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Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

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Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#151

Post by eimrine »

mrweasel wrote: post #120
baggachipz wrote: post #13

Google is so unbearable because they are no longer interested in you finding the answer to your query; they're interested in selling your query and its context to the highest bidder. That conflict of interest manifests in what Google has become.

There are only two choices. Either Google are no longer interested in finding the best answers to your queries. Or as you point out: They don't care, that is no longer what they do. I cannot imagine it being easy, but I find it hard to believe that Google aren't able to weed out the worst offenders. For a large number of queries the results are all SEO spam. Try searching for anything related to health and get a usef…

> Try searching for anything related to health and get a useful result. It's no longer possible.

Medicine researching on the internets always was among the hardest topics. And anyone who really understands Medicine has to write on any advice not to consider it as a real medical advice... I agree that google has degraded down to unusable in comparison to non-global searchable websites (like SO) but Medicine is very bad example to your point.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#153

Post by darinf »

prox wrote: post #92
verve_rat wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be so sure. I bet there is a viable business in selling a quality search engine. Maybe not dominate the market, take over the world, but not every thing has to be that.

Every month I see my user experience decline with Google, in so much a paid search solution would be a blessing. Imagine a search engine that truly is private, containerized search and does not need to sell you anything. It only wants to serve you true relevance and accuracy. That engine also skips over all monetized sites that serve more than 5-10% ads. Prefers cookieless sites. That search engine would be bliss.

Working on much of this at Neeva. We have a free tier, no ads cluttering the results. Just focused on the user experience. We also offer a premium tier for those who are keen to support us.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#154

Post by metabagel »

metabagel wrote: post #147
rglullis wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The millions of people that write and produce content without being tied to this Protestant mentality that something is only worth doing if it is profitable. In fact, I'd wager that if we had a way to filter for content that is written without the goal of being monetized, we'd have a better web and us consumers would be more inclined to reward and give back to the creators generously.

The Kagi search engine which is close to entering public beta has lenses which tailor the search experience. There is a non-commercial lens. The lenses are basically on or off all the time and affect the overall search results.

I just realized that Kagi has a !hn option which will search hacker news.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#155

Post by darinf »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #118
Beltiras wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I might be a target audience for them and willing to pay a nominal fee monthly for good search I'm quite sure there isn't a market for it.

I am using their beta search service. It does seem nice enough. I am not sure yet how it compares with DDG, but I am probably going to sign up as a paying customer.

DDG is just repackaged Bing with their own ads inserted.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#156

Post by pbz »

baremetal wrote: post #80
pbz wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't matter what new model you come up with. As long as capitalism is around and pushing for ever increasing profits this kind of behavior will always be on the menu.

do you have a solution or are you just upset about capitalism?

I'm not upset nor do I have a solution; I'm just pointing out the model/problem.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#157

Post by BLanen »

The reason that cookies are not a browser setting is NOT because of a technical limitation. Besides, if it was a browser setting, I would hope most people would have default "no, you can't store cookies except for the functional ones" and not "yes, store a thousand tracking cookies".

It is because of a power issue.

It would have to be a protocol change. Google owns the largest browser. Google doesn't want it to be a browser setting. End of story. Unless you gather political power to force google and others to have this, it will not change.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#158

Post by kwertyoowiyop »

bayareabadboy wrote: post #144

Has anyone else noticed a significant uptick in negative posts about google search lately? Is this because it’s gotten noticeably worse recently or it’s trendy to complain about? Thinking over the last six months or so.

We are all frogs who have noticed the water is getting pretty warm.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#159

Post by darinf »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #115
baggachipz wrote: post #13

Google is so unbearable because they are no longer interested in you finding the answer to your query; they're interested in selling your query and its context to the highest bidder. That conflict of interest manifests in what Google has become.

I think a subscription model could succeed for a niche group of people if the price was right, and the quality was good enough. Also, I think Google could make a ton of money if they sold one ad per language at a time. As in, for the next 5 minutes the ad for all English speaking users will be for coca-cola, and then it will be for boscovs. Just like TV ads. That is to say, a search engine could sell advertising with…

$5 / mo for a premium Neeva subscription or just use the free tier to experience ad-free search focused on the user. I left Google to join Neeva so I could be part of building a better search experience for people. Check us out. Would love feedback.

Re: Why Google is so unbearable, and how to fix it

#160

Post by schleck8 »

coverslide wrote: post #141
bstar77 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm using Google less and less in favor of Youtube. It's not always convenient to get answers in video form, but I'm finding it's better for more involved answers. Also, google is just littered with Answers/Quora/StackOverflow/etc dodgy clones that make searching questions a nightmare.

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