Tech Tip: DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo, or DDG, is a search engine that you can use an alternative to Google. Unlike Google, DDG does not track your personal information which means it is not in the business of selling your personal information to advertisers as Google does. You can find out more at the DuckDuckGo website, and you can also read about them at Wikipedia. They launched over ten years ago, in 2008. This short article at Wired gives a good brief overview, and as a Twitter user, I have to admit I really like their hashtag campaign, #ComeToTheDuckSide. :-)

For this tip, you can get give DDG a try and see what you think... or, if you are already a DDG user, you can share your experience along with any tips and recommendations you have!

Try DDG. So, give DDG a try. You see the search box there; give it a whirl. What do you think about the results? How about the interface? 

Explore the options. You can use DDG to search the web, images, videos, etc., and there are also display settings that you can adjust.

Try the bangs! One distinctive feature of DDG is the "bangs," which are ways you can quickly search a specific site: Say Hello to Bangs. So, for example, you can just add !wikipedia to a DDG search in order to search at Wikipedia: Indra !wikipedia.

Your thoughts. Write up a blog post with your thoughts about using DuckDuckGo. Have you tried this alternative to Google before, or other Google alternatives? What are the pluses and minuses of DDG based on your experience so far? If you are already a DDC user, what tips and recommendations can you share?

To finish up, make sure to include the phrase "Tech Tip: DuckDuckGo" in your blog post title and use "Tech Tip" as the label on the post; then you can do the Declaration.