3 ms·

I already googled for towel shops. Just like everybody else would do. I had to accept the manipulated results and most probably even fell for it. So why would

I already googled for towel shops. Just like everybody else would do. I had to accept the manipulated results and most probably even fell for it. So why would I need even more ads for the new towel store?

roenxi 2y ago
The first practical answer is without ads there wouldn't be a Google. The reason the search index is commercially viable is because it shows ads. The second is maybe you don't know what a towel is, there are a lot born every minute. The third is maybe you won't think of buying a towel - even if you need it - without prompting which I suspect is the case for most people. I also don't understand the general hate some people have for websites that are commercially viable without charging an entrance fee. Ads are better than the next-best option.
- Krasnol 2y ago
  What you actually miss here is the fact that we're getting MORE ads all the time. It doesn't stop because the shareholders demand more money. It's not about how google wouldn't be able to exist. They can surely exist as a search engine. It's not that expensive. It's about how google is getting worse and worse because of the greed in this sick system. This is what people hate. There were ads from the beginning on, but it was never so bad as it has become today. Besides that: advertising is stealing my attention. Not only on the internet (where I just use ublock) but everywhere else. It's a disease. It penetrates my brain. I never asked for this. I feel violated by this industry which single aim it is to do just that and as effective as possible. I despise it.
  - roenxi 2y ago
    > It's not about how google wouldn't be able to exist. They can surely exist as a search engine. It's not that expensive. How do you expect them to earn money? The reality of the situation is pretty clear on this one, it is ad-supported or irrelevance for search engines. We've been watching this market play out for more than 2 decades. > What you actually miss here is the fact that we're getting MORE ads all the time. I'm not missing it, I just don't see why you care. I can understand using an ad-blocker, but to get worked up because a site shows ads to support itself is entitled to the point where it is stupid. Ads mean that freeloaders get something good for free, and the people who pay obviously believe they got a valuable service from the ads, or they wouldn't have bought the advertised thing.
    - Krasnol 2y ago
      > How do you expect them to earn money? By manipulating the order of search results, of course. > The reality of the situation is pretty clear on this one, it is ad-supported or irrelevance for search engines. We've been watching this market play out for more than 2 decades. There is no "market". There is google. Searching the internet is googling. If they'd just split out the search business today from the whole Alphabet clutter, they would keep on living. They might not generate more profit every quarter, but if they don't have shareholders with a gun at their back, it should be OK and people would still be kept on googling. I'm pretty sure if they'd focus on making search results better, they'd even become more popular. > I can understand using an ad-blocker, but to get worked up because a site shows ads to support itself is entitled to the point where it is stupid. Come on...it's not like in the 90s, where you had to have an ad to pay for the hosting. We're beyond this. You get ads because of ads and the revenue you get on top of whatever you are selling. > Ads mean that freeloaders get something good for free, They don't get it for free. They pay with their data and attention. Not only that, but they're being profiled, rated and assessed, and it's not like they become free of that if they pay. The ad-machine is all over the place. You constantly pay while what you get back is less and less. See those huge media platforms. Ads has become a thing where paying for content was just not manageable in proper time. You had to wire money or send it in a letter. Now, things changed, but somehow it is too late. You can and do pay, and you're still served ads and pay with your data and attention on top. It's not about covering costs anymore. It's about giving less for more profits. Every quarter. As I said before: It's a disease.
      - roenxi 2y ago
        >> How do you expect them to earn money? > By manipulating the order of search results, of course. That is what they do already. The name for it is advertising! What distinction are you drawing between advertising and this income stream where they manipulate the search results? Is your complaint here that you don't like the ads looking visually different?
        Krasnol 2y ago
        The stuff that makes the internet useless as soon as you turn off your adblock.

roenxi 2y ago

The first practical answer is without ads there wouldn't be a Google. The reason the search index is commercially viable is because it shows ads. The second is maybe you don't know what a towel is, there are a lot born every minute. The third is maybe you won't think of buying a towel - even if you need it - without prompting which I suspect is the case for most people. I also don't understand the general hate some people have for websites that are commercially viable without charging an entrance fee. Ads are better than the next-best option.

Krasnol 2y ago
What you actually miss here is the fact that we're getting MORE ads all the time. It doesn't stop because the shareholders demand more money. It's not about how google wouldn't be able to exist. They can surely exist as a search engine. It's not that expensive. It's about how google is getting worse and worse because of the greed in this sick system. This is what people hate. There were ads from the beginning on, but it was never so bad as it has become today. Besides that: advertising is stealing my attention. Not only on the internet (where I just use ublock) but everywhere else. It's a disease. It penetrates my brain. I never asked for this. I feel violated by this industry which single aim it is to do just that and as effective as possible. I despise it.
- roenxi 2y ago
  > It's not about how google wouldn't be able to exist. They can surely exist as a search engine. It's not that expensive. How do you expect them to earn money? The reality of the situation is pretty clear on this one, it is ad-supported or irrelevance for search engines. We've been watching this market play out for more than 2 decades. > What you actually miss here is the fact that we're getting MORE ads all the time. I'm not missing it, I just don't see why you care. I can understand using an ad-blocker, but to get worked up because a site shows ads to support itself is entitled to the point where it is stupid. Ads mean that freeloaders get something good for free, and the people who pay obviously believe they got a valuable service from the ads, or they wouldn't have bought the advertised thing.
  - Krasnol 2y ago
    > How do you expect them to earn money? By manipulating the order of search results, of course. > The reality of the situation is pretty clear on this one, it is ad-supported or irrelevance for search engines. We've been watching this market play out for more than 2 decades. There is no "market". There is google. Searching the internet is googling. If they'd just split out the search business today from the whole Alphabet clutter, they would keep on living. They might not generate more profit every quarter, but if they don't have shareholders with a gun at their back, it should be OK and people would still be kept on googling. I'm pretty sure if they'd focus on making search results better, they'd even become more popular. > I can understand using an ad-blocker, but to get worked up because a site shows ads to support itself is entitled to the point where it is stupid. Come on...it's not like in the 90s, where you had to have an ad to pay for the hosting. We're beyond this. You get ads because of ads and the revenue you get on top of whatever you are selling. > Ads mean that freeloaders get something good for free, They don't get it for free. They pay with their data and attention. Not only that, but they're being profiled, rated and assessed, and it's not like they become free of that if they pay. The ad-machine is all over the place. You constantly pay while what you get back is less and less. See those huge media platforms. Ads has become a thing where paying for content was just not manageable in proper time. You had to wire money or send it in a letter. Now, things changed, but somehow it is too late. You can and do pay, and you're still served ads and pay with your data and attention on top. It's not about covering costs anymore. It's about giving less for more profits. Every quarter. As I said before: It's a disease.
    - roenxi 2y ago
      >> How do you expect them to earn money? > By manipulating the order of search results, of course. That is what they do already. The name for it is advertising! What distinction are you drawing between advertising and this income stream where they manipulate the search results? Is your complaint here that you don't like the ads looking visually different?
      - Krasnol 2y ago
        The stuff that makes the internet useless as soon as you turn off your adblock.