For this part of the tutorial task, we have been asked to answer the following questions. We are to answer the questions by considering that there are many search engines that can be used on the internet, not just google. The questions are:
1. What is a search engine?
Internet search engines for example Google and AltaVista are designed to help users find web pages on a given subject. The search engines maintain databases of web sites and use programs (often referred to as "spiders" or "robots") which collect information, which is then indexed by the search engine. Similar services are provided by "directories," which maintain ordered lists of websites for example, Yahoo. In order to find a desired page, users are able to type in keywords, or key phrases that narrows down the search.
2. How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines rank pages based on page content and formatting, and based on the content of metadata tags. Special attention is paid to bold text or to keywords and summaries in the head of the HTML document. Some search engines can rank sites by how frequently other sites link to the user, and not by what you do or don't say on your site.
3. Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?
Webpages can be made by anyone who has access to the internet, therefore the validity of what is on each website can be hard to determine. Search engines such as google usually have sponsored links on the right hand side. These sponsered links are paying the search engine for the advertisement of its webpage. These webpages appear to be official websites of specific topics. Most search engines determine which page should go where by using dates. The most current date is at the top if the page. Yet what comes up after a search usually comes down to what the user types in the question box. If the user types a phrase or word in "commas" the search engine will come up with that exact phrase (if it exists) following by the next closest, and the next and so on.
4. What are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
Personally I like using google, because most times I can find the information that I need quickly and effieciently. I can use the filter at a strong level to block out anything thing that is inappropriate. I also use yahoo and altavista on the times that I find Google cannot help me. I have always used Google as my main source engine and never really thought of using another. Yet today we have been asked to go beyond google and explore with other search engines such as....
http://www.hotbot.com
http://www.icerocket.com
http://www.dmoz.org
http://www.alltheweb.com
5. Can you find some current news stories about search engines? (for example, Google has been in the technology news a bit lately).
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