Batman easter egg (click the bat signal)

https://www.google.com/search?q=gotham+city

by simonpure • 4 years ago

175 50 4 years ago

google.com

highwind• 4 years ago

Nothing happens on Firefox Mobile on Android.

VoidWhisperer• 4 years ago

Seconding this - does it just not show up on firefox mobile or..?

DoktorDelta• 4 years ago

It works with the "Google Search Fixer" extension for mobile FF

teekert• 4 years ago

Does work on FF on iOS but of course that is not really FF.

mysterydip• 4 years ago

Works on safari on iOS, for what it's worth.

nabakin2• 4 years ago

Works for me. I'm using the nightly version though. Maybe that makes a difference? Icon appears at the top right below the search bar.

jvdvegt• 4 years ago

I don't see anything special with Firefox on Android, not logged in to Google :(

anakaine• 4 years ago

Works on Brave. Takes a couple of seconds to start.

chao-• 4 years ago

Same. Firefox on Android. It just takes me to the image preview page.

lstamour• 4 years ago

What you’re supposed to click on is an animated bat signal light that rotates and lights up yellow. It’s in the upper-right corner of the image carousel in the search results. If you click an image, it’ll take you to the image preview, but that’s not the Easter egg.

someweirdperson• 4 years ago

enable "desktop site"; the signal appears in the box on the right.

ldjb2• 4 years ago

It works on Firefox Android if you install the Google Search Fixer add-on.

https://addons.mozilla.org/android/addon/google-search-fixer

internetter• 4 years ago

Noah get the boat...

mFixman• 4 years ago

"This add-on is not available on your platform".

Am I missing some way to install more add-ons on Firefox for Android?

BbzzbB• 4 years ago

Oh jeez, the only reason I had to keep Chrome on my phone (besides not being given a choice by Google) was to look up stocks as Firefox didn't display them with the full card/chart (even tho it was obviously a predatory measure by Google rather than a limitation of Firefox Mobile).

What a blessed day. I missed the general cards and synopsises Google made for some searches but couldn't be bothered to change browser (and watch ads) for them (aside from stock charts).

closewith• 4 years ago

These kind of Easter eggs were way more endearing when Google wasn't the incumbent monopoly powering the surveillance economy.

thombat• 4 years ago

And you could kid yourself that it might just be a labour of love from a single engineer, rather than the product of a marketing team responding to quarterly strategic product directives triggered by engagement metrics.

echelon• 4 years ago

I feel like Google could be "easily" defeated (for a tech titan).

Step 1: get antitrust regulators to break up the search+advertising business from Chrome+Android products. Don't let Google favor Google products.

Step 2: build a better search engine. Can't be hard with all the crap results that Google returns now. If Chrome and Android no longer default to Google, a new engine could grow and thrive.

Even the EU taking action could begin to chip away at this monopoly.

bryanrasmussen4• 4 years ago

Ok, but this is currently on the front page of HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32205535 "Why Writing Your Own Search Engine Is Hard (2004)"

mongol2• 4 years ago

Step 2 is ripe for the right competitor. When Google entered the search engine market, it blew people away by providing incredibly relevant results, compared to the competition. You would be hard pressed to say the same today. However, the same quality of results can still be achieved, I am quite sure. It is "just" a matter of figuring out how, and executing on it. Given how Google found success, I think it is actually just a matter of time until a new challenger makes their entrance.

mongol2• 4 years ago

Agreed. I don't know what to make of this. Is it marketing, the result of developer creativity or the outcome of an A/B-test, and why do Google search result quality go downhill so quickly?

imglorp• 4 years ago

It could have been in support of one of the recent Batman reboot movies. Stealth marketing?

ribs• 4 years ago

Looks sharp on iOS Safari

loloquwowndueo• 4 years ago

It’d be great if Google would fix all their broken crap instead of wasting their resources and my bandwidth with these useless stunts.

sillyquiet• 4 years ago

Whatcha mean useless? There's some serious SEM money behind that from AT&T/Warner/whatever. I am sure Google is enjoying the sales revenue.

nabakin2• 4 years ago

If anyone is interested in more of these kinds of easter eggs, I run a subreddit for them at https://reddit.com/r/eastereggs

O__________O• 4 years ago

Batman, please save Google’s search quality!

dylan604• 4 years ago

It's not the search you need, but the search you deserve

bloodyplonker22• 4 years ago

What have I done to deserve this?

drran• 4 years ago

Google paid when you click on ads. Good search results are cost. Ads are profit.

golergka• 4 years ago

This makes me miss the 00s, where these easter eggs and Google doodles still felt as something authentic and representing the true Google spirit.

Now I just see it as something that has been vetted in three different meetings by a dozen product owners who are only concerned by climbing a corporate ladder.

overgard2• 4 years ago

I don't know, maybe it's less authentic, but it's fun that at least it's still in the DNA of the place. Credit where it's due, even if it's not the same as in the past

ffhhj• 4 years ago

Reading the comments on this easter egg not working for some makes me wonder if it's been A/B tested as every other feature nowadays. We are really approaching a Schrödinger's digital age.

overgard2• 4 years ago

Oh man, that's fantastic. I love it when companies can keep their sense of humor

whereisanykey• 4 years ago

… but i always thought Robin laid an egg?

lazyeye• 4 years ago

Psst...ignore the fact that Google (and companies like them) are practicing privacy abuse on a scale never before seen in human history.

Just focus on the bat signal and be distracted and entertained..

amaterasu• 4 years ago

For the Australians reading this, Gotham city is a brothel in Melbourne, ymmv on clicking this link at work or school.

wheelinsupial• 4 years ago

There is a Google Doodle team [1], but I can’t seem to find anything about an Easter egg team. Does anyone have insight into if there is a team supporting this or if it’s something the search team does on their own?

[1] https://www.google.com/doodles/about

mike_d• 4 years ago

There is no specific team for easter eggs. They are implemented by random engineers.

Batman easter egg (click the bat signal)

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