Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 187 posts

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#141

Post by ricardo81 »

nycdatasci wrote: post #11
skilled wrote: post #3

Honestly, bravo at BBC for whoever green-lighted this story. It puts the finger right on where it hurts for small publishers and illustrates Googles new way of thinking. I am sad but also frightened for small creators and those who simply share interesting information once in a while. Google is bulldozing these people away from anywhere near the AI answers or the ten blue links below it. The article didn’t mention it…

This was inevitable. Traditional search is an inefficient way to access information in a world with large AI models. Google is being forced to do this due to competition from openAI, meta.ai, perplexity, etc.

It is a bit surreal that you describe sucking up the world's information and spitting it out via a commercial entity and to you as a search result as 'inefficient'.

Perhaps it's more inefficient for all those content creators to bother creating anything vs what you actually derive from the search result, especially if they're not attributed/compensated.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#142

Post by jb3689 »

throwaway211 wrote: post #28

Two big reasons people add Reddit to search phrases is because Reddit's search isn't functional and to deprioritise Ad Junk from search. It's to fix broken search, which gets more broken - more unwanted Ad Junk. But Google's an advertising company with it's ad search device in everyone's pocket. At least it's reached sufficient post-don't-be-evil to be honestly shameless, even if it does employ people in PR with brok…

It's odd. How did search engines trick us into thinking that our home page should be a search engine? The only reason I add "reddit" to searches is because a search engine is my entrypoint on my browser. Even then though, I find that Google tends to pin a particular threads. The most humorous ones are when it pins to a thread with "this has been asked already a zillion times" with no actual meaningful content in the particular thread.

Google search was never really good at finding meaningful opinions in the first place. Facts? Reference? Pretty good. Meaningful tradeoff analysis of non-academic subjects? Product rankings and reviews? Opinions? Really poor.

It's odd that Google decided to cannibalize the things it was good at. Finding recipes, for example, is terrible through Google because of the emphasis on SEO at the expense of user experience. AI search results are simply Google opting to make itself less relevant.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#143

Post by Hates_ »

p3rls wrote: post #124
neilv wrote: post #120

> A spokesperson for Google tells the BBC that the company only launches changes to Search after rigorous testing confirms that the shift will be helpful for users, and that the company gives website owners help, resources and opportunities for feedback on their Search rankings. When I got an Android tablet, I downloaded some of those free-to-play games in which you build bases and vehicles in a multiplayer world. An…

Nah, bribe a NYTimes writer at the beginning of your niches trajectory into the mainstream. That's how they did it in my niche and still making a half million a year almost a decade later. For reference the shocked SEO writer who found the site, but these guys never figure out just how it was done. https://x.com/paulk139/status/1550532282288508929 Why build something that takes work at all in this environment?

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1550532282288508929.html

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#144

Post by renegat0x0 »

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #56
rsolva wrote: post #40

We need to make bookmarks a common way to access the web again! So many people use Google or other search engines to access even the most basic sites, instead of storing a bookmark or typing out the whole URL. I have used a simple bookmarking strategy in Firefox for some years now, simply storing everything and anything I suspect I might want to retrieve later. I give each bookmark a few quick keywords and store it a…

Yeah, and, along the same lines, directories should perhaps also make a comeback -- like the old Yahoo! Directory or DMOZ. Just a carefully curated and organized list of trusted sites that are made and managed by humans and for humans. Unlike, say, DMOZ, the directory of the future should be easier to navigate and incorporate "modern" features -- and it should also be easily searchable. (All sites on the directory ar…

I have been collecting personal sites for some time. Format JSON files. Links have tag 'personal'.

https://github.com/rumca-js/Internet-Places-Database

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#145

Post by balder1991 »

rjh29 wrote: post #126
jayski wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is the only social network I use. They're really dropping the ball by not having a fantastic search tool. I know search is a difficult problem, but with the kind of budget and engineering power they have it has to be solvable.

