Google’s story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth. The once-beloved startup—with its unofficial “Don’t Be Evil” motto—has instead become a major Internet monopolist, as a federal judge ruled on Monday, dominating the market for online search. Google is also well-known for its data-harvesting practices, for constantly killing off products, and for facilitating the rise of brain-cell-destroying YouTubers who make me Fear for Today’s Youth. (Maybe that last one is just me?)

Google’s rapid rise from “scrappy search engine with doodles” to “dystopic mega-corporation” has been remarkable in many ways, especially when you consider just how much goodwill the company squandered so quickly. Along the way, though, Google has achieved one unexpected result: In a divided America, it offers just about everyone something to hate.

Here are just a few of the players hating Google today.

  • 👍Maximum Derek👍@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    1121·
    3 months ago

    Hopefully DeGoogleing will go a bit like the cable “Cord Cutters” did in terms of headlines over time:

    1. Is cutting cable feasible?
    2. Some are are finding solutions to lower their cable bills.
    3. Industry denies cord cutters are impacting profit.
    4. Providers cling to sports broadcasts as a way to short-circut cord cutters.
    5. Are young people the “never-cable” generation?
    6. Here’s where to watch the Olympics online.

    Of course, streaming is worse than cable now… so lets learn from that.

    • Donjuanme@lemmy.worldEnglish
      435·
      3 months ago

      “streaming is worse than cable now” is it though?

      I stream for weeks on end without a single ad, watching only what I want. I go to an older person’s house and I hear the same friggin commercial jingles, the same canned studio laughter, and shows that are designed for the stupidest common denominator.

      I grew up in the era of Saturday morning cartoons. My brain was liquidified on cereal commercials. I won’t allow cable into my house under any circumstances.

      But I do agree that we should learn from too easily replacing the working with the next big thing without any regulations on how the next big thing is allowed to operate

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        25·
        3 months ago

        I stream for weeks on end without a single ad

        But that’s now changing. The bottom tiers of many (most?) streaming apps include ads, and it’s not a stretch to think that they’ll include ads on the higher tiers eventually, or just increase prices until people downgrade to ad-supported tiers. Yeah, you can use an ad-blocker, but you could also use a DVR for cable that also filters out ads.

        I’m bailing on both and just buying physical media again. I hope that doesn’t die out, but I’m done with paying for subscriptions. We don’t watch a ton, so I’m probably going to save money this way.

        I wish we had a streaming equivalent of a DVR, then I might actually want streaming again.

        • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
          5·
          3 months ago

          Between private torrent trackers and Usenet, pirating has never been easier. I love it!

            • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
              4·
              3 months ago

              I’m not an expert, but I’ve recently used BulkNews and Fast Usenet and I liked them both. You’ll also need an indexer, personally I like DrunkenSlug, NZBGeek and NinjaCentral, but not all of them have open signups.

      • TeoTwawki@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        3 months ago

        Its worse in that to see the content I want I need MULTIPLE subscriptions that add up to more than cables cost …or I can sail the high seas once more. I’ve cancellled everything except amazon because I save enough on shipping to justify it (mostly heavy items)