Searching?
First Impressions
Curious
Brief History
Taking Notice
Trial Period
Out of Control
From Small to Big?!
Friends...
Relative
Here I go Again
What I Want...
Where am I now?
Lost & Found?!
Use the Net or Usenet?
Observations
Details
Knew that, Been there...
Confidence
Stress Out
Pain
Endless
While on the internet, it seemed pretty complicated, somewhat confusing, frustrating, and difficult to find particular topics and items, especially when there's no information given on the "how to do something" functions. I mean there were the help commands on the screen, but the wording is sometimes too darn complicated to understand. As an amateur using the internet, it was quite a relief to know that we actually received directions (from Dr. James) on what to do and how to do them. Although it may not have been sufficient information, I found that the search engines alleviated a lot of my problems by sifting through the large numbers of information within the system and displaying only those that I was looking for. It's very similar to a filter system in that it allows for the user to find information about a particular subject (topic) and displays only those that seem relevant to the user with the information given by the user. It automatically filters out those items that have no relevance on the particular topic of choice. Searching?...using what?
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Using the search engines wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My first thought was, "no more internet work!" I mean I did use search engines before, but not for anything in particular. Back then, the results I got were just horrendous. I just got this blank screen looking back at me with no displays. If I recall correctly, I didn't have a topic that I was really looking for. It was more just to "explore" the net. This time around though, I enjoyed using the search engines. It was interesting to get the results that I did. Furthermore, I found it quite difficult to stick to only one search engine. First Impressions
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The first time I went about doing this report, I used the Yahoo! search engine and browsed at the screen for awhile. Then, I went ahead and used another search engine, Alta Vista just to see how much more different it was from the other search engines. They all had similarities in terms of the kinds of information that each displayed. Even the appearance of the screens looked alike. The only difference that I really noticed was the speed at which the displays came about, but it all depends on the number of users who happen to be using that same search engine. Curiosity...
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Before using these two search engines, I did some searching of my own on the Lycos and Magellan search engines. This was done way before I was even enrolled for the psychology 409 class. I used these search engines about two to three times just to "kill time" prior to taking Dr. Leon James' class some time during the Spring 1996 semester. While working on this assignment for class, as soon as the Yahoo! screen appeared, I looked at the whole entirety of the screen from top to bottom by using the mouse and clicking on the top and bottom arrows. I read through everything that appeared on the screen. It was pretty interesting to see that the top portion of the screen had so many different sub topics (categories) of listings to choose from. The bottom of the screen provided information (brief summaries) about all the other search engines, as well as an advertisement for one of the search engines, Java. Brief History
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I personally didn't find it hard to just browse at the screen or anything. In fact, it was more interesting than anything else because of the graphics (including the moving visuals) and the kinds of topics that were listed. Although I must admit that I was pretty captivated with some of the blinking displays and messages on the screen. The only thing that "turned me off" was that all of them had the same colored links, but I'm assuming that it must be that different computers have different colored displays. Taking Notice
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While I was on the Yahoo! screen, I just clicked on the word, Entertainment just to find out what it had to offer. Within this category, there was another listing of sub categories that had to do with entertainment. I really wasn't expecting to find another listing of sub categories. Instead, I was expecting to find current information on what the latest happenings are within the entertainment industry, which was broken up into the sub categories. Trial Period
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The first place I clicked was on Music because music is such a big part of my life. Then, I clicked on Artists to see if they had information on my favorite singer, Janet Jackson (which they did). Not only did they have information, they had a screen that had her sounds, a Planet Janet page, a Web Site for Janet Jackson's Official Fan Club and they even had lots of great graphics of Janet Jackson with links to other stuff that any avid fan of hers would click on. I spent a great deal of time here just browsing around, taking notes (very little), bookmarking, and clicking on everything that I thought was relevant information about everything and anything I could get regarding Janet Jackson. I would have never imagined or believed that this kind of stuff ever existed. Words wouldn't be able to describe what I was feeling and experiencing. I was just in total euphoria!!! It was almost as if I were in another world. Hey, who knows, maybe I was in another world...know what I mean? Out of Control
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When we were first given this assignment, I chose to do my search on small businesses. I wasn't really sure of what I was looking for in particular so I just went ahead and looked it up. I didn't expect to find such an abundance of information in relation to that particular subject matter, but there was a lot pertaining to businesses and the information was just too overwhelming. Almost 90% of the displays seemed as if they were large corporations advertising themselves to small businesses. The first two screens that I scrolled on were full (of links) of firms that specialized in computer software for small businesses. The next set of screens were links to advertisements of companies who put web pages on the internet. Besides the abundance of information, I'm not really business oriented and that's when I decided to change my topic, overall. My next topic was going to be on relationships, specifically friendships. That's one aspect of life that interests me more than anything else, given the experiences that I've had regarding this subject matter. From Small to Big?!
