Wow the SEO world is really sick
In a just world, the idea of SEO shouldn’t even exist. You shouldn’t be able to game an algorithm to rise to the top. But that’s what literally our entire world has become now. Social media influencers, scammy and spammy websites and services, AI art thieves, content farm sewage. None of it would exist if the algorithms didn’t let you game them or promote certain behaviors.
I’m a web developer and used to work for companies focused on SEO over quality. It’s a pain in the ass and takes all the fun out of the job.
I remember there was a time Google tried to be the best search engine out there, by ranking first what has most value for the user. Now it is ranking first what brings them more money, hence undermining Google’s credibility, and making itself less ueful for the user. The enshittification of Google for everyone to see.
I’ve definitely noticed the results suck ass, but this is a nice breakdown.
I wanted to support this site by trying to add it as an rss but they didn’t have one :(
Somehow the user has been banned from Reddit, but their comment is still at the top of the thread — we wonder how many other comments this user has published across different subreddits.
…and that’s the kind of content Reddit wants to sell to train AIs 🤣
I think this is part of the reason that Google sucks nowadays. I genuinely don’t feel like I can trust it for finding products.
I just use it for opening the door to learn about features (not brands/models) that I didn’t know about previously. Then I do searches for those features and try to find forum results (usually Reddit unfortunately). It seems to work decently well
That’s cool and all and important for exposure, but what can I really do about it? It’s the ethereal algorithm and shitty companies gaming it for profit, with everyone else suffering because of it
You can sign up to kagi.com for non ad based rankings results like we had in 2010 era google searches. 100 free searches then a paid model.
Or use this open source engine a guy built and maintains in his basement https://stract.com/
Kind of related question - any suggestions what to use if I want to skip this problem? I was looking for some headphones earlier and as explained in the article, most sites point to the same brands. I finally got to see some different brands/models and users reviews from forum group. The problem is I found those forums from Google… so any suggestions what I can try without being stuck in this google SEO vortex?
Consumer Reports is still around and still excellent. I paid for a membership to them for quite some time and it was worth it.
I think it’s an instance of the fundamental problem that if people generally want something (good reviews) for free, but it costs money to make, eventually it’ll get hollowed out and replaced with something empty and worthless, because there wasn’t money in continuing to provide it for free.
You can sign up to kagi.com for non ad based rankings results like we had in 2010 era google searches. 100 free searches then a paid model.
Or use this open source engine a guy built and maintains in his basement https://stract.com/
I actually never heard of them. Gonna give them a try thanks!
What sort of headphones are you looking for? Over-ear? Buds? Bluetooth? Bone Conducting?
I am thinking of the tranditional wired over the ear ons.
Choice recommends the Sennheiser HD range (HD 300, HD560S & HD 599). The 560S won out with quality of sound and bang-for-buck.
Their Headphones study actually surprised me, I rock a pair of Jabra Elite Active 3’s as my daily, and Choice really hated the sound quality. I’m obviously no audiophile, as I love my Jabras. They also didn’t love the Sony wh-1000xm range, which was the biggest surprise as they’re by far the most popular headphones I see among my colleagues.
Thanks for the info. Lol I am defn not audiophile so maybe your collegues and your preferences suit me more.
One thing I read in forums is that each headphone has different profile (not sure if its the right word) so it really depends on the personal taste. But hopefully these reviews help me narrow down a few so I can find a store to try them out.
Profile is the right word, also response curve. If you can find one, try to look for a waterfall graph of “frequency, intensity, decay” to get a better idea of what to expect.
Studio headphones, or ones that you can most easily adjust the response with some EQ, have the flattest response curve and the shortest decay.
There is also transient response like with any electric circuit, but I haven’t seen anyone do a full analysis for headphones.
Thanks for these terms. One problem with google is how they always end up with big name domains and they basically use the same terms. And I need these terms you used so I can search in more depth. Thanks again.
