Maybe we should look at it this way, Internet Explorer used to be the most popular browser and we used to have to use it for alot of coding standards but then we got more freedom when some of us got together and made a free alternative (firefox), and now boom, Internet Explorer is nearly completely wiped off the map. Sooo what if we get as any people as possible on this webmaster forum to get together and make a gnu version of our own search engine, clone all googles services, make a few select but obvious improvements and try to replace google instead of trying to boycott them, using shared funding from us all and then we can also have it that the better someones website, the better their site traffic rather than, the more money they spend on advertising the more traffic. We could call it something cool to like Firesearch or Anhalosearch or Freesearch and have a deal that means dp users get better results . So any one else in on this plan rather than a boycott attempt? Like look at all the coders we have of all types who have enough free time to go on this forum.
Yeah it is a joke you caught me Well maybe... Think of the power all the webmasters in this forum could make if they joined together, lol.
Nobody has the resources to compete properly with Google, so it's really not that great an idea to get rid of them. I think this thread is very interesting but ultimately I do not agree that a boycott is required.
I sympathize, but most people are just going to say we are too weak to even affect them. Google is not my favorite...even though my sister works for them .
When you load google, all you see is a big, blank white page with a little search box. What you don't see are the hundreds of servers churning away behind that screen. Google is more hardware than software these days. Comparing google to firefox is like comparing pencil art to the eiffel tower.
I am a user of Google. Using tools very useful for my profession (and recreation) as the search, gmail, calendar, iGoogle, pagesgoogle, sitesgoogle, translator, Picasso,... User-friendly tools for those who do not know much Internet.
I quit using google adense except as a filler. I use other ad resources. Google tends to send interpret the words "relevant" ads to mean that if you use a "game arcade website" such as mine, the only ads served to you are other game arcades (competitor ads). They give you a competitor filter, good and dandy (did you know there is a 200 line limit in that?). Well I hit the limit quickly and it because useless. I switched to Adbrite for a spell. Well all the malicious popups people got on my website almost knocked me out totally as far as an arcade webmaster. I now use affiliate ads which appeal to the broad user group that plays games on my website. Google is notorious for waiting until payday to ban you. I won't be suprised if Google does ban me. Nor do I care. I only use Adsense to keep my ad positions filled. I do NOT expect to make ANY money from Google at all. I used Google Adwords for a spell. Well come to find it, I got overcharged for clicks that did not happen. Their number of clicks to not add up to traffic I recorded on my website. In one instance, Google reported over 100 clicks on a day that my website was down, I mean down totally because my web host was under DDoS attack. Hmmm, 100 clicks LOL. I favor the Boycott iffin we get enough people to open their eyes and see Google for what it really is. Sure their services are "free" or is it? What is the hidden costs? Think about that, because Google can effectively ban a website off the internet entirely by blocking traffic in their search engines. I quit submitting to Googles search engines a long time ago. I get twice as much traffic coming from Yahoo and now even Bing than Google ever sent me. Their own statistics show that. Google has become the biggest end user of adware/spyware and my antispyware software I use, frequently blocks Google ads from displaying because of that. But it is not their advertisers, because Google blocks their advertisers from being able to do that. Instead, they use spyware, adware on their own 1) to determine your activity on the internet and mine the data in order to serve you ads you just might click on faster, and 2) to bypass traditional spam blockers as soon as you click on something, it may generate a popup. But remember, since you clicked it, it don't count as a popup in most popup blockers. Google's toolbar blocks all popups except their own Doubleclick ads.
For me its easier to optimise my sites for one dominant search engine than it would be if they all had equal traffic!