Why Reddit Matters

Google search has gone from indispensable to being complete pants over the past few decades.  

Search has taken 2nd place to ad revenues.

There is a trick that greatly improves results if you need a reliable answer to the question, you just limit your search to Reddit, that way you can actually get a meaningful answer.

It turns out that a lot of folks at Google know this:

Ongoing protests regarding Reddit's upcoming API price change on July 1 are rattling the Reddit community, but they're not the only ones impacted. Those who navigate Google's ad-littered, search-engine-optimized (SEO) results by adding "Reddit" to their query have seen their experience hampered, too. According to CNBC, Google's aware that its search results need fine-tuning through appendages like "site:reddit.com." However, Google's response to this problem fails to address the core reasons people modify their search queries like this: There's demand for results delivering human (not necessarily influencer) voices and that aren't listed due to people manipulating Google's algorithm.

People rely on the Reddit hack for Google search results to avoid things that often float to the top of results pages—websites built on SEO but lack reliable or relevant content. But since the Reddit blackout started June 12 and was followed by other forms of user protest, that trick is less effective. As of this writing, over 2,400 subreddits are still private in protest, according to the Reddark_247 counter on Twitch, while others are read-only, suddenly labeled as not safe for work (NSFW), or dedicated to images of John Oliver.

On Monday, CNBC, citing an audio recording of a company-wide meeting from earlier this month, reported that Prabhakar Raghavan, a Google SVP who heads Google Search, "admitted users are unhappy when employees asked about the Reddit blackouts and their impact on results."

“Many of you may wonder how we have a search team that’s iterating and building all this new stuff and yet somehow, users are still not quite happy,” Raghavan reportedly said.

During the meeting, a Google employee reportedly asked how Google would better prioritize "authentic discussion" in search results. According to CNBC, Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded by saying Google users who add the names of forums like Reddit to their searches are more in search of "more comprehensive answers" than "blue links."

………

However, those using the Reddit search hack usually aren't looking for TikTok influencers or YouTube videos loaded with sponsors. They're not just after social media; they're more likely looking for quick access to human voices and perspectives in a digestible thread or discussion. A feature that's essentially a social media filter doesn't address Google search's inherent problem of frequently finding irrelevant junk just because it plays well with Google's search algorithms. Google didn't immediately respond to Ars' request for comment on the reported company meeting or how Perspectives avoids people using SEO tactics to bolster unhelpful content.

Perhaps Google should stop buying up companies and shutting them down, and instead fix its damn search engine.