Web Search

"Zillions" of people are searching the Web every day, because it is soooo easy… but if you want to use your computer well as a tool, learning about searching is important.

If there are "zillions" of people, there are "quadro-zillions" (like that word?) of websites, some with pages and pages of information. Some are complex, intensive, and most are not. Some are good quality, and some are not. Some are accurate, and some are NOT. Anyone can write anything on the Web, so you have to judge whether the information is biased, or well researched.

Since there is SO MUCH material out there in "cyberspace".. you need a way to sift through it to find the information that you want. Your first helper is the "search engine", but you need to know how to operate it. There are several, all offering the same type of service, but indexing it in different ways; so what you find on one list, probably will not be the same as what you could find with a different one.

Most will just use Google.. because it's right there at the top of your browser.. but when you have time, try the others: Yahoo, Alta Vista, Dogpile, Ask are just a few.
In Internet Explorer, at the far right end of the Search box, there is a tiny, down pointed triangle. In Firefox, it's on the left of the box, next to the G. Clicking on this will give you some options.
AOL and Amazon have their own, of course.. which lead you to their advertisers.

How To

With newer browsers, you won't find a Search box! Just type what you need into the Address Box.

Generally, the Search box works the same, no matter which service you choose. What you put into it affects the quality of what you get out. (You've heard of "Garbage In, Garbage Out"?) Whatever word you type into it, will bring back a listing of every site on the web that contains that word on a page somewhere! Believe me, that will be FAR too many for you to find what you want.

So there are "guide" rules to help the engine sort out a lot that you don't want.

• If you are looking for a name or particular phrase, use quotation marks around it. i.e.: "Post WW II Japan "
• Plan how to narrow down the choices. Such as: you want information about a buddy who served with you in WWII. Type: Army, Big Red One, Germany, 1943, Joe Smith then put a + (or the word AND) between each..
  
  Army + Germany + "Big Red One" + 1943 + Joe Smith
  
  
  Army and Germany and "Big Red One" and 1943 and Joe Smith
  
  I imagine you will still get quite a few "hits" unless his name was much more unusual than Joe Smith.



• Similarly, when there is a likely reference that you DONT want included, you can give the engine a clue by using a minus sign:
  
  Woodrow Wilson + President - High School
  
  

So now you have a first page with a listing of lots of websites.. 25 out 467,350,000! What do you do with it? The first few listings are "sponsored", euphimism for paid ads. The next few should be the most relevant to what the search engines think you are looking for. Each listing will have a description or a short sampling of words from that page, to show you the type of information, for your selection. As usual, you click on the underlined link. There are more pages shown at the bottom, if you still can't find what you want.

Better yet, refine the choice of words that you put into the Search box. Narrow it down.
At the top of the Search listing page, you will see category filters.

Web    Images    Maps    News    Shopping

To just find pictures of something, after you type the name into the Search box, then click on "images" in that category menu..

Another useful tool that not many use is this. If you'd like to know what a word or phrase means, type it in the Search box preceeded by the word define:(with a colon).

Use the computer to find almost anything: Music, People search, Employment search. It never has told me where my keys are, though.

WIKIPEDIA

This is a good spot to talk about Wikipedia. This is one of the tools of the web that is changing society and it's access to information. This is an encyclopedia about everything in the world, (and out of it) designed to be written, edited and added to by anyone. Rather an interesting, different premise! While it was new, this was abused, of course.. but as it matures, there is more and more oversight, and corroboration by authorities. Just be sure to check it against at least one other resource.

FILTERS

Writing on the Web has no restrictions. This is both good and bad. There are some checks and balances, though.

• A company or government can block the access to certain sites, or computers.
• It is still up to each website as to whether the writing is "published" or not. Unfortunately, many "WebMasters" have very poor judgment as to what should be public. There are some very malicious people posting lies and due to the anonymity of the Web, it's very hard to stop.
• Your computer can have a "filter" set to restrict what kind of content arrives to your browser, as most of our school sites have for children. However, if your computer at home does NOT have such a filter setup, any and ALL content can be seen by your children. It is a responsibility of the parent (AND GRANDPARENTS)to WATCH what your kids are watching.

Compare several at Top Ten Internet Filter reviews.

To get more information about Searching the Web look at these Web pages:

About.com Web Search
• WebSearch 101
• Google Search Tricks
• More Advanced Information
• History of the Web

Grand Times 

Eldr  



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