News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Not only is it possible to beat Google, it could happen sooner than we think. Parent comment

Re:Not only is it possible to beat Google, it could happen s... by crdoconnor on Monday January 01, 2018 @02:24AM (#16045122)
>Search advertising is a win-win for businesses and consumers. If you see it as something parasitic that needs to be fixed

Its absolutely parasitic and not a win for consumers. If it were a win for consumers then Google would not be so fantastically profitable.

Search results on Google are great provided you don't use a search query that indicates an intent to buy something. If you do that then the results turn terrible. Or profitable. Depends upon whom you ask.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Not only is it possible to beat Google, it could happen s... by ProxCoques on Monday January 01, 2018 @02:59AM (#16045190)
Indeed - do a search for anything Google determines to be non-commercial (like "retrovirus", "contract for difference" or "banana") and they simply hand you off to Wikipedia. It's Wikipedia, and not Google, who really own the show when it comes to collating the world's knowledge.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Not only is it possible to beat Google, it could happen s... by pzone on Monday January 01, 2018 @04:16AM (#16045378)
Now that's a bit conspiratorial. Probably a majority of people searching for "retrovirus" clicked the Wikipedia article link. Google figured this out, and started listing it first. Nothing beyond Wikipedia fulfilling its role.
[ Parent | on HN ]