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Everyone has their own, personal interpretation, definition, and understanding of friendship, the different classifications, as well as what they represent. For me, I think of friendship as a bond (whether it be intimate or platonic) and a special link between two people who have commonalties amongst themselves. This bond and special link develops and builds over a matter of time which in turn makes it strong and lasting. Although this may not be the case for some people, it's been the case for me. I've been through a lot of experiences both positive and negative with a lot of friends, but it's helped me to grow as a person. It's also helped me to interpret, define, and understand this concept known as friendship. Friends...
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This is one of the subjects that are very personal to me so I find it very difficult to define and put into words. Friendship has had such an impact in my life for both the good and the bad. It's hard to say which parts were what. I mean it can all depend on how one looks and perceives the experiences that I've been through. Some people will tell me that most of the experiences were good, while others will tell me that the same experiences were bad. Like the saying goes, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder"...unknown. Relative
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I wrote down no notes to describe what I just did, nor did I suddenly just come up with it. Instead, it came with a lot of experience, time and growth. To find the materials in the search engine, I typed in the following words; friends, friendships, relationships, emotional support, best friends, best of friends, close friends, true friends, mates*, pen pals*, and hugs*. To get this list of words, I just thought about my friends, the type of relationship I have with them, the things I do with them, and how they affect me. I had to draw upon my experiences to get the list. I really had no time to jot down any of the words nor did I consult anyone. Those words just "popped into my head" while I was doing this report. Here I go Again
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There were a number of words that I had to eliminate from the list because they had different meanings from what I wanted. An example is the word, lover. I couldn't use that word because friend and lover do not mean the same thing. Though they may have similarities, their meanings and definitions are quite different. I felt (at that time) that the words that I chose were very relevant to the topic of my choice. I was very confident that the words which I have chosen will get me some of the information that I need, while at the same time, I felt a hint of doubt becuase I thought it was silly to find anything about the topic of friendships. All the words were similar and dealt with one thing in common, friendships. What I Want...
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My overall goal was to find as much quality information pertaining to friendships as I could from Netscape. If it so happened that there wasn't much on one search engine, then I would have used another one and if I'm was not able to find anything on any of the search engines, then I would have just replaced the words (if not my topic, entirely). My emotions seemed to be running wild like chickens without their heads. I mean I was going through anxiety, joy, euphoria, as well as, periods of feeling down in the dumps. I was both looking forward to finding out what kinds of information the netscape had regarding this topic, yet I was hesitant because I wasn't expecting to find much..."Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst"...(from the song, Forever Young). Where am I now?
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The search that I made was quite simple. I just typed in word(s) (that relate to friendship) into the space provided next to the search icon, then clicked on the search icon (or hit return) and in a matter of seconds, the screen displayed that it had either found a certain number of matching sites and listed them down or that there were no matching categories or sites. When the screen displayed that it found no matching sites or categories, I just clicked on the "options" icon and changed it so that it would read the usenet. Lost & Found?!
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By using the usenet, I was able to get a display (query) which showed a list of articles/letters, the day it was posted, the score number, the subject / topic, and the author. I found that by clicking on the options icons and then using the usenet, it gave me a little more perseverance. Although it was hard to understand what the headings of the query meant, I just clicked on it to get an idea of what it was for and there was a definition for each of the headings. At first, it was frustrating and annoying when the screen display showed that there were no matches. Then, after using the options, it got somewhat easier to deal with because it was almost like a help button right there. I know that my confidence was shot for a time being, but I just kept moving along no matter what. Not once did I ever feel the need to check the instructions on how to use the search engines. I just kept inputting words and watching all the new displays. I'm just not the kind of person to ask for instructions. I like to learn things on my own and get "hands on experience," but when I do need help I will ask for it. The only thing I can really say is, "Don't give up, even when things seem so rough! and Keep on finding different ways of solving the problem." Use the Net or Usenet?
