Finding Stuff I

Vague and General with Internet Directories

Access to the Internet is similar to having access to limitless magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, photo and picture collections, music recordings, businesses, and resources. Searching the Internet can sometimes lead you to anywhere from zero sources to a hundred sources of information. The following section will provide strategies to find the information you wish to find efficiently. If there's a thousand ways to skin a cat, there must be two thousand ways to find a website.

Paint a clear picture of what you would like to find.

We can't jump on the Internet without a goal; fortunately, this goal can be flexible. We need to have something to search for.

Categorize your goal as "vague and general" or "pinpoint specific":

• In the vague and general category, I may wish to find information about small dogs;

• In the pinpoint specific category, I may wish to find information about the eating habits of Dachshunds.

The categorization of your goal may determine the way you search the Internet for information. No goal category is any better than the other. Naturally, the broader and vaguer your goal, the more information sources you will find. Having more information sources means that you can select higher quality websites to browse and retrieve your information from.

Webpage vs. Website

Here's a few more entries for your glossary:

webpage: a single Hypertext (html) page with information on a specific topic.

website: a collection of web pages which somehow relate to each other.

In essence, a website is just a bunch of related web pages connected by hyperlinks. When your goal is vague and general, it may be best to browse a website on the general topic your are interested in. When your goal is pinpoint specific, you may be able to attain your information from one webpage. Using the same example:

• A web page would have specific information about the eating habits of Dachshunds.

• A website may have an alphbetical list of many small dogs with hyperlinks to information about each breed, including Dachshunds.

Vague and General with Internet Directories

We needed a way to organize the mountain of information on the world wide web. Internet Directories were born to categorize topics and provide links for thousands of websites and web pages.

Why use Internet Directories?

Internet Directories are ideal if you wish to find more information about a broad topic you may not know much about, and you would like to be guided step by step with options. All of the linked pages within Internet Directories have been reviewed by human beings hired by the particular Web Directory to organize and find information about these topics. This means that they have all been reviewed by someone who feels the particular web pages are good sources of information worthy of a hyperlink on their Internet Directory.

How do Internet Directories work?

Most of these directories are organized in a hierarchical structure, divided with sub-categories: topics move from general to specific. The directory's home page probably has a list of about 20 or so main topics. Each topic has a list of sub-topics, and sub-sub-topics, and so on. In using the Yahoo.com directory to find information about specific breeds of dogs, one would have to start with the science section, then biology, then zoology, etc. etc. (see below).

To compare, the About.com directory has Pets as a main topic (see below).

What are some disadvantages of Internet Directories?

Sometimes things just can't be categorized easily. It may be frustrating trying to find where on earth information about dogs may be listed in a particular Directory. Why would we think to look under zoology? Many times, a topic may be placed in several categories.

Yahoo.com has information about pets in their Society and Culture main category, as well as in Science (see above). Another disadvantage is that we are unsure of the last time the Internet Directory was updated. If the page of hyperlinks about dogs was last updated in June of 2000, and an exceptional website about dogs was launched in July of 2000, it won't be listed. Cutting edge information or rare/special interest pages may go completely undetected by web directories. We'd never know how the information on those pages could have helped us.

Where to find Internet Directories

Internet Directories can range from being extremely broad (with topics on everything from investing to gardening) to specific topical directories (specializing in entertainment or medical hyperlinks). Each directory organizes their material in their own way, and some may have better procedures to keep their material fresher than other directories. Provided below are several options, so you may select one that you like.

General Directories:

About.com: http://about.com/
A General Internet Directory with real-person guides for each main topic. The guides are experts in the field who maintain the links, respond to questions, and write articles for their particular area of concentration. This directory concentrates on the quality of hyperlinks, with a human touch.

Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/
The Open Directory Project's goal is to produce the most comprehensive directory of the web, by relying on a vast army of volunteer editors. With the Open Directory Project, many directories and search engines are working together to create the largest and most comprehensive Internet Directory ever.

Google Directory: http://www.google.com/dirhp/
A popular General Internet Directory with a multitude of topics and subtopics.

Looksmart: http://www.looksmart.com/
Another large General Internet Directory with plenty of icons and pictures to make navigation and use alot friendlier. A good directory to start with. This directory has a concentration on the quality of hyperlinks.

Topical Directories:

MusicMoz: http://musicmoz.org/
Open Music Project. Collection of music and music related information and links. Related to the Open Directory Project (see above).

Mental Help Net: http://mentalhelp.net/
A website with a goal "to provide you with an easy-to-use, friendly resource in which to access all the mental health topics on the Internet." Has plenty of links and resources in a somewhat hierarchical format.

Web Directory Activity

Instructions: This assignment will include many of the skills developed in past lessons. Feel free to consult your notes for assistance.

Assignment One: Share a website with others.

Find a website that highlights something you enjoy. Show the class.

1. Using an Internet Directory, find three websites about the same topic from your interest information form. You can find hyperlinks to several Internet Directories above.

2. Pick a favorite. It can be a favorite because of informational content, appearance, simplicity in finding information, etc.

3. Copy down the URL. Post the website you find on the Intro to the Internet Guestbook for the whole class to read. Describe:

   • what the website is about, and;

   • why you selected it as your favorite from the other two you reviewed.
     

Assignment Two: Find a website for another person.

Find a website for someone else. Email them to tell them about it.

1. Using an Internet Directory, find three websites about the same topic from a classmate's interest information form. You can find hyperlinks to several Internet Directories above.

2. Pick two favorites. It can be a favorite because of informational content, appearance, simplicity in finding information, etc.

3. Copy down the two URLs. Email the complete URLs (ex: http://www.bu.edu/) to the person. Describe:

   • what the websites are about, and;

   • why you selected them over the third one you reviewed

Proceed to the next lesson: Finding Stuff II . . .

Site and course content by Kevin Berner, edited by Lori Wallace and Donna Wilbur