Dec 4, 2024 · 26 min · 12 segments
From Amazon to Spotify to TikTok, the tech platforms we use tell us what to consume — and, increasingly, determine what gets made in the first place. On this week’s TLDR, we go deep into the history…
Sarah RiegerHost
Google is losing control of the search engine market, which feels really wild to say.
Like, how does a $2 trillion company lose even like a tiny bit of grip on a market it has a monopoly over? But I think it's kind of shot itself in the foot in a way that's made the entire internet worse, in my opinion.
And I want to illustrate like just how polluted the results are now by doing a Google search for best printer for home use 2024.
So that's a little bit different than mine, which makes sense because Google surfaces different results for people based on their profile and their location.
But on mine, one of the top hits is this article from The Verge that I think is really funny.
So the article is titled, Best Printer 2024, Best Printer for Home Use, Office Use, Printing Labels, Printer for School, Homework Printer, You Are a Printer, We Are All Printers.
I feel like it started out as service journalism and ended up with existential questions.
Yeah, it sounds like a poem kind of written by a robot slowly going insane to me.
And if you've ever searched for any product online, I feel like you've probably read an article like the one that this is parodying.
Like, you know, here's what's popular, here's its best features, and then there's an affiliate link that means they will make money off of whatever you purchase online.
So I just want to read a line from the article, which is written by Verge editor Nailai Patel.
Google is losing control of the search engine market, which feels really wild to say.
Like, how does a $2 trillion company lose even like a tiny bit of grip on a market it has a monopoly over? But I think it's kind of shot itself in the foot in a way that's made the entire internet worse, in my opinion.
And I want to illustrate like just how polluted the results are now by doing a Google search for best printer for home use 2024.
So that's a little bit different than mine, which makes sense because Google surfaces different results for people based on their profile and their location.
But on mine, one of the top hits is this article from The Verge that I think is really funny.
So the article is titled, Best Printer 2024, Best Printer for Home Use, Office Use, Printing Labels, Printer for School, Homework Printer, You Are a Printer, We Are All Printers.
I feel like it started out as service journalism and ended up with existential questions.
Yeah, it sounds like a poem kind of written by a robot slowly going insane to me.
And if you've ever searched for any product online, I feel like you've probably read an article like the one that this is parodying.
Like, you know, here's what's popular, here's its best features, and then there's an affiliate link that means they will make money off of whatever you purchase online.
So I just want to read a line from the article, which is written by Verge editor Nailai Patel.
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