Extreme Googling

Instructor: Joe Barker

Extreme Googling

Everyone uses Google, especially when we want to find an answer fast. Google is the largest web database available, has an effective system of ranking results, and can be very simple to use. But if you really want to get the MOST out of Google, you need to know more about:

• how Google "thinks" about searches;
• how to manipulate the "mind" of Google;
• when and why word order matters;
• how to make Google search on synonyms;
• how to find .com and .org sites from within a foreign country;
• when it's best to limit by field, file type, or site;
• when to use "Related pages" and "Cache" and
• what you can do in Google Basic search that you can't do in Advanced.

In this course you will learn all these things and more. You will also learn about the latest developments in other major search engines, and what to do when Google does not give you what you need. This course will sharpen your search skills, improve your efficiency, and put you in touch with powerful new web-searching techniques.

Workshop Description: This all-day hands-on workshop will give you a chance to learn and practice using Google's features and understand when each can be of particular benefit. You will explore how to take full advantage of Google's specialized searchable databases, and you will find out about bookmarklets and Google APIs. We will also evaluate the merits of search engines, directories, databases, and other alternatives to Googling. The instructor will provide you with, and you will learn to use, cheat sheets for the advanced capabilities of Google and other search tools.

Preliminary Course Outline:

• The Mind of Google
  • Default "thinking"
  • Google Toolbar features
  • Taking over the driving in Google
  • Fine-tuning default settings
• Finding the Hard-to-Get
  • Limiting, focusing, related pages, and cache
  • Advanced and basic searches
  • Searching within a site
  • Looking for good directories, databases, and weblogs
  • Google as an encyclopedic glossary
• Special Databases and Tools
  • Google Groups, Directory, Images, News, Froogle
  • Translating with Google
  • Bookmarklets
• What to Do When Google Doesn't Work
  • Other search engines' strengths
  • Thinking in synch with search engines

Who Should Attend: Anyone from the California library community who does web searching and has some experience with the basics of using Google and/or other search engines. Reference and any other staff who wish to improve and/or update their search skills and comfort levels. Frequent Google users who want to optimize their Googling.

Prerequisites: This course requires that students be comfortable with basic computer skills, including using a mouse, navigating the web, basic keyboarding, and submitting simple searches to Google or other search engines. For help with these basic skills, we recommend the New Computer Users section of the Infopeople How-to Guides, at infopeople.org/howto.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9 AM Instruction: 9 AM to 4:30 PM