If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell as an Ex-BBC (worker! never made it to SM1!) - it is very concerning... and sadly marks a near complete move from media to a tech firm which I think is wrong. Tech is a tool, not the raison d'etre.
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell "Whether and when they deploy it is a separate question, but the direction is unmistakable – your website may soon be optional." I hope never! However: "If there’s one insight we all need to focus on most, it’s this: your job is no longer to build a destination. It’s to build a parts library."

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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell@mastodon.social FUCK GOOGLE! Use another search engine!
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell "Don't be evil" When they removed that from their company policies it was clear that this will end up badly.
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@mariafarrell@mastodon.social FUCK GOOGLE! Use another search engine!
@jaypeach53 I (have the means to) pay for Kagi and I really love it.
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@mariafarrell "Whether and when they deploy it is a separate question, but the direction is unmistakable – your website may soon be optional." I hope never! However: "If there’s one insight we all need to focus on most, it’s this: your job is no longer to build a destination. It’s to build a parts library."

@connynasch I mean, it's not my effing "job" to build stuff for Google, let alone a parts library, because they don't bloody pay me!
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell Yeah, I also just wrote about it earlier: https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/116283811297850580
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@mariafarrell as an Ex-BBC (worker! never made it to SM1!) - it is very concerning... and sadly marks a near complete move from media to a tech firm which I think is wrong. Tech is a tool, not the raison d'etre.
@dianshuo Yes. a category error. It just feels like such a fail-state and very now-in-the-UK decision to make. Aligned with making an ex amazon exec the chair of the competition authority. And the 'grown ups' doing it seem to think it's such a smart move, rather than an admission of abject failure and dereliction of their moral duty. It is demoralising that the exact same decisions US tech-worship are made under this government as the last.
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@mariafarrell Yeah, I also just wrote about it earlier: https://mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/116283811297850580
@toxi oh this is fascinating and informative. thank you.
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@jaypeach53 I (have the means to) pay for Kagi and I really love it.
@mariafarrell@mastodon.social idk, I use DuckDuckGo despite them using Bing data. Have been using DDG for about 5 years now. Started weaning myself off Google when they dropped the “Don’t Be Evil” motto. What’s a good video platform in the fediverse? YouTube is next.
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell To me, this simplifies things:
-- Build for accessibility, not SEO. (Since 98% of SEO rules are Google's demands.)
-- Tell people that google.com now just searches Gemini, not the web. Use another search engine. -
@mariafarrell@mastodon.social idk, I use DuckDuckGo despite them using Bing data. Have been using DDG for about 5 years now. Started weaning myself off Google when they dropped the “Don’t Be Evil” motto. What’s a good video platform in the fediverse? YouTube is next.
@jaypeach53 yes, I used ddg myself for a few years before switching largely to kagi. like you I don't love the bing connection but it's a decent free search engine, though now annoyingly you have to constantly repeat that you don't want AI "summaries", every few searches.
for non-youtube video, I can't remember just now the good alternatives, blame my middle-aged post-covid brain! but follow @_elena who's great on them (and much more).
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell Normie herę. Also not an artist. Calling us normies is cutesy at best, pejorative at worst. Jargon further confuses and alienates people. It's not that people won't care. Hope my picture explains it better than my words.

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@jaypeach53 yes, I used ddg myself for a few years before switching largely to kagi. like you I don't love the bing connection but it's a decent free search engine, though now annoyingly you have to constantly repeat that you don't want AI "summaries", every few searches.
for non-youtube video, I can't remember just now the good alternatives, blame my middle-aged post-covid brain! but follow @_elena who's great on them (and much more).
@mariafarrell @jaypeach53 @_elena
Chiming in to say, there's a "no ai" version of DuckDuckGo. How long they'll keep it, no one knows, but you can set it up as a custom search engine and use it by default then.
Search string URL: https: // noai.duckduckgo.com /%s
Search suggestion API (optional): https: // ac.duckduckgo.com /ac/?q==%s&type=list
(remove spaces)
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell
Also someone from Meta in Ofcom?You couldn't make it up.
Palantir (in the book controlled by Sauron and corrupted most that tried to use them) entwined in the State. Madness.
Certainly "blue" Labour and more right wing than Thatcher. They didn't win last time, it was more that the Tories lost.
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@mariafarrell@mastodon.social FUCK GOOGLE! Use another search engine!
@jaypeach53 @mariafarrell
Qwant isn't too bad. -
RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell There's nothing new, in dominant companies squashing anything else. With computer companies it was already the same with IBM, and then Microsoft and Apple, which still do the same today, along with the newcomers of the 2000s.
They all, always, prevaricated with the arrogance of those with money, adding from time to time the cosmetic appeal of open source funders, or bogus civil rights defenders. -
RE: https://mastodon.social/@SteveRudolfi/116279083767770070
If one definition of evil is its wanton destruction of everything that is good and whole in the world, then Google is an active agent of evil.
It is setting out to destroy the world wide web and steal the livelihood of everyone who builds and depends on the web.
I honestly don't know how to mobilise normies to care about and stop this evil. It probably seems too niche and incremental until it's too late.
Oh yeah, and in the UK an ex-Google exec is now running the BBC. . .
@mariafarrell Obviously this is horrible, evil and shit...
... but, I wonder if this sort of bullshittery just ends up splitting the internet. Normies consuming what google injects into their eyes and the others enjoying stuff like The Web Revival stuff.
After Discord started to make noises about the age verification stuff, I had enough, deleted my account, installed a IRC client, found a couple of nice servers and channels and I have been having a blast. There's so many people who do self hosting, have silly websites powered by solar panels that sometimes drop off because its cloudy, have stupid neocities websites with flame backgrounds and visitor counters. Wonderful stuff like that.
I've been thinking of building one of those early-mid 2000's forums. I miss those. I just need to learn how to do... everything.
For me, google can do whatever the fuck they want and the morons can follow them. I'll be in my little corner of the internet with people. Not in reddit with bots.
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@mariafarrell I don't understand why people use Google. It never gets you what you are looking for.
@3rdi @mariafarrell Google spends a large amount of money every year to keep you from thinking about switching. Browsers stick the function in the back of the settings so you don't think about it. But don't assume it's just a Google problem. I mean would MS do this if they could? Sure. And the linked article mainly talks about the context of commercial websites, websites trying to sell you shit, which is what drives Google's ad money, so that seems fair. If Google just ruined the part of the web that's there to sell you shit, maybe we could live with that. But of course, eventually it will intrude everywhere.
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@mariafarrell Normie herę. Also not an artist. Calling us normies is cutesy at best, pejorative at worst. Jargon further confuses and alienates people. It's not that people won't care. Hope my picture explains it better than my words.

@coleenwalter @mariafarrell
I don't understand your comic - is the elitist is handing the protester a sign so they can protest against elitism?