Google search failed to even find a hollywood movie, even after 1 hour of attempts. I don’t really care about the movie, but I am terrified by the prospect that google now ceased to function on this basic level. Why is this happening?

I understand the explanations of seo and other stuff like spam content. But why are there NO relevant results at all.

I wouldn’t mind having to start wading through results at page 2 or even 10 but now it utterly fails to find even the most basic things.

Things you found on the first attempt even just a year ago. Now they are effectively hidden.

To me functionally the entire internet has now vanished. I cannot access anything that I am searching for. Might as well not exist at all.

Has anybody found a way around this?

Is this on purpose? Is this an attack on the free internet, herding people to just the top 5 sites like facebook, youtube, tiktok, and so forth?

Are there search engines that still work?

  • mean_bean279@lemmy.worldEnglish
    357·
    10 months ago

    Could their comment be a highly thoughtful and extrapolation on the current state of affairs regarding search engines and the rise of free to use products where the consumer is the product? Or is the comment just an ad because obviously anything mentioning a brand is immediately an ad with no other thought put into it.

    Buddy, companies trying to build up user base aren’t exactly going to push for it in comment sections of a small pocket of the internet. They’ll spend their ad dollars on targeted FB and Reddit ads or buy airtime on new shows to talk about the dangers of data privacy and how Google is selling you out.

    Try Brawndo next time you’re looking to water your plants. Brawndo, it’s what plants crave.

    • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
      10·
      10 months ago

      This is tough.

      1: Kagi is getting some play in Lemmy comments recently.

      2: Lemmings are often technology evangelists, making Lemmy a good place to astroturf for very specific products.

      3: Companies are better than ever at properly seeding account comment histories to prevent suspicion.

      We should all be appropriately skeptical, though somewhat polite can’t hurt either since there’s never proof of anything and I’ve sounded like an ad before.

      • Baines@lemmy.world
        73·
        10 months ago

        who honestly pays for a fucking search engine

        reads hard like astro turfing

        • ultranaut@lemmy.world
          41·
          10 months ago

          I do. I use search basically every day and when I’m working I don’t want to waste a bunch of time digging through bullshit if I can help it. Google sucks, $10 a month for a better experience that both saves me time and helps get Google more out of my life is worth it to me.

        • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
          41·
          10 months ago

          Yeah.

          If Google released Google Premium - where teams of offshore workers deranked SEO spam junk - would you give them 99 cents a year to Stop The Madness?

          This is that, except it’s a no name, and the cost is far more. But I’d consider the $0.99/yr.*

          If that seems more sane… imagine you have plenty of disposable income so whatever the no-name charges is practically free for you. There has to be a market for it. But the resistance will certainly be immense.

          * (I’d instantly pay DDG 99 cents for a year of provably better results, whereas I’d have to think about Google b/c they have too much power and it’s an uncomfortable endorsement.)

          —

          Back to astroturfing…

          Anytime Kagi is mentioned I suppose I’ll jump in and say they’re an oft-mentioned brand suspected by at least a handful of users to be astroturfing, although there’s no proof, and SearXNG is a popular non-commercial alternative. I wanted to throw Grasp in to give a commercial competitor a shout but they’ve “paused”.

      • mean_bean279@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I just ordered a giant thing of cologne from Costco the other day and when it came in I opened the box and said “I love you Costco” as I did it. I looked at my wife and told her Idiocracy was right. I mean, it always has been, but I’m glad Costco loves me too.

        For reference, this is not an ad for Costco, or Idiocracy. Although you should totally watch the movie and membership does have its perks. Plus $1.50 hotdogs.