What is a search engine...

A search engine is a tool used for searching for a particular subject or topic, or any word for that matter. It can be compared to a library system (UH carl, card catalog, etc.), but I think it is a whole lot easier and has a whole lot more information readily available in a quick amount of time. Several databases have been created which make up these search engines. Some names of search engines are Yahoo, Lycos, Infoseek, Webcrawler, Dejanews, Inktomi, and Opentext. These databases are used to search web pages and/or usegroups.

Generally, the search engine companies like Yahoo, Lycos, etc. set up databases that are located on their server as indexes. The databases are created or upkept through devices called demons or robots. The demons or robots automatically roam the DNS entries of the web pages and/or usegroups and collect the data that can be searched. The CGI is a programming code that interacts with the server and is responsible for doing the searching.

Each search engine is different in how and what kind of information they look for. There are search engines that are considered general purpose and some that are special purpose collections. Some search engines index the entire page, some only index titles and URL addresses. Others search through the use of approved categories. There are also business directories that are organized by approved fields that can be searched.

Therefore, to access information on the Internet about a particular topic is made very simple by just clicking on a particular search engine and typing in the topic you are interested in. Depending on which search engine you use, an index of pages or categories that may be related to your topic are shown in the results.

My first experiences with search engines...

The only thing that I was unhappy with was the fact that it was taking so long to get into the net search. The search itself for the topic was really quick. There were only about 5 related pages that were found. So, I clicked on each page and browsed through and was generally pleased at how easy the whole process was. Then I decided that I would try a different search engine and also some different topics. I went back to net search and tried Yahoo. I searched about a topic I'm doing research on in another class. The topic was inclusion in public schools. The screen said "Please use a non-empty search string". I was lost. What is a search string? I only typed in one word, what was wrong? So, I just tried again. I typed in inclusion one more time and hit Search. Well, this time I came up with 33 matches. Weird, I thought. I just kept on going. The results were listed by the categories that they came from in the index and I thought that was unnecessary. I was generally pleased with the results and found the majority of them to be relevant to what I was studying.

For the most part, I found that prior generations found that using search engines was a positive experience. They pretty much shared the same views as I did. They found it to be really easy, except for the large results. It required a little more effort to find a way to reduce the large amount of results, but the majority expressed positive feelings about search engines. I pulled a few quotes from some students:

Using Yahoo! and Webcrawler...

Next, I tried the search in Yahoo!. Again the search was quick and now I was given eight matches. I looked over these links and found that none of them were the same pages that I found with my search using Webcrawler. Interesting, I thought. With closer investigation, I found that of the eight sites listed, two were repeats under different categories, therefore, really only listing six pages. Of these six, Dr. James' report or home page was not listed and that seemed to disappoint me. I thought for sure I would get his page because the word, "cyber-psychology", appears in both the text and the title.

Next I tried to search webcrawler again by hitting on the link at the bottom of Yahoo!, which is quite convenient. Yahoo! will do a search for you in a number of the other search engines for the same word. In other words, you don't have to go through the process of typing in the keywords and starting from the beginning again. It's just convenient. Well, I got the same four hits again as I did the first time around. At least they were consistent.

I repeated this whole process again a few minutes ago while writing this report and came up with the same results, exact same pages and same number. I guess no new links or registrations into these engines about cyber-psychology in the past two weeks.

What I have learned from using search engines....

I have found that the Web has everything and anything that you want to look for. There is a vast amount of information, useless and relevant. It is addicting and exciting. You can be searching for something is particular and run across something totally off the subject and end up looking at links to those for hours. It keeps the mind stimulated as I think of it. When I am doing searches, I keep jumping to new ideas and new information that looks interesting. I'm learning about all kinds of things that I would have never sat in the library looking at.

My biggest pet peeve of the Internet is the time that it takes for pages to load up. I'll say it again, I hate it. I just press that lovely stop key and move right on. So, if you're page happens to take more that 10 or 15 seconds, sorry, but I can't wait for you. There's way more information out there to be looking at.

So far I have used the Internet for communication purposes, mostly for this class, but now I write and communicate with friends who have graduated and don't get a chance to see as often. I also use it for education and research. I am involved in a class that does a lot of problem-based learning and requires me to research many topics. The internet is handy and quick resource to many references. And lastly, the Internet is used for entertainment. Almost everything is on the Internet and can be looked up. It's like watching T.V., just requires a little more effort.