@rberger@pluralistic I do find it astonishing to have experienced the entire life cycle of Google, from it's initial launch of a simple, fast, clean search engine with no frames or ads, to becoming the antithesis of everything the internet was set up to be. I hope that these tumultuous times are remembered as the rebirth of a decentralized web.
@ramblingsteve@rberger@pluralistic My colleague and I were just now talking about it, both of us being old enough to not just remember when we first saw Google, but to be working in the digital field & have a frame of reference for what we were seeing, which of course only made it seem even more magic & impossible & world-changing...
Imagine creating that & then pissing away your legacy just to make more money 😬
"Private equity firms are utilizing public trust in long-standing publications to sell every product under the sun
In a bid to replace falling ad revenue, publishing houses are selling their publications for parts to media groups that are quick to establish affiliate marketing deals"
@rberger@pluralistic BH&G and Real Simple used to be brands with value. I assume those websites started going downhill in 2022 after Dotdash acquired Meredith.