Journal # 1

Google is a wonderful tool that allows billions of people to access wealths of information, all over the globe, all the time. It is truly difficult for me to go a length of time--say more than a day or two without googling something to access the information I need. A quick search of my google bar reveals such a true cross-section of information--searching for restaurants, vacation information, directions, reviews, education-related items and more.

The Your Google Guide offers the suggestion of putting your search in the form of a question--something I have rarely done and will consider utilizing in the future when searching the net. I agree with the author's findings, in that I feel the genius of Google is that it ranks the search results by hierarchy. Given the information in this article, I realize I have some concerns about the "sponsored links" on Google--the fact that those links are from business paying to be there. I don't necessarly feel that is a conflict of interest, but I do think the fact warrants consideration, but I also respect that Google offers a great many services, free of charge, and have to earn money somehow to support that service.

One question I have is: How has Google changed the way people obtain information? I would be inclined to answer, how hasn't it changed the way we access information? Just last night, for example, I moved into a condo downtown for the summer. When I moved in, I realized I couldn't immediately access the Internet, what to do? Well, I simply thought I'd Google Cox Communications to find out how to get service support. Good grief! I can't do that if I don't have Internet access. I am totally dependent on the Internet, and Google is a significant reason why.

Secondly, I want to learn (and am!) how to use more of what Google has to offer. iGoogle is clearly a wonderful tool, so is Froogle for finding the most cost effective ways of obtaining goods and GooglEarth, which is really fun, but somewhat creepy! By playing around with Google in my spare time, I think I can learn even more ways to support any questions or needs I may have searching the Internet.