Is it possible (and within convention) to insert a hidden field in an views exposed filter to control form content (e.g for re-submit search)?
Though I am providing the solution for the question which you have asked but as per your description I understand you are looking to achieve content boosting with views.

It's a nice idea which has been implemented on some websites like meetup.com, where they boost the local event at top when you visit &amp; these works for anonymous users too as well as authenticated.

You will need 3 modules to achieve this - Location, Smart IP &amp; Views.

I have written a blog post about configuring them to achieve this, which you can find at - http://drupalconnect.in/content-boosting-views

I will recommend you to try this if you trying something like this :)