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The world needs a non-profit search engine

daoudclarke.net

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Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#11

Post by TheChaplain »

irrational wrote: post #6

I use duck duck go. Recently someone showed me their screen where they were using google to do a search. I was absolutely aghast. The last time I used google when you searched for something you saw a simple text list of sites (which is how DDG still works). Instead the google results were… a disaster. You had to scroll through some much garbage before finding actual search results - a list of sites. It was like googl…

I have family members who use google to navigate.

Instead of writing facebook.com in the URL-bar, they search for facebook and click the first link...

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#13

Post by daoudc »

y42 wrote: post #9

I totally like the idea but I dare to doubt that this would solve the SEO problem. Website owners who are participating in those notorious affiliate programs or earn money with ads will still use the search engine to drag people onto their generic websites, using methodolgies to fit the search engines ranking mechanisms, no matter if they are public or not. SEO and all it's results seem to be immanent to the system.

I'm hoping that having community moderated search results will limit this problem. The problem will be SEO people trying to infiltrate the community, which may be tricky to solve. But Wikipedia has had to grapple with similar problems, so I think it is solvable.

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#14

Post by dmje »

He's doing that thing [1] where's he's writing about a thing and presumably wants me - the interested reader - to know more about that thing because it's the thing he's spending all his time on, but he gives zero navigational options to his thing. So as that interested reader, it's down to me to find the name of his thing [Mwmbl] and then (hilariously, given the context!) use a search engine (probably The Evil Google) to find HIS thing.

Seriously, people, if you're writing about anything at all, making assumptions is always a bad idea. If you're writing about a product, make it more than easy to get to it. Provide plentiful CTA's (that's Calls To Action, defined so as not to make the same mistake of assumption) - links, bittons, a big banner at the top: ("I'm building a non profit search engine called Mwmbl! Find out more").

K, thanks,

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31494925

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#16

Post by daoudc »

dmje wrote: post #14

He's doing that thing [1] where's he's writing about a thing and presumably wants me - the interested reader - to know more about that thing because it's the thing he's spending all his time on, but he gives zero navigational options to his thing. So as that interested reader, it's down to me to find the name of his thing [Mwmbl] and then (hilariously, given the context!) use a search engine (probably The Evil Google…

That word (Mwmbl) is actually a link, but I think the link colour is not different enough from the text. Let me see what I can do.

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#17

Post by ffguuficc »

TheChaplain wrote: post #11
irrational wrote: post #6

I use duck duck go. Recently someone showed me their screen where they were using google to do a search. I was absolutely aghast. The last time I used google when you searched for something you saw a simple text list of sites (which is how DDG still works). Instead the google results were… a disaster. You had to scroll through some much garbage before finding actual search results - a list of sites. It was like googl…

I have family members who use google to navigate. Instead of writing facebook.com in the URL-bar, they search for facebook and click the first link...

Honestly that is probably safer. Having a typo in the url could Easley give you a phishing link. However, I also have gotten fishing adds when looking websites up so it’s not cut and dry at all.

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#18

Post by 6510 »

> There are two ways forward that I can see:

> The paid subscription model > Donation funded, non-profit model

No! There is a 3rd! You could do a search app eco system where you leave the unlimited overly complicated puzzles a search engine could address as an exercise for the user.

I always have a bazillion ideas but couldn't think of a single good phone app before mobile phones. I mean, should I want my phone to be a gaming console? It seems ridiculous. Writing is writing books, all other kinds are watered down. Do I want to write books with an onscreen keyboard? It all sounded idiotic, nothing worth using.

But the idea you mention, typing an overly popular domain name without extension should take you to the website directly... What you are trying to say IMHO is CLI! Search is just the failback if the provided query/instruction doesn't make sense to any of the apps.

I cant think of many but there are no doubt thousands of activities that could benefit from an at least somewhat themed search engine. An app could be a biochemistry web directory that ranks results from a chosen sub folder above the normal results.

Any FOSS or other company could create a web dir tree with the few or many pages about it self. A check box lets you pick the ones you want to query. Normal results go under those results. The biochem wont bother you when searching for pokemon.

People love my stores. What they really want is to see illustrated results from my inventory above all other results. Uncheck the box if you are not in the mood. (edit: I'm joking of course but I do have a good fews shopping apps that I actually use)

Re: The world needs a non-profit search engine

#19

Post by elashri »

dmje wrote: post #14

He's doing that thing [1] where's he's writing about a thing and presumably wants me - the interested reader - to know more about that thing because it's the thing he's spending all his time on, but he gives zero navigational options to his thing. So as that interested reader, it's down to me to find the name of his thing [Mwmbl] and then (hilariously, given the context!) use a search engine (probably The Evil Google…

The first sentence contains the link to the project.
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