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Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

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Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#81

Post by zeroCalories »

Repulsion9513 wrote: post #57
zeroCalories wrote: post #52

Have you thought about alternative monetization methods like Buy Me A Coffee? A good "this work is done for free pleading emoji " message can get you some decent cash. Maybe selling your site to someone that can monetize it is your best bet. Yeah your site isn't what Google Ads wants, that's a shame, but then that's on you to come up with an alternative.

Why does it have to be on them to come up with an alternative instead of... like... acknowledging that monopolies and businesses approaching them are harmful to both consumers and businesses?

Because if there are alternatives, then it isn't a monopoly. Even if we're restricting ourselves to ads, there are other ad networks, and you can find your own sponsors. The OP is a self-admitted lazy commie and just wants to say "Google bad".

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#82

Post by keepamovin »

bruce511 wrote: post #29

Of course Google didn't make the web site bad, you did. In a purely practical sense you changed the site, not them. Which leads us to the "why" of it. Which is you wanted to monetize the site (if only to cover its costs.) Since advertising seems to be the business model of the internet that's your first port of call. But here's a site that performs a task. Quite who uses this site is unclear. Sure lots of people migh…

Interesting take on the backstory. Also,

> Of course Google didn't make the web site bad, you did.

That's right. Whenever anybody says "X made me do Y", sometimes I get flashes of the 1980/s1990s action movie villain, in the industrial backdrop, for the violence climax scene, with the hero on the ropes, screaming hysterically "You made me do this!"

Nobody makes you do anything. That's true from a strict personal responsibility standpoint, and it's an important boundary and important to remember: it's always your choice.

But of course that's not what this is about. It's about Google providing the incentive, for ruining perfectly good websites.

And we can get weaselly and say, "Well actually it's not Google, but it's the internet - or people - or technology - or economics - or thermodynamics" But the same point remains: Google chose to do this, too.

If we are to hold one to the standard of personal responsibility while relieving another of it for reasons of context and incentive? Well that just seems unfair. Hahaha! :)

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#83

Post by Dylan16807 »

bruce511 wrote: post #44
rustcleaner wrote: post #16

Maybe it's time for a market cap maximum. If your market cap exceeds the median GDP of all African countries, you get broken up. No more borg controlling the internet. This should help prevent vertical consolidation. Truly corporate death penalty any children of breakups who collude (full loss to equity, half loss to creditors, assets auction to public). Google shouldn't exist at its scale, nor should Apple, Microsof…

How has market cap got anything to do with monetizing the site? You're suggesting that if Google was smaller then that would make this site more appealing to advertisers? That having more advertising companies would make this site more valuable?

Google thinks the value is zero, which is definitely wrong, and yes competition would help with that.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#84

Post by Dylan16807 »

cyanmagenta wrote: post #75
raincole wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legal age of drinking is arbitrary and people accept it. Hell, even legal age of consent is arbitrary (please don't argue this -- if it's not it won't vary across developed countries). The absolute majority of legal lines we drew are arbitrary.

I think it’d be more accurate to say “imprecise” rather than “arbitrary.” For example, the legal drinking age is set to 21 (or whatever) based on politicians’ estimation of when most people are mature enough to handle the consequences. It’s true that there is no way to exactly specify a perfect age limit, but that doesn’t mean the limit was set randomly without any reason or basis, i.e., arbitrarily. Sorry if I’m bei…

If that's your definition of arbitrary versus imprecise then a company size limit is also imprecise.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#85

Post by drstewart »

worewood wrote: post #70
rustcleaner wrote: post #16

Maybe it's time for a market cap maximum. If your market cap exceeds the median GDP of all African countries, you get broken up. No more borg controlling the internet. This should help prevent vertical consolidation. Truly corporate death penalty any children of breakups who collude (full loss to equity, half loss to creditors, assets auction to public). Google shouldn't exist at its scale, nor should Apple, Microsof…

What you're saying is heresy in a capitalist world. It absolutely is the root of all problems, but people, consciously or not, will deny it and try to justify how it is necessary or how accumulated capital is not the issue. Beware of that while reading the responses.

"I'm right and you're wrong and anyone who tries to say otherwise proves that I'm right" is some kind of take.

Beware that you're a hypocrite and don't realize it so you will argue that you aren't, but it's proof that you are.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#86

Post by icehawk »

magicalist wrote: post #56
icehawk wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has been sending me emails about how things are preventing them from indexing my websites,and recently I've stopped caring. My website and it's content is what it is, and its not my job to make Google more valuable. They're a multi billion dollar company, if it's really a problem, they can figure it out.

You literally have to sign up and do extra work to confirm ownership to get those emails in the first place.

Yeah and I did that 10 years ago when the math worked out differently. 'Recently' is doing some work in that comment.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#87

Post by VelesDude »

Repulsion9513 wrote: post #57
zeroCalories wrote: post #52

Have you thought about alternative monetization methods like Buy Me A Coffee? A good "this work is done for free pleading emoji " message can get you some decent cash. Maybe selling your site to someone that can monetize it is your best bet. Yeah your site isn't what Google Ads wants, that's a shame, but then that's on you to come up with an alternative.

Why does it have to be on them to come up with an alternative instead of... like... acknowledging that monopolies and businesses approaching them are harmful to both consumers and businesses?

This was made more as an example of how much power Google has. While Google is not technically a monopoly, using any alternative is most likely going to hurt your potential reach. Essentially, damned if you do, damned if you don't with no middle ground.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#88

Post by Dylan16807 »

zeroCalories wrote: post #52

Have you thought about alternative monetization methods like Buy Me A Coffee? A good "this work is done for free pleading emoji " message can get you some decent cash. Maybe selling your site to someone that can monetize it is your best bet. Yeah your site isn't what Google Ads wants, that's a shame, but then that's on you to come up with an alternative.

> that's on you to come up with an alternative

Ads should be viable here. "The ad ecosystem is broken" is not something individuals should have to fix.

And asking for an entire coffee for a quick tool is not really in line and unlikely to get many takers.

And there's no good way to ask for microdonations.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#89

Post by Dylan16807 »

zeroCalories wrote: post #81
Repulsion9513 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does it have to be on them to come up with an alternative instead of... like... acknowledging that monopolies and businesses approaching them are harmful to both consumers and businesses?

Because if there are alternatives, then it isn't a monopoly. Even if we're restricting ourselves to ads, there are other ad networks, and you can find your own sponsors. The OP is a self-admitted lazy commie and just wants to say "Google bad".

> Because if there are alternatives, then it isn't a monopoly.

The definition of monopoly is not 100% market share.

Re: Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)

#90

Post by sumedh »

zulban wrote: post #26
rustcleaner wrote: post #16

Maybe it's time for a market cap maximum. If your market cap exceeds the median GDP of all African countries, you get broken up. No more borg controlling the internet. This should help prevent vertical consolidation. Truly corporate death penalty any children of breakups who collude (full loss to equity, half loss to creditors, assets auction to public). Google shouldn't exist at its scale, nor should Apple, Microsof…

When you set an arbitrary cap like "GDP of all African countries" lots of people will argue it's too high, or too low, and you won't have any argument to make because it's arbitrary. Your solution sounds great but in practice it's simplistic.

> When you set an arbitrary cap

You can join the US military at 17, why this arbitrary number, why not 16, why not 20?

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