3 ms·

If you mean “conflation of what customers want and what companies need” that is another way to express “customer focus” If companies like Apple and Microsoft c

If you mean “conflation of what customers want and what companies need” that is another way to express “customer focus” If companies like Apple and Microsoft care about providing a great user experience, Google search is risky. I think users would prefer not to see ads when they search, or worry about Google harvesting their data. If this is so, it might be worth it to fund some sort of independent “search foundation.” I reckon a simple text-only search engine – like Google before it jumped the shark – would actually be quite cheap to develop and operate.

v7p1Qbt1im 7y ago
I can tell you from experience that everyday users don‘t care that much about seeing ads. Some even like them. They care even less about the possibility of manipulated results. It’s also a really big topic to explain. Besides the question of the funding of this hypothetical search engine. It being „fair and objective“ or even completely transparent about its ranking, would mean it‘d be SEO‘d into oblivion by everything from click/content farms to trolls to more nefarious actors. As long as many on the internet want to make money or manipulate people somehow it‘s not really doable in my opinion.
- charlesism 7y ago
  Am I doing your comment an injustice if I paraphrase it as follows?: - Ads do not adversely affect customer satisfaction. - The combined forces of Microsoft, Apple and others could not create a serviceable search engine (despite Microsoft alone having already made one). If not, let’s just agree to disagree :)
  - v7p1Qbt1im 7y ago
    Ads are looked at as either a nuisance and necessary evil or just a part of how the „free web“ pays for itself. I‘m sure they can. And, as you say, MS does already. supported with ads as well unless I‘m mistaken. Are you suggesting they offer a search engine and subsidize it. That they offer it as part of their ecosystem benefits, sort of?
    - charlesism 7y ago
      Yes, that’s what I was thinking. I can’t disagree that users tolerate ads, since advertising is the model of plenty successful websites. It’s just that, like bundled OS crapware, the user experience is better without it.

v7p1Qbt1im 7y ago

I can tell you from experience that everyday users don‘t care that much about seeing ads. Some even like them. They care even less about the possibility of manipulated results. It’s also a really big topic to explain. Besides the question of the funding of this hypothetical search engine. It being „fair and objective“ or even completely transparent about its ranking, would mean it‘d be SEO‘d into oblivion by everything from click/content farms to trolls to more nefarious actors. As long as many on the internet want to make money or manipulate people somehow it‘s not really doable in my opinion.

charlesism 7y ago
Am I doing your comment an injustice if I paraphrase it as follows?: - Ads do not adversely affect customer satisfaction. - The combined forces of Microsoft, Apple and others could not create a serviceable search engine (despite Microsoft alone having already made one). If not, let’s just agree to disagree :)
- v7p1Qbt1im 7y ago
  Ads are looked at as either a nuisance and necessary evil or just a part of how the „free web“ pays for itself. I‘m sure they can. And, as you say, MS does already. supported with ads as well unless I‘m mistaken. Are you suggesting they offer a search engine and subsidize it. That they offer it as part of their ecosystem benefits, sort of?
  - charlesism 7y ago
    Yes, that’s what I was thinking. I can’t disagree that users tolerate ads, since advertising is the model of plenty successful websites. It’s just that, like bundled OS crapware, the user experience is better without it.