Before the internet, before search, I had a big dictionary and a library look-up list and not everything I wondered about got pursued. Alta Vista, Yahoo, and now Google have quenched a thirst I didn’t realize was so strong. But search is now full of junk, intermediary hits leading to vendors and worms, deceptive metatags pointing me to marketers. Today, searching for the telephone dial codes to a small city in Spain, the first two dozen links were for software to download and try or buy. And I remember a few years ago learning that I couldn’t use the word ‘hotel’ in a city search for accommodations because I would see screens of vendors and websites, not links directly to a local hotel. It’s disappointing to see even Google spoiled, as spam spoiled email.
I don’t mind ads that are clearly ads. I’d pay a small amount for search software that vetted the metatags, screened out the intermediaries.
The competition for my attention is invasive. I wonder if I will just turn away.
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