Web Savvy: Expand Your Web Search Horizons

Brad Grimes

PC World Contributing Editor

Searching the Web isn't an exact science. You could argue (as I do) that Google is the best search engine online, but it can't find everything. Nearly every major site has its own search function, so wouldn't a search for computer information at a site like PCWorld.com cut out the irrelevant results you'd get at a general-purpose search site? And isn't it possible a site you've never tried can find pages no other search tool turns up?

Google has been so good for so long that it's easy to ignore other sites, but these days I've learned to spread my searches around. Below I offer a few modest search strategies and sites that you probably haven't used lately.

>>TIP Try something new. I'm always looking for the next great search site, and so far I've been very happy with WiseNut. The site has indexed more than 1.5 billion Web pages and includes a feature that suggests (and executes) additional search strings based on what you enter. I'm also optimistic about Teoma, a new search engine from Ask Jeeves that returns results based, in part, on their popularity and groups pages together by topic.

>>TIP Comb the invisible Web. Search engines routinely miss certain types of information, such as scholarly tomes, government publications, and other online databases. If you're having trouble finding information that falls within this so-called "invisible Web," try Infomine and the Resource Discovery Network. Or you can use SearchEdu.com, which has links to SearcheBooks.com (online books), SearchMil.com (military information), and SearchGov.com (government sites). Finally, the Librarians' Index to the Internet indexes site categories such as food, sports, and travel.

>>TIP Do a super search. Metasearching (using a single Web site to scour several search engines at once) is nothing new. MetaCrawler and similar sites have been around a while, but other sites show some promise. SurfWax calls on major search engines like AltaVista and AllTheWeb, as well as on tools such as SearchEdu.com. I also like Beaucoup and QbSearch.com, which lets you select several results and view them in separate windows.

>>TIP Check the periodicals. A couple of wonderful sites catalog articles from a wide variety of publications. FindArticles.com has four years' worth of articles from over 300 magazines and journals organized by topic. MagPortal.com catalogs fewer publications, but it includes magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated, and yes, PC World.

>>TIP Don't forget encyclopedias. Online encyclopedias are useful because they're known quantities, unlike the sometimes sketchy sites you find on the Web. Britannica.com is famous for hiring experts on thousands of topics, and it lets you search the encyclopedia's volumes, magazines, and Web sites--albeit for $50 a year. To cast a wider (and free) net, go to Researchville, where you can access encyclopedias, newspapers, search engines, and more.

Blogging: Create a Web Soapbox

>>TIP Web logs, or blogs, can be fascinating, very personal, and a great way to find information. Finding a blog you like or creating your own is quick and easy.

1. Blogger: The center of the blog universe. Create your own blog or read others' blogs.
2. Blog Spot: Need a place to publish your blog? Try Blog Spot.
3. Blogdex: An index of blogs and the Web pages that the blogs talk about.
4. MetaFilter: A community blog where bloggers discuss the Web and other blogs.
5. UserLand Software: If you get serious about blogging, this site has software for heavy-duty blogs.

Contact PC World Contributing Editor Brad Grimes at websavvy@pcworld.com.