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Comment by ngold | Hacker News Reader

Duck duck go doesn't roll off the tongue as well as Google but it is my default search engine. The genuis thing they implemented was !g at the end of a search term. Now I can get two sources of search info for problems. Most things ddg is fine, but technical problems, you can't have enough options.

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It seems like a low value proposition if their most enticing feature is the ability to view Google results. Moreover, if Google added a "!d" command to show DuckDuckGo results, I can't imagine anyone would use it.

A negligible number of people are willing to sacrifice tangible functionality for intangible feelings of privacy that almost certainly will never impact them in any meaningful way. DuckDuckGo needs to make large improvements to their search results if they want to capture anyone outside of this niche market.

Bangs offer a lot more than just !g.

It's actually easier to use some Google services via DDG than via Google itself. For example, the easiest way to access Google Scholar is to use DDG and add !scholar to your search. Likewise for Google Translate and !translate. Like:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hasta+la+vista+!translate&t=ffab

Then there are all the non-Google bangs. !a to search Amazon. !hn to search Hacker News. And so on.

DDG bangs [1] and Google Dorks (I just use the nickname bangs en dorks for either) are both very powerful. For me, Google complements DDG; not the other way around. I do agree with the desire for a European-hosted search engine though.

[1] https://duckduckgo.com/bang

> Duck duck go doesn't roll off the tongue as well as Google but it is my default search engine

I mostly use Duck Duck Go now (with liberal use of !g as needed), but the main issue I've had with making it part of my spoken vocabulary using it as a verb. It's much easier to say I "googled" something than "Duck Duck Go'd it" (duck duck went?) or "searched for it on Duck Duck Go". It's been a pet theory of mine for a while that any attempt at getting people to change the words they use is doomed to fail if the replacement contains more syllables (e.g. "letter carrier" for "mailman"), and now I'm wondering if that's something companies should take into account when naming themselves too.

Just say "I googled it on duck duck go". I do find it interesting how it can feel more awkward to say "I searched it" instead of "I googled it"

A few months ago I made a conscious point to start saying “web search” instead of “Google”. Same number of syllables, and it has grown more familiar and natural over time. Same with “tissue” instead of “Kleenex”. I tell my coworkers to “just do a web search for $phrase” and it comes out fine. Several of them have switched to DDG, so the term “web search” is more inclusive anyways :)

I like destroying trademarks by verbifying them.

Does that work? I’d imagine it just strengthens their brand until someone takes it to court.

It worked for aspirin and escalator. [0]

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericize...

Thanks for that list - very informative! I never knew about many of these.

Just duck it

I think you have a point. I use DDG. I never say "Duck Duck Go it" But I also avoid saying "Google it" cause I don't want to promote bad behavior.

I'm going to try saying/typing "DDG it". It's an acronym driven world. Perhaps that'll work?

Quack it

I like this better than "duck it", for whatever reason. Maybe it feels more specific, whereas "duck" could kind of mean anything?

Is it really necessary to use verbified brand names? Why not just use the word 'search'?

> "search for someplace for us to eat tonight"

> "I was searching online for a used car"

> "dude search for 'cat does a backflip', it's epic"

etc

“Search” or “look up.” Don’t beholden yourself to any brand name.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I "search" too.... I don't get why people like to get behind some brand.

I'm still waiting to hear people argue over the correct pronunciation of DDG as the default way to refer to it.

Dee Dee Gee

Dudge

De-dog

I'm hoping that people start saying "duck it!" in place of "google it!" (Not going to capitalize google because it's practically genericized and them losing the trademark would make me happy.)

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