Hacker News Reader

But it is new. We have clearly crossed a threshold, and we know when it happened: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/

View on HN

Google was not the first search engine, and it certainly isn't the first search engine to fall from grace.

There is basically only before and after Google. No search engine was ever as important to the Internet. It’s basically a pillar of what we have now.

I remember people using Yahoo and AltaVista a lot. And before gmail everyone had a yahoo email (if they didn't already have a hotmail). Times change, kings fall from grace.

Google has been the dominant force for about 80% of the internet’s existence. I understand things come and go, but Google is incredibly unique. Their importance cannot be overstated

Yes but they were mainly a force of evil. Despite their old motto. They made the internet everything it is today, a hellscape of tracking, advertising and other monetisation.

None of this is an endorsement of the company - I am almost done de-googling my life. They are terrible.

It doesn’t change the fact that they literally impacted the trajectory of how the internet developed in a very obvious, concrete way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com