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> As fewer results of such not-for-profit websites show up in Google Search, competition will be reintroduced to the search market. I don't think it will. Whil

> As fewer results of such not-for-profit websites show up in Google Search, competition will be reintroduced to the search market. I don't think it will. While I personally hate AMP, and disagree with many of Google's practices, this is not the solution. Google is everywhere. It is the default search engine on almost every browser, as well as on most devices. How often do you hear someone say "look it up" as opposed to "Google it"? The latter is much more common in my experience. Google is synonymous with internet searches. Outside of tech circles, no one is going to make an effort to even try other search engines. There's a reason Bing and Yahoo are treated as a joke. Google is also the best at searches. While other search engines are slowly catching up, and Google's own results are becoming worse, it's still way better then most search engines - especially when it comes to specific and local/regional results. Lastly, blocking Google means that you site also won't show up on Startpage.com results, because it sources results from Google. This is unfortunate, since Startpage is definitely one of the search engines that respect your privacy the most.

allknowingfrog 7y ago
I'm not saying it proves anything, but Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue and Velcro is synonymous with hook and loop fasteners. I "google" things on DuckDuckGo. :)
- rahuldottech 7y ago
  Yeah, I was just pointing out that to most people, ["google" == "web search"]
- r3bl 7y ago
  Yeah, I've been using DDG for years, but I just can't get "Google it" out of my dictionary. I try to replace it with "Duck it", which feels stupid as fuck to say, but "Google it" doesn't feel any better.
  - lostmsu 7y ago
    I don't think it is a problem. Xerox is a thing.
  - rahuldottech 7y ago
    I say "look it up". Took a while, but I managed to do it...
  - dhimes 7y ago
    Yeah- I feel that in this case the whimsical name "Duckduckgo" is a liability for them. It's just hard to turn it into a verb in an unambiguous way.
  - frenchyatwork 7y ago
    How about "search"?
  - tkjef 7y ago
    i use "search for it". i've completely removed said word from my vocabulary. it can be done. break yo' mind free!
- reaperducer 7y ago
  I'm not saying it proves anything, but Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue and Velcro is synonymous with hook and loop fasteners. I "google" things on DuckDuckGo. :) The people within one of my company's divisions refer to the internal knowledge base as "the google." IT defaults their browsers to Bing.
- hyperdimension 7y ago
  Just for your own edification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY
the_duke 7y ago
> especially when it comes to specific ... results Specific results for niche search queries have been getting way worse over the last few years though. To the point where you have to actively try to trick the engine into giving you anything remotely meaningful. Almost every time I try, I find pages and pages of generic, SEO optimized crap.
lunchables 7y ago
>There's a reason Bing and Yahoo are treated as a joke. Just in case you weren't aware: >On July 29, 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced a deal in which Bing would henceforth power Yahoo! Search. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Search https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Search
phkahler 7y ago
Google is losing value as a search engine. It's great for finding facts but its shit for finding fun. That's really my impression of the internet as a whole lately - there's nothing left of a noncommercial nature.
- lmpostor 7y ago
  But at the same time I'm not convinced that the greater reason for this is with easier access to creating internet content we are not simply creating too much garbage to filter out all of it. It is always easier to break a system than build a bulletproof one right? I am under the impression that we are just returning to the mean of too much garbage content that is simply trying to sell something.
  - phkahler 7y ago
    We can have a sea of garbage but if sites would restore the practice of linking to things they find interesting or relevant, we'd be able to navigate islands of interconnected non-crap once we find something decent. That's based on the notion that what I think is interesting is produced by people who have similar opinions of relevance.
reaperducer 7y ago
Outside of tech circles, no one is going to make an effort to even try other search engines People used to say this about Altavista and Dogpile and Lycos before Google. Change is possible, but it's slow and hard. Google is also the best at searches. I disagree with you on this one. It used to be the best tool for searching. Now it's hit-and-miss. I've found about 70% of the time DDG works, and I only use Google when DDG turns up nothing useful. Along those lines, other search engines don't have to be better at search than Google. They just have to be "good enough" at search. Then the competing search engine has to being in some killer feature so that the average person loses allegiance to Google and makes the switch full-time. That killer feature probably won't be privacy, though. That's too abstract a notion for the masses.
- buboard 7y ago
  > Change is possible, but it's slow and hard. It is also fast, but you need a product that is better, not just "not google".
- edwintorok 7y ago
  I tried DuckDuckGo for a while, but they have way too many spam results on the first pages, when searching for things in my native language, e.g. tried searching for details about a new tax law a while ago and got a lot of either NSFW spam pages, or pages redirecting to malware. When searching in English it is not too bad, I don't know what is causing this, perhaps just lack of testing/interest for non-english users, or Bing/DDG doesn't run a malware scanner on its search results. Bing has the same problem. Run the same query on Google and there is no spam. I could try to give DDG another try, but where can I report problems with spam/malware in its search results?
- dhimes 7y ago
  They need to start with a niche, like entertainment. Be the best search engine for gaming or something. That'll get eyeballs, then branch out. Would take some serious marketing, guerilla and otherwise, though.
buboard 7y ago
although i agree, > Bing and Yahoo are treated as a joke. i use bing or others like yandex for image search. google is a front for stock sites and pinterest. Hmm, maybe bing should focus on image search , use that as a trojan horse to take on google.

