... needle in a haystack.
Google, which has made its way from noun to verb, kicks out as many search answers as there is hay in the haystack. According to "A Perfect Mess: The hidden benefits of disorder" by Eric Abramson and David H Freedman, Google is a "wonderful way to get your hands on a specific piece of information out of a vast trove that no one has to waste time putting in order."
The trouble is that Google gives you what you asked for. Invariably on my searches - Wikipedia answers are the first and if it's film, I get IMDB and if its books - Amazon. See the problem? Google gives you most visited.
The authors mention that adding a random word to the search parameters allows for variation. The sort you would get if you looked up the terms in various books on similar topics. I'll detail this more in another post. Turns out I'm pressed for time.
So, without further ado, I direct you to bananaslug.com a long-tailed search engine that adds a random word from a category that you choose - like themes from Shakespeare. Try it, it is incredibly interesting. Tell me what you think, tell me what you searched, which term got added and how it was different from Yahoo or Google.
The random word may not act like a magnet to the needle in a haystack but it might be the pitchfork you use to shake out the needle from forkfuls of hay.
I am a terrible googler, I have Dan or Delia look shit up for me. But when I am over <---- there on the "good" machine next time I'll try this. Thanks!
Posted by: Julie | 18 July 2011 at 09:45 PM
Clicked on you from julieland. Got lost, lost, lost in bananaslug. I'll go there often, I'm sure. Thanks.
Posted by: Judy, Judy, Judy | 01 August 2011 at 09:18 PM
Typepad does NOT like mobile posting. I tried to reply a few times but it seems it never took.
Welcome, Judy. Bananaslug.com sure is a time sink but much more varied than google.
Posted by: Sarah V | 14 August 2011 at 11:23 AM