All About Online

Discovering

All of these searches will help you discover something new, whether it’s a new author you’ve never read or what size shoe you wear in Europe.

1. Gnod. Search for books, music, movies and people with this search engine. The beauty is that it remembers your interests and focuses the search results on those things you are more likely to enjoy. Save time and enjoy the results of your search with this fun tool.
2. Icerocket. This search engine was designed to take the advertising out of blog searches and definitely does that. It also offers video and MySpace searches too.
3. Online Conversion. Need to adapt a recipe, find out what size shoes you need when ordering from Italy, or figure out if it’s too early to call Aunt Edna in London? This online conversion site will help you find anything you need.
4. Rollyo. You can choose your own niche with this search engine. Select a search from several different categories such as reference, parenting, or the news and receive customized results to help you discover what you need to know.
5. Snopes.com. If your mom loves to send you those warning emails about rats and soda cans, then you can find out the truth about them using this search site. Each rumor, myth, or legend is explained and given a rating of true, false, partially true, or undetermined. Finally, you can put that persistent urban legend to rest!
6. SearchBug. This search engine looks up people, businesses, reverse phone numbers, and more. You can also check the validity of email addresses, phone numbers, zip codes, IP addresses, social security numbers and more.
7. Tablefy. Finally…you can compare apples to oranges! Or find out the similarities and differences between the top Internet browsers, popular beverages, sports players, and more. This is a great resource for anyone working on a school project.
8. Soople. Search for information from a number of specialized categories such as music, movies, video, stocks, other languages, and much more. You can even discover who is linking to your website.
9. Web 2.0 Search Engine. Find tools to make your life easier with this search engine. Whether you want to manage your to-do or grocery list or want to enhance your blog, you can enter your project and receive links to tons of Web 2.0 tools.
10. WikiSlice. This search engine is specifically for searching Wikipedia. Suppose you want to find everything about tennis in Wikipedia. You will receive a link to the main article about tennis as well as links to other articles that mention tennis.
11. Spock. This people search not only finds people without search pricetags attached, it will even bring up photos if they are available. Search by name, email, location, or tag to find someone you know.

Buying Stuff

Buying online is easy, but buying exactly what you want, at the lowest price, or locally can be a challenge. These searches will help make online shopping almost the same as doing it in person.

12. Like.com. This search engine has taken online shopping to a whole new level. If you’ve ever waded through pages upon pages of shoes trying to find exactly what you knew you wanted, then you will love shopping here. The visual search allows you to choose details, color, pattern, or shape to find exactly what you want.
13. Pronto. Shop with the lowest price in mind at this search engine for bargain shoppers. Get your results arranged by price (high to low or low to high), rating, or relevance.
14. Local.com. If you want to find a restaurant, place of business, or a service and you want to keep it local, use this search engine. You can browse by category or search by your zip code or city and state.
15. retrevo. "Matching people and electronics," this search engine will help you find any electronic you want. Not only can you find out where to buy stuff, you can also find articles, forums, blogs, and more. If you need that missing owner’s manual for your TV, you can find it here.
16. Slifter. If you are looking for a specific product and want to buy it locally, you’ll like this search engine. Enter your item and receive a listing of your local stores that carry that item. You can compare prices, too. If you want to take this service with you, set up Slifter to work on your mobile device.
17. The Find. Putting all the other shopping search engines together, this one will search through hip boutiques, large department stores, and local shops. You can find a bargain or buy the top of the line with this comprehensive online shopping tool.

Making Sense of It All

Life can be confusing enough without someone throwing in words or phrases you don’t know. Use these searches to cut through the chaos and be in the know.

18. MetaGlossery.com. Find the definition to anything on this powerful search engine. Enter a term, phrase, or acronym and get results with links that you can email or copy to your clipboard.
19. Everybody’s Legal Glossary. Whether you need help decoding the paperwork on your house closing or want to understand that threatening note from your neighbor complaining about your barking pooch, you can find the definition of any legal term on this site.
20. Dictionary of English Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions. You may know it’s raining cats and dogs outside, but do you understand what it means if someone wears belt and suspenders? Find out what people are talking about with their funny turns of phrases with this fun idiom search tool.
21. WestNet IT Glossary. Whether you are trying to figure out what’s going on with your computer or just wanting to understand that hot guy from the IT department, find out what IT technical terms mean with this resource.
22. Travel Industry Dictionary. Search or browse this site to discover travel terms. If you are planning your vacation or trying to understand what your tour group will be doing during tomorrow’s excursion, find out here.
23. NetLingo. Find out what your daughter said in that text she just sent you or discover what a "poke" is on Facebook with this fun search tool. If you don’t have a specific term you want to search, you can always browse alphabetically or by categories.