allknowingfrog 7y ago

I'm not saying it proves anything, but Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue and Velcro is synonymous with hook and loop fasteners. I "google" things on DuckDuckGo. :)

rahuldottech 7y ago
Yeah, I was just pointing out that to most people, ["google" == "web search"]
r3bl 7y ago
Yeah, I've been using DDG for years, but I just can't get "Google it" out of my dictionary. I try to replace it with "Duck it", which feels stupid as fuck to say, but "Google it" doesn't feel any better.
- lostmsu 7y ago
  I don't think it is a problem. Xerox is a thing.
- rahuldottech 7y ago
  I say "look it up". Took a while, but I managed to do it...
- dhimes 7y ago
  Yeah- I feel that in this case the whimsical name "Duckduckgo" is a liability for them. It's just hard to turn it into a verb in an unambiguous way.
- frenchyatwork 7y ago
  How about "search"?
- tkjef 7y ago
  i use "search for it". i've completely removed said word from my vocabulary. it can be done. break yo' mind free!
reaperducer 7y ago
I'm not saying it proves anything, but Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue and Velcro is synonymous with hook and loop fasteners. I "google" things on DuckDuckGo. :) The people within one of my company's divisions refer to the internal knowledge base as "the google." IT defaults their browsers to Bing.
hyperdimension 7y ago
Just for your own edification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRi8LptvFZY

the_duke 7y ago

> especially when it comes to specific ... results Specific results for niche search queries have been getting way worse over the last few years though. To the point where you have to actively try to trick the engine into giving you anything remotely meaningful. Almost every time I try, I find pages and pages of generic, SEO optimized crap.

lunchables 7y ago

>There's a reason Bing and Yahoo are treated as a joke. Just in case you weren't aware: >On July 29, 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced a deal in which Bing would henceforth power Yahoo! Search. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Search https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Search

phkahler 7y ago

Google is losing value as a search engine. It's great for finding facts but its shit for finding fun. That's really my impression of the internet as a whole lately - there's nothing left of a noncommercial nature.

lmpostor 7y ago
But at the same time I'm not convinced that the greater reason for this is with easier access to creating internet content we are not simply creating too much garbage to filter out all of it. It is always easier to break a system than build a bulletproof one right? I am under the impression that we are just returning to the mean of too much garbage content that is simply trying to sell something.
- phkahler 7y ago
  We can have a sea of garbage but if sites would restore the practice of linking to things they find interesting or relevant, we'd be able to navigate islands of interconnected non-crap once we find something decent. That's based on the notion that what I think is interesting is produced by people who have similar opinions of relevance.

reaperducer 7y ago

Outside of tech circles, no one is going to make an effort to even try other search engines People used to say this about Altavista and Dogpile and Lycos before Google. Change is possible, but it's slow and hard. Google is also the best at searches. I disagree with you on this one. It used to be the best tool for searching. Now it's hit-and-miss. I've found about 70% of the time DDG works, and I only use Google when DDG turns up nothing useful. Along those lines, other search engines don't have to be better at search than Google. They just have to be "good enough" at search. Then the competing search engine has to being in some killer feature so that the average person loses allegiance to Google and makes the switch full-time. That killer feature probably won't be privacy, though. That's too abstract a notion for the masses.

buboard 7y ago
> Change is possible, but it's slow and hard. It is also fast, but you need a product that is better, not just "not google".
edwintorok 7y ago
I tried DuckDuckGo for a while, but they have way too many spam results on the first pages, when searching for things in my native language, e.g. tried searching for details about a new tax law a while ago and got a lot of either NSFW spam pages, or pages redirecting to malware. When searching in English it is not too bad, I don't know what is causing this, perhaps just lack of testing/interest for non-english users, or Bing/DDG doesn't run a malware scanner on its search results. Bing has the same problem. Run the same query on Google and there is no spam. I could try to give DDG another try, but where can I report problems with spam/malware in its search results?
dhimes 7y ago
They need to start with a niche, like entertainment. Be the best search engine for gaming or something. That'll get eyeballs, then branch out. Would take some serious marketing, guerilla and otherwise, though.

buboard 7y ago

although i agree, > Bing and Yahoo are treated as a joke. i use bing or others like yandex for image search. google is a front for stock sites and pinterest. Hmm, maybe bing should focus on image search , use that as a trojan horse to take on google.