If you are doing merchandise, I like reusable bags for the market.
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At the moment I think we’re looking at things which are on the smaller side, so this one definitely fits @mike, I’ll dig into it. Once we’ve got some draft versions we’ll bring them here in front of you all.
Maybe there is some kind of environmental company you can partner with. Ex:
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Perhaps Mojeek also needs more publicity in general? Mentions on suitable forums would help to broadcast the Mojeek name. The only relevant forum on which I’m a member is Wilders’ Security Forum, which is US-based.
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That’s definitely an easy way of getting the word out; I guess the issue we’ve found with this approach in the past is that if it comes from us, it seems like an advert. I don’t suppose anyone @here has any idea of a relevant forum?
OK, what about a mention in a respectable publication such as The Register? If that’s out of the question, a bit more guidance would possibly be helpful.
Apologies if I haven’t made myself clear here, but I completely agree with this approach, and want to support it in every way possible.
What I am saying is that it is unlikely that I would be well received as Head of Marketing joining a forum and posting about Mojeek, as it comes off as me just engaging in self promotion.
As @bbbhltz says:
People you’ve interacted with would add more weight to your words if you recommend us in a specific forum, over and above me. I consider myself to be a pretty honest good-faith actor, but if I go into a tech forum and say use Mojeek it’s quite clear to people that I have an agenda.
Unfortunately we’re in a time where everyone has something to sell you, and that has jaded people on this kind of direct approach from the company in question.
If you have any forums in mind, and you think there’s a way of assisting this, then I am all ears, it’s a great idea.
On:
We’re working on our approach to the media currently, there are a bunch of things (functionality, perspectives etc.) that we think are interesting about Mojeek and that we’re trying to get some eyeballs on, it’s an avenue that takes some time, but definitely worthwhile. If there’s anything in particular that you think is story-worthy/pitchable then let us know 
you can’t always know from the inside all of the things that people might find cool.
For @stu, we’re in the later stages of getting some cool designs printed for stickers; I’m pretty sure there will some people here who would enjoy these. They’re standard Mojeek ethos - had to be biodegradeable and we’re using a local company. I will be more than happy to get them mailed out and will let people know when they’re done.
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Marketing is such an umbrella term now. I teach marketing at a business school and a specialised marketing school. It is hard to keep up with how strategies can change and and which techniques would work for company A and not for B. Is it worth doing a focus group? Should a company do like their competition and pay for sponsored content? Which companies are direct or indirect or secondary competitors? Do those competitors change by age group? It is all fascinating a sometimes fast-paced, which is why the majority of my students want to work in marketing or something adjacent.
A very basic thing everybody can do is to think up a positioning statement. This is somewhat dated, but quick and painless. It would look like this:
- For [target market] who [statement of need] MOJEEK is a search engine that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitor], our product [differentiation statement].
And then you decide how to get that target market to listen to your message. Who has access to them, who do they trust, etc.?
I for one am looking forward to some stickers or merch, something to start a conversation with students.
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@bbbhltz I wouldn’t call a value proposition statement you mention (below) dated. But timeless.
For [target market] who [statement of need] MOJEEK is a search engine that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitor], our product [differentiation statement].
You might be shocked how many startups never do one. I’d guess, based on working with many, that the 90% failure rate would reduce to 80% if they all used them. To be fair they are now more widely used in the last decade.
We use various techniques.
A relatively recent one that I think is a great contribution is April Dunford’s which we’ve adopted & adapted as here. Great for B2B as you’d expects since developed by her based on experience working with many B2B statups.
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That is very reassuring to hear. I teach in the language department and have never had any practical marketing experience. When I do teach my units on marketing, students in their 4th year have told me that they have never heard of such a thing. I will will present it differently in the future — especially with April Dunford’s content! Her book is available to download through my school’s library too.
Thanks!
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Obviously Awesome (paper copy) has passed from @Colin to myself and is now with @sam, so these ideas have been making their way through the team 
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I just wanted to share an example I saw today (online), not as a suggestion — just for the sake of sharing.
I noticed a number of bus stop posters for Google around town this week (I live in France), and then today someone shared on LinkedIn what Qwant is up to in terms of advertising:
The copy reads:
You’re wondering who uses Qwant? Us too.
Zero search tracking
Zero sales of personal data
Zero ad tracking“Qwant: The search engine that knows nothing about you”
There is some very careful wording at play here. Qwant also makes numerous video clips that they share on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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So, where do we Brits go from here? And, has anyone been tasked with ‘getting the show on the road’? I know nothing about the Mojeek management team or Mojeek’s business plan for the future. Would anyone care to elaborate?
Hi Everyone,
This afternoon, I made an exciting discovery! I had a look at Wilders’ Security Forums on which I have been a member for a few years. It made reference to the following review:
And, what a wonderful surprise I received. To my delight, there was a mention of Mojeek. It looks like Mojeek received some favourable words by Sven Taylor.
Zed
Here are a few big posts from 2020. Things have moved on obviously, and good progress but will give you a flavour.
I’m still navigating around Mojeek Discourse. Has anyone else seen the Restore Privacy review? If so, do you have any comments? TIA.
I don’t appear to have had any replies to the question that I posed immediately above. I’m referring to my question about Restore Privacy. Perhaps I don’t fully understand how Mojeek Discourse works. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Hey @Zed, we’re aware of it, it’s a good piece that shows a good understanding of some problems which our work aims to raise awareness of and provide some solutions to i.e.
Many of the alternative and private search engines are nothing more than private proxies that deliver the same search results from the big players
This bit (as is called out by the title) was added somepoint this year along with Yandex - not so sure on their privacy practices, mind.
It’s a different way of viewing things, and one that we definitely like to see more writing on, a good answer to the question why would you build your own index instead of just using Bing?
We’ll have an update coming up pretty soon for Sven if he so cares to amend it, as we’ve got a billion on top of that figure and will soon be at 6bn 
On the marketing front.
The good part is that Mojeek is on the list in that article. What always worries me is when Mojeek is not even on the list, like they never heard of it.
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