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Should I Change My Search Engine?

January 28, 2022 Security

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Google is the undisputed leader of search, with approximately 75% of the world's searches going through their engine.

So, Google knows a lot about you... really, a lot.

Like Amazon, YouTube, or any other media company, Google wants to keep your eyes on them. What better way than to offer curated results that are personalized to you? In the effort to find the most relevant content, Google shapes it to show the most relevant content for you, based on what Google knows about you.

When your search results are pared down and adjusted to reflect your tastes and preferences, you are getting a biased view of those results. You are getting results tailored on what they think you are likely to click on based on the data they have amassed on you.

Seems like something you'd want, or is it?

These algorithmically curated results filter the dissenting points of view that could challenge our thinking. Without that challenge to help us make well-balanced decisions, we are immersed in an echo chamber that ultimately polarizes us. Instead of a balanced point of view, we become more radical or extreme, whether right or left.

While ideas of right and left conjure up politics, this goes way beyond politics and grabs at the very tribalism of mankind – the desire to want to be a part of something, to identify with "my people" as separate from others. 

When we are balanced, we can cherish what we hold dear and celebrate what is different. When we are out of balance, we cling to what we hold dear and fear what is different.

What world do you want to live in?

Fortunately, there are a few answers. One is a search engine called DuckDuckGo. Almost laughable with less than 1% market share, DuckDuckGo doesn't track users, so there are no algorithms shaping your search for your specific tastes. Their ads are based on what you are searching for rather than what Google picks up from listening to your conversation. DuckDuckGo is growing as more people become aware of and value their privacy.

Have you considered how much of your private info is floating around on the web getting vacuumed up by Google? Should someone be working to minimize the resulting risks to your firm? If you said yes to either, you should probably have a chat with us. Don't worry, we'll keep our conversation private.

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