Going beyond Google

                Although Googling is a perfectly adequate way of search for information on the Internet, it’s not the only option.  And there may be a better search engine for you.

                Google and Yahoo both are out to make a buck, so not surprisingly, they put their advertisers on top of any search list.  They also use other algorithms that influence placement on the list. Wouldn’t you like to do searches without this bias?

                Try using a metasearch engine.  These search other search engines.  For example, try out www.dogpile.com or www.cactisearch.com .  These are just as fast as Google, but provide a filter that can bring up more valuable websites. This excerpt from a dogpile search shows which search engines identified this link. Both Google and Yahoo put Wikipedia’s link higher for this same search. (Wikipedia allows the public to change materials posted there,  so its contents can be questionable.)

                Also, if you like your information displayed more visually than just a list, try www.clusty.com which displays your search results in groups. 

               Or www.mooter.com which displays your search results as a web or cluster. 

                Finally, if you’d really prefer to use plain old English, rather than using keywords, try out www.brainboost.com (the same as www.answers.com/bb ).  You may have to rephrase your question a few times before you get your answer, or it may not work at all, but it may be worth a shot.

                Happy browsing!