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Looking at the results, it was just a screen displaying a list of relevant (and some irrelevant) materials from top to bottom. The words that coincided with my search words "glowed" and the headings were underlined to catch the viewer's eyes. All of the headings were followed by an author(s) and a brief summary of what it was about. I just paid close attention to the underlined headings and summaries before clicking on any of them. I spent at least two to three minutes reading over each of the summaries to find out if it was relevant to my topic. The only thoughts that came to me were "that looks boring, not interesting, not relevant to me, and this doesn't belong here". I was very bored and indifferent to a lot of the results. There were only a few that I found to exciting and captivating. I noticed that I reacted positively to the things that were written personally by other people of my age range while I disregarded the other stuff. Observations
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There didn't seem to be a lot to interpret at all. I was just looking at some of the details and trying to understand what was (written) being said. In terms of things not making any sense, I had a hard time figuring out why certain things that I perceived as irrelevant were in that particular results section. There was this one article about how to teach children on being and making friends. I would've put that with either a child development or parenting skills section, which might have been a better idea to do. Details
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While reviewing the summaries (on the results display), I clicked on to the heading of articles (stories) that I assumed were relevant to my topic. I chose to click on them by reading the summaries to get a general picture/idea of the contents. The summaries gave me a broad picture and general idea of what I could expect. Unfortunately, I did that for the entirety of this report. With no plan or strategy, I just ventured into it head on. Though it wasn't as bad or horrid as I'm making it seem. It was actually an enjoyable and relaxing time for me doing it that way than any other way. I clicked on one, read through it, placed a bookmark on it (only if I thought the material was relevant), and continued on doing the same pattern for the rest of them. There were a few results that I copied and pasted the URL's onto my report to make links to. As I mentioned earlier, not much of the information was surprising because it was stuff that I either heard from friends or read prior in books and magazines. The only surprises I saw were some of the graphics and pictures. I was amazed and shocked to see that people were actually putting pictures of themselves on the Netscape, with personal information about themselves. Knew that, Been there...
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My level of confidence wasn't as high as I'd thought it would have been. I was confident that I could do the report yet I had some doubts as to the quality of its content. When I first started, things were going smoothly for me and my confidence level was on a high, but after "losing" my original report, I just didn't have the confidence any more. In fact, I had wanted to just give up on it. I was almost done (with the original one) and I was making adjustments, putting on finishing touches and what not, when the screen froze up on me and erased my entire file. There was nothing on my diskette, it was just a blank disk. I was full of rage and anger, with thoughts of messing up the computer that did this to my report... It was a chore to get myself to redo the whole report again. I had to literally force myself to do it all over again. All I kept thinking about was the amount of time I needed to put into this new report and the time remaining. Now, that I think back on it, the process wasn't so bad. It's been kind of an "awakening" for me. I was able to put more thought, energy, as well as time into the new report. I was able to find different aspects of the search engines that I never really paid any attention to in the prior report. Also, it gave me a chance to find other sources of information that I didn't not previously have. Confidence
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Throughout this whole ordeal, my stress level was a little on the "high" side. Every little thing would stress me out. The biggest stressor was when the computer screen froze and erased my file. I wanted to break the computer so badly. Currently, my stress level is going down because of the fact that I'm almost done with the report. The search engines didn't give me a whole lot of trouble. Instead, it was the results that gave me the problems. I wasn't satisfied with the results that showed up on the screen. I'm very satisfied and pleased that the use of the search engines weren't too difficult or hard as I had previously thought. In fact, using them was the easiest and the best part. Stress Out
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The results gave me stomach pains each time I had to look at them. Some of them were just totally way off from what I had requested. It was at these times that I just felt like giving up, but I didn't. Instead I kept going. Then, there were a few times that I was just thrilled because I actually got some results that were more than relevant to my topic. Most of the results were things I already knew. There were only a few items that actually helped me to understand a few, minor issues. None the less, I'd say majority of the results did make a difference to me because (1) the information that I already knew reinforced it into me, and (2) the new ones I'll apply to my life in one form or other. I know that in the near future, I will be doing more searches using the search engines and I'm more than positive that I'll find what I'm looking for. I know I sound very sure and confidant of myself and I'm not going to deny it because I now know how to get what I want, where to look for what I want, what to look for, and other ways and means to go about finding it. Pain
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I hate to admit it, but I honestly had a good time working on report 2. Although I found it harder than report 1, it had a lot of good points to it. The value of the search engines cannot be matched or compared to anything that I know of...It's almost like "the world is at touch of a button," literally!!! I don't think that there are any limits to what this could do for every person on this planet. Every piece of information regarding any subject (topic) matter is available to the public. It's almost as if the library, personal secretary, friend, consultant and anything else needed in one's life can be found with the help of search engines. Who would have ever thought that this would ever be possible?! I think that the most important thing we have to do now is to use the resources that are available. Search engines have the capability to provide the users with information that they are seeking. The potentials are endless. The only thing that I see necessary is that the people should take advantage of this wonder potential and asset that we have within our time. There are no limits nor boundaries that keep us from being able to do what we want. We create our own limits and boundaries. With the use of search engines, no dream is too great to acheive or ascertain...the knowledge can be ours if we just use it. Endless
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