[midoridensha]

>It sucks that these huge sports leagues have little in the way of competition.

Of course they do: people could spend their time doing (or watching) something else. Watch a TV show or movie, read a book, listen to some music, practice playing an instrument, cook some food, write a software program, go on a walk; there's endless things to do with your time besides watching sports. If you don't like the ads and the contempt for viewers from the people running the sports leagues, then stop giving them your time and attention.

[Godel_unicode]

I assume you’re similarly unbothered by googles domination of search because rather than searching for information you could be baking a cake?

[midoridensha]

I don't know about you, but I don't use Google search much, I use DDG.

So, no, I'm not bothered by Google's domination when I actually don't use it much. Doesn't seem to be "domination" to me.

[i_am_proteus]

I use duck duck go dot com to search the internet also, but I still get plenty of search results informed by people interested in gaming the algorithm used to display results on google dot com.

Can't right say that I'm unaffected.

[halpmeh]

Google clearly has a very dominant market position, but the recent events with Facebook / Meta have made me reevaluate my stance on supposed tech monopolies. A few years ago, Meta and Google looked like they had an unassailable duopoly on digital advertising, and there were many calls to break up both companies. I completely supported this movement. However, looking at the situation now, Facebook's position is not nearly as strong. TikTok has made a huge impact on the consumption side, and Apple and Amazon have emerged as strong players in the digital ads business. Essentially, the market seems to be working as intended. As for Google specifically, the company recognizes that their main product is nothing more than the "homework website" for the new generation. People are getting more and more of their information from places like TikTok or Reddit. Even if you use Google, it's becoming increasingly a conduit to a handful of destinations. Google's position in the market place doesn't seem as dominant as it once was.