Thanks for sharing, Chris!
I found the article a bit frustrating. As a human interest story, it's very touching that the sisters were able to reconnect despite family problems that worked to keep them apart.
But from the technology side of things, blaming search algorithms seems odd to me. I'm surprised that anyone would feel that technology owed them particular results or specific capabilities—especially capabilities they didn't even know they needed. That might actually be a useful insight into our own users, though.
I'm also surprised the author didn't use anything other than search engines and social media. I've had to track down a dozen or so people who were out of touch for up to 20+ years, for a book project, and there are so many resources out there! Even more if you are able to spend a few dollars per person—which "book project people" did not warrant, but siblings would.
So, getting a bit more on-topic, how do we help people by not only providing them with useful information, but also the tools and processes that allow them to get the most from that information? It seems like documentation works for very sophisticated users, but the rest have to collectively and very unevenly accrete familiarity with tools over time; learning/teaching processes seems even more daunting. I can't see a way to accelerate that process, which is disheartening.
—Trey
Trey Jones
Software Engineer, Discovery
Wikimedia Foundation