Life is a Mystery
photo of the woods

Google it all

/ 25 September 2008

Librarians keep trying to encourage people to look beyond Google for answers. How many people do you think talk to librarians and how many read David Pouge. Today, David sent out an email telling people to “Use Google search for everything.”

When I want to search my own blog, I type “pogue blog tivo” and click “I’m Feeling Lucky.” Presto! I’m reading the post. Two steps.

In other words, there’s very little point in using the Search box within your favorite sites. Use Google to take you to that site and to the page you want within it. Works for Amazon (“amazon freakonomics”), ebay (“ebay delft figurine”), Define.com (“define ersatz”), Facebok (“facebook amy pomeroy”), any newspaper or magazine, and hundreds of other kinds of sites.

He does not even mention the built in calculator, package tracker, reverse phone directory, or mapping available via Google searches. How do we motivate people to go beyond this one stop shop?