I used to be able to keyword-search my way to some very particular results. Sometimes I searched for things with varying levels of complexity, like using multiple specific keywords to pull two bits of information from the summary of one result.
Now, I get this feeling of being defeated before I even type anything in to the search box.
I’ve found myself primarily using Telegram for certain compiled news and social commentary for two main reasons. First is that I can be sure that I’m making the fully informed choice to click on to those channels, rather than being served up some kind of algorithmic distraction from what I want to see. The mix of sources, groups, personalities and so on, tends to be more varied than most search engines seem to be able to offer.
This also makes me concerned that the internet will eventually devolve into a series of apps, rather than many individual websites that are indexed and searchable.
Second, it’s near-impossible these days to find raw footage on certain news stories on sites like Youtube. Instead, I get spammed with results from their “trusted” or “authoritative sources” or whatever it is, like CNN, MSNBC, The BBC, etc. If they ever show raw footage, it’s most often chopped up and spoken over, usually with some deliberate political spin.
