To start this very exciting journey into the vast arena
of search engines, I first chose a topic from the G3 databases. I chose
Garrett
Chun's(G3) topic: Confessions-- Daily
Hassels that Drive Me Crazy.
From this general topic I narrowed it down to the subject of : Stress. I
chose the word "stress" because I felt it to be the
one word that
summarizes Garrett's topic best, and also because it is something to which
no onecan be spared from. Eventually I further narrowed my topic down to
"How
to Manage Stress with Natural Herbs". I chose this
narrowed topic because
I felt that this would be something worth looking into, and hopefully I
could learn some of these alternative techniques to reducing my stress.
Being that every human being that lives and breathes in this crazy, mixed
up world experiences stress of different degrees, I felt that this topic
would be somewhat beneficial as well as interesting to the majority ou t
there who would like to minimize the stresses in their
hectic
lifestyles.
I felt that my topic would be basically information on different types of herbs, and how each alone or in combination could benefit ones well-being thereby decreasing ones stress. I thought about it's history, and from my own knowledge I knew that a lot of herbal remedies were not "proven" in our medical world. This fact made me even more curious as to how vast the herbal medicine world was on the internet!
Keeping my topic in mind, I entered the homepage of my professor
(Leon James), and chose the option: "Diane Nahl's Search Index". Upon
entering Dr. Nahl's search index I clicked onto "Tribal Search", I
thought, "Hey, this sounds interesting!" (because I had never used a
search engine before I did not know what to expect) and I felt it was
destined to become MY search engine, -- I couldn't have been more wrong.
To my disappointment when I typed in a word to search I found that I could
not conduct any
kind of search using "Tribal Search" without some sort of code. Upon
this discovery I had no choice but to choose another search engine. I
then found "The Fabulous Shickman Pit Stop" and clicked it on. I scrolled
down the screen searching for another search engine that would be right
for me. "The Webcrawler" showed itself, and I was
instantly attracted to
it's creepy sounding name -- so I decided to make this my search engine,
if it would let me. I began a topic search and typed my topic into the
Webcrawler -- first STRESS, it being a broad topic I felt confident that
it would result in some matches, and lo and behold I
found 7333 matches
for this topic! This was the beginning of my journey into my new search
engine: The Webcrawler!!!
Once I saw the results of my search for "stress" I was amazed -- so
much to choose from and in no particular order! As I scrolled down, the
list seemed endless. I read the choices posed to me on the list, and
decided that I needed to narrow my topic
down or else I would be overwhelmed with all the information available.
This is when I scrolled down reading about 7-8 pages of matches to
"stress", and found one topic that particularly caught my interest. This
topic was "how to manage stress with natural herbs"(as stated previously),
I made sure that there were enough choices for me to click onto before I
decided to officially choose this topic. At this point I began to click
onto some of the choices pertaining to my new found topic, basically going
by their title listings. The first one I clicked on was "Natural Herbal
Relaxing Aid", after browsing through this particular article I
decided to save it and resumed my selections from the
lists. I continued this process saving about 10 or so articles. By
conducting my search in this manner I was able to choose the topics I felt
was most relevant to my needs. There were also a number of listings that
I did not need -- and my clicking the
m on turned out to be a waste of time as well as effort
(reading and
scrolling).
This process was very time consuming due to the
copious amounts of topics listed. This time consuming process took its
toll on my patience and I began to become not only bored, but frustrated
as well. In the intensity of my mood, I suddenly became enlightened with
the thought --- "Hey, why don't I begin a new search for my focused
topic?!!" I then went back to the search screen and typed in "stress
reducing herbs", and guess how much matches I found? 13,346 matches to be
exact!!! Can you imagine,
my matches just about doubled instead of becoming reduced? At first I
thought "How and why is this happening to me?!" After I
had calmed down, I
decided that this finding wasn't as bad as I thought it to be. I had even
more information than before but
it was all focused information. Information that pertained to my narrowed
topic. I realized that I did not need to use all the choices listed, just
those I thought to be most interesting and pertaining to the information I
wanted to portray about my top
ic.
