Dear Tech Companies: Get Out of My Way
Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook etc are increasingly getting in the way of getting what I want on the Internet. Do you have this experience? Can this be their downfall?
Just now, I needed to get a link to an article from another article in the New York Times. I typed “NY Tim” into my browser (Safari) search field. I got an unexpected result: The first result was an ad, not from The New York Times, but from www.googleadservices.com. The second result was also an ad — from The New York Times itself.
This is not new. Search for “SFO-ATL” as I did a few days ago. The first result is an ad for Expedia showing flights from San Francisco to Atlanta. The second result is not an ad but is Google’s guess at what you want to know, which is exactly that, but the result is from Google Flights. This used to be a great service, but I’ve found that as the pandemic has progressed, the search results are inaccurate compared to what flights are available on each airline’s sites or in their apps.
Google is not alone in inserting itself between you and your objective. In its last software release for IOS and MaacOS, Apple introduced something called “Hide My Email”. It sounds like a useful way to avoid being spammed, one that Apple should be applauded for introducing to its users. The only problem is that, if you use Safari to automatically fill out your personal information on web forms, you cannot get rid of Hide My Email except by turning off Autofill, defeating an even more useful feature!
If you order something from Amazon (and who doesn’t), you may have noticed that the company that almost invented shipment notifications has stopped sharing what you ordered in the notification. Amazon only tells you that you ordered something but not what it was; you need to click on a link to see what you bought. (Some people like me order a lot of stuff from Amazon, sometimes several things a day, and I can’t remember the order numbers for each item.) I suspect that making customers click through to see what they ordered helps Amazon’s other business of selling ads on their sites.
Facebook? I probably don’t need to mention how they have been known to organize the news feed that they seemed to have invented to promote items that will get more clicks on ads. Actually, I appreciate that they have allowed me to continue to use facebook.com to read links on my phone, rather than forcing me to download their app. Instagram doesn't.
My point being? I really wish that these companies could prioritize what their customers want or need higher than their own business interests. That used to be the hallmark of successful companies, making their customers happy!
The web strategies of these large tech companies also have significant impact on how smaller companies build their websites. Small business (like the ones I work for) often take their cue from larger companies when it comes to design/layout/organization. They do this, often, without understanding why these large organizations made the decision in the first place. This creates a situation where the internet (and its usefulness) degrades overtime. So frustrating!
Right on! Forcing innovation to fuel growth is a plague brought on by big tech companies. Useless new features, more complexity, dubious functionality, etc. results in worse offerings for users as real, beneficial innovation gets harder and harder. It’s interesting to watch how hard companies lean into, and rely on, their stickiness to get more click revenue. Works great for profits right up to the point users get pissed enough to dump it for something better. Speak with your feet.