SEO is of course a problem, but it’s been a problem for a long time, and there are ways around it for those who know how to seek information. Proper use of keywords, blacklisting sites with known spam information, searching specific sites, mandating specific words and phrases to be contained in the search etc. It’s true, however, that information has become less discoverable during the latest decade – at least reliable information has.
While AI-written spam articles and such have been a pain sometimes, gatekeeping content is in my opinion as big of a threat to the proper use of search engines for finding information. As more and more sites require you to log in to view the discussion (social media is the worst offender here) much of the search results is unusable. Nowadays the results lead to a paywall or a login wall almost more often than to a proper result, and that makes them almost completely useless. I understand this kind of thing for platforms which pay for creating the content, e.g. news sites, but user-generated content shouldn’t be locked behind a login requirement.
I fear the day StackOverflow and Reddit decide the users’ discussions should be visible for only logged-in users. Reddit has already taken the first steps with limiting “NSFW” content to logged-in users only (on new reddit). Medium articles going behind paywall also caused some headaches a while back.
SEO is of course a problem, but it’s been a problem for a long time
This has been denied for the longest time by search engines, them claiming search is always getting better, which is why where seeing a lot of articles pointing at the problem.
I think the prime of search engines as we know them has long passed, right before SEO became mainstream. Which is why we need new tools to search the web, which will be powered by AI.
This would be the best thing AI could do for humanity.
The study says it’s affecting all other search engines as well
Sometimes, casualties are an unfortunate result of doing what’s necessary. Think of it like antibiotics. Sure, it kills bad bacteria that causes infection. But it also kills good bacteria.
Scorched earth is not always bad for the whole of a thing.
“might”…? I thought that was pretty much a proven fact. Not that any of the other are any better, with the possible exception of Kagi, but fuck using that anymore. I’m pretty disappointed by that since I finally had found a search that was pretty good and I have no problem paying for it, but I simply won’t give that asshat any money. Why aren’t there any nice capitalists? 🤔
Wait, what happened to Kagi?
Kagi now has the ability to include Brave search results and people are upset about that because someone brought it up as a “partnership” with Brave, but they’re just using the search API
So it’s not actually funding anything reprehensible?
I ask because I’m really liking it…
This response from the Kagi founder seems to be quite solid. https://kagifeedback.org/d/2808-reconsider-your-partnership-with-brave
Sounds… at worst just as bad as using Microsoft’s or Google’s search results. I get that the Brave CEO is a POS but Google and Microsoft are Google and Microsoft.
So basically a drama over nothing?
Yes
