Search Engines

Google vs Yahoo?

My usage of these sites has changed slighty over the years. I still use both but I think I use Google a bit more now.

Yahoo has a Directory feature that i really like. It groups websites in a subject heading/yellow page heading manner. In the past I could search for a website I knew about, find out how Yahoo had placed it in their directory and then find other sites that have the same heading.

The directory feature is still there but it is not nearly has useful as it has been in the past. It feels like they are not dedicating the same effort to maintaining it and adding new links. The fact that it is no longer an option on the main page is a tell -tale sign. You now have to click on the "more" link over the search box to get there.

I still go to Yahoo for all their "added features", finding movies, news of the day, financial stuff, automobile profiles. I just have gotten used to their layout.

However, for library research I use Google. It just feels "bigger" and I just tend to eventually find sites that are not coming up in other engines. It could be that I just use Google better.

The other search engines mentioned on the 20 for 2.0 page were not terribly noteworthy. Unless I missed something I did not see how they would be any more productive than Yahoo or Google.

I think the most interesting way of comparing all these search engines is to see how they handle a search that is rich in sales potential. Seeing how they list commercial or sponsored sites is interesting.

Podcasting

The list of podcasting libraries was very handy. I quickly identified the Denver Public Library and the Kankakee Public Library. I subscribed to them via my google reader.

I listened to two from Kankakee and was impressed with their offerings. Their 2007 Poetry
Slam and a presentation by the author Christopher Paul Curtis.

This is a great way of expanding the audience for a library program to those who might be interested but could not necessary make it to the actual event.

They made me curious about any kind of waivers they had to get people to sign.

Another great example of all the amazing stuff that is out there on the internet that is sometimes "hidden".