The Internet Google Left Behind
Yesterday I published an article on the evolution of Google Search. I wanted to write something about this topic because every few months some version of the same claim goes viral: Google Search is dead or dying. I spoke with a bunch of search-industry experts, folks at Google, and people who have labored in the content mines creating some of the keyword-riddled junk posts that tend to clog search results. I thought I’d use this newsletter to talk a bit more about search and the tensions that come with a maturing internet.
The evolution of Google mirrors the evolution of the internet in general. It follows, then, that some of our anxieties about Google Search may be tied to broader feelings and frustrations with the internet in general. For a specific type of internet user—one who can still remember analog and early digital life, but who was an early, eager, and savvy adopter of the technology—there is a deep frustration with the commercializationGoogle Search, in some cases, is a great example of this failed promise. Are Google’s search results getting less helpful? Or is Google’s product evolving with an internet that is degrading, becoming filled with useless information?
