4 ms·
> Why has a search company Google was a search company, many years ago. Today's Google is an advertising company that just happens to have a legacy search div
by pwg 1y ago
> Why has a search company
Google was a search company, many years ago.
Today's Google is an advertising company that just happens to have a legacy search division.
- anonzzzies 1y agogmail search was never good though.
- Norcim133 1y agoBetter than Outlook?
- Spooky23 1y agoIt’s exponentially better than Outlook. I think it is a hard problem that requires a lot of work to get right. The ancient “Google Desktop Search” from 20 years ago was probably the best email search I’ve seen. Products like that require alot of man-hours and are expensive.
- sn9 1y agoHow does compromising the ability to search your inbox increase ad revenue?
- n4r9 1y agoProbably made other tweaks that gave marginal gains in ad revenue whilst neither caring nor measuring about the effect on search results.
- malfist 1y agoIs probably less about making as revenue and more about not investing in it
- tom_ 1y agoPresumably ad revenue has gone up even as search result quality has gone down, proving that the ability to search your inbox is actually unimportant.
- n4r9 1y agoUnimportant, or unprofitable?
- handfuloflight 1y agoComputation costs probably not worth it for the incremental user satisfaction.
- sn9 1y agoI'm assuming whatever they're currently doing involves machine learning so uses more compute than the simple correct solution that a CS freshman could code up.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- waldopat 1y agoThis. As an interview question for my product managers, I often ask what Google search's product is. The ones who say ads move to the next round.
- Squeeeez 1y agoAre you aware what you are saying about yourself by writing such a sentence?
- ComplexSystems 1y agoThis has got to be one of the most loaded question I have ever seen on here. Could you perhaps be clearer with what you want to ask? It sounds like you are insinuating that the guy is a bad person in some vague, nondescript way.
- Zopieux 1y agoTrick questions like those have a terrible signal to noise ratio, you'd hope people with recruiting decision power would have gotten the memo by now.
- waldopat 1y agoAgreed. And I added an update to give a more thoughtful response. I've been on the receiving side of trick questions, so I do understand. How you ask the question, which I didn't phrase here, is important. Google Search or Gmail are great case study style questions. Here's an oldie but a goodie about it from 2006: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=33707 https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=33707
- Squeeeez 1y agoYou clearly decided to interpret that question in a way that would make you feel better about yourself, and I am disappointed. Somehow this website is not what it used to be.
- Squeeeez 1y agoTo answer your question: I am insinuating nothing. There is a certain vibe to his comments which struck me from having noticed it in certain people, and the effects it has on their relationships with others. From his answer, I gather that he doesn't care. So, that's it for the free remote psychoanalysis by HN comments.
- rajkumarsekar 1y agoWell said. Feels like search is now just the wrapper around the ad engine, not the core mission anymore.