On the Go

These search engines are all designed specifically for mobile devices. Whether they help you find your way or save you on your bill, these will keep you mobile.

24. Boing. Designed for mobile devices, this search engine provides results with "mobile friendly load times and limited screen size formatting" so that you can get the best of the Internet on your wireless device. Save time and money with this great search engine.
25. Cha Cha. If you are out and about and need to know the answer to any question, then call or text Cha Cha and you will receive a text with the answer. Need directions, forgot what time the movie starts, or just want to win that trivia game? Cha Cha has your answer.
26. Berggisearch. Powered by Hakia, download this application to your cell phone to get an efficient search that brings results recommended by librarians, not advertisements.

News and Academic Searches

These search engines focus on news or academic results. From up-to-the-minute headlines to complete online texts, these sites will help you out.

27. Google Scholar. This new Google search finds only scholarly literature. If you are trying to find the latest research or information on any topic ranging from diabetes to Oscar Wilde to tornadoes and don’t want to wade through the mess that can come up with other searches, this one will take your straight to the source.
28. bookmach. If you are tired of all the spam that shows up when you are looking for news or searching blogs, then bookmach.com is the place for you. With over 3300 sources, you will only find the best when you use this search engine. You can save your searches to customize the home page so that your favorite topics are always there.
29. Congoo. This search engine is a "real-time news, networking, and information portal." Get the latest news right on their home page or use the search engine to look up whatever news topic in which you are interested.
30. Open Library. This search engine will find any book ever published. If you want to read one of those books online, you are in luck. Over 234,000 have full text available.
31. Wikio. Search for the latest news here. Whether you want to search in video, blogs, or traditional text for your news or would like to explore a topic, you are sure to find the latest updates here.

Audio and Video

With so many photos, music, and video on the Internet, it can be difficult to find precisely what you need. These searches will narrow down the field and even help you find the perfect movie for tonight.

32. Pixsy. This search engine is for photos and videos only. It works wonderfully if you are trying to find a photo of a potential hotel for your vacation, a movie trailer, or the latest photo of George Clooney.
33. Blinkx. Enter your keyword and choose whether you want your video results in a traditional format or in a wall format. If you choose wall, you can see an entire page of results. Hovering over any one will move it to the right and begin playing.
34. FindSounds. If you are looking for a new message alert for your text messages or want to have a Scooby Doo clip on your blog, you can find the sound you want here. The search is free, but if you want to upgrade to be able to organize and and edit, you will need to pay a subscription fee.
35. Last.fm. Search for music on this site, then find other artists based on your music preferences. If you are a music lover, you won’t want to miss this site.
36. Girafa. While the purpose of this site is to sell you on adding thumbnails to your website, it works wonderfully as a search engine that shows you what each resulting web site looks like. That way you can determine if the site looks interesting before you even have to click on it.
37. SeeqPod. Search for videos, audio, presentations, or Flash with this search engine. You can choose your type of search from audio, video, text, or all three.
38. What to Rent! Tired of standing in front of that imposing wall of DVDs at your local rental store? This site will help you decide which movies to rent. The first time you visit, you will need to select a user name and complete a short quiz. Next time you can go straight to movie recommendations.
39. SkreemR. If you are looking for an MP3 file, here’s the place to go. Find music, podcasts, speeches, and more with this search engine. Only the best files show up at the top of your results list.
40. Dailymotion. Search videos from real people on a variety of topics such as news, travel, or hobbies. Of course, there are those videos that are just plain silly, too.

The Search Engine is the Niche

With so many search engines out there, there are sure to be some that are so remarkable in their own right that they are the niche. The following search engines will change the way you view Internet searches. You may find a new favorite among these.

