so improvements to its fabled algorithm, and each will be determined at a gathering just like this one. All aimed at making your life (and your spending habits) easier to manage.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/