Google and Evolution of the Internet

[TheMastersSon]

Increasingly we're finding Google is useless for much of anything, beyond location and purchase of artificially cheap, made in China crap. Also, when did Youtube suddenly became the world's only video sharing site? Oh, they're owned by Google. Next question.

By their own numbers Google now control over two-thirds of all internet searches worldwide, and virtually all of the other one-third return results that are simply subsets of Google's two-thirds. Not only this, they've been given the green light by our currently prostituted and dysfunctional federal government to cement their monopoly into permanent existence, by manipulation of search results as they see fit. So welcome to a world where nobody, nowhere and nothing is known by anyone, unless Google and its legal department wish it to be known. It's corporate fascism unlike anything even imagined in human history. We've managed to outdo Orwell.

 

But according to history this situation is self-correcting, and the process has already begun. As with any new communications technology, the internet must go through a temporary and abusive nadir, where violations of privacy, free speech and other rights eventually and inevitably become so obnoxious and outrageous that government action is demanded. This is precisely what happened with our landline telephone network a century ago. Same monopoly situation, same resulting abuses and leveraging of power over our communications. It's why the Communications Act of 1933/4 was written and passed, these are the same Title II protections our FCC recently gave internet traffic in the U.S. This regulation is the singular reason Americans are not required to listen to commercials before getting a dial tone on our phones.

This was a major step that, long-term, has already defeated the current effort by our monopoly and cartel players to convert the internet from a useful and ad-free communications tool into simply an alternate delivery network for basic cable TV. So far, one of the biggest disasters for the internet is that content producers and providers have been (and still are being) allowed to merge into the same companies (e.g. Comcast's purchase of NBC etc). So former friends or claimed friends of a free and open internet have thus become mortal enemies of it. Anything and everything that's truly useful has either been done away with (e.g. try comparing two lists, of features added and removed by Google in their search engine over the years, etc) or is being put behind permanent paid gates, from "Youtube Red" to games. And what will soon remain, temporarily and thanks largely to Google's manipulation of search results, will be the exact same utterly useless commercial wasteland, with endless forced advertising no matter where one goes, and not much of anything worth doing -- again thanks entirely to Google.

Some major lawsuits are in preparation and a few have already gone further, and long-term I think Google is looking at forced divestiture of its search engine at an absolute minimum. It's probable imo the company won't survive the legal correction. To give one not so minor example, Google automatically processed millions of DMCA takedown requests, mass generated by Hollywood and against valid/legal content under our fair use and other existing laws. Prior to Title II regulation our FCC was powerless to intervene in cases like this, or with Comcast's refusal to carry encrypted traffic on their networks etc etc, but this is no longer a limitation. Even virtual rapists like Facebook who make their money by invading the privacy of their own users will be shamed out of their current practices, such as reading email between members and pushing advertising on them based on what is found. Simply outrageous abuses, I mean how many of us would stand for the same thing being done with our phone conversations, or postal mail etc?

 

But for the time being, it's heartbreaking for me to watch one company being allowed by our government to simply say screw you to all eight billion people on planet Earth, and close to all eight billion people wallow in intentional, near-total and greed-driven ignorance as a result of Google's decision to change their company motto to "Go Ahead and Be Evil."

Edited August 10, 2016 by TheMastersSon

[CiderMuffin]

Ok youtube got to be the biggest video site on the internet because it's the most reliable and easiest to use. For instance Dailymotion (which is still around) has an awful search feature last I used it. Of course these services still have a decent amount of people still using them hence why they're still around and being updated. There are also other video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBOGO and the adult oriented sites I won't mention. Youtube isn't a monopoly

 

As for 'manipulating search results' half the time that remove services because of DMCAs, other times it's to divert traffic going to websites for hate groups like Neo-Nazism. As a private owned company they are allowed to do this throughout the world. I know free speech is a hot topic right now by people who don't understand it but free speech in literally every country is just the government can't do anything about it. Private owned companies on the other hand can, that's why the Nexus can ban people for certain comments and censor words they don't like. What google is doing is not because of a 'prostituted and dysfunctional" government, it's because that's how our laws work and have always worked.

