What is a search engine? Well a search engine is a basically a database. A search engine can be really specific, as in a search engine for only medical things. The search engine can also give you information and they have cited their resources which will lead you to other websites, that are not search engines, or the search engine can bring up a list of websites that pertain to what you are searching for. Prior to popular belief there are more search engines than just Google, a lot of them. In this post I will provide a link to a search engine and give a short description on its use and my experience using it.
1.
Wolfram Alpha- This search engine upon first inspection was basically Wikipedia. Whatever you searched for you got a description of it and sources were cited with links. However, if you click on examples right under the search bar on the right side you will see that Wolfram Alpha can be used for a lot of educational purposes. One main use I want to point out is that it will show you step-by-step how to solve math problems if you enter your math problem into the search bar. This website is great for school.
2.
Bing- This search engine is essentially the same as Google, however its homepage is a lot more interactive than Google's homepage. The front page of Bing has a picture with a link, news stories on the bottom, and when you first click on the search bar it gives you a list of currently popular searches on Bing. This search engine is great for general use and I find it more interactive than Google.
3.
Lycos- A little more basic of a search engine than Bing or Google it does not have as many features. One cool feature it did have was that it knows what city you are in and tells you the weather on the home page of the search engine. I would recommend using other search engines, unless you just really like knowing what the weather is before surfing the web.
4.
indeed- This search engine is different from the others in a big way. The other search engines were general purpose. This search engine is used for a very specific reason though. It is a job search engine. You type in what city you live in and then what kind of job you want. When searching for a job the links will take you directly to that business's website to apply. If the job is already taken when you click on the link it will tell you. So this website is not updated at all times. One nice feature is that you can upload your resume so that employers can find you. Over all this is a great place to start if you are looking for a job.
5.
WebMD- This is a search engine that is used for medical purposes. This website is great for everyone. It is not for doctors. This website is for your average person. You can either search by what exactly your problem is or by an interactive search feature that asks a bunch of questions about your symptoms and then gives you a list of possible medical issues. Once you click on one you have a description of what it is, what to expect, self-care, and even when you should probably go see a doctor. I really enjoyed this website.
6.
PriceGrabber- Another specialized search engine. This one specifically searches for consumer products. it then lists all the stores and websites that are selling the product and for how much. You can find just about anything on this website to buy. However, when looking at the places they have listed for selling the product it varies greatly from product to product even if they are the same type of product. This leads me to believe that the website is listing only what the retailers give them not what they go out and find. It is still a great website to use.
7.
Yahoo- This is another general purpose search engine. It has the most interactive home page of them all, though. It has a ton of news stories on the home page and a bunch of features like the weather in your area to the scores of recent sports games. I really enjoy this search engine. A lot of general purpose search engines will bring up the same websites when searching for stuff, but this has the best homepage by far.
8.
Go.com- This is about as specific as you can get for a search engine. It is a Disney search engine. this search engine is family oriented and is made specifically to search for anything Disney. It only searches for things that are Disney. I can find no purpose for this website, but it is great if you are looking up Disney stuff because all of this information comes from Disney itself.
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Pulled from a post called "People Literally Surfing the Web" by Ronnie Scott from thehairpin.com |