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Wander the World Wide Web
by Andrea McCann
Humans use tools for pretty much every vocation and hobby on the planet. Carpenters use hammers. Seamstresses use needles. Doctors use stethoscopes. Potters use kilns. Photographers use cameras. Surfers use surfboards – unless they’re surfing the World Wide Web. Then they use a search engine.
A search engine is a tool used to find information on the Web, according to “The Farmer’s Guide to the Internet,” and only a Web browser is needed. A couple of common browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The search engine is not a function of the browser, but is actually a Web site itself, with its own address, or Universal Resource Locator (URL). Most Internet services integrate browsers into their package, so if you have Internet service, you’re good to go. All you have to do is point and click, or you can type in the URL for your favorite search engine. No special software is required.
There are hundreds or thousands of search engines available, depending on whom you ask. In general, they all do the same thing, but they may do it differently. That’s because the people who create and maintain them do things differently, says Mike Wadsworth, computer expert for the National Swine Registry (NSR).
“It’s in the user’s best interest to try different ones to find one that’s in tune with the way they look for information,” he says. “The power of the search engine is in its value to each person in finding what they need.”
Search engines contain lists of URL’s for Web sites all over the world. According to “The Farmer’s Guide to the Internet,” they’re arranged by keywords, so if you don’t know the URL for the Web site you want to see, you can search for it by keyword. But that can get a little tricky if you and the search engineer aren’t on the same track. Wadsworth says creators of Web sites generally come up with a list of keywords related to their content and register them with the largest search engines. That way, computer users who enter one of the registered keywords will be directed to their site. You may have to try several different keywords to find what you want. For instance, you may use “hogs,” but the Web site developer may have used “pigs,” “swine” or “pork.”
If you’re looking up “swine disease,” the search engine may provide sites with either “swine” or “disease,” but not both together. Sometimes it depends on the way you enter your request. One search engine may require you to key in “swine and disease,” while another one may require you to use “swine + disease,” and yet another may be perfectly happy with “swine disease.” Each should have a help section that users can view for an explanation of its particulars.
Most of the time, Wadsworth says, people do find Web sites by entering a word or phrase related to the topic on which they’re looking for information. The more specific they can be, the better, he says. For example, typing “Yorkshire” into the MSN search engine brings up several references to Yorkshire terriers and a couple to the Yorkshire region of England. Typing “Yorkshire boars” produces more targeted information on locating breeders of Yorkshire swine, as well as a couple allusions to the Boar’s Head Hotel in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The phrase “Yorkshire boar semen” generates an even more precise response.
A search engine is only as good as its URL lists. Wadsworth says MSN, Yahoo and Lycos are his favorite search engines because they’re thorough and easy to use.
“They’re fairly comprehensive,” he says. “I’m most likely to find what I’m looking for with these three, and they attempt to group responses for you.”
Most search engines will tell you how many Web sites were found with the keyword or phrase you entered. Then they’ll list 10 or more of the sites per page with “hot links” so you can just place your cursor over the link and click to be connected with that site. Once you visit a site, that link will change color so you’ll know you’ve already looked at it.
When a search yields several Web sites with the information you’re seeking, Wadsworth recommends looking at more than just one of them.
“In general, people give too much credibility to the reliability of Internet information,” he says. “I would hope that universities, government agencies, libraries, organizations, etcetera, would be reliable, but anyone can put up a Web site.”
One way to check the origin of Internet information is to look at the “extension,” the tag at the end of the URL. Extensions were created to classify Internet addresses. Dot-com is the most common and signifies a commerce site. Those extensions have been used up, though, Wadsworth says, and dot-biz is now also used for commerce sites. Dot-gov indicates a government site. Dot-edu designates an educational institution. Dot-org specifies an organization. Dot-net denotes libraries. Dot-info signifies information and referral services.
Something else you may find in the URL is the country of origin. For instance, dot-ca reveals the site is Canadian; dot-au, Australian; and dot-uk, British (United Kingdom).
But you needn’t go outside the United States to find useful sites related to swine breeding. A number of breeders and organizations from coast to coast have Web sites advertising their products and services, shows and sales. And lots of people visit those sites in search of information.
Earl Cain, of Cain Farms, says their 2-year-old Web site has definitely aided sales of semen and show pigs for the family operation, located south of Des Moines, Iowa.
“Our Web site gets lots of hits,” Cain says. “We get e-mails daily because of the Web site.”
He says often the e-mails request information about feeding and other day-to-day basics, but they just as often bring business to their operation. Cain says their Web site is a means of advertising that is comparatively low-cost and is easily and routinely updated by his son Dusty.
As demonstrated by the Cains, a search engine can be an effective tool for folks trying to get information out to a target audience through a Web presence, as well as for those seeking that information.
SEARCH TIPS
• Be exact when typing in a URL. They’re case-sensitive, so be sure to use upper- and lower-case letters where specified, and don’t forget dots, slashes, colons, etc.
• When you find a Web site you like, save it under “favorites” or “bookmarks,” whatever category your browser offers for that purpose, so you don’t have to do a new search every time you want to visit that site.
• Try several search engines to find the ones that are most intuitive for you.
• Think of as many possible keywords and phrases to enter as you can, and make them as specific as possible.
• Look at several sites about the same topic so you can verify the information you find.
• Look for sites by leading organizations, businesses, universities, etc., that you know will have reliable information.
Examples of Search Engines
http://www.msn.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.infoseek.com
http://www.lycos.com
http://altavista.com
http://www.webcrawler.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.dogpile.com
