Casey Newton

I've sort of lost track of this metaphor. I don't know if Google is a boat now. It's gone completely away from me. But if you just sort of imagine them as a large thing that survived whatever I was talking about, that's what it would be.

I've sort of lost track of this metaphor. I don't know if Google is a boat now. It's gone completely away from me. But if you just sort of imagine them as a large thing that survived whatever I was talking about, that's what it would be.

Well, I mean, set the journalists aside for it. I mean, this is something else I think is important to say so people don't just think we're navel-gazing about our own industry. Google does not only deliver traffic to publishers. It's how people discover all sorts of businesses, right?

Well, I mean, set the journalists aside for it. I mean, this is something else I think is important to say so people don't just think we're navel-gazing about our own industry. Google does not only deliver traffic to publishers. It's how people discover all sorts of businesses, right?

Well, I mean, set the journalists aside for it. I mean, this is something else I think is important to say so people don't just think we're navel-gazing about our own industry. Google does not only deliver traffic to publishers. It's how people discover all sorts of businesses, right?

You move to a new town, you need a dry cleaner, you need a dog walker, you want to know some cool restaurants or cool bars. Right now, imperfect as it is, all of those things can like jockey for a position. They can go to the search engine optimizers and they can get some tips.

You move to a new town, you need a dry cleaner, you need a dog walker, you want to know some cool restaurants or cool bars. Right now, imperfect as it is, all of those things can like jockey for a position. They can go to the search engine optimizers and they can get some tips.

You move to a new town, you need a dry cleaner, you need a dog walker, you want to know some cool restaurants or cool bars. Right now, imperfect as it is, all of those things can like jockey for a position. They can go to the search engine optimizers and they can get some tips.

And hopefully if they're a really good restaurant or a really good dry cleaner, they'll pop up to the top of search results. And they might not even have to buy a Google ad, right? Like they can compete just by being really good.

And hopefully if they're a really good restaurant or a really good dry cleaner, they'll pop up to the top of search results. And they might not even have to buy a Google ad, right? Like they can compete just by being really good.

And hopefully if they're a really good restaurant or a really good dry cleaner, they'll pop up to the top of search results. And they might not even have to buy a Google ad, right? Like they can compete just by being really good.

We are talking about the beginning of a future where all of those web pages, whatever all those other businesses are doing to sort of wave their hands and say, hey, we exist. That is all just getting subsumed into an even more complicated and mysterious set of algorithms that's just going to be spat out. And you're just going to be told, yeah. Here's the three dry cleaners in your town.

We are talking about the beginning of a future where all of those web pages, whatever all those other businesses are doing to sort of wave their hands and say, hey, we exist. That is all just getting subsumed into an even more complicated and mysterious set of algorithms that's just going to be spat out. And you're just going to be told, yeah. Here's the three dry cleaners in your town.

We are talking about the beginning of a future where all of those web pages, whatever all those other businesses are doing to sort of wave their hands and say, hey, we exist. That is all just getting subsumed into an even more complicated and mysterious set of algorithms that's just going to be spat out. And you're just going to be told, yeah. Here's the three dry cleaners in your town.

And hopefully, one of those will be good. So I don't want to overly romanticize the present state of affairs because I do think that SEO has ruined a lot of things. But... It still seems preferable to me to a world where there is just this kind of mystery AI giving you the answer to everything and actively discouraging you from visiting websites to make up your own mind.

And hopefully, one of those will be good. So I don't want to overly romanticize the present state of affairs because I do think that SEO has ruined a lot of things. But... It still seems preferable to me to a world where there is just this kind of mystery AI giving you the answer to everything and actively discouraging you from visiting websites to make up your own mind.

And hopefully, one of those will be good. So I don't want to overly romanticize the present state of affairs because I do think that SEO has ruined a lot of things. But... It still seems preferable to me to a world where there is just this kind of mystery AI giving you the answer to everything and actively discouraging you from visiting websites to make up your own mind.

And I just keep going back to like at this conference this week, they just kept coming back to this phrase, let Google do the Googling for you. And what they were telling us was, searching the web is a chore, using the internet is a chore, Google is now the thing that stops you from having to do that chore.

And I just keep going back to like at this conference this week, they just kept coming back to this phrase, let Google do the Googling for you. And what they were telling us was, searching the web is a chore, using the internet is a chore, Google is now the thing that stops you from having to do that chore.

And I just keep going back to like at this conference this week, they just kept coming back to this phrase, let Google do the Googling for you. And what they were telling us was, searching the web is a chore, using the internet is a chore, Google is now the thing that stops you from having to do that chore.