I mean the article is specifically about Google search. Which might have gone downhill since whenever it first came out with the introduction of ads (sorry, 'Sponsored Results') but I'm not seeing significantly better competition for delivering search results. Everyone is still just aping the brand leader.
DuckDuckGo is obviously better for privacy for example but it doesn't seem to have any ambition except to deliver the same results as Google but without the ads and tracking which is ok but not a big enough draw except for people already concerned about privacy. Bing gets essentially the same results but if anything seems more spammy than Google with pop ups about making it or edge your default search engine or browser. It feels like other search engines just take Google search as something to copy and put their spin on it though.
I'd say search is one of the things Google is still getting right enough to earn its place as the leader. Some things it does well, some things it has badly declined on (someone above mentioned Google assistant hardly understanding anything anymore, when it used to be the best in this area too), but generally you can replace most Google things with programmes doing things their own way. Search engines just feel a bit like reskins to me
Xyz@infosec.pub 1 year ago
Google just canceled the pixel pass service and it was the last straw for me. I had already moved email to proton but now Ive completed the calendar shift, search to ddg, and drive to something else. My Google speakers barely understand anything anymore and I’m just sick of investing in an eco system that may or may not be there in a year.
All that is off topic to the article which is nostalgic about Google reader and search without ads, but the topic is part of a larger problem. I used to feel that using Google was a project of humans categorizing information, building something amazing and now it feels like I’m shopping at Walmart when i use their products. The type of feeling I can only describe as “I need this so I’m here, let’s get in and out as quick as possible before I spend more money or become annoyed with the environment”.
This isn’t to just shit on Google, but the point is I used to feel as I was a part of something bigger, humans creating a way to access the world’s information accurately and easily and now it’s much more complicated and that feeling is gone.
Maybe it’s all in my head.
Vub@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s not just in your head.
I also degoogled some time back when it really occurred to me how much data they had on me. That’s not good for anyone but Google. And there are great alternatives for most things.
Also their inconsistency with their services (abandoning projects they initially promote heavily) just feels insecure and annoying.
I still use their search engine though, the alternatives aren’t there yet. But I use it less and less because it’s so riddled with affiliate sites. And I do use Youtube, it is the best streaming service despite its own set of problems.
ripe_banana@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m probably from a younger generation, because as long as I have been around google has never felt like a choice for me. Instead, it was always the default or mandated by the organization I am a part of (university, other web services…). It’s kinda a fight to get out of the google grasp.
Hearing you (and I guess the article towards the end) talk about google as not a monstrosity gives me hope that maybe other companies can push through and usurp google’s “defaultness”. It’d also be great if it was not another giant like microsoft giving competition.
I’d love to be able to a make a non-google choice and not feel like an outsider.
lustrum@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Yeah. I hate how stuck in I am in the google system. I’ve been migrating away too and ensuring whatever system I use next doesn’t tie me in or make it a pain to leave.
I’m struggling with a google photos alternative though. I’m currently just ignoring the problem and periodically using google takeout to make sure I have a local copy of all the photos.
The issue I have is my GF and parents are on my family account. So I use about 50GB of google photos and they use about 100GB combined. And I pay for the 200GB tier.
We’re all stuck now and you just need to pay indefinitely.
2tone@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It might not solve all your needs, or your use case specifically, but I’ve got myself a Synology NAS and that has been a solid alternative to Google Photos for me.
rebul@kbin.social 1 year ago
If you're somewhat tech savvy, look into Nextcloud. I'm running a home server with 4 tb of storage that I share with my wife and adult kids. There are also iOs and android apps that you can use to add/delete/share files. All free and open source.
2tone@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Spot on. And as a result I have moved as much as possible away from Google myself. Email, Drive, Photos, Search etc. I’m happy