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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

#41

Post by baggachipz »

Beltiras wrote: post #33
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 agree. What the search space needs is a different business model. I have no idea what it could be. I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. Micropayments have not taken off. How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business?

I've been using Kagi[1] in private beta; they plan to launch a subscription model very soon. I hope it works out.

[1] https://kagi.com/faq

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

#42

Post by nomilk »

martimarkov wrote: post #9
owlninja wrote: post #5

I get none of the same results as my top hit?

That's google's personalisation. I like freaking ppl out when I just ask them to google a famous politician's name and compare the results. Some times they get similar results on WiFi and very different on mobile data afterwards. Bringing awareness

The number of results can also vary wildly.

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

#43

Post by nikanj »

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.

Corollary: Web page creators are no longer interested in answering your query; they're interested in getting you to 1) view their page for ads 2) click on their affiliate links 3) buy the product they're selling.

Google has an impossible task in trying to answer a query like "Portable air mattress reviews", because 99.99999% of the results are SEO-optimized crap

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

#44

Post by Simon_O_Rourke »

It's the aggregate result of the sort of hiring they do in there. Take for example they rejected the guy who created homebrew because he couldn't invert a binary tree to the satisfaction of some jobsworth in there (1). It's jumped the shark and gone full on corporate bs, not because of any changes to what they do, but as a result of who's making the decisions in there these days.

(1) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15985775

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

#45

Post by Beltiras »

baggachipz wrote: post #41
Beltiras wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. What the search space needs is a different business model. I have no idea what it could be. I'm quite sure a subscription model would fail. Micropayments have not taken off. How can we fund meaningful search divorced from an ad business?

I've been using Kagi[1] in private beta; they plan to launch a subscription model very soon. I hope it works out. [1] https://kagi.com/faq

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.

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

#46

Post by toqy »

InitialLastName wrote: post #30
qgin wrote: post #18

Just add “Reddit” to the search string Reddit is what the internet used to be back when it was useful.

Nonfunctional on contemporary cell phones?

Works decent if you both have a powerful phone and sign in and disable the nag to download the app

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

#47

Post by welshwelsh »

dandare wrote: post #16

> Oh, and also, Miller is hiring if you’re interested in joining the team. I want to change my tire! Get off my back, and stop trying to make money off me for one second while I solve this tire crisis. So, you want someone to help you and you are pissed when they don't want to do it for free?

The problem is that there are people who have published free, no-bullshit guides on how to change a tire for the sake of spreading knowledge, and these results should be prioritized over businesses who have a profit motive.

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

#48

Post by einr »

fotta wrote: post #39
einr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good catch -- the Google result is actually on an .edu domain but it redirects to the link I pasted above.

yep, Google makes it hard to copy the original link too which is annoying

Sidetrack, but I can recommend the Firefox/Chrome extension "Don't Track Me Google" which cleans up Google result links to be the actual URL, without Google's tracking redirect.

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

#49

Post by lupire »

rglullis wrote: post #25
dandare wrote: post #16

> Oh, and also, Miller is hiring if you’re interested in joining the team. I want to change my tire! Get off my back, and stop trying to make money off me for one second while I solve this tire crisis. So, you want someone to help you and you are pissed when they don't want to do it for free?

No. We are not looking for hire someone to do a job. We just want to be able to search for content online without middlemen interjecting themselves in the hopes of monetizing the interaction.

And who do you expect will provide that content for you, for free?

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

#50

Post by diarrhea »

Aeolun wrote: post #22
qgin wrote: post #18

Just add “Reddit” to the search string Reddit is what the internet used to be back when it was useful.

Sort of, the huge subreddits are just as much a hellhole as the majority of google.

Sure, but you wouldn't search

    site:reddit.com/r/worldnews change a tyre
but rather (just an example)

    site:reddit.com/r/diy change a tyre
There are countless small(er) subreddits where a Google 'site:' search works wonderfully. Often, I don't specify a subreddit at all if the query itself is narrow enough.
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