Powers Of The Universe-Google 2.0 02/04/2010
I personally can't tell you how many times I have used Google. Usually feeling that I am using the Powers Of The Universe for answers to really stupid questions. How stupid? Well, let me tell you! What happens in Google, stays in Google! We have a great relationship! I'm needy and Google delivers. It is indisputably my favorite website of all time. I'm sure I am not the only one who feel this way. Seriously, I have researched on things that I have had no idea even existed to find out more than I ever wanted to know in just a few clicks. I have to say that I am Google's Number 1 Fan.:) But really, could Google be better? Many of my searches are done without the use of keywords. I don't know what I'm looking for so I don't know what to type in the search bar. Usually I open Google in a few tabs so I can continue my search until I find exactly what I am looking for. Keywords? Sure, now that I have searched Google and discover the endless opportunities with each left click! I tend to get lost in the maze of freedom that Google offers. Sadly, I am also subjected to the sales schemes of some shady marketers and they are ruling the roost right now. No matter where I go, I'm being offered something I don't want when all I really want is more information! Just today, I was assisting a co-worker with her resume. If you didn't know, our location is closing and we are all up the creek. Thanks to WARN, we have been supplied with paddles (the knowledge ahead of time to plan and prepare for the inevitable). The Unemployment Line. Anyhow, I was assisting my good friend with her resume and we discussed cover letters, reference lists, keywords, etc.. Then she mentioned some field that I wasn't familiar with. Well, it's not uncommon for me to do some real search on Google for something I have never even heard of. Problem is, I have to enter into that beautiful search bar more than a few times on the same category. Often typing the exact thing, but additional details such as: 'Elderly Care'- then find a company, then type the companies name and 'open positions' or 'positions available'. True, I can just go directly to the site and search there for the open positions, but I want all of the positions open in a certain location for all companies in the area! And no, I don't just want to go to Jobing.com when I am already in Google and have faith that Google's powers can get me there! Now, I'm not above asking for more- coffee, chocolate, foot massages, but wouldn't it be really great if you could just 'continue' a search? The possibilities would be amazing and may just change the entire structure of Google forever! Gone would be those endless pages listed of sites that are not even relevant to the search! An entry into Google could begin your search, then using the same criteria, you could break down your search even further within Google's immense powers that be called algorithms and pinpoint or target your exact answer, information, or whatever it was that you wanted to find in the first place! But Google has changed as stated in this post from www.TheBigMoney.com a few words from the site visible under the title so you can see what you are getting yourself into before you click on some random site. This is a useful feature and Google has expanded the 'preview' of the site from a few words to a few lines of text. I could dream of searching Google like a child for: ASTRONAUT, then Buzz Aldrin and NOT the TOY! Can't I choose whether I am looking for fact or fiction? To me, that would be an advanced search. :) Yes, I know about the WonderWheel. It is a pretty doo dad that I have tried and I felt just like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole! I have been dragged to topics that were nowhere near what I wanted them to be. Thank you, WonderWheel, but I could have found that 5 minutes ago! Consider the possibilities of a multi dimensional Google. It will come. Change does happen. I will be there. See you soon, Cass CommentsSean 02/04/2010 14:49
I understand what you’re getting at and it’s been a source of headache for many searchers out there – how to get the most relevant results. The secrets are in the logarithms that google uses to find the most relevant results based on what you entered in the field, but of course they all have limitations & flaws. Microsoft’s latest search engine by the name of “Bing” is being advertised as a better search engine regarding relevancy, though to be honest I haven’t found much difference and sometimes it turns out worse results than google. One thing you can try, however, is exercising the “advanced search” option next to the field to enter your keywords into, so that you may get better results overall. Now one thing some search engines used to do (ebay’s product search still does thankfully) but most no longer do, is to provide a little box to check that says “search within these results” option. These seemed to come and go quite a bit when search engines were a dime a dozen (think Yahoo!, Metacrawler, Ask.com, Webcrawler, Lycos, Alta Vista etc.) but for the most part are hard to find these days since Google is arguably the most dominant. I believe Google is always accepting feedback regarding how to better serve web searchers though. Leave a Reply |