Privacy issues aside, it's a damn good service

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Published ~ 4 minutes read

Google, Facebook, and many, use your information to re-target ads. It is their way of making money. It was fine in the beginning because they came from humble backgrounds. It was the kid in his college dorm trying to build a cool new thing. We admired and cheered for them until they became the giants that basically govern the Internet today. Despite all the talks of how evil they are, we wouldn't be using their services if they weren't doing such a fine job.

Today, I don't want to talk about which company is better and or which one will be still important in the future. I just want to make a brief comment on the services they provide.

Google is amazing at search. For whatever you are searching for, if someone took the time to put it on the Internet, Google will present it to you right when you need it. When I am looking for an old friend, I can go on Facebook and find him or her instantly. Unless they voluntarily changed their settings to not appear on searches I can find them. This was not possible before, well at least it wasn't that easy. Whatsapp, iMessage, or other messaging platform allow me to basically communicate with anyone I want with almost no limitations. These services are getting better and better everyday. So why are we complaining so much?

Duck Duck Go

If you hate google, use Duck Duck Go, you will learn to hate it too.

The uncanny valley

“The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of human aesthetics which holds that when human features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers.” Wikipedia.

Have you ever typed 2 or 3 characters on Google search only for it to show you exactly what you were looking for? Their suggestion algorithm is so good that it is actually scary. But then on other days you spend 30 minutes looking for one particular article and you can't find it. You try so many different combination of keywords and it just doesn't show up. You get frustrated and head to Duckduckgo or Bing. At this point you basically think Google sucks, because it was so close to being perfect but then it failed.

We basically expect these services to be flawless. When Facebook introduced Timeline everyone complained but since user feedback is not what drives change we all got used to it and embraced it.

Facebook user growth

Facebook active user growth. Washington Post

Right now they are very close to being perfect, but they make little mistakes here and there and we react almost violently to it. Just listen to the tone and choice of words on this video:

Unthink.com was supposed to be the newest social network but it disappeared into oblivion. Maybe because it wasn't planned that well.

In the future, maybe Google and Facebook will disappear; But whatever that replace them will be even better and the margin gap to perfection will be even smaller. The closer they get to perfection the less tolerant we will be to their mistakes. Just like we complain when the microwave oven doesn't warm our food enough in 2 minutes.

handmade fire

After a successful hunt, you need to make a fire to cook your meal.

On a related note, here are some interesting articles.

Gun safety and Internet literacy.

Gun safety and Internet literacy.

I recently read a post by Steve Blank where he compared the Internet with guns. He talks about how important it was to learn about gun safety. It was the first thing he learned in boy scout camp in the rifle range before even handling a weapon. Later when he purchased a heavier weapon, he hired a professional to teach him about gun safety before using it. He suggest that when accessing the web the first time, the same precautions should be taken. Interestingly the same day I read his post, I was invited to a shooting range and my experience was quiet different.

Smart glasses don't solve any problem

Smart glasses don't solve any problem

You have probably seen Google glass amazing plane jump by now. I know i was impressed too, I was wondering how in the world are they getting fast internet all the way up there. All google glass videos are pretty well made and show how it is used in every day life. The same goes for GlassUp which shows a more affordable alternative but still impressive. After the fad of how cool it is goes away though you realize one thing: Smart Glasses are not solving any problem really.

Employee or contractor, you are your own boss. Act like it

Employee or contractor, you are your own boss. Act like it

Being your own boss is a little overrated. At least in the sense that you have your own company and get to do whatever you want. If you have a successful business then you know that that's not how it works. You work longer hours, you make tough decisions, (like firing people), you have to deal with customers directly and do many more stressful things. But I am not writing this to tell you how to handle your small business. This is about being your own boss at while being an employee.

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