Comment by amatecha

I almost clarified that - Google Search is definitely part of that very centralized, corporate-owned web I was referring to. Like what you're describing is exactly what I'm talking about. But there are more and more niche obscure corners of the internet that you don't easily find, where good stuff is happening. People are still using IRC, Hotline, KDX, Gopher, and then there's newer stuff like Gemini ( https://geminiprotocol.net/ ), and potentially-invite-only close-knit communities on Mastodon and Lemmy. Oh yeah and then there's the alternatives to corporate stuff like Instagram -> PixelFed, YouTube -> PeerTube...