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Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

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Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#61
post #12

They do the same thing on the Play Store, for example I just searched for Firefox and the first result is a sponsored spot for Opera. Does Apple do that on the App Store? A funnier example: searching for Amazon gives Temu as the first result. Searching for Temu gives Shein as the first result. Searching for Shein gives Shein as the first result! ...but only because they outbid everyone else for the ad spot on their o…

This is also true on Apple's app stores, to be fair. I didn't know this until I got a MacBook Pro recently and my assumption that Apple's controls would be tighter than Google's was proven quite wrong when I opened the Mac App Store for the first rime.

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#62
That's not "everything"! Just wasted ~3 hours trying to set up an account, supervised by me, for my 8 year old daughter.

(1) There are some old rules for a user interface.

(2) Billions of people know these rules, implicitly, and right away and easily use sites that follow the rules.

(3) Google, and others, want a new, different, original, snappy, creative, user interface but in this effort set aside the old rules so that at most only the programmer understands the user interface and in a month he (she) won't be able to use it either.

Analogy: They are really good at making pancakes but now are trying to make Bouillabaisse and are getting only rotten sea food.

Uh, the user interface has a lot of cartoons in a popular, new style but one of their cartoons shows little girl and some of the underside of her skirt -- dumb de dumb-dumb. If they make a mistake like that, then they are sloppy or worse workers and, thus, no wonder the rest is awful. Time to short the stock?

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#63
post #2

I'm not using an ad blocker; when I search for Midjourney on Google the real thing is my first result; I don't even see any sponsored content. Not sure what's happening for OP. (Please don't read this as a defense of Google on the whole.)

With uBlock off, I get two sponsored ads, and the real site is nearly pushed below the fold: https://i.imgur.com/AkVbvSI.png

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#64

Its sad but I think at this point its kind of a safety issue not to use an ad blocker. Those results are not clearly ads and I've clicked on fake links in the past when they were.

The FBI agrees with you: https://www.pcmag.com/news/fbi-recommends-installing-an-ad-b...

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How will you fight the inevitable slide that happens if you ever got on top? I’m convinced Google started with the absolute best of intentions before the money and greed turned them into a horror movie villain.

"How will you fight the inevitable slide that happens if you ever got on top?". Don't get too greedy. There must be examples... 37Signals?

"Don't get greedy" and similar variations assumes intent rather than what I see as the reality of how companies operate within the US--not a failing of individual virtues. If you're a public company, your shareholders will want stock prices to go up and are more than happy to use their shares to vote for whoever is willing to make that happen.

This is, of course, an exaggeration. Not all shareholders value profits above all else, but many big ones do. Ignoring what incentives (and disincentives) are put on a business drive it's behavior. If you want something contrary to those incentives, you need to change those pressures or you're doomed to be disappointed.

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#67

They still get away with it as ‘only’ 1% complain and Google thinks they don’t matter. We built our entire company for that 1%.

And we thank you for it! I've been a paying customer for about a year now and I can't remember the last time I purposefully used Google search.

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#68
from a new customer perspective who just heard about midjourney, search may be a good spot to find alternate products. what google needs to know is if it is a navigational search and unless it keeps a long history, it may not know that. the simpler answer may be that companies who know you use a product like the one they make may just be willing to spend a bunch and google may be willing to add friction for the $.

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How will you fight the inevitable slide that happens if you ever got on top? I’m convinced Google started with the absolute best of intentions before the money and greed turned them into a horror movie villain.

Maybe another company will take over at time. Why does one company have to stay perfect and on top of game for eternity?

I love many of the companies I use and work with... but I'm always on the lookout for a backup plan if one gets greedy. Companies are not loyal to their consumers, we should never make the mistake of providing loyalty to corporations.

Kagi is great though, for now! :D

Re: Everything that's wrong with Google Search in one image

#70
post #58

Its sad but I think at this point its kind of a safety issue not to use an ad blocker. Those results are not clearly ads and I've clicked on fake links in the past when they were.

You also should just stop using Google Search. DuckDuckGo is solid, or if you don't want to use search results from Bing's index, I've been very happy with Brave Search.

people say that but they often come back to Google ;)

I've just learnt to use ad blockers. the only time I disable it is when I look up the definition of something or the location of a place and the entire page goes blank because of some rules I've added to uBlock.

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