Thank GOD!! I grew up in household that escaped communism and nazi occupation. When my grandmother's delivered bread to the table both constantly reminded me how lucky I was to be free. Excellent piece, thank you for your time and commitment to the truth.
Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021Liked by Good Citizen
Wonderful essay. Particularly liked "The youth of today are a product of 20 years of mistaking Google searches for truth, and truth for knowledge and knowledge for wisdom." So true.
So glad for Substack at the moment as a cyberflâneur (although I'd rather be a flâneur in the real, not virtual world, but my government doesn't think I should go out much anymore).
Appreciate your critical (albeit dangerous) thinking!
Remember the leaked video of the high-level employee meeting at Google HQ shortly after Trump won in 2016? They made it quite obvious that Google could never again be trusted to return impartial results.
Totally agree. A dozen or so years ago I too was a internet surfer. I learned a great deal about many things... Those were the days.
I remember having a conversation with my sister about Google just after Trump was nominated. I told her that I thought that google could predict the outcome of the election. I still think I'm correct.
So, now when I think about what the internet should be and how it should work my first priority, and most important, would be NO censorship should be tolerated.
Dec 28, 2021·edited Dec 28, 2021Liked by Good Citizen
Google is very close to becoming useless. Searching for a Finnish folk band (using those words) recently, whose name I had forgotten (Slack Bird) most of the results were Japanese manga style results.
Duckduckgo though is just a billionaire funded side project using Yahoo servers (or it was) and likely Yahoo code. They likely subsidised Rogan to say that. And I had a run in with one of its founders on Twitter a few years ago for questioning its claims. He was a little unpleasant in a threatening sort of way.
But what are the alternatives? Bing is another Yahoo offshoot run by Gates. Qwant seems hooked into the French establishment, Startpage is supposed to be a private engine but who's running it (based in Netherlands but American owned I think). There's another one out of Germany that is distributed but run by wokesters.
I dunno, how much code do you need to run your own one?
Dec 29, 2021·edited Dec 29, 2021Liked by Good Citizen
An important, thoughtful, and well-written essay. And for myself, a needed slap in the face. Thank you. I have some time in January to confront my own sins. Several years ago, I was (believe rightfully) an admirer of Siva Vaidhyanathan's writing on Internet Governance and Intellectual Property, particularly his Copyrights and Copywrongs (2001), and The Anarchist in the Library: The Clash between Freedom & Control (2005). Great stuff. Then in 2012, he came out with The Googlization of Everything: And Why We Should Worry. I was like yeah, yeah, yeah. It's good-ish but alarmist, a little over the top, one-sided and does not account for A, B, C, et cetera. Looking at the today's realities, Siva V. was restrained and moderate -- even optimistic. (Let me qualify that I am not down with all of Siva V's current commitments. Just that he was an early and astute critic). Not like I wasn't warned -- just that I could not or would not listen. So won't say that I will be going either "Off-grid" or Dark Web (even that is compromised). But I will be redoing my digital life.
I work in advertising/marketing and this has given me a refined sense of when I’m being manipulated and lied to.
I think it was around 2007 (10 at the latest) that I predicted half jokingly that Google would become a benevolent version of The Terminator’s Skynet. I’m almost embarrassed to have been that naive. Skynet? Indeed. Benevolent? Lol!!!!
It’s difficult to get through to anyone, however; even the smart ones perform all kinds of gymnastics with their eyebrows as one feels more and more like the idiot conspiracist while trying to explain. Im always reminded of the story told by writer David Foster Wallace at the start of a commencement speech regarding two young fish wondering what the hell is water.
One thing that makes me wonder (I am thinking aloud) is whether the 'propaganda' of "be afraid of the internet, there are computer viruses out there" and with new antivirus softwares approving 'safe' sites has pushed people more intensively to this type of 'stay in the middle of the lane' approach to the internet. There could be a virus out there, ready to steal your bank info and privacy (and this time it's not the Canadian government!).
Wow! I just found your substack through an article by eugyppius. This is my first article of yours to read. Very few people can explain the things they understand as beautifully as you can. Incredible writing.
Nothing will change at Google until the corrupted hands on the keyboard are removed. The actors need to be named and exposed - flushed out from behind the 'Google facade.
Thank GOD!! I grew up in household that escaped communism and nazi occupation. When my grandmother's delivered bread to the table both constantly reminded me how lucky I was to be free. Excellent piece, thank you for your time and commitment to the truth.
