So, this isn't a popular view here, but I think things like Google Search and Facebook Messenger are a large part of why the Web is a much worse place now than it was fifteen years ago. If you don't see the past decade and a half as a regression, then I could see agreeing with your argument. But I definitely do see it as one.
Define what is "worse" in that context for you. Without a proper definition I can't agree with you at all.
Worse regarding privacy concerns? Of course it is, I would never disagree with that.
Worse as an end user? Hell the fucking no. Before Google it was terribly hard to really find what you were looking for, I can't even imagine how many man-years humanity would have lost without Google Search.
It's absolutely worse as an end user, privacy issues aside. Everything loads slowly. My cursor jumps around and I'm never clicking what I intend to click. Things that should be paginated instead infini-scroll, and things that shouldn't be paginated are ("These five amazing photos will translate into 15 page impressions for us because you have to click next three times for each!")
Re:Reconsider (2015)
by mshenfield on Wednesday March 22, 2017 @10:59AM
(#13931448)
Someone's got to pay the piper eventually. "Pay with your soul" services like Facebook and Google are not without their tradeoffs.
* Services we don't pay money for - Github, Google Search, Facebook Messenger
* Services we receive a hefty discount on (for now) - Uber and Lyft rides
* Ambitious projects that require hefty upfront investment - SpaceX, Tesla (all of the above)
On the macro level, I'm not qualified to say whether we could end up getting these benefits from self-funded or lifetime profitable businesses in the same sphere. But I fundamentally agree that not every entrepreneur needs to take over the world. Making your "dent in the universe" by providing a sustainable, considerate and quality (paid) service is a meaningful achievement and worthy goal.