I then began to scroll down the list. I found that some of
the topics that I clicked on were the same ones that I had previously
viewed. This finding was somewhat irritating, so I decided to click
choices that did not sound so similar. One of these
choices was "Regeneration
Herbal Body Wrap Instructions", this ad was very interesting to me.
One, because it wasn't a repeat of any of the previous choices, and two,
because it was a topic that was extremely foreign to
me.
I also explored other types of treatments for stress relief. For
example I found articles that spoke oforder form I was pretty
amazed at the style a lot of these articles were presented in. At first
they seemed to me like more informative-type articles,
but eventually
turned into classified ads. I felt that it was a waste of time to read
too in depth on the classified-type information, and I started to focus on
the informative-type information presented in the articles because I
thought that this would best benefit my purposes.
During this
tediuos process I noticed at about the third set of listings that there
was a button that would allow me to view a summary of
each article if I
wanted to see it. I thought to myself "There is a GOD!", and anxiously
clicked it on. I was pleasantly impressed, the listings all contained a
written summary -- I could now choose accordingly. I began to scan down
the list reading the summaries and I clicked those that seemed to pertain
to my topic. I found that by using this summary option, I
was able to save a lot of time choosing to save the
appropriate listings
-- I also managed to decrease my stress level (How Ironic!).
I
was able to keep track of my new found information by taking notes beside
my computer. I was able to read, save, and jot the address of each
appropriate article down. I was surprised with some of the articles --
there were even pictures
on some of them!
BREAKING FREE FROM THE WEB
I rate my overall self-confidence as a searcher
a +2. I gave myself this rating because I felt that the
search engine I used (The Webcrawler) was very user friendly, and I did
not experience any real dilemmas while conducting my search. Yet, I feel
that there is more to learn and explore on The Webcrawler, therefore I
could not give myself the highest rating.
My stress level rating while using my search engine
was a -1. I felt somewhat stressed, especially at the start of my
search.
I found a lot of my stress to be alleviated upon
more time and practice
with The Webcrawler. I have a somewhat high strung
personality anyway, therefore a -1 is actually somewhat relaxing for
me.
Satisfied: +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 :Not Satisfied
I rate my satisfaction with The Webcrawler a
+3. I
felt that The Webcrawler is extremely user friendly, and if you know your
topic I believe that you can conduct a successful search using this search
engine.
I feelthat the usefulness of my results from The
Webcrawler deserved a rating of
+2. There was a lot of useful information, especially after I selected
the summary of topics listed button. Yet, there was also some results
that were not really pertaining
directly to my topic,
therefore a full +3 rating could not be given.
Now Clearer: +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 :Now More Confused
The rating I give as to my better understanding of my topic is a +3.
I was enlightened
with the vast amount as well as types of information available relating to
my topic. I found things from herbal body wraps to soaps and shampoos! --
not just the pill form herbs that I had expected to
find.
Likely: +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 :Not Likely
I rate the likelihood of successful future
searches a +3. I am
confident that I would be able to find information on a given topic with
such search engines as The Webcrawler. My confidence is boosted knowing
that there are numerous other search engines out there to call up for aid
if needed.
SOME RELEVANT WEBCRAWLER
DISCOVERIES
What is Tranquilon and its indications? Describes
how it affects the nervous system to provide relaxing effects. Also how
to order.
More information on Tranquilon and its calming effects!
Description and step by step instructions for herbal body wrap treatment. Designed to cleanse the body of
toxins, thereby improving overall well being and reducing stress and
anxiety.
Describes the use of colors to heal, also herbal food formulas that assist in the reduction of stress!
To pep up your sex life (males only). Sex can provide stress relief,
so if you need help being potent click this selection!
A long list of various ailments and their herbal remedies -- includes
order form for each.
A variety of soaps, shampoos, massage oils as
well as pills and powders that are made up of natural herbal
ingredients. Each has a distinct purpose, CHECK IT OUT!!
Different herbs for different ailments, including stress. A list of
a variety of ailments and their herbal reliefs -- how to find the herb(s)
you need by just clicking on what ails you!!!
A clear and easy to understand description on alternative ways to manage as well as reduce stress.
Herbs for stress reduction available for order as well as a variety of
other herbs. You can also ask a personal herbalist about your individual
herbal needs!! A need to click selection!