Wayne
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The 1990's were the halcyon days of the Internet (with the notable exceptions of dial-up networking and lack of HTTPS).
Google was just one of many search engines to choose from, and most of the online content at that time was interesting, non-commercial information put up by average users. Geocities and Angelfire pages were common. There was no Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, etc.
Fast forward to the 21st century where the Web is dominated by commercial entities and websites full of junk advertising, popup windows and garbage content. Social media sites typically do more to stifle free speech and open discussion than promote it. And they are all used to spy on and profile the average person.
Originally, Google was an incredible search engine - mainly due to Larry Page's Page Rank algorithm. Now, it is a monopolistic, behemoth advertising engine. Search results are secondary. You actually need to scroll down past all of the "sponsored" advertising results just to get to the real search results. Google wouldn't have lasted six months in the 90's if they did this.
The good news is that change is coming, and hopefully for the better.
For instance, Elon Musk is creating an AI based search engine to compete with Google. If there is anyone who has the financial, technical and human resources to take on Google, it is Musk.
But one of the biggest coming changes that I foresee with respect to search engine technology is the adoption of subject-based domain names.
Traditionally, dot com's have ruled the roost, so to speak. In the early days everything was .com. It was all the hype. Sure, there were .net, .org, and top level country domains, but those didn't even compete with dot com. If you had an online business you NEEDED a .com. But that is slowly changing.
Top level country domains are now influencing the search results more than ever. For instance, if I search for something on Google from here in Canada, I will often get relevant listings on .ca domains. If I use a VPN and connect through, say, Seattle, Washington, USA, and perform the same search, I will get a different set of results.
With the introduction of subject-based domain names such as .restaurant, .shopping, .bank, .auto, etc., we can expect to start seeing those TLD's creeping into the search results more frequently.
Most people tend to think that the new TLD's are just a money grab. They are; however that is only half of it. Corporations aren't just about the money - they are also about control.
For instance, Google has billions of dollars but they also have a monopoly and presently control virtually the entire search engine market. Same with Facebook and other social media that influences - and to a degree, controls - peoples ideas and behavior.
In his book, Permanent Record, NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden discusses how he worked on government intelligence gathering systems that would not just gather intel on a specific individual, but how they created a massive system to essentially 'record' the entire Internet so that it can be retro-actively searched.
One of the biggest challenges that he mentions is the ability to sift and sort through the vast amounts of information gathered. And while Snowden's revelations are specifically related to government spying on individuals, there is another important factor to consider here - the cataloging of online data in general.
Enter subject-based top level domain names.
I believe that subject-based top level domain names are the future; a means of creating a new Dewey Decimal like classification system for cataloging and classifying all online information based on subject matter.
The adoption of subject-based domain names will increase substantially once they are implemented en masse by companies such as Google. All Google really needs to do is give a few extra "SEO points" to websites whose content matches the subject-based domain name that it is hosted on. Internet marketers will realize the value of this and begin scooping up subject-level domain names in troves and migrate their websites to them.
Why would Google do this?
Government pressure.
In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan show, Netscape founder Marc Andreessen discussed how big tech companies in Silicon Valley are constantly bullied behind the scenes by the American government (and government backed NGOs) to do their bidding or face collapse.
The government has it's own agenda, and being able to efficiently catalogue and classify online data is a top priority. As such, it stands to reason that encouraging and promoting the use of subject-based domain names is inevitable.
It could happen tomorrow, or it may not happen for a few more years.
But mark my words, it IS coming...
Google was just one of many search engines to choose from, and most of the online content at that time was interesting, non-commercial information put up by average users. Geocities and Angelfire pages were common. There was no Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, etc.
Fast forward to the 21st century where the Web is dominated by commercial entities and websites full of junk advertising, popup windows and garbage content. Social media sites typically do more to stifle free speech and open discussion than promote it. And they are all used to spy on and profile the average person.
Originally, Google was an incredible search engine - mainly due to Larry Page's Page Rank algorithm. Now, it is a monopolistic, behemoth advertising engine. Search results are secondary. You actually need to scroll down past all of the "sponsored" advertising results just to get to the real search results. Google wouldn't have lasted six months in the 90's if they did this.
The good news is that change is coming, and hopefully for the better.
For instance, Elon Musk is creating an AI based search engine to compete with Google. If there is anyone who has the financial, technical and human resources to take on Google, it is Musk.
But one of the biggest coming changes that I foresee with respect to search engine technology is the adoption of subject-based domain names.
Traditionally, dot com's have ruled the roost, so to speak. In the early days everything was .com. It was all the hype. Sure, there were .net, .org, and top level country domains, but those didn't even compete with dot com. If you had an online business you NEEDED a .com. But that is slowly changing.
Top level country domains are now influencing the search results more than ever. For instance, if I search for something on Google from here in Canada, I will often get relevant listings on .ca domains. If I use a VPN and connect through, say, Seattle, Washington, USA, and perform the same search, I will get a different set of results.
With the introduction of subject-based domain names such as .restaurant, .shopping, .bank, .auto, etc., we can expect to start seeing those TLD's creeping into the search results more frequently.
Most people tend to think that the new TLD's are just a money grab. They are; however that is only half of it. Corporations aren't just about the money - they are also about control.
For instance, Google has billions of dollars but they also have a monopoly and presently control virtually the entire search engine market. Same with Facebook and other social media that influences - and to a degree, controls - peoples ideas and behavior.
In his book, Permanent Record, NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden discusses how he worked on government intelligence gathering systems that would not just gather intel on a specific individual, but how they created a massive system to essentially 'record' the entire Internet so that it can be retro-actively searched.
One of the biggest challenges that he mentions is the ability to sift and sort through the vast amounts of information gathered. And while Snowden's revelations are specifically related to government spying on individuals, there is another important factor to consider here - the cataloging of online data in general.
Enter subject-based top level domain names.
I believe that subject-based top level domain names are the future; a means of creating a new Dewey Decimal like classification system for cataloging and classifying all online information based on subject matter.
The adoption of subject-based domain names will increase substantially once they are implemented en masse by companies such as Google. All Google really needs to do is give a few extra "SEO points" to websites whose content matches the subject-based domain name that it is hosted on. Internet marketers will realize the value of this and begin scooping up subject-level domain names in troves and migrate their websites to them.
Why would Google do this?
Government pressure.
In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan show, Netscape founder Marc Andreessen discussed how big tech companies in Silicon Valley are constantly bullied behind the scenes by the American government (and government backed NGOs) to do their bidding or face collapse.
The government has it's own agenda, and being able to efficiently catalogue and classify online data is a top priority. As such, it stands to reason that encouraging and promoting the use of subject-based domain names is inevitable.
It could happen tomorrow, or it may not happen for a few more years.
But mark my words, it IS coming...
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