Surfing teh interweb
 

It has recently occured to me that, even though I have a heavy usage of the internet and of search engines in my history, I am utterly useless at finding anything of value when I need it.

For example, there was a thread on here a while back about alternatives to prisons and I was gonig to make an aces post (with links and charts and all that CRAZY stuff) to show nod who's the daddy and well... I couldn't find anything of value. I knew it was out there and I found loads of stuff but nothing that actually had any relevance to what I wanted to speak about. I did a load of searches but could find very little.

Are there any 'unwritten' laws of the interweb of which I am not aware (or unable to find in a google?) which could improve my searching ability?

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

Well, not exactly something that would improve your searching skills, but investing your time to think up a one-liner or a witty reply will give you a greater chance of winning the internet than overwhelming your opponent with statistics and facts.
I suggest that next time you want to show Nod "who's the daddy" you call him gay or something like that.

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

As an example, there was an article on the BBC website a week or so ago stating that more people are being evicted from their homes. I'm not sure it has any relevance to what I want it for, but I can't find it for the life of me. Anybody got it?

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6929361.stm ?

(news google, search for "bbc repossessions")

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

That's the one, thanks.

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

So basically you're just shit at [strike]google[/strike] the internet?

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

I think in this case it's probably because ASG would have read that story and associated it mentally with evictions. But the story doesn't mention evictions at all (they're not the same thing per se) and thus wouldn't come up from searching for evictions. (Maybe, I've not checked)

I only found it quickly because I'm on a CLG mailing list and remembered seeing an email recently about repossession statistics. I assumed the story would have been essentially the same.

Most of the times I can't find something online it's down to a similar phenomenon. The mind is seems quite efficient at remembering the things it needs to - but this is usually achieved through a series of links. So if you misremember/misinterpret something on first read then you'll essentially misfile it. It's there, but linked to something else.

There's been times where I've been searching for ages for something - sure for example that I read some statistic about France. I'll try all the logical connotaitons, and then give up, defeated. Much later I'll happen upon the article and find the statistic was about Spain, but the author had a surname of 'Paris' or something stupid.

Obviously that's a retarded example (and an example of retardation) but you get the general drift. Search engines can't always make the leap from what we've typed in to what we really mean.

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/ghdb.ph...summary&cat=18

shows how to use arguments in google search to get things. You can manipulate the arguments they use to run better defined searches for things

slightly unrelated but google has gone green....er black

http://www.blackle.com/

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

the 'going black' thing will do nothing where the computer has an LCD screen, it will only have an effect on CRTs and - lets face it, within a couple of years there wont be (m)any of those left. Any existing ones will have failed and been replaced by now with an LCD

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

Blackle looks fairly cool though. We all know looks > functionality.

:P

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

Are you saying a multi-national corporation is using quasi-environmental practices as part of a marketing campaign?

Wonders will never cease.

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

you of course comment in the full understanding that Blackle is in no way affiliated with Google.

Re: Surfing teh interweb
 

Oh, of course. ;)