Since the Manna Network ad network provides an alternative to Google’s Adsense and Adwords ad network (but works alongside them too), and since Manna Network also delivers organic web traffic (like S.E.O. does), it is time “well spent” to understand how Google’s search engine works.
This 20 minute Wall Street Journal audio does an excellent job (in so many ways) describing the early philosophy, the market pressures from website operators trying to game and spam the system, the limits of artificial intelligence and search algorithms etc. There is also a very human and ethics segment on whether Google SHOULD deliver what the user says they want (in cases where the search is for “The best way to kill myself”) and whether Google should “project” that the user is really seeking help.