County Economic Development Council Highlights DuckDuckGo

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The Paoli-based internet search engine DuckDuckGo, said to be one of Google’s smallest and most fierce competitors, handled a billion searches in 2013 and is getting more than 4 million searches per day.

Surprised? The Chester County Economic Development Council is seeking out and highlighting such notable business surprises and bringing them into the public eye as part of its VISTA 2025 initiative.

And here’s another surprise. DuckDuckGo doesn’t tell people what YOU are up to.

5.7.2014 Gabriel Weinberg'sDuckDuckGo was founded by Gabriel Weinberg in 2008 and has seen its popularity skyrocket following growing public concerns about privacy and tracking of personal information and online habits. Last year was a watershed year for the company, which has carved out a privacy niche among search engines. The average number of daily searches hiked to more than 4 million per day by September 2013.

DuckDuckGo –formerly run from Weinberg’s home – now has about 20 employees and is on track for another record-breaking year. Unlike its competitors, DuckDuckGo does not save and sell information about your search history to advertisers. But while privacy concerns may have helped to drive people to try DuckDuckGo, the fact that it doesn’t track users is only one facet of how the company differentiates itself from the competition.

DuckDuckGo prides itself on its simplicity, providing users with less clutter, less span, less ads and an overall cleaner design. Search results generated by DuckDuckGo do not limit users to a filter bubble. Results are the same for every person. Google tailors search results to each individual user based on the information they have aggregated about their interests.

A DuckDuckGo search also provides users with instant answers to questions rather than a page of links to websites that may contain the answer. For example, if a user asks how old the President is or the number of calories in an apple, the answer is instantly computed and provided at the top of the engine’s search results.

DuckDuckGo says the firm has an awesome set of employees, investors, contractors, open source contributors and community members. Although headquartered in Paoli, most of its team is scattered around the world.

Weinberg also founded the NamesDatabase, which he sold to Classmates.com in 2006. As the concept of DuckDuckGo grew, Weinberg attracted support and funding from Union Square Ventures, the backers of a number of high-profile tech companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, and Kickstarter.

Born in Washington, DC but raised in Atlanta, Weinberg earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in Technology and Policy, both from MIT. The Weinbergs relocated to Chester County from Boston.

3.29.2014 Gary Smith
CCEDC CEO Gary Smith

“Entrepreneurs and innovators in Chester County come in all shapes and sizes and the internet search engine DuckDuckGo is a great example,” said Gary Smith, president and CEO of the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC).

“We are proud that company founder Gabriel Weinberg and his wife chose to make Chester County home for their family and for DuckDuckGo when he launched the company,” Smith said.

“As Chester County government and the CCEDC continue to work on VISTA 2025, tech companies and innovators that follow in the tradition of DuckDuckGo will be a major focus,” said Ryan Costello, chairman of the Chester County Board of Commissioners and co-chair of the VISTA 2025 initiative.

“Chester County has a lot to offer both families and businesses, providing an environment that fosters the spirit of entrepreneurism. We want to capitalize on our competitive advantages and highlighting the success of companies such as DuckDuckGo is part of that effort,” Costello said.

VISTA 2025, an initiative to develop a strategy to guide economic development efforts in Chester County for the next 10 years, was launched in February 2014 by the Chester County’s Board of Commissioners, the CCEDC and more than 40 local businesses and organizations. The guiding philosophy of VISTA 2025 is to maintain a balance between progress and preservation — ensuring continued economic prosperity while protecting the valuable natural resources that define Chester County.

VISTA 2025 is currently in the discovery phase – which includes assembling statistical data on the Chester County economy and engaging focus groups. To date, meetings and sessions have been held with 11 focus groups representing a variety of industry sectors. The initial finding of the VISTA 2025 will be released this summer for public review.

Links: www.duckduckgo.com and www.cceconomicdevelopment.com

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