So, here I go adventuring into the world of blogging — into a place I'm not really sure I belong. I have since long thought about what I would write in my first post… what I could possibly offer to the world that hasn't already been covered off in umpteen-billion other blogs or forums — truth is I'm not sure that there is anything. I'm not sure if that's the point.
Either way, for better or worse, I have finally decided to go ahead and impose myself on the world. And for this first post I might as well bite off more than I can chew…
Google… (sigh)
I loved using Google. I loved getting millions of results every time I went looking for Vespas, iPods, and le Parkour. I loved being able to search for local businesses and services, and zooming in on my house using Google Maps. And then along came gmail… Ahhh, sweet gmail.
A suite of services that were so easy to use, with such great results and attention to (functional) detail that it was easy to not think about what might be going on behind the scenes. I was enjoying this relationship so much that I didn't really think about what Google might be doing "behind my back".
Funnily enough, it was while checking in on a bit of Google News that I first learned about what would eventually lead to me no longer using their services. I learned that a number of people were boycotting all things Google. I learned that Google was offering a censored version of their searching platform to China, custom tailored to the Chinese Government's specifications, where anytime someone does a search of a "questionable nature", or for "sensitive topics" (democracy, Tibet, the Dalai Lama, etc.) they are automatically redirected to a page dishing out Communist propaganda.
(If you want to learn more about this visit the Student's for a Free Tibet (SFT) web-site or their spinoff site noluv4google.com — they're much better at explaining the specifics)
Now I'm usually not one to hop on any kind of "bandwagon", and I wasn't entirely sure if I would actually join in boycotting the big Google either. However, as the days went on, this thing really started to get to me… I really wasn't informed enough at the time to make a proper decision, so I had to start researching it for myself. The more I find out, the less the whole thing sits well with me.
A lot of people are upset with Google but most of these people haven't bothered to research things enough (I'm still not sure if I have or not). I have tried all of the search engines listed in noluv4google's "Google Alternatives" list (and I appreciate the research) but what I am now left wondering is… is this it? Are these the only "acceptable" alternatives? Are all other parties involved in questionable politics? What are these other (not listed) alternatives that are NOT acceptable replacements and why? I have been trying to find the best "anti-Google" search engines available but other than this site indicating which companies are seen as friendlier alternatives I am finding it very difficult to find which ones are not.
For example, I found a few bloggers hopping on the anti-Google campaign but stating that they will use Alltheweb.com for all of their searches from now on — obviously completely oblivious to fact that it is now owned by Yahoo (even more problematic than Google [SFT, InfoWorld]). Another site lists the following after their boycott-of-Google statement: GigaBlast, MozDex, Fybersearch, AltaVista, HotBot, Excite, AllTheWeb, Search.com, Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com), and Teoma.
I have been trying my best to find the best substitutes for Google but I am finding it difficult to weed out the ones that are owned by the "Baddies". I know that Alltheweb.com is owned by Yahoo and I've found a couple of sources that mentioned HotBot.com works closely with Google.
If a Search Engine uses information from Google but is not owned by Google how is it seen? I stumbled across this link that seems to sum up the relationship between many of the big players: bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf
I have been using Ask.com as my main search engine platform, supplementing its short-fallings with IceRocket.com and Clusty.com, hoping that these are all viable options. Ask.com/MyStuff.ask.com has a number of great features, but I'm not sure how it sits if uses "Paid results" from Google (whatever "Paid results" are). IceRocket.com is listed with SFT but it has a Google button on the right-hand side of their results column that places the IceRocket.com results on your Google.com homepage… (shrug)
As I said, the whole thing is just not sitting well with me and I just want to make the right decision and a well informed decision. Any insight anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. In mean time I'll continue using Ask.com/MyStuff.ask.com, IceRocket.com and Clusty.com — they all seem to generate consistent results, in number of results and relevance.
So long, Google. It was fun… but now we're done.
Cheers.
—
steelie
[UPDATE]
After further scrutinizing all three Search Engines recommended above, I have dropped Ask.com as one of my primary search platforms in exchange for IceRocket.com. I've been getting many more results with IceRocket.com. Plus, they provide the option to view a thumbnail of the sites listed in your search results — which you can turn off if you have a slower internet connection.
Clusty.com now occupies second place. Both Ask.com and Clusty.com have been returning a similar number of results, however, Clusty.com provides the option to further narrow your search by "clustering" (thus the name) common sub-themes.
I am now only using Ask.com if I cannot find what I'm looking for with the other two.
—
steelie
I might try this out…but I'm reluctant to give up Google at the moment. Being a political science student, I actually should boycott Google….but it's the fact that I'm a student that I need to use Google…at least for the moment. Apart from that, my main blog is on Blogger, which is Google owned. *sighs* It seems a hard thing to get away from Google (I mean, with all the research to avoid all the other "baddies"…and I mean, eventually, it seems Google will be buying up more and more of the smaller companies or the smaller companies will eventually be forced into a position to work 'closely' with Google).But yeah, after having read your posts…Google starts to bug me, too. And being Asian (my dad's Chinese, but we're from Thailand), I know what it's like.
