Is Duck Duck Go a No Go?
July 28, 2013
I’m sorry to say that I agree with Brian Mayer wholeheartedly when he explains, “I Used DuckDuckGo for a Week and Had to Switch Back. Here’s Why.” In his blog, Notes, the busy entrepreneur says he was prompted to give the Google alternative another try upon recent revelations about government snooping, since DuckDuckGo famously does not track users’ search terms. The exercise just reinforced for the blogger just how much better Google is at delivering relevant results. He writes:
“Now, I love that DuckDuckGo doesn’t track searches. In terms of their commitment to privacy and their users, I don’t think there’s a better option. And I love that there’s an alternative for people concerned about their data being collected. But it took me only a week using DuckDuckGo to appreciate the little things that Google does that still make it a far superior product.”
Mayer lists some of those “little” things: Google is faster; it keeps up with current events (returning more timely results); it refuses to index sites containing code errors (!); and it knows which Wikipedia articles are worth pulling up. He concludes:
“I tried, and for the things that matter to me, it seems that Google is just a better experience. I hope DuckDuckGo improves the product, because eventually I would love to switch back. But philosophical alignment isn’t enough to get me to use an inferior product.”
I can corroborate Mayer’s account; I have had a similarly fraught relationship with this water fowl. I still use it if I’m looking up something sensitive, like health or money stuff. For the most part, though, I am also waiting for the duck to improve. At least I know I’m not waiting alone.
Cynthia Murrell, July 28, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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