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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?

#691

Post by Flere-Imsaho »

mikestorrent wrote: post #481
cookiengineer wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a very interesting discussion with a friend today, where I was talking to her about the /r/golang thread about Rob Pike's comments to OpenAI and how the thread was full of bots talking with other bots. No idea why the density of bots was so high in that thread, it was kind of absurd to see. Then she said: "I know nobody that comments on online forums. Nobody would ever comment to strangers on the internet. It's…

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.

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

#693

Post by pankajdoharey »

SunshineTheCat wrote: post #61

I recently took someone to go and watch a hockey game. Been a little while but I personally played as a goalie myself. The person kept making the comment that she couldn't see/find the puck and it made it frustrating to watch. As a goalie, not being able to see the puck is pretty normal (especially with big bodies trying to screen you). What I told her was that what matters a lot more than where the puck is, is where…

Google is far from dead we need grounding of truth, and from what i hear they already have perplexity like answer engine in testing internally.

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

#694

Post by tonyedgecombe »

tsunamifury wrote: post #259
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a feeling that it is mostly unsophisticated advertisers bidding up the price of AdWords.

As someone who leads large parts of ad tech for TikTok and worked at Google for 10 years, it’s the K shaped economy that is pressing SMBs out. Pure and simple Everyone can make up some complex theories but I see it in the numbers every day. Spend distribution is now k shaped and SMBs simply can’t compete at top end performance levels.

There is probably an element of truth in that however when I looked at the people who outbid me on keywords half were selling high value products where they had enough margin to make it viable. The other half seemed to be spaffing their money up the wall.

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

#695

Post by LunaSea »

tsunamifury wrote: post #333
LunaSea wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the K shape only affect targeting of affluent users that are desirable to luxury brands?

Think through the net margins of the bottom of the K left to them. And then the spend against their own K economy on the business side.

Makes sense, thanks

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

#696

Post by Flere-Imsaho »

perardi wrote: post #311
Sharlin wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only Discord weren't so incredibly bloated and full of stupid features aimed at 14-year-old gamers.

Ugh. Sigh. My rugby team uses Discord for chat and announcements. It feels…gross…inappropriate…it feels weird to use a UI covered in green gamer UI slime. https://imgur.com/a/eoa8arH

"Content Not Available Content not available in your region.

Learn more about Imgur access in the United Kingdom"

God I hate the modern internet.

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

#697

Post by falcor84 »

SR2Z wrote: post #394
falcor84 wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest boneheaded decision from my perspective was their taking over the + prefix in Google search (to filter for results that have this term verbatim). That just positioned G+ as my enemy and I had a strong desire for it to die. Unfortunately, they didn't bring back the prefix even after it died. Quotes around a term do something similar, but I am still angry.

I think that change happened well after G+ was dead

I just found this October 2011 post reporting about this change as it happened (4 months after G+'s launch in June 2011):

https://waxy.org/2011/10/google_kills_its_other_plus/

According to Wikipedia, G+ usage kept growing from about 40M that October to 90M by the end of 2011 and then to hundreds of millions over the next few years, but the reporting methodology seems very inconsistent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B

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

#698

Post by lelanthran »

fairity wrote: post #125

Surprised to see this upvoted because the takeaway is completely incorrect, and based on the anecdotal evidence of one advertiser. As someone who spends seven figures every month on Google ads, what’s much more likely to be happening here is that the individual advertiser is either getting outcompeted or they’re executing ads poorly. Google ads revenue in the US continues to grow every quarter. And, since advertisers…

> As someone who spends seven figures every month on Google ads, what’s much more likely to be happening here is that the individual advertiser is either getting outcompeted or they’re executing ads poorly.

Outcompeted by who??? He's a performer offering local entertainment. I highly doubt that people searching for "entertainer in durban" are getting ads for Cirque du Soleile.

His ad is probably on the first page for that search term; the problem is more likely that no one is looking at that first page anymore.

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

#699

Post by wiesbadener »

tomjuggler wrote: post #128
mattmaroon wrote: post #90

I work in private events and the answer is definitely Facebook. Facebook ads have been better for quite some time. Targeting is a harder but also the CPCs are a lot lower so you can spray and pray a bit more.

Thanks, we tried them before but many years have passed and things have changed. Our new Instagram campaign just bore fruit in the first hour (4 WhatsApp enquiries with $1.50 spent!), will be looking at FB also

I was intrigued to see this trending, because it seems to contradict what Google has been saying on earnings calls.

It also made me wonder if this reflects conditions for individuals / SMEs rather than large corporate accounts. And I didn’t expect the story to come out of Durban - I would’ve guessed the US.

I haven't been to Durban lately, but my understanding is that the broader SA economy has been under pressure (high unemployment, etc.), and that can hit smaller/local businesses first. So it could simply be a rough patch for your market right now.

That said, if you’re seeing campaigns picking up on other platforms, you might be onto something, at least for your niche.

Looking at your website/content: you’re selling an experience, and this seems like a product that really benefits from strong visual marketing. Make it easy for someone new to "get it" in the first 10 seconds.

Three ideas: 1) Ride local trends: build demos around what’s currently hot in SA/Durban and showcase that with the Magicpods in short, punchy videos. 2) Consider adjacent use cases: beyond magic shows, this could be compelling for advertising, especially at conventions (e.g., ICC). That might be a natural expansion path if event bookings are slowing. 3) Try Airbnb Experiences, or local platforms, like daddysdeals.co.za :-)

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

#700

Post by lelanthran »

akoboldfrying wrote: post #329
mmmBacon wrote: post #117

I think Google’s search and ad business are at risk. Search has become such a mess that it’s become harder and harder to use to find quality results. It reminds me of Yahoo before Google in a way. I’m using ChatCPT or equivalent for 60% of my searches. The remaining 40% is just muscle memory. Of that 40% about half the time I regret using Google search due to the difficulty of finding the relevant result. I can see s…

You don't think putting ads in Gemini output has crossed Google's mind? I've never understood the "AI is eating search! Google is dead!" theory. The specific mechanism (whether that be keyword search, LLM conversation or something else) by which users describe their needs to a company doesn't matter , all that matters is that (a) the company makes that mechanism available for free, (b) it does a good job of satisfyin…

> You don't think putting ads in Gemini output has crossed Google's mind?

What do you think the mandatory youtube link in every conversation is, if not a link to an ad?

They have successfully monetised chatbot AI, while no one else has.

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