4 ms·

So, one meta-layer of discussion up: do we think the recent surge of Kagi discussion on HN is indicative of a real wave? Or is “picking a different search engi

by ketzo 3y ago

So, one meta-layer of discussion up: do we think the recent surge of Kagi discussion on HN is indicative of a real wave? Or is “picking a different search engine” gonna be something only 1% of users ever do again? I honestly think that even if Kagi does remain pretty niche (<1% of internet searches, for a ballpark), that’s great if it can really serve that niche (so far… mostly HN-user-types, I would bet). But it seems hard to make money at that scale and with a non-advertising business model. So godspeed Kagi, I guess.

rexf 3y ago
the discussion feels manufactured to me, but I can see how supposedly privacy first alternatives appeal to the HN crowd
adam_arthur 3y ago
Kagi does post their subscriber stats publicly. Whether it's a wave or not is up to interpretation: https://kagi.com/stats https://kagi.com/stats Personally I'm optimistic that they'll actually grow fairly substantially from here. The search experience is far better than Google, especially for power users. Main weakness is location based searches and quick answers being time lagged or lacking detail IMO. It seems to me only a matter of time until they close any gaps though.
JohnFen 3y ago
> But it seems hard to make money at that scale and with a non-advertising business model. I don't think that seems hard at all, really. Companies do it all the time. What it makes hard is becoming a multibillion dollar behemoth, but that isn't (and shouldn't be) everyone's goal.
averageRoyalty 3y ago
> But it seems hard to make money at that scale and with a non-advertising business model. So godspeed Kagi, I guess. This is a weird take. Most businesses in the world have < 1000 active customers, and most profitable businesses fit in there too. Too many people seem to be trying to be the next Zuckerberg. A profitable, sustainable business is a lot more appealing to most.

by ketzo 3y ago

rexf 3y ago

the discussion feels manufactured to me, but I can see how supposedly privacy first alternatives appeal to the HN crowd

adam_arthur 3y ago

Kagi does post their subscriber stats publicly. Whether it's a wave or not is up to interpretation: https://kagi.com/stats https://kagi.com/stats Personally I'm optimistic that they'll actually grow fairly substantially from here. The search experience is far better than Google, especially for power users. Main weakness is location based searches and quick answers being time lagged or lacking detail IMO. It seems to me only a matter of time until they close any gaps though.

JohnFen 3y ago

> But it seems hard to make money at that scale and with a non-advertising business model. I don't think that seems hard at all, really. Companies do it all the time. What it makes hard is becoming a multibillion dollar behemoth, but that isn't (and shouldn't be) everyone's goal.

averageRoyalty 3y ago

> But it seems hard to make money at that scale and with a non-advertising business model. So godspeed Kagi, I guess. This is a weird take. Most businesses in the world have < 1000 active customers, and most profitable businesses fit in there too. Too many people seem to be trying to be the next Zuckerberg. A profitable, sustainable business is a lot more appealing to most.