Google goes Astroturf, iOS elevates search but fails, Search alternatives are blooming, why?

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Google doubles down on SMB deception to achieve political goals - Google recently sent out an email to its massive base of business clients asking them to Tell us what policy issues matter to you and your business. It directed businesses to a survey which told the real story of Google’s intent: Tell us which policy issues that are important to us are you willing to shill for us? Google has stooped to new lows and that is hard as they have already moved pretty far down.

iOS 16 elevates search but still fails at local and internet search - Apple has elevated a long hidden search feature to the main screen of their iPhone, making it more visible and likely more used by most users. While the feature offers good on device searching it is sorely lacking for internet, entity and local search. Apple plays the long game but we keeping asking, when will Apple search grow up? Is their financial relationship with Google holding them back?

From Andi to Apple there are suddenly new options for searching the internet. Competition with Google has long been moribund but over the past few years we have seen numerous entrants beyond just DDG from Neeva to Ahrefs. Do any of these have a chance?

The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
Near Memo Ep 82

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