Review The Internet

Submitted 8 years ago

When looking at Google search results I find myself wanting a type of Youtube or Amazon product experience. Such as: number of website views, a rating, reviews with replies possible, rated reviews, and rated reviewers. Basically, I want to review the internet. The internet is the content, and I want Google to be the platform I interact with it on.

Seriously, try it. Bring up Google, Youtube, and Amazon, and type the same thing into the search bar. What I see is that Google is just search results. While Youtube and Amazon have a user culture built into the search results. This makes all the difference in the world for interaction, and a lot of sites, even news or wikipedia sites, don't have comment sections.

For example, right now I'm looking up "Implicit Theories of Intelligence," to see about how to raise my newborn with a more growth oriented mindset. But I can't really interact with anyone about it on the sites with the information. If I do want to interact with others then I have to search for specific discussion sites if: I want to know how it worked out for other parents; I want to be able to ask questions; and I don't want to have to sort through a bunch of garble to see what is the most helpful (Amazons rated comments are really helpful, I click on 5 to see whats best about something, 1 to see what's worst, and 3 to get longer more in-depth, shades-of-gray reviews.) And the more I think about this, the more I want it, and know it would benefit Google and the world.

Here's what I'm talking about Google doing:
Consolidating reviews (user culture) from all websites

Here's how that would affect me:
I would spend more time on Google
I would actually use Google's User Site (Let's talk about �Google+�)
I would feel more control over my web-searching experience.

Consolidating Reviews/Comments:
I'm thinking of something much like what Walmart has done with goods. Actually, Reddit is a good example of what I'm talking about, except that user's submit and manage articles. If Google did this it would be doing it with the whole internet. This leads to people spending more time on Google, more interaction, more data, and more of a Google internet community. I think this is why Reddit has taken off, and I imagine that if a better search engine came up, there wouldn't be much holding people to Google. (I'm sure I don't have to tell you I think Google is the best search engine out there and that's why I use it... I can't stand Bing (no link!), it never brings me what I want to see. And it's good to be the best, but you also need a platform that enables people to create community. So that way people won't leave in droves if a better search engine comes up... Well at least it wouldn�t be a fast individualistic choice, it would be more like this, �Hey, are you going to the new thing? You should go to this new thing cause it's cool. Well, I still want to interact with you, so I'll still come here on Google to be with you because of what we have established.� That is until people realize the new thing is better, and transition onto there.)

((Another Side Note: I've gotten frustrated a couple times on Google, and I think it's because Google search was doing that thing where I'm shown what it thinks I want to see instead of the best matches possible---not cool---my searching can vary wildly from day-to-day. Plus, all that does is serve to polarize people, like being shown like, and filtered to affirm. People need to be shown competing ideas. Cosmopolitanism comes through awareness and cognitive dissonance..... Or the articles I've read happen to be mistaken about Google's filtering Article 1, Article 2. In which case rant over.))

Spending More Time on Google:
In short, reviewing the internet takes a lot of time.
I forget, did I say that I want to review the internet, because I do. I spend a significant amount of time on Amazon and Youtube reviews. I want to review, and I want to see other people's reviews... and O Ya, I still want Google's search engine. This leads to my Google+ account actually being useful for something. People can see all my reviews/comments... revments? comviews?. What internet pages I have visited, what I like and dislike, and I can see others have done as well. Pinterest sort of does this too, but it's still not with the Whole Internet. Of course then you need a page like Facebook that interestingly lines out people's activity... I'm sure you all can figure that out...

Speaking of figuring it out, let's talk about Google's User Site:
Now don't get me wrong, I love the ideas at play in Google+: I love the concepts of Connections, Collections, Communities, and Circles. But.
Please Create a platform that user's want to engage on. Google+ reeeaaally needs a makeover. It is just not enjoyable to be on (even the link sucks, plus.google.com... come on!!) The site's design and use is kind of cold and discordant. It feels like my eyes are bouncing back and forth on the page like a pinball machine--it hurts. It doesn't draw me in, it's not warm and caring, it doesn't hold my hand, it's not simple, and it doesn't cause me to linger like Facebook, Youtube, or even LinkedIn--I know that's somewhat a content issue. Maybe roll out something to replace Google+ like.... Gfriends, Google Community, Google Center... (Cause while the idea of + is nice, it's sort of like Google itself is not enough. "+" isn't an identifier like Google's Mail, Maps, Stocks, Store, Docs, Drive. "+" is a modifier.)
Seriously though, go all out! Get the most expensive design firm ever! Do lot's of focus groups! Monitor people's reward centers in their brain! Get Psychologists, Sociologists, Anthropologists, all this IST's!!! Please, please, PLEASE, just make it GOOD!... .. . .. Alright... I'll beg no more... I'm done... Crying... On the inside... *Sniffle*

*Snaps out of it* OKAY! *Sniff* SO! I'm sort of mixing two things here: +'s design (which just sucks) and it's lingerability (even zergnet has more lingerability)--which I'm done talking about!
D-O-N, DONE!

And the other thing is what Google's User Site/Online Community represents:
I think it should represent my life which, to me, translates into seamlessly integrating my life with an online profile. Breaking down the barriers between the two, life and profile, means generating a profile with the least amount of work, but yet still having control over the parameters of what's viewed. I would say that means consolidating as much as possible into a place that engenders use (design.) As for the consolidation, to me, that means: If I'm looking up stocks, I can throw that screen (link with image) to my profile for my friends to see, throw in a little blurb about what I'm thinking, and rate that page; My runs, with map routes, are automatically posted; My webpage reviews are viewable to my friends that want to see what I write, sort of like Google's �send feedback� link, but public; My blog automatically posts and prompts me to write a blurb introducing it on my profile.... Does this paint a picture? Or maybe it consolidates all the other User Site's (including Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter) into one good User Site�like a master user site.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I just thought of a new name.....


Google One


Think about it!!!! G1!!! It's a master user site for the internet's user! Then I don't have to hit two keys at once, I only have to use my left hand, AND it make's sense! NEXT-->

More Experience Control:
All of this, All of what I have previously talked about would give me a more, somewhat perceived, control of my web-searching experience: as with youtube, I don't just click on interesting titles, I look at the number of views, then once I get to the video I look at the likes vs dislikes, then, like on Quora, I can look at user's to see their rating, their other reviews, or if they generate any interesting content themselves. And all of that drives what websites I visit, how long I spend there, who I interact with, what I think, and how I view the world. You know who actually does this pretty well, is Reddit, but it's all user-controlled, it's all subjective. Whereas Google's results are more objective because it's from a larger pool�sort of like Pandora Radio, but with the internet. It's sort of like the difference between what I think I want to be and finding out who I actually am. If I ask Google something, it shows me the most popular thing, but also what else I might like. So then I get a more real-world experience.

(Last Side Note: I want to see the good stuff, and this is where it get's hard! How to sort out the garble?! Amazon reviews are primarily on products, so it doesn't have this problem as much, and it's really, really helpful. Youtube comments are much messier though. And that's why I think being able to sort by the rating of comments 1-5 (or whatever), the rating of reviewers, etc. will help sort out the garble.)


In Closing:
Create content by people reviewing the internet on Google search! (You build it, they will come!)

Redesign/replace Google's User Site (G1) for appeal/lingerability, and consolidation of a person's life.




Yours Truly,

t-l-n