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Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#21

Post by ceejayoz »

glcheetham wrote: post #18
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #14

It was inevitable, you gotta get the infite growth from somewhere. Ane the next move will +1 this and so on, until google becomes less attractive than leaner competition. Because of inertia, legacy and people benefitting from the status quo, they won't be able to correct course. This is textbook "how empire falls" and why things that seem indestructible eventually dies like anything else. This will be the mile stone…

If this harms their business then why would they keep doing it

Because it helps in the short term, and Wall Street doesn’t mind destroying companies over the long.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#22

Post by bombcar »

glcheetham wrote: post #18
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #14

It was inevitable, you gotta get the infite growth from somewhere. Ane the next move will +1 this and so on, until google becomes less attractive than leaner competition. Because of inertia, legacy and people benefitting from the status quo, they won't be able to correct course. This is textbook "how empire falls" and why things that seem indestructible eventually dies like anything else. This will be the mile stone…

If this harms their business then why would they keep doing it

Harms it long term, makes money short term.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#24

Post by mysterydip »

glcheetham wrote: post #15

They are changing their natural listing results to be multi media photos and video content will be prioritised on search results, it is going to be released in America first this month I believe They are also seeing the results will be far more varied and scrolling down will likely give you a result that you are looking for, and the traditional way of looking with the top result, being the one that you wanted may not…

> All of this will benefit content creators.

Could they do something to benefit the users instead?

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#25

Post by omgmajk »

That thing on the google.com page is really annoying. Google is probably trying this out but I am really hoping that this is some behind the scenes look at the fact that google might be a dying company and are grasping for straws. Not that I think that is really real, but because it would be glorious.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#26

Post by marcus_holmes »

glcheetham wrote: post #18
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #14

It was inevitable, you gotta get the infite growth from somewhere. Ane the next move will +1 this and so on, until google becomes less attractive than leaner competition. Because of inertia, legacy and people benefitting from the status quo, they won't be able to correct course. This is textbook "how empire falls" and why things that seem indestructible eventually dies like anything else. This will be the mile stone…

If this harms their business then why would they keep doing it

Say you're a decision-maker at Google (or Any Large Corp). You have a KPI to increase revenue by 5% this year. If you hit this KPI, then you get a bonus. If you get the bonus, then you can afford the thing that your partner has been wanting forever (or that will make your neighbours jealous, or whatever), and you get a happy life.

You know that doing X will harm the company in the long term (defined as anything past your likely tenure in this role, so usually 2 years max). But doing X will bump revenue in the short term, and get you your bonus and your happy life.

WDYD? Given that to get to a level where you have the power to make this decision, you had to have a particular personality type and set of priorities, it's extremely likely that you decide to do the thing that helps you and hurts everyone else.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#27

Post by brettdong »

Nephx wrote: post #7
pcsalad wrote: post #2

Have you seen this banner by yourself? Tried from a few different locations with no luck

Yep, Fitbit smartwatch ad for us in Sweden, no Chrome plugins (even shows up in incognito). Might be exclusive to a portion of users or locations.

Also see the Fitbit ad from Singapore.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#28

Post by cr3ative »

Annoyingly, the new tab page used to have an exclusion for these "announcements". The flag was removed.

I've ended up installing one of those "inspirational new tab page" extensions, just so I don't see an ad. I am sure that means someone else is siphoning my data.

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#29

Post by spoiler »

bertman wrote: post #23

This is not "unprecedented" at all, see e.g. here: https://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/lf9egy/comment/iivz...

I am not sure why you're being downvoted. Both the newtab (at the bottom of the page) and the search page have had subtle "ads" for google's new product launches. I remember seeing it for Stadia, and I remember seeing it for "Google One"

Re: Google has added ads on both its search page and Chrome://newtab

#30

Post by becquerel »

glcheetham wrote: post #18
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #14

It was inevitable, you gotta get the infite growth from somewhere. Ane the next move will +1 this and so on, until google becomes less attractive than leaner competition. Because of inertia, legacy and people benefitting from the status quo, they won't be able to correct course. This is textbook "how empire falls" and why things that seem indestructible eventually dies like anything else. This will be the mile stone…

If this harms their business then why would they keep doing it

You are assuming that capitalism pushes individual actors to act in their own best self-interest. It does not. It pushes people to serve capital
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