You want to find what?
Over the years, I’ve developed a knack for finding things on the internet. (In my office, all bets are off.) Not a particularly noteworthy skill maybe, but it can be very helpful. How do I find what I’m looking for? As I explained to someone recently, “It’s part luck, part choosing the right search engine, part phrasing the request right.” The luck I can’t help you with, I just happen to be a phenomenally lucky person. Choosing the right search engine on the other hand I can help with. Here is a list, by no means comprehensive, of search services that I am familiar with. I’ve broken them up by category that I use them for, but there is some obvious overlap. Most major search engines for instance will search for images, but I’ve listed my favorites. I’ve highlighted my preferred sites by making it italic.
- General Searches
- Meta Search – Searches more than one engine at a time
- Dictionary and Grammar Searches
- Image Search
- Blog Search
- Search Engine and Directory List – Finding the right place to search
Phrasing your search properly is very important, and often underestimated. (These suggestions will apply to most major search engines. Please ignore brackets [] the search terms below.) If you were to search for the three word phase [one two three] you would get results which included any site containing the words one, two, or three. Priority would be given to results containing more than one of those words. If you searched for the phrase [one + two + three] you would get only results which included all three words. If you were to enclose your terms in quotation marks ["one two three"] the results would include only results which contain all three of those words, in that orientation. You can also search for results within a site [site: highdesertwanderer.com] or that link to a site [link: www.highdesertwanderer.com]. Most search engines have pages similar to this one of yahoo’s which guide you through the search options available. Learn how each engine works, and you’ll rapidly improve your ability to find what you want.
Thank you to Sage’s Unicorn for this posting idea. I think she’ll appreciate the pink.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Mark My Words, The Random Yak, Big Dog’s Weblog, basil’s blog, DragonLady’s World, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Wake Up America, Rightwing Guy, The HILL Chronicles, stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Good references, I practically swear by Merriam Webster. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so used to using it or if it’s the best free online dictionary available. Time will tell.
Comment by Archetype Design Studio — January 15, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
Merriam-Webster sucks. Try the American Heritage online (with etymological info).
Comment by rightwingprof — January 16, 2007 @ 1:24 pm
I’ll try it, though I’ve had good success with Merriam-Webster.
Comment by HDW — January 16, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
I wouldn’t completely bunk M-W. It’s been good to me, although I concede that there are probably better ones out there. I haven’t been too crazy about their latest site interface and redesign. I’ll give American Heritage a try as well. Doesn’t hurt to expand your resources.
Comment by Archetype Design Studio — January 16, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Since I am the one you explained it to, it is only fitting that I leave my mark! Even though I now know all of your secret search places I still will not be as successful and quick as you are, I know I am still going to be depending on your expertise!
And if I may make a suggestion; I think you need a nice purple or pink font choice here also!!
Comment by Sage's Unicorn! — January 26, 2007 @ 10:22 am