You noticed how google search became unusably shit a few years ago

[radioazureus@mastodon.social]

@ocean

DuckDuckGo is smooth sailing in searches

@nixCraft

[jackemled@furry.engineer]

@ocean This is really strange. Do people who notice it has gotten even worse than Bing stay on Google anyway? Or do that few people notice?

[jackemled@furry.engineer]

@TerrorBite @aetios @ocean I've already found a new one & it has quickly become my favorite. My current conspiracy theory is that everything will be ok.

[quantillion@mstdn.io]

@ocean
This has been the case for decades.
It's one of the reasons I have all of Ggl's URLs uBlocked (+ Privacy Badger).
There are several alternatives. I generally use StartPage & I see no ads.

[urban_hermit@mstdn.social]

@HeptaSean @Paradox @ocean I use a search engine in two ways: 1.) basic information like how to spell a word (auto correct on my phone is crap now - ef Google). For that even the Google AI answer is good enough. Or, 2.) Very specific information on a specific thing that is uncommon. For that Google is crap and ignores specific words in your search so it can produce more common results that it has sold more advertising for. Now even if I use quotes results still favor the 'common' answer.

[oneupthextraman@kind.social]

@ocean I use Bing.

[jackemled@furry.engineer]

@prisixia @ocean @Stellar No libraries anymore, at least not in the USA. Libraries are also much slower to update information & don't have the obscure topics alot of people look up, such as how to install pyssnshit (everyone's favorite python script), or the history of the use of sewing machines in Australia. Any libraries that are still operational are going to be horrifically underfunded & not even have a card index to search them with, & with certain governments restricting access to certain written knowledge (Germany 1940s, USA 2020s), alot of very important things that libraries have are about to disappear. Libraries may have been the backup plan when the Internet failed at one point, but now the Internet is the backup plan for libraries failing, but the most important parts of the Internet are failing at the same time. I have not heard well of libraries in other countries either. For most places in the world it may be fine, but for many they aren't a solution.

[paradox@raru.re]

@Urban_Hermit
I think my confusion stems from the idea that, to blame Google for such shortcomings, is to think that the information exists somewhere and to fail to find it the way you always have.
If I'm searching up something obscure and don't get good results, I consider that normal. Maybe it doesn't exist, or maybe I'm not asking the question right. Smarter people than me have struggled to dig up very obscure info.

[jeanniewarner@wandering.shop]

@ocean This observation of horse results is why many of us talk to using Google as a search engine more than 5 years ago. I'm not sure what year they started to let you pay to have your pages come up higher, but that was the end for many of us.

[urban_hermit@mstdn.social]

@HeptaSean @Paradox @ocean Example: I was very sick recently and it is very obvious, for the second time in a year, that my sinuses got packed with thin mucus AFTER I tried to use acetaminophen to break the fever and clear the headache. It made my cold 500x worse and 3x longer. It was literally dangerous in how bad it affected my breathing and sleep, but I can't find information about this because results are drowned out with mundane information.

[paradox@raru.re]

@Urban_Hermit
There are many pages discussing that, although personally I'd reach for an antihistamine first. I'm not sure why some recommend Tylenol, and I'm sorry that happened to you.

[sjb@mstdn.io]

@ocean Tried to find the source and got the relevant paragraph from the court document.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Google%20Search%20Engine%20Monopoly%20Ruling.pdf

[janetgrbr@mastodon.social]

@ocean No I haven't googled for many years, and I don't understand why people keep using it.

[myrmecofourmis@mastodon.social]

@ocean Also making it much harder for small quality websites like mine to still get traffic...

[earthlingusa@mas.to]

@svenjacobs @ocean @darwinwoodka Yes, if you need to do an internet search, Duck it.

[msbellows@c.im]

@ocean Holy shzt, that's evil:

""Since Google doesn't have any real competition, it can make the best information hard to find, forcing users to stay on Google for longer and interact with more ads....' The strategy appears to be working from a business perspective. The study suggests that poor organic search results actually benefit Google's bottom line in two ways: they make paid advertisements more valuable to users seeking accurate information, and they force users to refine their searches multiple
times, exposing them to more advertising in the process."

[aetherfox@mastodon.social]

@ocean Google has been in a downward spiral towards ever greater evil since they dropped "Don't be evil" as the company motto.

[maxfenton@mas.to]

@ocean Source?

[que@mastodon.au]

@raktheundead @ocean amazing article (also horrible)..
thanks for sharing.

[buds_always@mstdn.ca]

@ocean
I’m old enough to remember when people used to say “Google is your friend”. Enshittification is real and it’s on purpose.