Googlearchy: Do Political Sites Matter?

In Chapters 3 and 4 of Hindman's book, The Myth of Digital Democracy, he explains the concept of "Googlearchy" and discusses the influence of the internet on political participation. Hidman's idea of "Googlearchy" is that, because Google is the most popular website and search engine, it has the most influence on what the political websites the public is most likely to view. Furthermore, because websites that are linked to the most receive the most traffic, these sites are listed at the top of searches and are therefore viewed disproportionately more than other sites. Hindman also argues that because of the effects of Googlearchy the voice of the "ordinary public" is overshadowed by the voice of the elites. This argument leads to the question, do political sites matter? According to Hindman, and in my personal opinon, they do not.
Hindman's argument that political sites don't actually matter is a direct response to the popular belief that the Internet has given a voice to those who previously were unable to be heard. However, having a voice on the Internet does not necessarily mean that it will be heard. Besides the fact that more obscure political blogs or websites get buried under the "elite" sites that are more prominent on Google searches, people are not likely to search out political websites if they are not interested in politics to begin with. It has already been proven through research on the effects of Television on politics that people are not likely to seek out media that does not reinforce their current beliefs. This must also be true of the Internet. If a person is not interested in politics to begin with, they are not very likely to become immersed in politics simply because they have access to the internet. Furthermore, if another person is interested in seeking out those more obscure sites in order to get a more rounded perspective then they will. I have to agree with Hindman that as far as any media consumption goes, Google's dominance over the internet may be a factor in what people read, but the public will seek out what appeals to them and ignore what doesn't.