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“Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

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Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#32
post #16

I haven’t had any of these problems while using DuckDuckGo.com

Yeah, I've been sporadically trying them out for many many years and never lasted a week, until last year. I use DDG exclusively since half a year now and rarely even feel compelled to use !g google redirect. Congrats @yegg and the team!

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#33
post #2

It should, but this also illustrates a problem with Google Search that they'll need to grapple with in the future. Namely, that while they should treat all sites equally, in practicality there's not really much incentive to on their part. Think about it. Let's say Google does remove Pinterest altogether, banning the site as a punishment for 'gaming' the system. What then? The people that do search for Pinterest will…

I think you're looking at this in exactly the wrong way: Pinterest is already getting special treatment and it's positive special treatment. I think that any other site that didn't have the clout of Pinterest would get explicitly downranked for this kind of behavior if it became as apparent.

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#34
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why they should have done it before Pinterest got so big in the first place. And honestly I don't think any significant amount of people search Google images wanting Pinterest results. People want images, they don't care where they're from. AFAIK there is almost no OC on Pinterest anyway.

>AFAIK there is almost no OC on Pinterest anyway. And this is the key point. By removing Pinterest from the search results the user doesn't lose almost anything.

This brings up a great point. Why does Google not just extract whatever information Pinterest is providing and provide that directly in Google Images as SERP? If none of the content in Pinterest is original, what value are they providing the user?

Pinterest is the "experts-exchange.com" of digital imagery, except EE at least had (gated) original content.

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#35
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please read the link before commenting!

Don't assume people didn't read the link. It's against the guidelines here and frankly it's insulting. People can read the same article and still have different opinions.

The third sentence explicitly states what rule Pinterest breaks....

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#36

I don't see the problem here. The most popular sites are showing up in search results. Pinterest is a popular site. It seems like that's the way search engines are supposed to work. If you don't like the fact that Pinterest is a popular site, fair enough -- but that's a personal opinion, and it's not a good enough reason for Google or any other search engine to suppress Pinterest images in search results.

May I ask if you're affiliated with Pinterest in any way? I'm reading your responses and while I have a very open mind, I feel like you're really handwaving the obvious (to me and many others) problems Pinterest causes and defending them very strongly. This of course doesn't mean you're affiliated, I'm just curious.

I am also good friends with one of the original Pinterest engs and that person defends it in the same, almost irrational, way, but I probably would too if my stock value depended on Pinterest being ingrained into Google search results.

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#37

I don't see the problem here. The most popular sites are showing up in search results. Pinterest is a popular site. It seems like that's the way search engines are supposed to work. If you don't like the fact that Pinterest is a popular site, fair enough -- but that's a personal opinion, and it's not a good enough reason for Google or any other search engine to suppress Pinterest images in search results.

Sure, if there was a single return.

However when I added Pinterest to my personal block list, I had to add: pinterest.com, .ie, .nz, .uk, .au, etc etc you get the idea.

It was actually that cancerous link spam behaviour that made me block them in the first place, as it diluted the quality of my Google results enough to force me into taking action.

I really feel bad for people who aren't savvy enough to know that blocking things like bad search result or advertisments is an option.

Re: “Pinterest needs to be removed from Google IMO”

#40
post #3
post #2

It should, but this also illustrates a problem with Google Search that they'll need to grapple with in the future. Namely, that while they should treat all sites equally, in practicality there's not really much incentive to on their part. Think about it. Let's say Google does remove Pinterest altogether, banning the site as a punishment for 'gaming' the system. What then? The people that do search for Pinterest will…

Which is why they should have done it before Pinterest got so big in the first place. And honestly I don't think any significant amount of people search Google images wanting Pinterest results. People want images, they don't care where they're from. AFAIK there is almost no OC on Pinterest anyway.

> People want images, they don't care where they're from.

Right, which doesn't align with the incentives which push Google to follow copyright law.

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