home | homework | links | glossary | sitemap | contact
Week 6 - Homework
Discussion about using Google to search for information
Google search has become such an instrument to us that we could hardly imagine living without it in modern age. Sure, there are other search engines out there; but Google somehow with its user-friendly interface, huge database and continuous improvements has become synonymous to modern-day online search: no wonder when someone can't think of any piece of information, you most likely tell them to "just google it". Most of these features, including for instance traffic conditions and Google translate, are also immediately available on modern smart phones and are of great help when you need them.
Everyday essentials.
Google makes it extremely easy to find current weather, local time, sunrise / sunset times etc. for any given location on Earth - whether it is by city / state / country format or by U.S. ZIP code or other country-specific postal code. Google's intuitive search suggests similar queries as soon as you enter portion of the text, which makes it quicker to choose & find what exactly you are looking for as well. You can enter an acronym of the stock that you want to keep track of, name of a sports team or league in which it plays where you want to see the latest news, scores or updates and there they are. Are you trying to find the name of a song to download when you just know portion of the lyrics? Just enter what you remember followed by "lyrics" and Google will find the interpret and title for you. Then you can just enter the name of the musician or a band, you can search for their next tour dates near you, albums on sale or where to buy or download the song you like.
Reference tools.
Where you previously needed to spend some time in a library or use your math skills, Google does it for you. You can enter a math problem and the built-in calculator returns the solution. The Book Search feature can help you find books by a certain author, unknown author of a book you've heard about or reverse look-up both author and the name of the book by a quote you've read somewhere. When you need to convert data from metric system or even some archaic units that aren't in common use anymore, just type them in their format using keywords which units to convert them into and you will get them in U.S. standard units and vice versa. Public data includes statistics on everything you may need- population, area, history of a country... earthquakes, unemployment & literacy rate, languages spoken and such. Public search can help you find old classmates or important background information on someone you would like to avoid.
Choosing Keywords.
If you are looking for synonyms of a given word, typing the tilde sign (~) followed by your queried word (without a space) will result in synonym search. Using keyword "define" will access the dictionary and thesaurus, while Google's built-in spell checker will automatically suggest proper spelling for a misspelled word entered.
Local search.
If you need to know what is going on in your (or any other) area, just type in your US ZIP code or city and keyword describing the activity you are interested in and the broad database will guide you to your interest - whether it is particular restaurant, movies, sports activities or type of business.
Health search.
Google's ingenious search system will suggest answers to your medical question when you enter the name of a drug, health problem symptoms or when you need to find a local clinic or a dentist, for instance. It also provides valuable information to let you know what to do in case of poisoning or recommends suicide prevention hotlines for those in need.
Trip planning.
It doesn't get any easier when you are planning a trip than using Google. You can track flight arrivals by using the airline and flight number keywords or figure out costs listed in foreign currencies according to the current exchange rate. Google's maps are best of what's online as they offer street view feature, something we couldn't imagine few years back.
Query refinements.
The plus operator (+) is the key element of search on Google as it replaces any common words during search of two or more queried inputs. Keyword "related:" will return items with similar content or information directly related to the word entered after it. Another great tool is typing in the asterisk function (*) where you let the Google fill in the unknown blank of a sentence or a question you are looking to answer.
Search by number.
Entering a group of numbers subjects them to a database search, where Google can automatically decipher whether it is a format of tracking number used by one of the shipping companies and you can automatically look up the data. Similarly you can enter the number of a US or other foreign patent, ISBN code of a book you are looking for and so on. All in all, Google is in my opinion the greatest tool online and it makes me feel like James Bond at times ;o)