I've had it with google - enMarmitetification.

Sorry mods, I realise the title contains a variation of the poo word, but there's no substitute in this case. Anyone reading knows how to fix the link below too.

We're mostly oldies here and even the younger of us aren't so old they don't remember the early days of the internet - you know, when you searched for knowledge and found it rather that pages of links selling things connected to a single words of your search but no scholarly articles.

Google used to be ok to begin with but it's just gone so far now that it's nothing more than ad space primarily for it's paying customers. Even searching images mostly returns images from it's paying advertisers. It's developing it's AI "a tool that won't show you what you ask for, but rather, what it thinks you should see". It's already happened to a huge degree IME but will get worse.

There's a word for this EnMarmitetification. I kid you not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EnMarmitetification. Hook the users, hook the advertisers then screw them both. The link is a good read.

It describes "Platform decay" and frankly gives me hope for sites like TLB that don't sit between users and sellers.

Amazon is worse - In 2023, 45% of the sale price of items went to Amazon in the form of various fees. Greedy grabbers eh?

Anyway, back to google. Any recommendations for search engines that might be less commercially orientated? Not much point googling that one I suspect!

 

That is spookily weird as I'm having a similar Amazon issue with Duckduckgo. This a a goodish search engine and it still is as you don't get targeted adds, but it is pushing more and more Amazon results.

Searching for an answer to this I got a Google solution but not duckduckgo

By all accounts if you add the following to your search it removes the site

-site:*amazon.co.uk

 

It's not one particular advertiser, it's the fact that searching for actual info is not possible anymore because ALL the results are retailers or if not retailers they are paid (and paying) reviewers. Nothing particularly set me off today, it's a trend that's been growing for many years but it's tipped over the edge now.

To be fair, I'm often looking for stuff I do want to buy but here again - you're offered the paying/sponsoring retailers when it's likely one that isn't playing the game might be right around the corner. e.g. if I searched for musical instrument shops it'll show me a local map with such highlighted, but it does not show several shops I know exist and have websites and all that, they're just not paying google money.

 

I don’t seem to have any of these problems. Have you been on the ad settings? The only ads I seem to get, is on YouTube, half way through something, tbh.

 

Google search anything, you get a bunch of links to retailers, it's how google works, it's not just me.
Funny - I never see any ads on Youtube!

 

I’ll try…

 

There. I just put in socket sets, as it’s the first thing I thought of, then *click*, *click* *click*, socket sets. Didn’t get any ads. Is that what you mean?

 

All those results are links to retailers, there's no link to general info about sockets sets is there? - just "come to my shop and buy a socket set" links. Google is a shop directory favouring retailers who give them money for the privilege of being near the top of the results.

 

I just randomly googled "sparrow". You'd expect at least one link to be information about the bird? Try it - pages of restaurant ads and reviews, nothing about dicky birds whatsoever.

 

What did you expect searching for socket sets? Might be a Wikipedia entry, but what else is there to display, apart from details of folk who sell them?

 

Tried the same, and got tons of bird-related stuff. You must have something weird in your settings.

 

I just tried that search on both G and DDG and both gave loads of sites with general info on sparrows with very few links to retailers....you've been doing too much shopping Steve, they want your money

 

Maybe you have a history of purchasing sparrows that you're not telling anyone about..

 

I thought I'd stay with the avian theme - cockney sparrow got me @Barry Haynes, but Budgie Smuggler also got me @Barry Haynes

Disturbing.

 

Take a screenshot please, I believe you but I'd love to see it.
AHAH! I generally type into the address box and google was deciding to add the word "italia" to my search. Got rid of that and I get real sparrows.
My point remains, I guess there isn't much business selling sparrows, I'll have to think of a better example.

 

Were you previously searching for "Hot Italian Sparrows" ?

 

I think personally, Google is searching up socket sets for you to find a brand you fancy, then it’s down to you to put that brand back into Google and you will probably get a review page of it, or a video review on YouTube of the brand you chose. Thats how it works, old boy.

 

But I think @Barry Haynes and budgies will be on a specific specialty gentleman’s site…

 

When you're shopping yes. What if you're NOT shopping?
Actually I give up, you don't even want to understand, you're just posting for the sake of posting as usual.