There has been a lot to do about Google’s autocomplete function. A quick search produces articles on how it has been accused of perpetuating prejudices and that it has just had its first day in court in Germany. On this blog too there has been a post about the ‘politics of autocomplete’ which discusses how it may violate personal rights and that it can be politically-loaded and controversial

Users of the Reddit page ‘googlepoems’, however, have uncovered another, more good-natured, side to this much-discussed function. The combination of suggestions made by autocomplete can at times, namely, be quite poetic and humorous. See this example that was posted on the blog googlepoetics.com.

What is perhaps most interesting about these poems is that they give you a sense of what matters to people. This varies from the deep and profound, to the mundane – all within the space of a single poem. To see some examples, visit the Reddit page ‘googlepoems’ and the blog Google Poetics, or have some fun by creating your own.