Alright, call me ignorant, but how do you "Google"? (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

Hunter, I'm right there with you. I guess I'm one of those Dinosaur people that get used to one thing and doesn't like change.

I always used Yahoo, WAY back in the day! so I too hate that this "Google" has become the "new/hip" thing. Everyone is all like "Google this" and "Google that".

No offense to anyone, but it annoys the hell out of me.

 

[Citizen87645]

This is what Crispen has to say on Yahoo vs. Google.

Yahoo is a Web directory not a search engine.

What Directories Are Good For
- “What is the Web page address for some company, organization, or entity?” (or “who makes product X?”)
- “Where can I find a list of Web pages that focus on a particular, ‘universal’ topic?”
- In other words, directories are GREAT for “telephone book” searches.

What Directories Aren't Good For
- Directories are horrible for “encyclopedia” or “dictionary” searches.
- The only exception is if the topic is so universal that the directories have no choice but to link to a page or two that discuss that topic (and even then the selection will be slim.)

Directories vs. Search Engines
- Directories are human-compiled and have a small number of pages in their databases (usually in the low millions)
- Search engines are machine-compiled and have a HUGE number of pages in their databases (usually in the hundreds of millions or even the billions)

The Second Biggest Mistake
- Using the wrong tool at the wrong time

The Second Biggest Mistake Restated
- Using a directory as if it was a search engine ... and then not understanding why you can’t find anything!

(The First Biggest Mistake is typing a search in the browser address bar - which I still do sometimes :b)

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Thanks, everyone! I get it now.

 

[Ken Chan]

Google's predecessors didn't invent boolean logic either. Being first doesn't guarantee success. It's often better to let someone else make the early mistakes.

What made Google successful is their PageRank system, so that typing in a simple query would "magically" list what you were really looking for first. Now people try to game that with "Google Bombing" -- google that

Now that they're so big, and they're the default search engine for FireFox and Safari, it will be difficult for someone to unseat them overnight, even if their search was consistently but only marginally better.

 

[MarkHastings]

as well as taking their idea and building on it. That's why the iPod is so successful and X-Box, etc.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

...and Windows.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

We Googled it.

Bruce

 

[PeterK]

wow, I did not know that, very useful indeed :star: