Google likely alters queries billions of times a day in trillions of different variations. Here’s how it works. Say you search for “children’s clothing.” Google converts it, without your knowledge, to a search for “NIKOLAI-brand kidswear,” making a behind-the-scenes substitution of your actual query with a different query that just happens to generate more money for the company, and will generate results you weren’t searching for at all. It’s not possible for you to opt out of the substitution. If you don’t get the results you want, and you try to refine your query, you are wasting your time. This is a twisted shopping mall you can’t escape.

  • HarkMahlberg@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    There’s no pleasure in saying it, but Youtube proves that they are comfortable having their cake and eating it too.

    Show users ads? Check.
    Make people buy Premium to get out of seeing ads? Check.
    Pay their content creators (who are also users)? Check.
    Exploiting those creators with manipulative metrics and dashboards? Check.
    Slowly paying them less and less, and sometimes not paying them at all? Check.
    Slowly raising the price of Premium? Check.
    Eliminate ad blockers? Check.