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Sounds like Google has changed A LOT since I last visited them (back in 2016, I think): and entirely for the worse … circumstances.run/@davidgerard

David Gerard (@davidgerard@circumstances.run)GSV Sleeper Service
Jean Corbeau, comme L'oiseau

@cstross Have you ever tried searching for something specific on Amazon? It’s like “we don’t want you to buy that (cat food), we want you to buy this (iPhone case)!”

Search algorithms stopped helping the buyer long ago.

@Seanochicago Search algorithms on the ad-funded web are all about *selling you something you don't need or want*. Marketing in the purest sense. When the W3C opted for ad-supported web rather than microbilling to fund build-out of the internet to the general public back in 1996 they made a terrible mistake: in the 30 year time scale it may turn out to have cost us democracy.

@cstross @Seanochicago The whole event struck me as akin to the random jerkings of an animal that's just had a captive-bolt pistol fired into its frontal lobes.

@cstross Eh, they would have fucked it up anyway. Remember the first big spam email campaign? Green cards? Everyone was up in arms, but it stopped absolutely nothing.

@Seanochicago Yes, I was there for Canter & Siegel too (feels old)