Google had a funny name in 2000. And Yahoo! had a funny name in 1994. I'm sure once they get some cash they'll buy ddg.com from Donoho Design Group LLC and that'll be the end of it.

I think you're saying two things, so I'll address each.

1. "Google" and "Yahoo!" seemed funny in 1994, but we're used to them.

It's possible. This is what most people answer about DDG. I think this is wrong. Google and Yahoo!, while funny names, sound "cool". DuckDuckGo doesn't. My memory isn't great, so I can't be sure I'm right about this, but I'm pretty sure that the first time I heard "Google" or "Yahoo!", I had a much better reaction than the first (and every) time I hear "DuckDuckGo".

I also think it's not smart to cling to the "people will get used to it, Google was the same" defense. If it's true, sure. I think it's not, and it's just misleading and true-sounding enough that DuckDuckGo keeps going.

2. The domain name itself is a problem (long, annoying to type, etc.), and once they get ddg it will be better.

I agree on this point, although I do think the name is still an important point, not just for the domain. It's a brand.

I'd like to reiterate that I'm not saying this things to be a critic, or just to be mean. I really value the work of DuckDuckGo, I think it's great that there's good competition to Google, and I'm a fan of Gabriel Weinberg. I'm only saying this because it's an issue that keeps coming up, and I really think it has a bad effect on DuckDuckGo.

"2. The domain name itself is a problem (long, annoying to type, etc.), and once they get ddg it will be better."

Actually, you can already use www.ddg.gg, which redirect you to the HTTPS version of DDG.

They own the DUCK.CO domain, but use it as a community forum. I think they should use that one as a shortcut to their main product, but probably they don't want to cause confusion.

The funny thing is that the registrant of DUCK.COM appears to be Google when you do a whois lookup:

    Registrant:
    DNS Admin
    Google Inc.

I remember reading about it on TNW that it came from an acquisition. While most of the domain names Google owns don't redirect to google.com, this one is an exception (you'd wonder how it relates to search in any way). Google wants some free traffic from its little enemy?

I actually knew that, but ddg.gg seems to never stick in my memory.

On the other hand, how often do you type any search engine into the URL field? It's either bookmarked or it's automatically set as your search engine.

Actually, the use case is more for someone like me - I remember that I want to try DDG once in a while, so I decide to visit it, and then I can't remember the shortcut and am annoyed that I have to type in the whole name.

Obviously serious users of DDG don't have any problem with it.

Duck duck go, go go?