Wonderful essay. Particularly liked "The youth of today are a product of 20 years of mistaking Google searches for truth, and truth for knowledge and knowledge for wisdom." So true.
So glad for Substack at the moment as a cyberflâneur (although I'd rather be a flâneur in the real, not virtual world, but my government doesn't think I should go out much anymore).
Appreciate your critical (albeit dangerous) thinking!
Impressive writing hombre
Remember the leaked video of the high-level employee meeting at Google HQ shortly after Trump won in 2016? They made it quite obvious that Google could never again be trusted to return impartial results.
Totally agree. A dozen or so years ago I too was a internet surfer. I learned a great deal about many things... Those were the days.
I remember having a conversation with my sister about Google just after Trump was nominated. I told her that I thought that google could predict the outcome of the election. I still think I'm correct.
So, now when I think about what the internet should be and how it should work my first priority, and most important, would be NO censorship should be tolerated.
Google is very close to becoming useless. Searching for a Finnish folk band (using those words) recently, whose name I had forgotten (Slack Bird) most of the results were Japanese manga style results.
Duckduckgo though is just a billionaire funded side project using Yahoo servers (or it was) and likely Yahoo code. They likely subsidised Rogan to say that. And I had a run in with one of its founders on Twitter a few years ago for questioning its claims. He was a little unpleasant in a threatening sort of way.
But what are the alternatives? Bing is another Yahoo offshoot run by Gates. Qwant seems hooked into the French establishment, Startpage is supposed to be a private engine but who's running it (based in Netherlands but American owned I think). There's another one out of Germany that is distributed but run by wokesters.
I dunno, how much code do you need to run your own one?
An important, thoughtful, and well-written essay. And for myself, a needed slap in the face. Thank you. I have some time in January to confront my own sins. Several years ago, I was (believe rightfully) an admirer of Siva Vaidhyanathan's writing on Internet Governance and Intellectual Property, particularly his Copyrights and Copywrongs (2001), and The Anarchist in the Library: The Clash between Freedom & Control (2005). Great stuff. Then in 2012, he came out with The Googlization of Everything: And Why We Should Worry. I was like yeah, yeah, yeah. It's good-ish but alarmist, a little over the top, one-sided and does not account for A, B, C, et cetera. Looking at the today's realities, Siva V. was restrained and moderate -- even optimistic. (Let me qualify that I am not down with all of Siva V's current commitments. Just that he was an early and astute critic). Not like I wasn't warned -- just that I could not or would not listen. So won't say that I will be going either "Off-grid" or Dark Web (even that is compromised). But I will be redoing my digital life.
I want to note due to the subject matter
This is the only substack of the dozen I subscribe to that goes mostly in thru my spam
Nothing to see here...
Ha ha ha
Spam I am not..
Thank you
Blessings
That was delicious to read.
I work in advertising/marketing and this has given me a refined sense of when I’m being manipulated and lied to.
I think it was around 2007 (10 at the latest) that I predicted half jokingly that Google would become a benevolent version of The Terminator’s Skynet. I’m almost embarrassed to have been that naive. Skynet? Indeed. Benevolent? Lol!!!!
It’s difficult to get through to anyone, however; even the smart ones perform all kinds of gymnastics with their eyebrows as one feels more and more like the idiot conspiracist while trying to explain. Im always reminded of the story told by writer David Foster Wallace at the start of a commencement speech regarding two young fish wondering what the hell is water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI
U can hear the Rule of Freedom suite in utoob
I will have to find another cite for some newer things coming...
Oh well
Good article - thanks.
One thing that makes me wonder (I am thinking aloud) is whether the 'propaganda' of "be afraid of the internet, there are computer viruses out there" and with new antivirus softwares approving 'safe' sites has pushed people more intensively to this type of 'stay in the middle of the lane' approach to the internet. There could be a virus out there, ready to steal your bank info and privacy (and this time it's not the Canadian government!).
Wow! I just found your substack through an article by eugyppius. This is my first article of yours to read. Very few people can explain the things they understand as beautifully as you can. Incredible writing.
Nothing will change at Google until the corrupted hands on the keyboard are removed. The actors need to be named and exposed - flushed out from behind the 'Google facade.
Brevity is gold. use Yandex and DuckDuckGo. Suggestions instead of talk.