There's no money in it. It's expensive in both compute and storage to provide the tool, and they want most users to just be mindlessly consuming the front page or popular subreddits.

That’s my issue with Reddit nowadays. Most subreddits content is just the same question thrown over and over, and Reddit nowadays changes the home page to be just random algorithm selected stuff. And now I don’t have a choice to use Apollo anymore.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#146

Post by crucialfelix »

machiaweliczny wrote: post #47
rsolva wrote: post #40

We need to make bookmarks a common way to access the web again! So many people use Google or other search engines to access even the most basic sites, instead of storing a bookmark or typing out the whole URL. I have used a simple bookmarking strategy in Firefox for some years now, simply storing everything and anything I suspect I might want to retrieve later. I give each bookmark a few quick keywords and store it a…

How about social features like sharing bookmarks or having curated list for specific subjects When I want to share bookmark folder for other collegues I have to go trough hoops (at least on chrome)

That's what https://del.icio.us/ was. It was very social in the best sense of the word.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#147

Post by beej71 »

beretguy wrote: post #102
Kye wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I try to live my values, so I can't use it. It's a rare case where I really do have a choice.

If you value paying money for a good product I’d say kagi is the answer. It is definitely worth its cost if you can afford it.

One metareason to pay for Kagi is to demonstrate to the business world that there's a market for paid, quality search.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#148

Post by orev »

jayski wrote: post #46
throwaway211 wrote: post #28

Two big reasons people add Reddit to search phrases is because Reddit's search isn't functional and to deprioritise Ad Junk from search. It's to fix broken search, which gets more broken - more unwanted Ad Junk. But Google's an advertising company with it's ad search device in everyone's pocket. At least it's reached sufficient post-don't-be-evil to be honestly shameless, even if it does employ people in PR with brok…

Reddit is the only social network I use. They're really dropping the ball by not having a fantastic search tool. I know search is a difficult problem, but with the kind of budget and engineering power they have it has to be solvable.

Reddit benefits from having bad search because it increases engagement with the site. If you can’t find it by searching, people start a new post, even if it’s just rehashing something that’s been discussed 100s of times before. The new post brings new comments, and more page views. There’s also a user benefit as the information has less chance to become outdated (a new discussion might bring new information, avoiding the Stack Overflow problem).

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#149

Post by EasyMark »

tmccrary55 wrote: post #110
jayski wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is the only social network I use. They're really dropping the ball by not having a fantastic search tool. I know search is a difficult problem, but with the kind of budget and engineering power they have it has to be solvable.

I've been switching to Lemmy. It's like Reddit but not owned by a public corp. Reddit still has more users but Lemmy is more like old school distributed web, not just an ad product pushed by coked out MBA accountants.

It's reddit-like BUT it doesn't have the same mass adoption and that's why I go to reddit. I don't have time to be a saint and help their numbers, so I just go to reddit and read what I want. Really HN is the only SM platform that I actually participate both ways with. I just read thing on other SM sites to catch up with friends or topics (like reddit). Comments there are mostly a trash heap but on something you want to know about you can find a gold nugget every now and then.

Re: Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

#150

Post by EasyMark »

zarathustreal wrote: post #119
yreg wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, search is the least of reddit's problems since it is easily worked around by using a search engine. The changes to the API pricing were the final nail in the coffin for me, but the content has been going downhill for a decade anyway.

Reddit is a cesspool, at least the standard subreddits. It’s worse than Twitter. It also has a moderation culture that kind of promotes toxic traits and petty power trips. Used to be pretty good for finding niche info, but most of it for my uses was deleted back when everyone left. Can’t imagine still using Reddit nowadays

I find decent info in plenty of subs, you just have to stay away from the front page/popular subs, Especially the comments in those items. Total garbage full of people ranting. I give it a go a couple times a year but nothing ever changes. Just people raging at each other.
Post reply on HN