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Google is dead. Where do we go now?

circusscientist.com

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Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#851

Post by ileonichwiesz »

pants2 wrote: post #799
ileonichwiesz wrote: post #764

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think some of this is caused by the non-obvious mechanisms of how interactions on these platforms work. When you replied to a thread on a phpbb forum (or when you reply to this HN thread), your reply „lived” in that thread, on that forum, and that was that. The algorithm wouldn’t show that reply to your dad. I remember liking a comment on Facebook years ago, and being horrified when some of my friends and family go…

This is very well said! Probably also why social media has become so "fake" - back in the early days of Facebook, friends would talk to each other like friends. But after my religious aunt started seeing the comments I was leaving on a friend's pics, let's just say that stopped pretty quick. Now the only thing I would ever consider posting on Facebook is "What a beautiful day! Went for a great hike with my family and…

Very true! As I remember, Google+ was a step towards figuring out this issue - instead of a general Facebook-style „Friends” that includes all sorts of different people you know (or once knew), the idea was that you’d have multiple „circles” of acquaintances that you could post to separately: family, college friends, coworkers, etc.

Of course that didn’t really pan out, and the social network itself collapsed under its own weight within a couple years without ever reaching widespread adoption. It’s interesting though, because I think it really was ahead of its time - these days I just have multiple different groupchats that I text, and that’s basically the same thing.

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#852

Post by hermitcrab »

mchaver wrote: post #835
hermitcrab wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run a small software business and I know various other people who run small software businesses. We are all pretty much agreed that that Google Ads have been less and less profitable, year or year. Most of us have now given up on PPC ads.

As a small software business, do you have other approaches to ads?

I spend a small amount on Adwords and that is pretty much it. I gave up on Bing PPC. Facebook Ads aren't suitable for my market. Linked Ads ar too expensive. I tried Reddit Ads, but that was a disaster. See also:

https://successfulsoftware.net/2025/12/22/is-the-golden-age-...

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#853

Post by mikestorrent »

Majromax wrote: post #505
mikestorrent wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, back in those "good old phpbb days", people trolled just as hard as anyone does now, and maybe worse, since the consequences of it were not as visible, and getting in trouble for things you said online was virtually nonexistent. Everyone used a fake name, and while it might be possible to dox someone, it wasn't an operational concern for anyone who just wanted to be a jerk...

> people trolled just as hard as anyone does now, Trolling had (has) a different character in smaller, more private forums: it tends towards more effort. A low-effort troll just gets banned and loses their platform, so the troll needs to at least ride the line of legitimacy. Drawing the line back to Usenet, the sheer effort that went into some trolling garnered respect if not necessarily acceptance. Drive-by interact…

So true. I was one of those trolls, so I know it well; playing the role of a heel. People would know and remember you by avatar and custom forum titles and a huge garish signature... it cemented you as a person, gave you a face in a way that Hacker News or Reddit threads do not.

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#854

Post by mikestorrent »

Flere-Imsaho wrote: post #691
mikestorrent wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, back in those "good old phpbb days", people trolled just as hard as anyone does now, and maybe worse, since the consequences of it were not as visible, and getting in trouble for things you said online was virtually nonexistent. Everyone used a fake name, and while it might be possible to dox someone, it wasn't an operational concern for anyone who just wanted to be a jerk...

The trolling that happened on IRC would put modern day trolling to shame. Imagine posting a link to an exe claiming to be one thing but would actually contain Back Orifice (a Trojan that gave you remote access to the victim's pc). People would blindly download exes and run them on completely unprotected Windows 98. To be fair I do miss the "old Internet". Less corporate, money grabbing, more freedom.

I think the cDc made some effort to brand Back Orifice 2000 as a remote administration tool and in reality it really was pretty good for that; wonder what happened to those guys

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#855

Post by mikestorrent »

mapontosevenths wrote: post #743
Flere-Imsaho wrote: post #691

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trolling that happened on IRC would put modern day trolling to shame. Imagine posting a link to an exe claiming to be one thing but would actually contain Back Orifice (a Trojan that gave you remote access to the victim's pc). People would blindly download exes and run them on completely unprotected Windows 98. To be fair I do miss the "old Internet". Less corporate, money grabbing, more freedom.

