Does everyone hate Google now? | Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth

ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 863 points –
Does everyone hate Google now?
arstechnica.com

Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth. The once-beloved startup—with its unofficial "Don't Be Evil" motto—has instead become a major Internet monopolist, as a federal judge ruled on Monday, dominating the market for online search. Google is also well-known for its data-harvesting practices, for constantly killing off products, and for facilitating the rise of brain-cell-destroying YouTubers who make me Fear for Today's Youth. (Maybe that last one is just me?)

Google's rapid rise from "scrappy search engine with doodles" to "dystopic mega-corporation" has been remarkable in many ways, especially when you consider just how much goodwill the company squandered so quickly. Along the way, though, Google has achieved one unexpected result: In a divided America, it offers just about everyone something to hate.

Here are just a few of the players hating Google today.

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Hopefully DeGoogleing will go a bit like the cable "Cord Cutters" did in terms of headlines over time:

  1. Is cutting cable feasible?
  2. Some are are finding solutions to lower their cable bills.
  3. Industry denies cord cutters are impacting profit.
  4. Providers cling to sports broadcasts as a way to short-circut cord cutters.
  5. Are young people the "never-cable" generation?
  6. Here's where to watch the Olympics online.

Of course, streaming is worse than cable now... so lets learn from that.

"streaming is worse than cable now" is it though?

I stream for weeks on end without a single ad, watching only what I want. I go to an older person's house and I hear the same friggin commercial jingles, the same canned studio laughter, and shows that are designed for the stupidest common denominator.

I grew up in the era of Saturday morning cartoons. My brain was liquidified on cereal commercials. I won't allow cable into my house under any circumstances.

But I do agree that we should learn from too easily replacing the working with the next big thing without any regulations on how the next big thing is allowed to operate

I stream for weeks on end without a single ad

But that's now changing. The bottom tiers of many (most?) streaming apps include ads, and it's not a stretch to think that they'll include ads on the higher tiers eventually, or just increase prices until people downgrade to ad-supported tiers. Yeah, you can use an ad-blocker, but you could also use a DVR for cable that also filters out ads.

I'm bailing on both and just buying physical media again. I hope that doesn't die out, but I'm done with paying for subscriptions. We don't watch a ton, so I'm probably going to save money this way.

I wish we had a streaming equivalent of a DVR, then I might actually want streaming again.

"streaming is worse than cable now"

Ironically, pirating has never been easier lol

Between private torrent trackers and Usenet, pirating has never been easier. I love it!

I haven’t had a Usenet provider in over a decade, got any recommendations?

I'm not an expert, but I've recently used BulkNews and Fast Usenet and I liked them both. You'll also need an indexer, personally I like DrunkenSlug, NZBGeek and NinjaCentral, but not all of them have open signups.

Its worse in that to see the content I want I need MULTIPLE subscriptions that add up to more than cables cost ...or I can sail the high seas once more. I've cancellled everything except amazon because I save enough on shipping to justify it (mostly heavy items)

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