SiteLines - Ideas About Web Searching

ConsumerWebWatch explains those Nigerian Email Fraud Schemes

ConsumerWebWatch's January 26 2004 report, The Check's in the Mail, reviews those unending Nigerian banking transfer requests that no email user can escape. Read this helpful summary of the problem and what you can do to combat it.

Global Resources for Forest Information

Roger Mills, a librarian at Oxford University, has contributed an excellent review article on forest information resources in Issue 152 (February 2004) of FreePint.

New Search Engines are Ready To Jump When Google Changes Focus

(CORRECTED January 27 2004 -- Thanks to Michael Fagan for providing me with a correction on Google's relationship to Orkut.)

I've seen more than the usual number of announcements of new search engines during the last month. Names like Dipsie, Mooter Eurekster, Meceoo (meta-search), Metrobot (local search) -- and the list goes on. These new tools (most are in "beta") join a half-dozen existing search engine properties, including Teoma, Wisenut, and Gigablast -- all seeking to grab your eyeballs and become the next search engine of choice when you dump (!) Google.

These new entries point to a feeling that 2004 will bring some leveling to the search engine playing field after Google goes public. (For an idea of how the search engine optimization industry views the future, see 2004 Search Engine Predictions from SEO Professionals), Clearly the owners of these new search properties hope that the same magic combination -- of need, timing and a great name -- that turned Google into the world's best known brand will also sprinkle a little fairy dust their way. But will there be room for a new search engine?

The signs are indicative of some reduction -- make that dilution -- in Google's impact on search relevancy in 2004. Google is already launching services that look designed to boost revenue generation and expand the brand as a true portal site. Rumors of a Google email service and Google's release of the social networking/friend-making/dating site Orkut look much like Yahoo's moves into similar "beyond-search" areas. As revenue generation in many guises becomes more important, search algorithms could be diluted, not only by paid placement in Google's search results but also by a lowered corporate focus on search relevancy generally.

Google's gift to searchers has always been its unyielding corporate focus on search relevance, but if the company moves (as Yahoo! has) into non-search revenue streams, Google could become a less desirable tool of choice for the serious searcher.

Flags of the World

Spotted on Infomine's Alert Service, Flags of the World website "contains 20,000 pages of information about flags and 37,000 images of flags... Also included are flags for militaries, organizations, religious groups, cultural groups and fictional flags. There is also a glossary of vexillology terms, a bibliography, information on flag traditions, and links to related sites." (quoted information extracted from Informine Alert Service)

The Researcher's Companion

The University Library & Information Resources Centre at the Federal University of Surrey has produced a a step by step guide to conducting research. Tabbed sections of the tutorial expand with the help of sidebars. Although much of the information in the tutorial is institution-specific, there is useful general information in the tutorial . Librarians and others who create online research tutorials will find much that merits modification and adaptation to suit local needs.

Reference Management Links

Tracy Kent of the University of Birmingham has produced an excellent portal site on reference management software. The site links to over a dozen reference software packages available, as well as reviews, email discussion lists, a brief annotated citation guide, and sources of current awareness services for reference management.

More on Google command-line searches

Google has added several new "command line" search options to it's search capability. You can now search by UPS or Fedex tracking numbers, US patent numbers, and FCC equipment tracking number, in addition to some now-well-known options for definitions, US phone numbers, stock quotes and US street maps. Google provides brief information and examples at http://www.google.com/help/features.html#number and more options will likely be added.

Let's deconstruct Google's definitions feature using the syntax define: your_word_here in the command line. For the search define: optimization several definitions from multiple sources are returned, but we have no ability to find a list of the sources or how they were selected.

These simple one-box auto-search features are good for simple lookups like Fedex numbers -- but for information where some intellectual analysis may be needed, is it appropriate to leave it up to Google to choose the recommended database?

Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch wrote an interesting piece titled Searching with Invisible Tabs in December 2003, on Google's propensity to try to search just about anything from the command line (he dersctibes it the "swiss army knife for search"). Google's back end would recognize certain qualities of the search string, and would automatically query one or more prescribed database for the result. As with most easy-search solutions, there are benefits and risks, and Sullivan summarizes these well.

Handy Audio and Video Search Tools from FaganFinder

Michael Fagan, a university student in Ontario, is the creator of several meta-search finding tools, part of his FaganFinder web site. (See my comments on his Image Finder). I've always liked his approach to meta-searching (first pick, then search) even though I often have quibbles with his selection of resources included. Fagan reports that he recently added sixteen new resources to his Audio and Music Search Engines section, and fourteennew resources to the Movie and Video Search Tools section.

Recommended Resource: WebWatch

Spotted on Librarians Index to the Internet: WebWatch is worth a bookmark if you work in or near government and want to find out about innovative web applications in the public sector. This regularly updated resource "features links to creative and innovative Web sites from state and local governments. Categories include art, economic development, energy, safety, services, technology, and transportation. From Governing.com, a companion site to Congressional Quarterly's Governing magazine." (quote from LII's abstract)