Comments on: Google Sucks: Why It Might Be a Good Thing

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:27:12 +0000

I am not a big google fan. At least, not anymore. I started a small business web site, and all I wanted to do was submit my URL and see results. I did see my stuff on the products page one weekend. This was the weekend I launched my site. I wasn’t quite done with it, but I wanted to get a jump start on having it spidered. Anyway, on the following Monday I did another search on google, just ’cause. My stuff wasn’t there anymore. Why? What happened? I used a free site company that provides you a free site and submits to google products for you – and for all I knew it worked, because that weekend I was seeing results. A couple of days later, POOF, gone.

I am just fed up with “conglomerates”. I hate monopolies. It makes me feel like the internet will soon have to face deregulation.

I don’t have the money to spend on “internet marketing” blah blah. I have some things around my house that I want to sell. I have inventory from a once owned storefront that I am looking to sell. Why does it have to be so damn hard now just to get your face on the web? Sure, I am doing classified ads and such, but guess what? Even THOSE aren’t on google anymore. What’s the point of doing this if no one is going to find me?

I avoided eBay because I always felt that they were too greedy. I’ve read countless articles about their practices which only validated my feelings towards them. Google now makes this list.
I went so far as to even change my internet browser home page – but even that search engine is partner-powered by google.

Ugh.

I’ve decided that if I am not good enough for google, they are no longer good enough for me. I will find alternative ways to get my little site out there and hopefully generate some profit. I just hope that one day, someone, somewhere, will provide google a humbling session.

By: Toka

Toka — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:16:19 +0000

Well the “nerds” are still using google, i couldn’t imagne using a GUI above a search string, its impossible quite simple.

Its faster to type in a search string, and its far better then using shit like wikipedia.

By: Does Google Still Do It For You?

Does Google Still Do It For You? — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:51:44 +0000

[...] Many people too can agree that Google’s bare bones home page seems to perplex many once they see what kind of results can be delivered form within. But, the Google search engine is far from having the characteristics of a human, and that was the something that Mike Troiano almost longed for after the 10 years of being a user. Troiano explains, “Why doth Google suck? Let me count the ways.Google.com doesn’t know or care about me. Google.com doesn’t care or know about where I am. Google.com is ignorant of meaning.” In fact, Troiano is so passionate about his feelings on Google he recently wrote an entire article about it titled, “Google Sucks: Why It Might Be a Good Thing“. [...]

By: Brian Olson

Brian Olson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:46:27 +0000

When they change their name to HAL, then I’ll worry.

By: Rick Lea

Rick Lea — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:56:38 +0000

This is an awesome article. Really like the spin you put on this. Makes you wonder. I agree with you about the behemoth Goog has created. They have staying power but web 2.0 and social media are pulling market share from them fast as hell. Peeps getting smarter and these networks are people edited. This creates the LSI framework that best resembles the thought pattern of humans. I am sure we will see them put up some major bucks to stay in the social game. YouTube for example. Thanks and I will read more of your posts.

By: daniel

daniel — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:41:45 +0000

Google is a business machine on a war path to be not just Number 1 but the dominant 1 and effectively the only one that is relevant. Relevant in what matters to Google and counts most in their world. What has matters to them after they massacred all their competitors in the paid search industry 4 years ago is to eliminate the all time and long reigning king of the digital technology mountain – Microsoft.
Google goes to war like Alexader, Khan, the 300 and Patton. They became the King of Search Business by tactics of becoming the authority and believed technology leader of search. Therefore they re-wrote the rules of and model of PPC and were written to read as more fair and more toward the advertisers advantage as well as don’t forget for the betterment of the users experience.
Hmmmm. $200+Billion later, and not much later as it took Google less number of quarters to achieve than in years for Microsoft to achieve not only in value but Google eclipsed annual revenue of windows last year.
So too who’s benefit and the betterment who’s user experience. When you manipulate the system it is for one goal the $ and the dominance. Show no evil, Say no evil, Winning is no evil it is everything.
much more behind the sucking as it is very evil and therefore can be defeated it can only suck so much money out of the working class before they realize what suckers they have been

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:42:29 +0000

This is why there’s a lot of alternative search engines out there trying multiple technologies. I’m not a huge believer in folksonomies or user based search. While they have their value, to handle large scale EVERYthing, there has to be better algorithms and methods.

Guided Search or Dynamic Navigation solves some of the problems of ambiguity, though not necessarily some of the behavioral history issues you suggest as problems. (We use such techniques at http://www.twing.com inline with our forum search results to allow for a user’s iterative drill down into information.) Users have a variety of different search use cases, but two common ones are: 1) They’re looking for a particular answer, (like how tall is the Statue of Liberty or 2) They’re searching for some kind of answer set, but are even unclear on how to ask the question, like How do I select a buoyancy compensator. Within the results themselves are more keywords, and they then reformulate their query and search again; which is somewhat starting over as opposed to continuing forward. I believe at this time Ask.com is the only ‘major’ search engine that tries to offer concept clusters inline with results.

The major consumer issue is that folks are habituated to the top search engines, when there’s actually hundreds of alternatives. Charles Knight runs a site called http://www.altsearchengines.com He’s got lists of hundreds of specialty engines. It’s just that these are mostly used by more sophisticated or experimental users. Until the typical consumers start discovering these alternatives, or even realize they’re not getting the best results from the majors, they’ll do something called Satisficing. Basically, living with results that maybe seem adequate, even if they’re not really the best.

Scott Germaise
Director, Product Management
Twing.com – Community Forum Search & Discovery

By: myWidowMaker

myWidowMaker — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:27:00 +0000

users will burn out on it and move on to a more entertaining simple vertical location based catalog navigation. wont even need a keyboard or have to type something in. just mouse around and click on vertical icons. in the end which is only 5-10 years away the most efficient b2b b2c c2c vertical channels will take over. integration is everything.
http://www.vator.tv/pitch/show/MyLocatorcom

By: Advertising Will Stall Search Quality « Continuous Beta by Pete Spande

Advertising Will Stall Search Quality « Continuous Beta by Pete Spande — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:04:09 +0000

[...] I’ve been working with Thomson Reuters on a sponsored series of pieces on the Future of Search. The latest post is John Battelle’s thoughts on Microsoft’s Cashback initiative. Then today a post by Mike Troiano about how Google Sucks. [...]

By: Allan Sabo

Allan Sabo — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:48:21 +0000

Mike,

You make some excellent points here.

I have been involved in marketing on the internet (with commercial intent) since 1993. As an early pioneer of online communities (now known as social networks) and founder of what became one of the nets largest ad networks I recall with great nostalgia my early searches on google.com.

You are right, they have not capitalized on the long standing relationship with added demographic context and improved relevance which is too bad for them.

I believe this is a good thing. I can just see it right now – somewhere there is a team of bright young people working to create a solution that could possibly dethrone the giant.

Googles largest competition may not be microsoft, yahoo or facebook, but by a company that is not even formed by a bunch of hungry students who are still developing their technology and are yet to even place words on what or how it works.

I have recently seen a business plan for just such a company – in all my years of internet experience, NEVER have I seen so much potential and promise. The challenge for them is to find the angel capital they need to develop their prototype.

I’d love to see this concept get off the ground – so if anyone knows some active angels, please send them my way.

Allan Sabo
Alti Success Strategies
Experts at Integrating Social Media and Internet Marketing
____________________________________________
Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/mediamanx
to get tips, tools, thoughts and industy banter