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1. Aurorn+Nm[view] [source] 2023-07-20 15:44:18
>>pabs3+(OP)
> Nobody really expects to be able to find anything of value in a Google search now

This is a categorically false premise. The kind of statement that only makes sense when you're in a deep bubble and entirely removed from the average person's use of the internet.

Deliberately removing yourself from Google is fine for the author who is more concerned about taking an ideological stance than they are about being discoverable, but removing yourself from Google is terribly bad advice for anyone who wants to help people find their content.

Many people do use Google to find content and people, even if you don't.

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2. deltar+Ey[view] [source] 2023-07-20 16:29:39
>>Aurorn+Nm
>This is a categorically false premise

This is accurate, somewhat. A lot of people do expect to find things of value when the use Google to search.

But people who are more technical know it's a bit of a faff and bother to get Google to spit out what you're actually looking for, outside of "who is Chloe Grace Moretz" or something equally banal.

And Google-the-Company does treat the Internet like it is their corporate property. Alphabet won't change unless it's made to do so.

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3. Aurorn+8Q[view] [source] 2023-07-20 17:45:11
>>deltar+Ey
> But people who are more technical know it's a bit of a faff and bother to get Google to spit out what you're actually looking for, outside of "who is Chloe Grace Moretz" or something equally banal.

I typed "Joey Hess" into Google.

The author's blog pops up as the first result, presumably because it hasn't been deindexed yet. The first page of results also includes his GitHub and an HN comment talking about him that links me to his Patreon. The search results are, I would say, very relevant and very good.

I think these claims that Google is useless are coming from people who aren't even trying to use it.

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4. deltar+gS[view] [source] 2023-07-20 17:53:43
>>Aurorn+8Q
"Useless" isn't accurate, but "not nearly as good as it used to be" sure is. At least in my experience.

PageRank was brilliant, and worked as expected. It's now been superceded by... whatever is going on over in Googleland. Some of which isn't Google's fault, per se; the Internet is a lot bigger now than it was two decades ago. Some of it is. Their entire profit model depends on people using Google in a way orthogonal to "search and find and move on," as it was back in the 00s. People pay Google to game Google results. No corporation is going to overlook that.

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5. __loam+kP1[view] [source] 2023-07-20 22:48:08
>>deltar+gS
The problem with Google is people professionalizing gaming the algorithm because of the huge incentives to do so. I don't think it's Google's fault and I think the problem is hard or they would have fixed it.
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