[Ads-l] "physically" = "literally"?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here is an instance of "You have to physically Google their names" in
February 2025. It seems to mean that the news about a person is not
automatically appearing in a newsfeed. Thus, you must manually Google
the name to find relevant information.

Website: Reddit
Subreddit name: r/JustinBaldoni
Poster: LeopardQueen68
Date: February 2, 2025
https://www.reddit.com/r/JustinBaldoni/comments/1ig6a5b/i_think_google_is_suppressing_posts_about_justin/

[Begin excerpt]
When I swipe right on my home screen, I go to a news home page and
it's all headlines I may find interesting. Based on my searches
usually or what I've been watching on YouTube etc...I have been
literally all in on this case since it's inception and I have had
barely anything come up there relating to Justin, Blake, Ryan...any of
them really. You have to physically Google their names for anything to
come up. Just an observation.
[End excerpt]

Here is an instance of "physically google it" in February 2025. It
seems to mean that one must manually google something instead of using
an automated procedure.

Website: kineticsequence.com
Date: February 14, 2025
Article: Google's Latest SEO Curveball: What you need to know
https://kineticsequence.com/googles-latest-seo-curveball-what-you-need-to-know-january-2025/

[Begin excerpt]
The Fix: Until these tools adapt, we recommend manually rank checking
(so physically google it) or using Google Search Console to track
significant shifts in your rankings.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM Dan Goncharoff
<00001bc983129c8b-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> I was also thinking you can't just ask about someone named Haidt. Sounds
> too much like "hate". You have to type it.
> DanG
>
>
> On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM Jonathan Lighter <
> 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > It sounds to me as if they actually had to do it (with physical effort, ano
> > matter how minimal) rather than just think about it.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 11:24 AM Nancy Friedman <
> > 00001b7f50001087-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > From a May 14 New York Magazine article about NYU commencement speaker
> > > Jonathan Haidt, author of *The Anxious Mind* (50+ weeks on the NY Times
> > > best-seller list). The quote is from an anonymous marketing major:
> > >
> > > "He said of Haidt, 'All my friends and I had to like physically Google
> > who
> > > the commencement speaker was because we didn’t know.'"
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/jonathan-haidt-nyu-commencement-speaker-campus-speech-debate.html
> > >
> > >
> > > Nancy Friedman
> > > Chief Wordworker
> > > web: wordworking.com <http://www.wordworking.com>
> > > substack https://fritinancy.substack.com/
> > > Medium <https://medium.com/@wordworking>
> > >
> > > tel 510 652-4159
> > > cel 510 304-3953
> > > bluesky/mastodon/instagram  Fritinancy
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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