There is a phenomenon that I have recently become aware of that is referred to as search engine filter bubble. Basically it means that you can search for “motorcycle TVs” on your computer and I can search for “motorcycle TVs” on mine and we will get different results. Sometimes vastly different. Not just listings because as you’ve all learned from your favorite guberu who say it may vary due to different datacenters. Whatever. The reason is that we all use the Web for different things and have different personalities. The SE robots are tracking this activity and will give you different results depending on who the fuck you are. Crazy right?
See Google collects all your search information. Obviously, because it’s the reason you get your adolescent boner each time you log into Analytics. It also means they are raping your privacy. If I search for “motorcycle TVs” I don’t want fucking little TVs following me around the web on Google ads.
So I am encouraging you to stick it to Google, Yahoo and Bing and use a real search engine. One that protects your privacy and does not track you. Duck Duck Go. The results are really good. Some heavies like Lifehacker, Wired, USA Today are giving it accolades.
It’s what Google was in 1996.
You can add it to Firefox as a plugin. It has a few cool tools.
You just have to give it a try. Maybe you like the clutter of the other search engines. Maybe you like Google knowing everything about your surfing activities. Not me. Anything I can do to make Google’s existence a little more unhappy and keep big brother lacking, I am willing to do.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Splork!
I am afraid that the URL of the new search engines is mispelled. I clicked it and it took me to this page http://duckduckgo.co/
Ironically, I had to use Google to check out the correct URL to their competitor and it seems to be http://duckduckgo.com/
There is another search engine which is just as good as this one or even better; it can be found here Blekko http://blekko.com/
I’ll stick to scroogle. Gives me google search without the cookies.
Ok fuckers. The URL was in error. I get more comments by misspelling shit than anything else. Ergo I have deleted all the comments detailing said error. I assume you were able to add a “m” and find your way to http://duckduckgo.com
BTW – I agree with Blecko. It’s an outstanding search tool as well.
lol, also lesson learned, never leave a comment after you have drank a few beers! If i had not been under the influence then maybe i would have noticed the missing ‘m’
By the way splork your not really a dipshit:)
But i don’t know you, so you really could be one?
Hmmm……no plugin for Chrome
I hope yahoo/bing gets more share of the searchers. Yeah, I hope microsoft does better. Shoot me.
It’s the only SE that can compete, blekko and the rest are gonna fade imo. Make it at least 50% g/bing, that way getting slapped doesn’t hurt as much.
I’m using Scroogle.org for most of my searches – but I wonder if it matters if I’m logged in under a Google account or not?
The hell of it is that readers are getting their personal search / +1 community etc. to really skew everything – so it doesn’t matter as much if you’re #1 in Google when a skewed search result is what they’ll get anyway.
(Or it doesn’t matter as much.)
Splork,
I use Scroogle. I keep thinking that I need to throw out my gmail account too. What a bunch of lame ass mf’ers!
Thanks for the mother duck… I’ve been using it to cluck my war around this sewage now for a while.
Something else I like a lot is http://www.ghostery.com/ you might or might not like it, but it makes the webs more Zen Duck like err… more Zen like
It cleans them of the cobwebs.
@Mahatma Ghostery is neat. Nice find.
{ 1 trackback }