I had no idea…oh dear. Morals and values vs. convenience. It's funny, a while ago my sister and I had a long conversation about a similar topic (she's taking-up making ethical choices with her youth group this year). I find it frustrating that it's so difficult to make "just" choices — the business and humane practices of companies is so burried most of the time that even when you think you're being ethical, you're not. Companies are owned by bigger companies that are owned by mega-corporations that employ children with bleeding fingers to make their products. Gap, Old Navy, most everything at dollar stores — these are just a few of the examples. I remember when Simone tried to boycott everything from the US when the gulf war broke-out. It only lasted a day or two because it was almost impossible to get proper nutrition (it was the middle of winter remember). Sometimes I feel debilitated. Being informed makes it harder to make choices and yet I wouldn't choose otherwise.
At first, I found it really tough to not use Google because it was everywhere… the ads, almost every browser toolbar, many companies seem to use it as the search component specific to their site… I became obsessed with trying to find the best Google alternatives. I honestly must have spent (accumulative) eight or nine full days sorting through everything… I still don’t feel like I’ve got it all figured out but I’m happy with where I am for now. All I can do is keep trying even though they keep making it harder and harder to avoid completely…[sigh]–steelie
Have you seen this: http://opennet.net/google_china/I'm hooked on Google and finding hard to stop. I guess I really should make the decision to find another search engine or not. Just feeling guilty about it is getting me no where!*sigh* is right…s.
Sem…If you want to try another one give IceRocket.com a try… Of all the one’s I’ve tried — and there have been many — this one has been the best of all Mac/Safari friendly engines. Some other search engines use all kinds of fancy scripting to make their sites do “impressive” things but they keep returning error and irregular results.I checked out the site you posted…At least, according to the report “Google informs its users when their search results have been filtered
(to date, Microsoft and Yahoo!'s Chinese search services do not), and
provides users with a link to the unfiltered Google.com home page.” — unfiltered by Google.com itself anyway… still heavily filtered on some topics (democracy) by the Chinese Government. You can find some comfort in that I guess… oddly I have a tad (the tiniest smidgen).When I tested the site, for the most part, I kept getting similar results in both windows provided… no doubt thanks to the big CN Gov… so I also compared those searches to what I would get at Google.ca/com and in some cases I would get 5 to 100 times more results…The review methodology at Opennet.net seems to be quite thorough… I think I’ll try getting in touch with someone there to get their opinion on the whole boycotting Google thing… Google does offer that un-self-filtered option I didn’t know about before…Time to pick the shovel up and keep digging…[double-sigh]–steelie
Well, I revisted Opennet.net in the spirit of digging deeper in my ongoing attempt to stay as informed as possible. I’ll post more when or if I hear anything. Actually, if I do hear anything, it might warrant a new entry :O) In the mean time I’ve included my question I posted to their blog which is current awaiting moderation:steelie Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.October 7th, 2006 at 11:13 pmLet me start off by saying that I’m not going to pretend to be as
politically savvy or as much of an activist compared to some… However,
when I caught wind of the Google.cn cersorship news back in January, it just didn’t sit well with me… which will probaly make my comment/reply more of a “personal struggle” nature than most you might get.I eventually decided to stop using Google’s services. However, more
and more applications/online services/company websites are building
Google services right into their own… it’s been getting harder and
harder to avoid them. In addition to this, I was recently pointed to
your Google.cn vs Google.com
comparison site where I learned that “Google informs its users when
their search results have been filtered (to date, Microsoft and
Yahoo!’s Chinese search services do not), and provides users with a
link to the unfiltered Google.com home page”.After having read many-an-article arguing that some censored
information is better than no information at all and just as many
slamming the big “G” calling for a full-out boycott, in an ongoing
personal effort to stay as informed as possible, I guess I have come to
OPI with the hopes for further clarification. This site, out of all the
ones I have visited, seems to best research and report on the severity
of Google.cn censorship and internet censorshop in general.Does the fact that Google.cn offers the “Sorry we had to censor
your results — government policy. Give the Chinese Google.com a spin…
the results are still censored but hey, at least we didn’t do it
ourselves” approach somehow lessen the severity of Google’s
agreement to censor its results at all? Or is Google.cn meerly the
result of another mega-company caring more about more money than how
their actions actually affect people? Is a full-out boycott hasty or
appropriate?Any input/opinion at all would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
–
steelie
Wow, speaking of Google becoming harder and harder to avoid…Google just aquired YouTube for $1.65 Billion in stocks. There goes one of my time killers. Eventually this whole boycott will become pointless because according to MacRumours.com, apparently APPLE is in talks with Google about streaming video for their upcoming iTV…Crap…I have an Apple computer. I need my computer to make a living. I need to make a living to provide for my family. Needless to say, I’m not prepared to not make a living for my family. At some point I’m going to be using Google services — directly or indirectly — whether I want to or not. I’m sure I’m using their services indirectly right now, just uncertain as to where or how.Crap…–steelie
Yeah, I heard about this on the radio. Google apparently thinks that YouTube is going to be the next TV. Yeah right…
I know how you feel, steelie. I've recently become more conscious about trying to avoid companies that have poor employee ethics. It's near to impossible. Things are cheap for a reason: the company paid someone dirt for money in order to make/assemble it. And seeing that I'm living on a student budget, I feel a bit trapped.
Why is it that the things that are *good* in this world are expensive and the things that are *bad* are cheap?! Organic & free range food are the perfect example (as I know you know). Even better, healty food is more costly than junk! You can stuff your face full of pizza pockets for less money that it takes to make a salad and good sandwich. We've got it all wrong, all wrong I tell you…
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