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How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

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Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#41

Post by gnusci »

javiercr wrote: post #20
BitwiseFool wrote: post #4

I've actually moved to other search engines because the quality of the results have gone down dramatically. It seems like google will fixate on one or two keywords in my search (usually the most generic ones) and ignore the rest. In addition, the old google tricks like using quotes for literal values no longer seems to work. It is like google is guessing what I want, rather than trying to find what I have entered as…

To get the old behaviour for literal search using quotes enable the "Verbatim mode" (Tools > All results > Verbatim) It's a must if you're a developer searching for some obscure error message, yet still most people don't know about it.

While I find your answer very helpful. Now I first search with Qliqz and DDG coding related stuff! It is almost impossible nowadays to find an accurate technical result out of so many adds with Google.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#42

Post by jiveturkey »

I'm done with Google as of today. The evil genius of making links look like ads, is not just the straw that broke the camel's back; it's the entire bale.

There is mass hysteria about Google in general. They aren't the privacy nightmare the pitchfork wielding folks would have you believe. That said, they inspire others that are indeed nightmares. The entire third party tracking industry is a nightmare. And it was already, before Google. (Google bought doubleclick, don't forget.) But people see Google doing it and want to get in on it, nevermind the internal controls and oversight. So the net net is that it's a bad thing -- nobody can be trusted to hold so much PII.

I'm switching to Bing. DDG never did it for me. As an aggregator of other engine's work, I do not enjoy their business model either.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#43

Post by Cyclone_ »

caymanjim wrote: post #28
monadic2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google was originally and for many years extremely elegant in it’s simplicity. What, no ads?

Google has always and still does have the least-obtrusive ads. I don't like when ads masquerade as content, but if I have to receive ads, I'd prefer Google-managed ads over anyone else's. Even Stack Overflow fills their pages with hideous animated ads, and they're about the second-least-objectionable ad-bearing site.

Agree 100% about the least obtrusive ads. The ads on the verge jump out at you and are pretty in your face.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#45

Post by JohnFen »

blackearl wrote: post #34
jborichevskiy wrote: post #13

> Recode’s Peter Kafka recently interviewed Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti, and Peretti said something really insightful: what if Google’s ads really aren’t that good? What if Google is just taking credit for clicks on ads just because people would have been searching for that stuff anyway? I’ve been thinking about it all day: what if Google ads actually aren’t that effective and the only reason they make so much is bill…

Same as any other monopolistic company. Comcast isn't necessarily good at providing internet, in fact most of their customers would say they're shit at it. But most people don't have a choice.

I am forced to use Comcast, and I really wish I had another option. I have numerous complaints about them. But I have to say -- the quality of their internet service is not one of them. It's been consistently solid and well-performing for me for years.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#46

Post by TillE »

Because unfortunately I still find Google indispensable (it's fast and gives me better results than the alternatives), I'm now using the "Better Google" userscript which reverts to the old look. Saves me a lot of pain and suffering.

https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/395257-better-google

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#47

Post by JohnFen »

javiercr wrote: post #20
BitwiseFool wrote: post #4

I've actually moved to other search engines because the quality of the results have gone down dramatically. It seems like google will fixate on one or two keywords in my search (usually the most generic ones) and ignore the rest. In addition, the old google tricks like using quotes for literal values no longer seems to work. It is like google is guessing what I want, rather than trying to find what I have entered as…

To get the old behaviour for literal search using quotes enable the "Verbatim mode" (Tools > All results > Verbatim) It's a must if you're a developer searching for some obscure error message, yet still most people don't know about it.

> To get the old behaviour for literal search using quotes enable the "Verbatim mode" (Tools > All results > Verbatim)

That hasn't worked for me for a long time.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#49

Post by eckza »

lanstin wrote: post #25
rurp wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google ignoring what I had actually typed and instead showing results to a more popular query that was similar, but distinctly different, is what finally got me to switch over to DuckDuckGo. Now that I've gotten used to DDG I find Google unpleasant to use. The amount of ads and clutter on the page is distracting, and the organic results seemed ever more skewed towards ecommerce results.

Some of that skew might be their algorithm noticing that the great unwashed masses are looking for ecommerce. I should give DDG another try, it was not that great last time I tried (few years ago?)

I switched to DDG about a month ago, and the results are always dead-on for me.

I don’t even notice that it’s not Google anymore.

Re: How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

#50

Post by JohnFen »

grecy wrote: post #21

Does anyone here even really use Google's search engine anymore? I do search for stuff a lot, but to be honest I know perfectly when it will be a stackoverflow page I want, or a wikipedia page, or it will have that link to maps. I can't remember the last time I searched for something and I didn't already know what domain I actually wanted to end up on.

I don't use Google's search engine, but I do use search engines heavily. Unlike you, I rarely know what site will have what I'm looking for in advance -- it's rarely SO, Wikipedia, or maps.
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