[dwd]

Ahh, the Eternal September...

I sincerely believe we need two Internets, or we need two Googles.

We need what started with ARPANET, but this time never let it commercialise. PageRank works for that network.

We also need the commercial network that works like a better Yellow Pages but actually gives valuable local focused information on businesses and services that can't be gamed and has different rules.

Trying to apply the same ranking rules to both types of searches pollutes the academic and destroys every local small business who are unlucky enough to not make it to the magic first page - because nothing else counts and the winner takes all.

Google has taken on a lot of responsibility dictating what they think we are looking for and they are failing us (and especially small business) big time. Maybe they are thinking about this? Maybe Google Local will factor more than PageRank for commercial. Maybe they will change the layout so more than 10 lucky links get to page one and you never get to have multiple listings for the same company. But right now it is bad and only getting worse.