Seriously, there was a time when Google seemed to know what I meant when I searched for something. It was kind of uncanny but damn was it useful.
These days when I specifically enter a set of search terms, it is not just not unheard of but quite common that Google will present me not just with search results that DON'T include one or more of my terms but actually the opposite of my terms.
Maybe I got older and missed changes in how Google works... possible. It's just at this point Google is nothing more than
These days when I specifically enter a set of search terms, it is not just not unheard of but quite common that Google will present me not just with search results that DON'T include one or more of my terms but actually the opposite of my terms.
Maybe I got older and missed changes in how Google works... possible. It's just at this point Google is nothing more than a pain in my ass.
Google has changed a lot over the years and it's worth remembering that natural language queries are the norm. In many cases if you try to structure a search like you did in the 90s a search engine won't have a frigging clue what you're looking for.
Google still has by far the best hit rate for me, but then if you know how something works you can use it to your advantage.
It's the same principle as with AI customized ads that show me exactly what interests me... which is an outright falsehood. I almost never see ads that are of interest to me, anywhere.
I guess you have reasonable anti-tracking? I mean no adverts interest me, but I generally see ads only related to my interests. Usually stupidly late like I bought a 3D printer in December and now I see nothing but ads for 3D printers. Why they think I need a second one is beyond me.
"Google has changed a lot over the years and it's worth remembering that natural language queries are the norm. "
Yeah, I was born in the mid 70's and I have been using the web since 1994, right before it became a 'thing' with the public.
So I am used to using quotes and operators, and Google should be 'smart' enough to recognize a 90's style search query and behave accordingly. This is the same company who like others froth at the mouth about "AI is the future, blah blah blah", so surely this
The confusion of a staff member is measured by the length of his memos.
-- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981
Google is close to useless (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, there was a time when Google seemed to know what I meant when I searched for something. It was kind of uncanny but damn was it useful.
These days when I specifically enter a set of search terms, it is not just not unheard of but quite common that Google will present me not just with search results that DON'T include one or more of my terms but actually the opposite of my terms.
Maybe I got older and missed changes in how Google works... possible. It's just at this point Google is nothing more than
Re:Google is close to useless (Score:2)
These days when I specifically enter a set of search terms, it is not just not unheard of but quite common that Google will present me not just with search results that DON'T include one or more of my terms but actually the opposite of my terms.
Maybe I got older and missed changes in how Google works... possible. It's just at this point Google is nothing more than a pain in my ass.
Google has changed a lot over the years and it's worth remembering that natural language queries are the norm. In many cases if you try to structure a search like you did in the 90s a search engine won't have a frigging clue what you're looking for.
Google still has by far the best hit rate for me, but then if you know how something works you can use it to your advantage.
It's the same principle as with AI customized ads that show me exactly what interests me... which is an outright falsehood. I almost never see ads that are of interest to me, anywhere.
I guess you have reasonable anti-tracking? I mean no adverts interest me, but I generally see ads only related to my interests. Usually stupidly late like I bought a 3D printer in December and now I see nothing but ads for 3D printers. Why they think I need a second one is beyond me.
Re: (Score:1)
"Google has changed a lot over the years and it's worth remembering that natural language queries are the norm. "
Yeah, I was born in the mid 70's and I have been using the web since 1994, right before it became a 'thing' with the public.
So I am used to using quotes and operators, and Google should be 'smart' enough to recognize a 90's style search query and behave accordingly. This is the same company who like others froth at the mouth about "AI is the future, blah blah blah", so surely this