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Online Clueless Ad Companies

It might actually be users that are clueless. With me and my friends we have a policy of never buying anything from pushed ads. If we are interested in something we will look it up ourselves. Then if we want it we buy it and that’s that. Don’t bother trying to sell me what I’ve already bought.

Trying to make me buy something from large ads that have changing content which is annoying as heck, is a surefire thing to stop us from using them.

Now I do recognize that it’s a clear minority viewpoint as they would not do ads unless some, I’ll try to be nice here, people did not respond to them. Same with spam, if it was a waste of time it would not be so prevalent.

Then you always end up with ads that are based on some browsing somebody did on your internal network. Of someone not the same sex as you, which you might never be able to use, or look funny wearing… What happened to cookies that should keep track of that?

In the end I’m cutting out, or moving to the bottom of the bookmarks, sites with 3rd party ads. I rarely have to go to sites like that so no big loss.

This whole scene is motivated by making money. Everything is justified by the need to make money. Things people to each other to make, or take, money. Amazing, you’d think there was some kind of scarcity. There are so many ways of earning an honest buck without throwing away your self respect.

These online ads are not the why, just a symptom. An annoying symptom at times, but still only an indicator of where society is at. I don’t have an issue with advertising your products and services, but I get annoyed enough that I avoid ones that are forced upon me. Never mind ones that thinks it cool to play audio when you arrive without asking first.

Both Netflix and Amazon does the same with their shows and movies. You cannot casually try to find something of interest without being forced into something that starts playing because letting me choose is not effective or something. Makes me treat them the same way, find someone who does not. Not very easy at this late point in the game.

Accurate search engines are all gone

Over the years I frequently get annoyed with Google and all other search engines because they will not return what I ask for.

Using the + and ” as explained is almost useless.

What is it that one cannot get a specific search done?
I enter, for example:

+”5.5 mfd” 400v motor capacitor

I get hundreds of replies that are NOT 5.5, and a couple that are, but all others are not. Changing the search to:

+”5.5″ mfd 400v motor capacitor

gives some more 5.5 replies, still most are something else including the first row of advertised ones.

Back in the early days of the internet there was an engine (Altavista) that not only returned EXACTLY what you searched for but you could search the result! Of course they were successful and got bought up. The new owners promptly ruined the functionality and they disappeared. Maybe it was a competitor that did not like competition. Why else be so stupidly incompetent?

These days Google thinks its better to guess what you really want and return that instead. They clearly don’t think much of us. The same with every single engines that I have tried – utterly incompetent as far as I’m concerned.

By all means, deliver the “improved” results, but allow for exact searching! You have the capacity to do that, and even pretend to deliver it with + and “. People in most professions that require specificity would move immediately. Imagine being able to search for something specific and only get what you asked for!!

September 24 Is World Day Against Software Patents

Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure, has a press release declaring Sep 24 World Day Against Software Patents:


Full Press Release.