[lolinder]

This is the "don't anthropomorphize Larry Ellison" defense [0]. Google isn't killing anything because Google is just an algorithm. Your site fares poorly not because Google wants to hurt you but because you don't want to waste your life catering to an algorithm. It's not Google's fault that that you have other priorities like actually helping your readers live a better life!

While it's strictly accurate, it's not a very useful way to look at the world. Google is killing independent sites that spend more time on the content than on SEO. It might be killing those sites in the same way that a volcanic eruption kills wildlife—as an unthinking, uncaring force of nature—but it's still killing them.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=33m1s&v=-zRN7XLCRhc&feature=...

[janalsncm]

It’s also a framing that ignores the fact that Google clearly wants to be able to filter out the garbage but can’t. It’s not bloggers’ fault for that. At some point, you can either decide to write for people or decide to write for the algorithm.