41. Kartoo. Enter your keyword and you will receive a visual map of all the different topics that may pertain to your keyword. Hover your mouse over each and you will see an enlarged view of the first website on your left with a short description of the site. This search engine takes searching to a whole new level.
42. Boxxet. Search for what interests you and you will get results from the "best of" news, blogs, videos, photos, and more. This site brings together the "unique combination of computer automation and community passion" to give you a totally new way of searching.
43. Quintura. Enter your search terms and watch a cloud of related terms appear at the left while a list of links comes up on the right. Hover over one of the words or phrases in the cloud to get a whole new list of links. This search engine eliminates having to click through several spots to find what you want.
44. Gimpsy. Gimpsy asks you to fill in your action word(s) to use this search engine. If you tell Gimpsy you want to travel, you will receive several different options from buying tickets to finding a travel agent.
45. Ms. Dewey. If typical search engines are too impersonal for you, then give Ms. Dewey a try. Sexy, fun, and silly, Ms. Dewey will help you find what you want to know. Just be careful of that flying rubber band when you take too long.
46. Ujiko. Reminiscent of a video game, this search engine gives you "expertise points" each time you use it. Ten points takes you to a new level. At each level, you receive new tools to enhance your searching experience.
47. mnemomap. Enter a search term (this works best with just one word) and receive a graphic mapping out all possible directions the word could go as well as a list of links from the traditional web search, an image database, digg, del.icio.us, or YouTube.
48. Trexy. Using the metaphor of trails, this search engine promises that you will never have to search twice again. By forming trails or following trails others have forged, you can eliminate unnecessary searching by getting straight to what you want. Happy Hiking!
49. whonu. Try this search that takes the work out of narrowing down your topic. Type in a keyword and watch as several subcategories appear below. Selecting a subcategory brings more subcategories until you arrive at precisely what you want to find. From there, you can choose to search for text, video, images, news, blogs, and more.
50. Yoople! Combining the searching power of Yahoo!, Google, and people, this search engine brings you results, then asks you to click and drag the results in an order you prefer. As more and more people rate certain links higher, then the results should bring a better search to everyone.

To perform an advanced search on Google that will narrow down your results, consider the following tips.

1. Choose a domain name: If you’re looking for quality, authoritative information, select the Google Advanced Search option that only brings up .edu or .gov sites.
2. Select a time period: This tip is especially helpful for science searches or if you need to find information that falls between a specific time period.
3. Top 5 Google Search Tips: Get tips for using "hardcore Google" by watching this video.
4. Usage Rights: Google lets searchers use the User Rights feature to specifically find material of any file type that can be shared and modified.
5. Change language: To find source material, sometimes you need to bring up the content in its original language. Don’t forget to set this preference during your search to increase your chances of finding the original document.
6. SafeSearch filtering: If you only want kid safe or public appropriate material brought up during your search, choose either the moderate or strict filtering option in your preferences.
7. Negative terms: Weed out information you don’t want by putting the minus sign behind your keyword and then typing in another keyword that represents the definition of what you don’t want displayed. For an example, follow the link.
8. link: If you want to find secondary source material that still links to a widely known authoritative site, type in [link:] and then the address of the site you want links to.
9. Other Information Needs: Visit this page to find shortcuts for finding pages with certain words in the title, at certain domain names and more.
10. related: The related feature gives you the option of searching for a page that is very similar to a website you already know. If you need an extra source or two for your project, you can type in [related:] and then the address of the site you’re using as an example for what you want to find.

Google Search Tools

Take advantage of Google’s many different search tools that can quickly connect you to literature and nonfiction guides, patents, scholarly articles, news archives and more.

11. Google Blog Search: When you want your results to include blog content only, use this search.
12. Google Book Search: Besides being able to search for actual books, this search also lets you find keywords and phrases that appear in books.
13. Google Image: When you’re only searching for images, turn to this search engine powered by Google to find the most popular pics on the Web.
14. News Archive Search: The days of microfiche and microfilm may be over thanks to the Google News Archive Search, which "provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives" and can display your results in a timeline.
15. Power Search Tool: Watch this video for an introduction to Google’s Power Search Tool, which can narrow down your search by file type, search engine, definitions, history and a lot more.
16. Desktop: Librarians who work on Macs can easily search all of the overwhelming content, saved websites and other files on their computer with this handy tool.
17. Patent Search: For scientific, product, engineering and historical searches involving patents, you can look up over 7 million patents with photos and other information here.
18. Google Custom Search: Create your own search engine powered by Google that reflects the needs of your library and community. You can choose to include certain websites, customize display options and more.
19. Search by Number: For administrative purposes, use the Search by Number tools to track packages, find patents and look up U.S. area codes.
20. Earth: If your library needs maps or aerial images of buildings, the community, or virtually any place on the planet, use the free Google Earth tool for your searches. Google Earth Plus and Google Earth Pro offer paid upgrades that include GPS and "access the ultimate research, presentation, and collaboration tool for location-specific information."
21. Google Scholar: Google Scholar is a popular search engine that connects you to quality sites, journals, articles, abstracts, citations, research material and more.
22. Finance: Help your patrons find stock quotes, market information and industry news on this niche site.
23. Google Power Search: With a keyword search box and a drop down tab for different file types, this easy search engine lets you find images, Web content, video, music and more.
24. Special Searches: When you need to conduct a search within a specific topic, like computers, politics or colleges and universities, use this tool to only bring up information that’s truly relevant.

