4 ms·

Hm, this is not really news, but perhaps it's the first time I consciously think about it. The article is right. I used to search Google for what the best X is

by zwaps 5y ago

Hm, this is not really news, but perhaps it's the first time I consciously think about it. The article is right. I used to search Google for what the best X is. At some point. Indeed, I also used to search amazon and read the reviews. Now, and for what feels like a while, I am not doing that anymore. Like, at all. And this is not a decision I consciously made. If I want to know what the best dishwasher is, I am not going to amazon. I am not putting it into Google, simply because it's all affiliate links all the way down. I either read professional reviews (like non-profit and established test companies, like Warentest here in Germany) or I ask the community somewhere. Google and Amazon have conditioned me to subconsciously not use them anymore for that purpose. Very interesting.

RandomLensman 5y ago
Buried in there is also the fact that getting good and reliable information might indeed not be cheap (could be paid for by the public/donors if it is a non-profit, but still costs). In the earlier days of the web and search that was not so much the case, I reckon. For example, a lot more paywalls than 10 years ago.
Robotbeat 5y ago
I use Reddit a lot for this. But this is an arms race with SEOs and bots. Eventually Reddit will probably be worthless for this.
- lolsal 5y ago
  What makes you think what you're reading on reddit is not already socially engineered advertisements and bot spam? People have been paying attractive people to "hang out" in bars and pitch gizmos and doo-dads for decades (citation needed); absolutely there are accounts on reddit shilling gizmos across relevant subs.
  - Robotbeat 5y ago
    Oh sure, but there's still some use in it. Eventually, it'll be all bots and no use.
johnmaguire 5y ago
I still use Google, but with "reddit" or "wirecutter" or whatever else might have the information I need tacked on the end.
Karsteski 5y ago
Same here. When I need information on a product I want to buy, I will either go to a specific subreddit or, in the case of tech, a YouTuber that I trust to see if they have a review of it. Amazon and Google are certainly not where I go to find credible information on products anymore. I advise my friends to do the same now
zwaps 5y ago
Case in point, I need to buy a new medium sized kitchen knife. I essentially know what I want, but I went to Amazon today to check out the state of things. I am in Germany, however, on the first two (!) pages of search for "kitchen knife", only two companies that I actually know make knives are present (the big ones: Wüsthoff and Victorinox). ALL other results, that is over 80 results, are fake Chinese companies with "German like" names, essentially selling the SAME product - a fake Damascus (laser etched) knife with wooden handle. Most of them have 53+/- something HRC (probably widely fluctuating around 50 HRC) and are made of "German (style) steel", whatever that means. Indeed, names and presentation suggests that the knives are made in Germany. They are not. Sometimes, the company is registered in the EU, but if someone uses the question function to ask where the knives are produced, it is always China. All of them have fake reviews, naturally. I mean... how useless Amazon has become to order even a midrange price good, like a decent but not top range kitchen knife. Now, I am not in principle against buying goods from China, but I can use Aliexpress myself thank you. We also all know the quality of these products when they arrive, and the inability to return them (as the price point is chosen that this is not worth it). What I hate about it is the constant deception. Nobody would buy a knife if it would say "Price 10€, made in China". So instead, it's 30€, the name is something like "Schneidwerk" and the Amazon page is littered with German flags (ugh), whereas the company probably does the same in every other European country (with, for example, French or Italian flags). Somehow, this makes me really irate.

by zwaps 5y ago

RandomLensman 5y ago

Buried in there is also the fact that getting good and reliable information might indeed not be cheap (could be paid for by the public/donors if it is a non-profit, but still costs). In the earlier days of the web and search that was not so much the case, I reckon. For example, a lot more paywalls than 10 years ago.

Robotbeat 5y ago

I use Reddit a lot for this. But this is an arms race with SEOs and bots. Eventually Reddit will probably be worthless for this.

lolsal 5y ago
What makes you think what you're reading on reddit is not already socially engineered advertisements and bot spam? People have been paying attractive people to "hang out" in bars and pitch gizmos and doo-dads for decades (citation needed); absolutely there are accounts on reddit shilling gizmos across relevant subs.
- Robotbeat 5y ago
  Oh sure, but there's still some use in it. Eventually, it'll be all bots and no use.

johnmaguire 5y ago

I still use Google, but with "reddit" or "wirecutter" or whatever else might have the information I need tacked on the end.

Karsteski 5y ago

Same here. When I need information on a product I want to buy, I will either go to a specific subreddit or, in the case of tech, a YouTuber that I trust to see if they have a review of it. Amazon and Google are certainly not where I go to find credible information on products anymore. I advise my friends to do the same now

zwaps 5y ago

Case in point, I need to buy a new medium sized kitchen knife. I essentially know what I want, but I went to Amazon today to check out the state of things. I am in Germany, however, on the first two (!) pages of search for "kitchen knife", only two companies that I actually know make knives are present (the big ones: Wüsthoff and Victorinox). ALL other results, that is over 80 results, are fake Chinese companies with "German like" names, essentially selling the SAME product - a fake Damascus (laser etched) knife with wooden handle. Most of them have 53+/- something HRC (probably widely fluctuating around 50 HRC) and are made of "German (style) steel", whatever that means. Indeed, names and presentation suggests that the knives are made in Germany. They are not. Sometimes, the company is registered in the EU, but if someone uses the question function to ask where the knives are produced, it is always China. All of them have fake reviews, naturally. I mean... how useless Amazon has become to order even a midrange price good, like a decent but not top range kitchen knife. Now, I am not in principle against buying goods from China, but I can use Aliexpress myself thank you. We also all know the quality of these products when they arrive, and the inability to return them (as the price point is chosen that this is not worth it). What I hate about it is the constant deception. Nobody would buy a knife if it would say "Price 10€, made in China". So instead, it's 30€, the name is something like "Schneidwerk" and the Amazon page is littered with German flags (ugh), whereas the company probably does the same in every other European country (with, for example, French or Italian flags). Somehow, this makes me really irate.