BEST & WORST OF SEARCH ENGINES
By
There are thousands and thousands of websites to choose from when you
want to do a search on the web. I never
realized that there were so many…and in some cases too many! What I have done is too come up with sites
for some of the best and worst sites out there, and for each category the ones
that impressed or made me run the other way!
I looked at some of the criteria that was on the Berkley website too
help me in my search, and then went searching away…Here is what I came up with.
General Search Engines
And
the winner is….Google – I love this
website. If there is a place where you
could find a ton of information, then this is the place. You have different categories to search from,
and an advanced search that helps you in narrowing down your choices. Once you put in your choice, press search,
and get your results, you are also able to look through the categories that are
on the other pages. Although it can be
tedious to look through all those sites, but you will be pleased that so many
results do come up. Links also seem to
be up-to-date. Date visited –
09/30/03. http://www.google.com
And 2nd place belongs
too…Yahoo – What I love most about Yahoo is
the related searches that come up when you hit for you results. This is another way of narrowing down what
you are looking for, in case you are trying to find something specific. Like Google you come up with an enormous
amount of sites, and even though it can be a bit tedious to search through them
all, I would rather have too many sites to sort through then none at all. Also like the more sites about section that
follows the link, so you can see other results that are sorted together. Date visited –
http://www.yahoo.com/
Kid Safe Search Engines
And
the winner is….Yahooligans – A much
scaled down version of the adult search engine, this is such a fun and informative
site….it made me want to be a kid again so I could search the web! Categories are direct, and this site offers a
bunch of fun links where they can play games, or learn some fun facts. The color and graphic will keep kids
interested, and I would feel “safe” letting students navigate through this site
with no parental guidance. The help
section is very informative, and will answer the most basic questions. Date visited –
And 2nd place belongs
too…Ask Jeeves Kids – Site is simple, and
will not distract your child or student.
If the child knows what question to ask, then this is the place for them
to type in that question and get a great answer. Loved the books on the site that will help
them in specific information they are looking for. The help page needed to be a little more
condensed down, since it can go on forever, and for a younger child this might
be hard to read, or they may give up….besides that very good site! Date visited –
And
the winner is….Dogpile – Uses all the
latest and greatest general web engines for their searches. Easy to navigate through and when completing
a search will categorize your findings in different subheadings, which helps
when you are looking for something specific.
Was a tips and tools link for help in narrowing down your search and
even offers a special section for students doing homework, which is an extra
added plus for teachers and students.
Able too search in different categories, such as news, audio, images,
etc. Also able too download toolbar for
further use. First time on the site, and
I plan on using again for research real soon!
Date visited –
And 2nd place belongs
too…Metacrawler – Coming in a very
close second, this website offers most everything that dogpile did, except a
special section for students doing research, which would have made it just as
good as dogpile. Also categorizes major
subjects into subheadings, which makes the “weeding through” of the websites so
much easier. I loved taking a look at
the metaspy link which shows you what subjects are being looked up on
metacrawler as we spoke….very interesting, yet very scary at the same
time! Another website I have never
checked out before today, but will again!
Date visited –
News Search Engines
And
the winner is….CNN – This is where I get my
major news from. It is not too jumbled
with information, and categories are specific, and when you click on the link
you are given the most up to date information that is in relevant. The Offbeat news section is lite in this
serious time. The partners affiliated
with CNN are reputable, and if you need to search for something, then you will
be able to search through Google. CNN is
a very trustworthy news source, and this is why I would come here first for my
daily news dose. Date visited –
And 2nd place belongs
too…YahooDailyNews – Very informative
up to date information for those that want to know that is going on here and
now. Categories on the side make for a
wide arrange of topics you can check out the news on. The top story section on different links is
great if you want to look at different sources of information. Like the resources section, where you able to
look up your regional news. Besides
serious news, also give you some fun categories so you can get a laugh. Nice blend of news information. Date visited –
Shopping Search Engines
And
the winner is….BizRate – Put a product in
and you will find it here. The
comparison pricing is such a help, because you are able to find the product you
want at a reasonable price without having to search all over the web on each
individual site. The store coupons and
rebates section are what make this web site just better than mySimon. Also being able to see special offers and
store rating are helpful when you are deciding on what store you would like to
purchase from. Date visited -
And 2nd place belongs
too…mySimon – Another fun site if you are
in the mood for comparison shopping. I
have used this site before, and it is so easy to navigate from one page to
another and easy check out. I like the
top products and shopping picks section so you could see what is popular right
now. Have pretty much the same stores as
BizRate, so according to what you feel comfortable with, either site would be
wonderful for comparison shopping. Date
visited –
Worst Search Engines
And the winner is….About – Although there is a vast amount of
information on the site, it is difficult to search through. Information is cluttered, and I had trouble
navigating from place to place. Even
when searching from other search engines, if I were to even click on a link
that lead to this site I would feel overwhelmed. Some people may love this site, but I click
out of it or press the back key immediately.
There is no method too the madness…
Date visited -
And 2nd place belongs
too…Wisenut – Just the opposite of
about.com, simple is nice, but this is a little too simple. There is no advanced search, and the
WiseSearch just seems not much of a help.
The sneak peak section just seems pretty useless to me because you are
not really getting much information. There are much better search engines than
this, so I would take the time to search through them than to take the time
here. Date visited – 09/30/03. http://www.wisenut.com/