4 ms·
Google logo blacked out on all search results (in US)
- matdwyer 15y agoMust be geotargeted as the google.com logo for searches in Canada aren't black. It does say "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web!"
- FlightOfGrey 15y agoA Google representative said "So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page." (from the article) So only the US google home page will be affected.
- matdwyer 15y agoYes - when we go to Google.com, it redirects us automatically to google.ca. That being said, we can click "go to google.com" and it usually shows the US version.
- adamrmcd 15y agoIt looks like the server that provides the image uses an GeoIP lookup, and only if you're in the US will it display the blackened logo. I'm in Canada, but only when I proxy through my US server do I see the sopa/google logo.
- paulitex 15y agoCould someone please post a screenshot for those of us outside the US?
- ScottMFisher 15y agohttp://www.google.com/logos/2012/sopa12_hp.png http://www.google.com/logos/2012/sopa12_hp.png
- adamrmcd 15y agoA screenshot of the full google.com page for US users: https://plus.google.com/116116954741672937645/posts/3cR4xcViQmR https://plus.google.com/116116954741672937645/posts/3cR4xcVi...
- aikinai 15y agoIt looks like they've still got some kinks to iron out. On the Take Action page, I'm getting a server error on the right and when I try to open the PDF it goes to a Google Docs page that tells me I don't have permission.
- fishtoaster 15y agoOn the google doc with the permissions error, click 'Download Original' in the upper right corner.
- waiwai933 15y agoIf you remove the "s" from the "https" in the URL (not the protocol, but there's one in the URL itself), it should work.
- dvdhsu 15y agoHere's a screenshot. Sorry for forgetting you foreign folks. http://i.imgur.com/JBf8B.jpg http://i.imgur.com/JBf8B.jpg
- marquis 15y agoIs that all they did? A skewed blacked out logo? I hardly saw it. I was hoping for something a little more dramatic rather than something I would pass off as a glitch on the internet.
- lonnyk 15y agoFWIW the homepage looks like this: http://imgur.com/bHRRa http://imgur.com/bHRRa
- gry 15y agoThe home page is jarring. http://imgur.com/aLjTP http://imgur.com/aLjTP
- snprbob86 15y agoI love the little hint of a letter sticking out. It reminds you what used to be there, but is now censored. Meanwhile, it also establishes a subtle metaphor: censorship just covers the problem up, rather than fixing it.
- lusr 15y agoTBH I never visit the homepage anymore (I never see the cool logos people end up talking about; I start up with about:blank for performance). I just search straight from the address bar, and in that respect the small logo change in the search results doesn't seem very effective at making a statement. I assume enough other people still visit the homepage for it to matter, though?
- lusr 15y agoInteresting, 3 downvotes. Anybody want to explain why my criticism is so invalid? Google is trying to sell a message and is doing it in a much more understated way than some others sites. Not that I think it would have been a wise idea to censor the entire site, like Wikipedia, but it's interesting to wonder about the effectiveness of the option they chose. Most of the people here are ultimately interested in selling someone something using technology, and here is a successful technology company trying to sell a message in a way that is worth examining.
- tokenadult 15y agoMy iGoogle home page is always buggy (sometimes it shows the gadgets I have chosen, but many times it does not, probably because I also use Ghostery). This evening it is showing the blacked-out Google logo sometimes when I reload it, but usually showing the normal iGoogle logo along with my chosen theme's background image. AFTER EDIT: Like a lot of Chrome users, I normally do my Google searches directly from my URL bar. Sure enough, every results page shows the black-out over the Google logo. This too will get plenty of attention in the United States. But clicking the logo only shows me (in this case) my usual Google pull-downs to specialized Google locations like my Google+ page, Images (which doesn't have its logo blacked out), and so forth. The "Search" choice from the pull-down leads to a main Google search page with a very obvious black-out, which reveals mouse-over text saying "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the Web!"
- metra 15y agoWith Google changing their logo every couple of days, this statement carries much less impact than any other site's protest. I wish they changed something more than just the logo. I wouldn't be surprised if many users don't even notice.
- teja1990 15y agoIts really good way to create awareness. People love google doodles , and something black will make them click , atleast out of curiosity :)
- mc32 15y agoThe captions under the numbers on the graphic in the PDF are way too small. Even zoomed in 800% they're barely readable.
- dmix 15y agoThe use of a PDF for an infographic was a very poor choice. The design of it was very unusable for a browser, since its really wide and detailed. This page is much more interesting and should of been the homepage: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/ https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/
- dangrossman 15y agoThey didn't link to a PDF originally, but the viewer they linked to was configured incorrectly. Rather than continue showing an error message, they replaced it with a direct link to the PDF. Hopefully they'll change it to something else at some point this morning.
- dmix 15y agoI thought it was a glitch until I went onto hacker news and saw this post. I was expecting a blackout and still didnt notice it. I cant imagine many other non-technical users would.
- knome 15y agohttp://www.google.comhttps//www.google.com/landing/takeaction/ http://www.google.comhttps//www.google.com/landing/takeactio... If there is anyone here from or with contacts to google, my igoogle banner links to this instead of the proper url. Oops. edit: nevermind, they seem to have noticed
- dewhiskeys 15y agoI can't reach google.com in any way and that makes me feel like they don't want to let me know about anti-PIPA/SOPA protest. They are really making 2 internets.
- shaggyfrog 15y agoMy fellow Canadians and I should also be seeing this. We inevitably get Canadian-ized versions of all these American bills shoved down our throats, after they pass in the US, especially with the current government in power.
- pasbesoin 15y agohttp://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6244/125/ http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6244/125/
- dan00 15y agoWhat is the point of a black out against restrictions, if you can still do everything, if you can't feel it, by being restricted?
- lambada 15y agoGoogle decided it would be more beneficial (to tyhem, or to the cause) by just raising awareness and still providing the useful information the user wants. Blackout -> User sees it once and goes to SearchEngineX, forgetting all about it. Google's Way -> Raise awareness each time the user sees it as they won't go to a different Search Engine. A full blackout works for wikipedia, because people probably don't know about any alternative - especially with their pages dominating search results. But with Google, most people know of Bing or Yahoo at the very least.
- TeMPOraL 15y agoEven Wikipedia's blackout is not full, and quite easy to go around if you know magic tricks like disabling JavaScript or CSS in the browser. While commercial damage is likely a very important consideration to Google, another reason might be that shutting down Google completely would most likely result in damage to human health and/or loss of lives.
- whileonebegin 15y agoWhile that may be true, I was thinking it was more due to their obligation to their shareholders.
- exit 15y ago> "Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web!" "please"? that's pathetic. like a child asking to stay up past 8.
- zerostar07 15y agoBe more dramatic: "Proposed law requires us to censor these search results"