 

Google, despite what you so inaccurately claim, does not have a monopoly nor are they creating one. It would be like claiming the Nexus has a monopoly on modding just because it's the most used mod site for Elder Scrolls games.

[TheMastersSon]

As for 'manipulating search results' half the time that remove services because of DMCAs, other times it's to divert traffic going to websites for hate groups like Neo-Nazism. As a private owned company they are allowed to do this throughout the world. I know free speech is a hot topic right now by people who don't understand it but free speech in literally every country is just the government can't do anything about it. Private owned companies on the other hand can, that's why the Nexus can ban people for certain comments and censor words they don't like. What google is doing is not because of a 'prostituted and dysfunctional" government, it's because that's how our laws work and have always worked.

 

Google, despite what you so inaccurately claim, does not have a monopoly nor are they creating one. It would be like claiming the Nexus has a monopoly on modding just because it's the most used mod site for Elder Scrolls games.

If you have any evidence whatsoever to support those first claims, please share it. The bottom line is, nobody on our planet other than Google knows to what degree the company is squelching their own competition, along with anyone else's they choose. Who exactly are they accountable to, with a practical market share of over 90% (between their own two-thirds, and most of the other one-third that are simply subsets of Google's results, as explained).

 

To give one example of countless thousands, try a Google search for 'alternate search engines' and see if they provide any clue whatsoever about things like distributed engines and other current technologies that, given fair market exposure, would quickly relegate their fascist business model to its proper place in the dustbin of history, as explained earlier. Imagine finally being able to manipulate your OWN search results, instead of having them obfuscated based on graft, extortion and Google's own self-interest.

 

Obviously a company has the right to operate however it wishes, in accordance with our laws. Google's current abilities to be masters of their own business destiny, competition, market share etc do not qualify as in accordance with our laws, but until recently our feds lacked any legal teeth to do anything about it. Fortunately our FCC provided those teeth with bestowal of Title II common carrier regulations/protections on internet traffic. As explained. Wait and see imo.

[JimboUK]

Fascist business model? what's fascist about it? it's one that has been successful by giving people what they want when the competition was busy telling people what they want. Google isn't a giant crushing the little guy, it's in direct competition with Microsoft and Apple, two behemoths. I put "alternate search engines" into Google and got a bunch of sites that list alternate search engines, this being the second one http://puu.sh/qtNrY/7d46101984.png it's working as intended I would say.

 

 

The bottom line is, nobody on our planet other than Google knows to what degree the company is squelching their own competition, along with anyone else's they choose.

 

That includes you but it hasn't stopped you going off on one about them. Google are no angels but there's worse out there, Microsoft and Facebook being two.

[CiderMuffin]

 

As for 'manipulating search results' half the time that remove services because of DMCAs, other times it's to divert traffic going to websites for hate groups like Neo-Nazism. As a private owned company they are allowed to do this throughout the world. I know free speech is a hot topic right now by people who don't understand it but free speech in literally every country is just the government can't do anything about it. Private owned companies on the other hand can, that's why the Nexus can ban people for certain comments and censor words they don't like. What google is doing is not because of a 'prostituted and dysfunctional" government, it's because that's how our laws work and have always worked.

 

Google, despite what you so inaccurately claim, does not have a monopoly nor are they creating one. It would be like claiming the Nexus has a monopoly on modding just because it's the most used mod site for Elder Scrolls games.

If you have any evidence whatsoever to support those first claims, please share it. The bottom line is, nobody on our planet other than Google knows to what degree the company is squelching their own competition, along with anyone else's they choose. Who exactly are they accountable to, with a practical market share of over 90% (between their own two-thirds, and most of the other one-third that are simply subsets of Google's results, as explained).

 

To give one example of countless thousands, try a Google search for 'alternate search engines' and see if they provide any clue whatsoever about things like distributed engines and other current technologies that, given fair market exposure, would quickly relegate their fascist business model to its proper place in the dustbin of history, as explained earlier. Imagine finally being able to manipulate your OWN search results, instead of having them obfuscated based on graft, extortion and Google's own self-interest.

