Chapter Challenges in archiving the personalized web

Abstract

The decision-making algorithms embedded within online platforms are determining content shown to users. This personalization steers the dissemination of information, in contrast with the idea of a universal World Wide Web. Personalization thus generates a combinatorial explosion of different versions of the web, rendering each user’s experience distinct. This raises critical questions: what elements of a personalized web should be archived? How can the collected user journeys capture a representative picture of our times? Navigating personalization is essential to capture the contemporary web experience, yet it presents methodological and technical challenges. In this chapter, we identify key challenges in performing a representative sampling of personalization within online platforms.