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Great comment! From your wikipedia link: "...any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word "no". The reason why journalists use that st

Great comment! From your wikipedia link: "...any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word "no". The reason why journalists use that style of headline is that they know the story is probably bollocks..."

georgemcbay 14y ago
Predictable comment, IMO. Quoting Betteridge's Law of Headlines is this season's "You're not Google's customer, you're their product". I can predict with great accuracy whether or not I'll see it referenced in any given HN comment thread based on the headline (ironically, in this case if the headline ends in a question mark, the answer is yes. If the headline is asking something negative about Apple, the answer is double yes).
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  Quoting Betteridge's Law of Headlines is this season's "You're not Google's customer, you're their product". How is that not a true statement? A customer is somebody who gives you money. There's really no other definition at the end of the day.
  - georgemcbay 14y ago
    I didn't say nor mean to imply that either statement was untrue, I'm just noting a pattern wherein certain meme phrases take hold on HN and then get over-quoted for the next 6 months or so. Referencing Betteridge's Law is currently one of the more popular current instances of this. This is not entirely unlike reddit or 4chan or wherever, except the over-quoted phrases are some sort of startup/media/business wisdom rather than some geeky pop culture reference.
    - nirvana 14y ago
      Well, its better than the "Apple sucks!" And "This new product from Apple [which is actually really great] is terrible and Apple's going to fail!" I remember that when people were whining that the iPod sucked compared to archos media players and predicted it would fail. This season its popular to claim that somehow the magical Steve Jobs's death means the end of Apple --- always from people who hope it is true. The sad thing is, They are the ones who have all along insisted Steve Jobs was magical, becuase they refuse to understand why Apple is a success. Which is why they constantly bash Apple products and claim they will fail (And then are silent about them when they win.) iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade, while iOS Maps clearly is progressing pretty quickly. The iPhone was going to suck, the iPas was the worst product name ever.... hell, this tradition goes all the way back to the original mac before most HN readres (I suspect) were even born. I'm tired of the "Apple's product sucks because I don't know anything about technology or design but am a fan of [competitor]" junk.
      - georgemcbay 14y ago
        "iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade, while iOS Maps clearly is progressing pretty quickly." It has been a long while since I've used an iPhone on a daily basis (iPhone 3G for nearly two years), so perhaps what you're saying is correct for the iOS version of Google Maps, but the Android version has progressed tremendously and it continues to do so. Google Maps/Nav is 90% of the reason I'd never even consider using a non-Android phone platform right now. "I'm tired of the "Apple's product sucks because I don't know anything about technology or design but am a fan of [competitor]" junk." This goes both ways. Yes, there are Android fanbois who are overly critical and overly defensive, but there are at least an equal number of Apple fanbois. If you only notice one side of this and noticing that makes you super defensive enough to post about it, odds are you yourself are a bit too much of a fanboi.
      - CamperBob2 14y ago
        iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade Sober up, then post.
  - bookwormAT 14y ago
    A customer is someone who pays for your product, and you pay Google by paying ad impressions as long as you use the service.. Ad impressions are a valuable good that can be exchanged for money. You being Google's product, that they sold, would imply that Google is guilty of slavery, and that you are now the property of the buyer.
- rwar 14y ago
  We're their product. Advertising is the customer.
choko 14y ago
IMO, it's a pretty sorry excuse for a law. While you can often answer with "no" and be accurate, it doesn't happen enough to say "always" or "any". Reading through my RSS feeds, I see about 20 headlines ending in question marks. Only 12 of them can be accurately answered with "no".

georgemcbay 14y ago

Predictable comment, IMO. Quoting Betteridge's Law of Headlines is this season's "You're not Google's customer, you're their product". I can predict with great accuracy whether or not I'll see it referenced in any given HN comment thread based on the headline (ironically, in this case if the headline ends in a question mark, the answer is yes. If the headline is asking something negative about Apple, the answer is double yes).

CamperBob2 14y ago
Quoting Betteridge's Law of Headlines is this season's "You're not Google's customer, you're their product". How is that not a true statement? A customer is somebody who gives you money. There's really no other definition at the end of the day.
- georgemcbay 14y ago
  I didn't say nor mean to imply that either statement was untrue, I'm just noting a pattern wherein certain meme phrases take hold on HN and then get over-quoted for the next 6 months or so. Referencing Betteridge's Law is currently one of the more popular current instances of this. This is not entirely unlike reddit or 4chan or wherever, except the over-quoted phrases are some sort of startup/media/business wisdom rather than some geeky pop culture reference.
  - nirvana 14y ago
    Well, its better than the "Apple sucks!" And "This new product from Apple [which is actually really great] is terrible and Apple's going to fail!" I remember that when people were whining that the iPod sucked compared to archos media players and predicted it would fail. This season its popular to claim that somehow the magical Steve Jobs's death means the end of Apple --- always from people who hope it is true. The sad thing is, They are the ones who have all along insisted Steve Jobs was magical, becuase they refuse to understand why Apple is a success. Which is why they constantly bash Apple products and claim they will fail (And then are silent about them when they win.) iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade, while iOS Maps clearly is progressing pretty quickly. The iPhone was going to suck, the iPas was the worst product name ever.... hell, this tradition goes all the way back to the original mac before most HN readres (I suspect) were even born. I'm tired of the "Apple's product sucks because I don't know anything about technology or design but am a fan of [competitor]" junk.
    - georgemcbay 14y ago
      "iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade, while iOS Maps clearly is progressing pretty quickly." It has been a long while since I've used an iPhone on a daily basis (iPhone 3G for nearly two years), so perhaps what you're saying is correct for the iOS version of Google Maps, but the Android version has progressed tremendously and it continues to do so. Google Maps/Nav is 90% of the reason I'd never even consider using a non-Android phone platform right now. "I'm tired of the "Apple's product sucks because I don't know anything about technology or design but am a fan of [competitor]" junk." This goes both ways. Yes, there are Android fanbois who are overly critical and overly defensive, but there are at least an equal number of Apple fanbois. If you only notice one side of this and noticing that makes you super defensive enough to post about it, odds are you yourself are a bit too much of a fanboi.
    - CamperBob2 14y ago
      iOS Maps is already far better than google maps. Further, Google maps hasn't really progressed in the last decade Sober up, then post.
- bookwormAT 14y ago
  A customer is someone who pays for your product, and you pay Google by paying ad impressions as long as you use the service.. Ad impressions are a valuable good that can be exchanged for money. You being Google's product, that they sold, would imply that Google is guilty of slavery, and that you are now the property of the buyer.
rwar 14y ago
We're their product. Advertising is the customer.

choko 14y ago

IMO, it's a pretty sorry excuse for a law. While you can often answer with "no" and be accurate, it doesn't happen enough to say "always" or "any". Reading through my RSS feeds, I see about 20 headlines ending in question marks. Only 12 of them can be accurately answered with "no".