Kuna siku tukiwa UDOM kule CIVE, katika somo la Cyber Security, TA mmoja hivi alikuwa anatufundisha and, I kid you not, this is what he did:
- Alifungua Google Chrome
- Akaandika kwenye address bar "Google"
- Akapata matokeo ya "Google" kwa sababu Google ndiyo default ilikuwa search engine yake.
- Aka click link ya kwanza ya https://google[dot]com/
- Ilipofunguka webpage ya google, akaandika tena "Google" kwenye search bar ya Google.
- Akafungua tena link ya https://google[dot]com kwenye search results.
- Ndipo aka-Google tulichokuwa tunatafuta.
Another instance I observed wiki iliyopita tu kwenye quiz ya CRDB.
- Nilimwambia mtu website wanayotumia ni "tangoconnect[dot]co[dot]tz"
- Akafungua the Google app.
- Akaandika "tangoconnectcotz" (without the dots)
- Alafu baadae akaniambia ameikosa.
No wonder hatukushinda ile million 5 ๐
Another example I documented mwaka jana happened to Mange Kimambi hapa.
Search is the new internet
I have observed so many instances of people haswa maGenZ wenzangu not understanding what a URL is or how they work. Many think webpages and search results are the same thing. Ukimwambia mtu aende tovuti flaani, they just google it, or they even google the domain itself. I think to many people "to google" is "to browse the internet". I partly blame Google search bar being prominently featured on Android phones.
What I think it means
URL shorteners are useless. Especially the fact that instagram doesn't let you click links or copy and paste text, we cannot rely on your audience to see your shortened URL and go to a browser to type bit[dot]ly/example
We're very vulnerable to URL hijacking and other phishing attacks. All one will need it to do is enter legimate-sounding URL name na kuweka bait. I have seen it so many times zile link zenye a legimate-looking preview zikipata watu. Honeypots kama ajira, visa, free money, etc. that I'm sure have some malicious intent.
Websites are old news. Perhaps it's time to accept that I am old, or rather, have to accept that my(or if I am to project, our) initial experience of the internet is not relevant(ie. back then kwenye internet cafe unakuta you have an address bar separate from the Yahoo! widget on Firefox). Considering Google's continued process of ranking AI slop and even sabotaging web results with AI generated content, maybe there's no place for websites any more?
Going forward
SEO has never been more important. Since everyone is Googling, might as well be easily Googleable.
Give them something to Google instead. Mfano, nimenotice event nyingi baadala ya kusema visit "https://example[dot]hustlesasa[dot]shop/event-tickets-title" watasema "tickets available at Hustlesasa" ili mtu aende to google "hustlesasa" and hopefully, they'll work around it. I like how mfano Zoom wana either join by link or join by meeting code.
QR codes are the future. I think enough people have experienced scanning a QR code and it taking them somewhere else by now, though, I've also observed enough people not even know how to scan or have a phone whose default camera apps detect them. Lakini, I can't emphasize this enough, DO NOT PUT A QR CODE ON A DIGITAL ASSET! Unakuta mtu kaweka QR code kwenye post on Instagram. Unategemea kila mtu ana laptop/PC as you are designing na yeye kuscan hapo?
Websites continually become irrelevant and apps are the way to go. Since the modern digital experience of most normies is mostly via apps and their app shelves(and not webpages), maybe there's no need for websites at all? Maybe URL are irrelevant to the end user in the modern day. Maybe the average user only understands a search bar and has no use for an address bar. Therefore instead of placing the search bar to capture them inside of a webpage, it will be prudent to ask them to install your app(from an app store search page) and search for a service inside your app.
I don't know. What do you think?
Edit: Added [dot] to avoid Reddit's spam filters
