Reply #1: As a Researcher....I already see the erosion in just the past few months. [View All]

[KoKo]

Google now pushes info up front that's much less relevant that what I used to find. Also I have to do contortions to find word combo's for searches that I used to find in the first 20 hits. I have to dig into archives back past 15 pages or more to find even the first relevant info. I do mostly Business Searches...looking for companies, BOD's and Goals and Connections. I do some Medical Research also. I used to be able to get a client's "research paper synopses" in my first Google Hits on a link. Now they are buried or "inaccessible," unless I pay a fee and go through more hoops.

There are even some folks who've been scrubbed and it's obvious they've hired folks to scrub their names or obscure links to them.

It has already changed and is hampering "easy search." I suspect I will have to pay for more advanced searches in the not too distant future...and how will I know that even paying will give me more access if the "powerful" can hire groups to "scrub" or "hide" the info I'm seeking. :shrug: