If I want to beat Google from now on, what should I do now?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5956123

by alpisv • 13 years ago

1 8 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am in China, can anyone give me some advice of how to beat Google in 10 years, especially by a product advice. Thanks.

flavmartins• 13 years ago

Give up right now. You won't be able to do it.

alpisv4• 13 years ago

Thanks for your advice. could you please show me the details of this no-go theory? You mean google.com will be 1# of alexa for ever?

anigbrowl• 13 years ago

Build AI with a sense of curiosity. Google only knows the things programmers tell it to measure.

alpisv4• 13 years ago

Good advice. I will try building an AI product to beat google.com. can siri and google now be called an AI product?

throwaway420• 13 years ago

I almost feel funny answering this seriously, but you can try to compete with Google in some area where they're weak.

They're run by very smart people who rely very heavily on algorithms and raw data and often ignore factors related to human needs and emotions. They do have their blind spots and weaknesses.

Despite Google's cries to the contrary, a lot of people don't trust them with private info. This is why DuckDuckGo's traffic is spiking. You can compete with Google on privacy.

Google's customer service is maybe the worst in the world. Even many paying customers get the big old middle finger when it comes to getting a problem resolved. That's a weakness that can be exploited.

Google has gotten much better at design in recent years by adopting a very minimalist and consistent style throughout their products, but you can still compete with them on design.

alpisv4• 13 years ago

Thanks for your advice. Human needs and emotions, privacy, customer service, design are great directions! I will try the 2nd & 4th to beat google.

VandyILL• 13 years ago

Maybe a more objective search engine. It'd be better for researching ideas than popculture or really ordinary questions. But for people trying to answer more in depth questions it would be great if the search engine 1) didn't base results partially on your own preferences / likes etc. & 2) found a way to index ideas based on their referenes. Ie. if you're searching for articles on a topic bring up the ones that have been peer reviewed the most. Similarily if it's just a blog post post the ones that reference credible sources higher than the ones that don't cite credible sources or don't even cite anything.

Also, if you have access to them, look at systems like WestLaw & Lexis and how they index information in various ways. Incorporating some of these ideas could be very helpful if made to the public - ie. the key system for indexing topics, history systems to see where ideas/articles are drawing their precedence from & how they have been used after publication.

alpisv4• 13 years ago

thank you very much. actually, I am just designing a system a bit like what you suggest, which drives me to ask questions here for advice. but i have not access to Westlaw & Lexis, is it in Berkely?

If I want to beat Google from now on, what should I do now?

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