It's not the internet that changed, it's the people. I'm an old timer, and I've been there since the beginning. I remember the beginning of the eternal summer, and the gradual decline that came after. One of my first jobs was actually 3rd shift help desk for a regional dial-up ISP. The people that called were mostly drunk southerner's who, at the time, seemed hopelessly non-technical. Looking back I now see that any…

Well, of course it's the people. I started online in '94 and it was exclusively the territory of nerds for a long while, even as everyday folks started to use the web and email for basic things. Truly, we should appreciate having places like Hacker News for still giving us a place to post like we always used to...

Plenty of forums still do exist, but I wonder about their future as we age out. Car forums in particular were absolute godsends for amateur mechanics - not just to look up info but to ask a self-selected group of interested folks who were happy to help for free out of a sense of community for fellow fans of their brand.

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#856

Post by TuringTest »

stinkbeetle wrote: post #830
TuringTest wrote: post #670

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

I have read the full conversation, and you're still failing to recognize how the original post has a valid point. You have admitted yourself that you create online accounts without gender identification, so your own experience is different from women that do create gendered accounts.

It was never the point that it's possible to go online without recieving such ubiquitous abuse, which is what you suggest women should do. You have still not acknowledged that such high level of abuse can be dangerous, not merely for the mental health problems but for the real possibility of being stalked in the real world. That way, you're just reinforcing the point you tried to deny, which is that it's hard for men to understand such abuse without having experienced it first hand.

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#857

Post by pants2 »

ileonichwiesz wrote: post #851
pants2 wrote: post #799

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very well said! Probably also why social media has become so "fake" - back in the early days of Facebook, friends would talk to each other like friends. But after my religious aunt started seeing the comments I was leaving on a friend's pics, let's just say that stopped pretty quick. Now the only thing I would ever consider posting on Facebook is "What a beautiful day! Went for a great hike with my family and…

Very true! As I remember, Google+ was a step towards figuring out this issue - instead of a general Facebook-style „Friends” that includes all sorts of different people you know (or once knew), the idea was that you’d have multiple „circles” of acquaintances that you could post to separately: family, college friends, coworkers, etc. Of course that didn’t really pan out, and the social network itself collapsed under i…

Yeah I liked Google+, at the time Google had a much better reputation though, if they hadn't shut it down then they did Google+ would probably be fully enshittified by now!

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#858

Post by Eisenstein »

hermitcrab wrote: post #852
mchaver wrote: post #835

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a small software business, do you have other approaches to ads?

I spend a small amount on Adwords and that is pretty much it. I gave up on Bing PPC. Facebook Ads aren't suitable for my market. Linked Ads ar too expensive. I tried Reddit Ads, but that was a disaster. See also: https://successfulsoftware.net/2025/12/22/is-the-golden-age-...

What about sites like bitsdujour? I get an email with deals from them every so often (that I subscribe to) and have spent money on licenses after finding software that I liked.

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#859

Post by stinkbeetle »

TuringTest wrote: post #856
stinkbeetle wrote: post #830

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I have read the full conversation, and you're still failing to recognize how the original post has a valid point. You have admitted yourself that you create online accounts without gender identification, so your own experience is different from women that do create gendered accounts. It was never the point that it's possible to go online without recieving such ubiquitous abuse, which is what you suggest women should…

No I'm not failing to at all. You are.

> I have read the full conversation, and you're still failing to recognize how the original post has a valid point. You have admitted yourself that you create online accounts without gender identification, so your own experience is different from women that do create gendered accounts.

The assertion was that women find posting on the internet too dangerous. Not that they find it too dangerous when using gendered names. See, you haven't even followed the first thing!

Nevermind the fact that the entire idiotic assertion is obviously invalidated by all the countless women who do post on the internet, and with gendered names even. For the ones who don't post or don't use gendered names it's not "danger" that drives the choice. Annoyance, disgust, unsolicited attention, whatever it is. No need to make things up, or make stupid claims like "men can't understand", it doesn't help anybody.

Every single assertion made (without evidence) is trivially false.

And finally, disagreeing and debating something is not "reinforcing" the assertions that it's too dangerous for women to post on the internet, that's just stupid. And by continuing to argue with me you're just reinforcing that you're an angry racist misogynist.

See how stupid that is?

Re: Google is dead. Where do we go now?

#860

Post by tomjuggler »

For posterity, if anyone can ever find this comment amongst all the others:

We went with Instagram ads, where we have the most followers. The result: 4 paid bookings in 48 hours - all confirmed leads from the new Instagram ad campaign.

Blog post updated.

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