My New Favorite Search Engine... Is Not Google!
Google is a search engine. Google provides the world with information at the touch of a click or a verbal request into your virtual digital assistant. Google provides free services for subscribers. Google provides access to apps for educators and students. Google is no longer just a company - Google has become a VERB, as in "Google it!" to search for something just like "FedEx it!" means to ship something. Google is literally everywhere and seems to be able to do almost anything. But it is not my favorite search engine... its DuckDuckGo!
All 3 school districts I have worked for in the past 10 years either are or have become a Google Education district. These districts all use Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education. Google does provide great tools for educators, like Google Classroom and Google Drive. I know, because I use them all on a daily basis, and I am pursuing my Google Educator Certification (see my previous post here about tech certs). A Google ID allows teachers and students access to many apps run by Google or created by companies that have agreements with Google. And that's a good thing, because these apps and services do enhance learning in the classroom. I use Code.org in my coding classes, and to log in students need their district-provided Google ID and I have them access the link to the specific Code.org class environment through Google Classroom.
But there are issues with Google that have made me decide to use something else in my personal life. I have to use Google for work, but at home I try to avoid it, and it is getting harder and harder all the time.
You see, under its parent company Alphabet, Google owns: Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Maps, Wallet, Android, Chrome, Drive, Classroom, among others, and by the way, they are a search engine. See a partial list of subsidiaries here. They contribute to other services such as Code.org and the development of Blockly (a JavaScript clone of MIT's C-based Scratch). They provide a lot of services in both education and the private sector. My students, because for many of them their only experience with a computer is a Chromebook due to being low income and/or high needs, only know Google services. They're everywhere, and an entire generation has grown up only knowing technology as provided by Google.
But Google is tracking you. Everything you do. That's how Google makes money and provides all these "free" services. By selling you. Your browsing history and personal data are sold to advertisers. And you agree to it in that lengthy contract called a "terms of service agreement". Have you ever noticed the ad that shows up on Facebook matches the product you were just browsing on Amazon? Or ever see an ad for a place you just drove by when using Google Maps for directions? See a report from Britain's Channel 4 News here.
And your content that you create using a Google app or service is not really yours. Part of that agreement means that because you are using a free service to type a document, make a drawing, or create a presentation, that creation be used anytime by Google for any purpose they want, including advertising or marketing - see report by CNET here. Unlike using standalone software like Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suite where you buy a digital tool to create your own work for your own purposes, Google says you have ownership of the intellectual property, but they basically have the right to do whatever they want with it. It would be like saying Black & Decker owns your house's architectural plan because they provided you the saw to cut the lumber during construction. In other words, don't type your novel in Google Docs.
I have recently started using DuckDuckGo. One of their selling points is they don't track or sell your personal info. I have noticed that the results are different compared to Google, mostly with less ads at the top of the list. Trying side-by-side comparisons of Google vs. DuckDuckGo while doing searches, Google certainly has what seems to be the more "popular" results, but DuckDuckGo seems to have a little more "authentic" and unbiased results nearer the top of the list. Images and videos in DuckDuckGo are noticeably fewer, though. I also use Mozilla Firefox instead of Google Chrome as a browser because of better security features, so if DuckDuckGo doesn't track or sell, slightly "inferior" results are a sacrifice I'm willing to make for now. In the die-hard computing community, DuckDuckGo is gaining popularity according to Search Engine Journal.
Like trying to cut the cable cord, doing anything internet or technology in general is tough to do without Google. They do provide a lot of great educational services and all-around software and tech tools, but for me in a world where cybersecurity is an ever-growing concern, I'm going to sacrifice a little convenience in my personal life and use a more secure browsing and searching alternative.
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| Image downloaded from and property of Saying Images |
All 3 school districts I have worked for in the past 10 years either are or have become a Google Education district. These districts all use Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education. Google does provide great tools for educators, like Google Classroom and Google Drive. I know, because I use them all on a daily basis, and I am pursuing my Google Educator Certification (see my previous post here about tech certs). A Google ID allows teachers and students access to many apps run by Google or created by companies that have agreements with Google. And that's a good thing, because these apps and services do enhance learning in the classroom. I use Code.org in my coding classes, and to log in students need their district-provided Google ID and I have them access the link to the specific Code.org class environment through Google Classroom.
But there are issues with Google that have made me decide to use something else in my personal life. I have to use Google for work, but at home I try to avoid it, and it is getting harder and harder all the time.
 |
| Logos are property of their respective companies. Image downloaded from Pinterest |
You see, under its parent company Alphabet, Google owns: Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Maps, Wallet, Android, Chrome, Drive, Classroom, among others, and by the way, they are a search engine. See a partial list of subsidiaries here. They contribute to other services such as Code.org and the development of Blockly (a JavaScript clone of MIT's C-based Scratch). They provide a lot of services in both education and the private sector. My students, because for many of them their only experience with a computer is a Chromebook due to being low income and/or high needs, only know Google services. They're everywhere, and an entire generation has grown up only knowing technology as provided by Google.
But Google is tracking you. Everything you do. That's how Google makes money and provides all these "free" services. By selling you. Your browsing history and personal data are sold to advertisers. And you agree to it in that lengthy contract called a "terms of service agreement". Have you ever noticed the ad that shows up on Facebook matches the product you were just browsing on Amazon? Or ever see an ad for a place you just drove by when using Google Maps for directions? See a report from Britain's Channel 4 News here.
 |
| Image property of and downloaded from Know Your Meme |
And your content that you create using a Google app or service is not really yours. Part of that agreement means that because you are using a free service to type a document, make a drawing, or create a presentation, that creation be used anytime by Google for any purpose they want, including advertising or marketing - see report by CNET here. Unlike using standalone software like Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suite where you buy a digital tool to create your own work for your own purposes, Google says you have ownership of the intellectual property, but they basically have the right to do whatever they want with it. It would be like saying Black & Decker owns your house's architectural plan because they provided you the saw to cut the lumber during construction. In other words, don't type your novel in Google Docs.
I have recently started using DuckDuckGo. One of their selling points is they don't track or sell your personal info. I have noticed that the results are different compared to Google, mostly with less ads at the top of the list. Trying side-by-side comparisons of Google vs. DuckDuckGo while doing searches, Google certainly has what seems to be the more "popular" results, but DuckDuckGo seems to have a little more "authentic" and unbiased results nearer the top of the list. Images and videos in DuckDuckGo are noticeably fewer, though. I also use Mozilla Firefox instead of Google Chrome as a browser because of better security features, so if DuckDuckGo doesn't track or sell, slightly "inferior" results are a sacrifice I'm willing to make for now. In the die-hard computing community, DuckDuckGo is gaining popularity according to Search Engine Journal.
 |
| Image property of and downloaded from Tom's Guide |
Like trying to cut the cable cord, doing anything internet or technology in general is tough to do without Google. They do provide a lot of great educational services and all-around software and tech tools, but for me in a world where cybersecurity is an ever-growing concern, I'm going to sacrifice a little convenience in my personal life and use a more secure browsing and searching alternative.
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