 

Obviously a company has the right to operate however it wishes, in accordance with our laws. Google's current abilities to be masters of their own business destiny, competition, market share etc do not qualify as in accordance with our laws, but until recently our feds lacked any legal teeth to do anything about it. Fortunately our FCC provided those teeth with bestowal of Title II common carrier regulations/protections on internet traffic. As explained. Wait and see imo.

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=bing

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Yahoo+search

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=alternative+search+engines

 

There ya go. In fact when I was typing 'alternative' into google the second suggested result was 'alternative search engines'

Edited August 8, 2016 by CiderMuffin

[TheMastersSon]

Read a little slower. How many of Google's 'alternatives' include non-manipulated search engines (e.g. YaCy and other decentralized/distributed engines)? Or any indication that these products even exist?

 

Here's the bottom line imo: Imagine you're running Google, with effective control over 90% of the world's internet searches. It's legal for your company to intentionally squelch information about your current and potential competitors. If you're seriously claiming you would choose to not do so, out of philanthropy, stupidity, or whatever, you're delusional imo. It's not how business works and it's not how business is supposed to work. Google will grow a moral conscience just as soon as they are forced to grow one by our government, and those of other countries around the world (many of whom have filed and are still filing the same types of anti-competitive lawsuits against the company).

[CiderMuffin]

Ok, go talk to Zanity, you'll be able to share your bullcrap conspiracy theories based on trivial information.

[TheMastersSon]

Fascist business model? what's fascist about it? it's one that has been successful by giving people what they want when the competition was busy telling people what they want. Google isn't a giant crushing the little guy, it's in direct competition with Microsoft and Apple, two behemoths. I put "alternate search engines" into Google and got a bunch of sites that list alternate search engines, this being the second one http://puu.sh/qtNrY/7d46101984.png it's working as intended I would say.

 

 

The bottom line is, nobody on our planet other than Google knows to what degree the company is squelching their own competition, along with anyone else's they choose.

 

That includes you but it hasn't stopped you going off on one about them. Google are no angels but there's worse out there, Microsoft and Facebook being two.

If your claim is that multiple wrongs make a right, I disagree. Again imo the current development of the internet is mirroring that of most other new technologies, our landline phone network, radio communications, even our newspapers went through a specific 'yellow' period of monopoly abuse. Who the players might be is coincidental, and I'd be the last person to claim that any company, Google or otherwise, when finding itself in effective control of their own current and potential competition in a market, would or even should decide to not do so. As mentioned, imo Google will grow a conscience just as soon as they are forced to grow one by law. It's already happened elsewhere around the world.

 

Also, imo the larger and relevant question is, what are 300 million Americans (or eight billion humans) supposed to do without a single objective search engine for the internet? We wallow in intentional and increasingly abysmal and total ignorance, and no matter what we type into Google, or Bing, we wind up at a sales prompt for artificially cheap crap that's made in China. Every bit of it.

[TheMastersSon]

Google, despite what you so inaccurately claim, does not have a monopoly nor are they creating one. It would be like claiming the Nexus has a monopoly on modding just because it's the most used mod site for Elder Scrolls games.

Uh, ask 10 random people on the street where they go for internet searches and please tell us how many of them say Google. Now ask 100 people and let us know.

 

They certainly do enjoy an effective monopoly on the world's view of itself, currently it's an intentionally and abysmally limited view.

Edited August 10, 2016 by TheMastersSon

[Lisnpuppy]

Seems like this should be in the debates section?

 

Anyway I am not defending a side here...but some were asking for some evidence. While this is an editorial (and thus not evidence per say) it is from a major publication and has a bit more meat than just throwing shadows. I have actually read a great deal on this topic in the past few months.

 

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-06-22/google-is-the-worlds-biggest-censor-and-its-power-must-be-regulated

 

Though I find it funny that they want to regulate (censor) censorship? Still, here it is if you all want to tear into it.