Google Apps and Resources

Watch these videos and learn about Google’s apps and secret search commands to tap into parts of the Internet you never thought you’d be able to reach.

25. Advanced Search Made Easy: Google’s Web Search Help Center provides great advice for maximizing the benefits of the advanced search, including choosing a specific domain, language, file type or period of time.
26. Top 5 Hidden Google Search Commands: This YouTube video reveals simple tips for finding exactly what you want, including file types, metric conversions and answers to math problems.
27. Language Tools: Find websites in different languages, translate a web page, and even alter the Google interface so that it reflects a particular language or country, from Sweden to Albania to Colombia to Liechtenstein.
28. Google Toolbar: Install the Google Toolbar into your Firefox browser so that you can conduct a search from any place online.
29. Improve Your Search Experience: This Google site gives tips on using reference tools, local searches, searching by number and other features.
30. Google Notebook: Google Notebook is a librarian’s best friend, as it help you organize all of your clips, frequently visited websites and other research information.
31. Translate: View websites in other languages by having them translated here.
32. Web Accelerator: Speed up your searches and make your library run much more efficiently with this Google tool that helps your browser run more quickly.
33. Search Results Page: Here, every part of a Google search results page is explained, helping you figure out where to find search statistics, navigation links, suggested sites and more.
34. Google Sites: Librarians can use this Google app to share results and research with patrons or other librarians, making power searching a lot faster and more community-driven.

Power Searching Guides and Ideas

Here you’ll find how-to guides and ideas to help you with your power search, from finding different file types to using Google Book search in new ways.

35. How to do an advanced search on Google Book Search: Watch this short YouTube tutorial for tips on doing the advanced search on this specific Google search engine.
36. How to Use Google Search Like a Professional User: In this video, you’ll get tips for looking up basic information and getting the results you want to appear higher up in your queue.
37. How to Use Google Trends for Keyword Search: Learn how checking statistics can give you an edge in your search.
38. How to Find Any Type of File Using Google: If you’re having a hard time finding music files, images or specific downloads during your search, consider the tips presented in this video.
39. Google Search Tips: This tutorial goes over Google search tools that can help teachers, students and librarians find what they need.
40. Google Book Search: Researching Your (Ancestral) Roots: Get inspired to use Google Book Search for a genealogical project.
41. 12 Quick Tips to Search Google Like and Expert: Tips in this guide include knowing when to exclude words, doing a site specific search, and searching for specific document types.
42. Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tricks: To help patrons find even the most obscure material, use this guide to learn Google’s secrets.
43. 10 Most Amazing Google Search Tricks: From abbreviations and definitions to live commentaries, get quick search tips here.
44. 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches: The Dumb Little Man offers up 20 tips for efficient Google power searching, from quotes to the wildcard symbol to vertical searches to types of numbers to cached pages.

Google Hacks for Librarians

These hacks are great for librarians who want to learn about the Google tips and tricks that will help them find information for students, teachers and the public.

45. Secret Google Tips for Researchers: Part 1: This is part one of a five-part series that helps serious researchers use Google more efficiently, including searching groups, using quotes and stems, and more.
46. Librarians and Google: Tips of the Trade: Librarians and librarian media specialists talk about the Google tools they love to use.
47. Internet Librarian: 30 Search Tips in 40 Minutes: Elizabeth Lane Lawley from the mamamusings blog gives great tips for online searches, including many Google hacks.
48. Google Guide: Making Searching Even Easier: This page is full of shortcuts, abbreviations and tips for conducting specialized searches.
49. Google Hacks: Tips and Tools for Finding the World’s Information: View this book online through Google Books to find very useful tips for getting to the information you want on Google.
50. Create a Google Custom Search Engine: The website Google Librarian Central provides this how-to for librarians who want to create a custom search engine for their community.