Alternate and specialized search engines are tools that differ from the popular search engines we are familiar with. Some of their differences are the ability to search across multiple search engines, privacy policies, and family friendly features.
When to search to an alternate/specialized search engine:
* You want to protect your privacy.
* You have a very specific question and you cannot find an appropriate forum.
* You need the information that is vetted.
Social Media sites are web services that allow people to interact on a more personal level than typical static web pages. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have had a major impact on the way information is shared. News organizations now use Twitter to track breaking news. Facebook allows you to search for people, pages, and interests within Facebook, but also uses Bing for web searches.
When to search Social MEdia:
a. You need quick information on a breaking/current event.
b. You need a specific photo from a specific time period.
c. You want to know what people think.
Dogpile.com
Dogpile is a metasearch engine that allows you to search across Google and Yahoo at the same time. You enter your query and Dogpile takes the results from the search engines, and filters the results for relevancy, eliminating duplicates. It has the capacity to limit searches for images, video, news, local, shopping and white pages, as well as uses advanced search operators such as Boolean. You can filter out potentially explicit content from search results in the preference settings.
Pros: Cons:
- Saves time by searching multiple engines - Ads are more difficult to recognize
- Eliminates duplicate results
- Can handle advanced search operators
- Cleaner interface
Startpage.com
Startpage is a site that prides itself on protecting people's privacy. It is powered by Google, but all identifying information from your query, such as IP addresses, search history, and tracking cookies, are removed before your query gets sent to Google servers. It looks and functions like the popular engines with a few exceptions. Though it has an advanced search page, it lacks Google's calculator, conversion tool, and the other intuitive features.
Pros: Cons:
- Protects privacy - There are sponsored ads
- Fewer shopping sites appear in search results
- It has an advanced search page
- Search operators work
- Has customized search settings and filters
- Has search help and tips page
Yippy.com
Yippy is a family friendly metasearch site. Instead of searching Google and Bing, Yippy retrieves results from Ask, Open Directory, Gigablast, and various other sites. Like Startpage, Yippy also does not track user information. What sets it apart from those alternate search engines is its censorship of search results.
Pros: Cons:
- Protects privacy - There are sponsored ads
- Search operators work - Shopping sites are not filtered out
- It has an advanced search page - The queries take longer to process
- Quick access to filters
- You can customize search preferences
- It has formats for PC, Tablet, and Smartphone screens
A subject directory is a list of web pages that has been organized into categories or groups according to a particular subject. These subject directories differ from the more popular search engines in that they are compiled and vetted by people, as opposed to spiders or web crawlers. Because subject directories have been culled by people, they can be particularly useful as research guides or library pathfinders. Subject directories provide quality over quantity when it comes to retrieving information.
When to use a Subject Directory:
a. When you have a general question or are browsing for a term-paper topic
b. When you want to avoid ads and shopping sites in your results.
c. When you want vetted sites.
Forums are similar to directories in that they are subject specific. They are online bulletin boards that allow users to login and discuss or ask a question about a particular topic. Each questions is referred to as a "thread." Anyone logged in can answer your questions and provide links or sometimes images to the discussion board. Forums are great for questions on trouble-shooting computers, cars, gardening, and health.
McAfee The Web's Most Dangerous Search Terms
http://promos.mcafee.com/en-US/PDF/most_dangerous_searchterm_us.pdf
This article examines how much risk we expose ourselves to each and every time we put our favorite search engines to use.