This might be a good way to drum up some press, and (gasp) some support and interest from younger persons. I could think of worse things to happen to a NASA initiative. I say they run with it. Why not?

To some extent, googlebombs *were* abuse

Well that's the question, isn't it? Why do you think they were abuse? If people look up "facist," they should get Hitler or Stalin, even if those guys never called themselves that, and there's no precise definition. It's what people think about them.

This raises an interesting idea about the exact nature of Google (and other search engines) and exactly the type of information they aid in providing. Are they providing the most relevant factual information? Or are they providing the most relevant information according to the ever evolving "hive" mind that is the internet?

Point being, I see the evolution of Google and the internet itself becoming some sort of "Mother Brain" that people can tap into when needed, and as time goes on, at an ever increasing rate at insanely intimate levels. Do we want this collective intelligence being queried for the most factual information, or do we want it used for extracting what the hive thinks is the most factual?

Hmmmm, interesting to say the least.