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Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Google vs AllTheWeb, revised

Yesterday I wrote about Google, and what it lacks compared to AllTheWeb. Today I got this interesting comment:

“Actually, you can find all the pages for a website on Google. Just requires a little sneaking:

site:example.com inurl:example

Same thing to [locate] all powerpoint files:

filetype:ppt inurl:ppt

Not as simple as with AlltheWeb, granted, but you can still do it. Bear in mind though that the pages with “example” and “ppt” in them, respectively, will be ranked higher in the results. (...)
A few more examples of functionality only available on AlltheWeb: page depth, page size, tilde in the URL, pages which include a certain media type, etc.

And one of the biggest things you can’t do with Google, in my opinion

(term1 AND term2) OR (termA AND termB)

Btw, the new Google News versions include India.”
– Michael Fagan, FaganFinder.com, 5/13/2003

I suggest you check out Michael Fagan’s very helpful Page Info Viewer.

Google Answers Researcher Interview: Robertskelton-ga

Here’s the Google Answers Researcher Interview for today. When Robertskelton-ga is in front of the computer he’s Webmaster, Researcher (382 answers so far), and Search Engine Expert.
Robertskelton and Missy have also been featured in an article by The Age from April 2, 2003: A question of answers.

Robertskelton-ga

Where are you from?
I’m a Kiwi, spent many years in Europe and the USA, now I live in Melbourne, Australia, my favorite city in the whole world.

What’s your profession?
I have my fingers in many pies. Online I do research here and there, website critiques, and run half a dozen websites on the topics of web searching and the end of the world (note: separate topics).

What’s your age?
37

Got a homepage? Where?
skelton.id.au

Robertskelton-ga on Google Answers

When did you become a Researcher?
I just had my one year anniversary, answered my first question April 30 2002.

How did you find out about Google Answers?
I subscribe to a multitude of newsletters about the web and web searching — it was mentioned in one of them. I dropped everything and applied.

What do you like best about answering for Google Answers?
Aside from the satisfaction I get from helping others, I get to stuff my head with more and more knowledge, on topics I would never othwerwise know anything about.

Would you consider taking this up as full-time job, provided the question volume would be high enough?
Yes, but it would be taxing. When answering a question I whip myself into a frenzy, and I am mentally exhausted afterwards. I would prefer 20-30 hours a week, if I knew I could just log on and there would be a question or two available that I knew I could answer.

What kind of question subject you usually like to answer?
I love it when webmasters “innocently” ask why they have been booted out of the Google index. Almost always they have been using link exchange schemes, and for me they are very easy to answer. I also like any question that involves something I have never heard of before, where curiousity takes over.

In one sentence, what’s the trick to a good answer?
Read the question very carefully, before, during, and after writing the answer.

What would be the new Google Answers slogan, if you were responsible to create one?
Google: Answers!

Which Researcher would you take as guide on a dangerous island?
Well, I’ve always had a crush on..... But seriously, digsalot-ga, because I’m imagining a Indiana Jones scenario.

Robertskelton-ga’s Favorites

What are your favorite research tools and websites (please include browser and text editor you are using)?
IE6, Notepad. SearchEngineZ is obviously my favorite research website, because it is custom-designed just for me.

What are your favorite websites and newsgroups?
I love the DailyGrail for pseudo-science news, plus lots of sites like Amazon that are tools for online living. I prefer newsletters to newsgroups.

I will just suppose Google is your favorite search engine (right?). Do you remember which one you were using before, and why you decided to switch to Google?
I’ve been online since 1995. I was a big fan of Altavista, liked Northern Light for a short while, but have been using Google since it first appeared. It was and is revolutionary.

What are some of your favorite questions & answers by others?

What are some of the questions that were really a lot of fun answering for you?

What would be a fun $200 question for you to answer?
“Describe life in the year 2013”. I’m writing a book on a possible global cataclysm in 2012, which will wipe out most of us, and any survivors will be basically digging through mud to find anything to eat. It would be a different point-of-view for the questioner.

Robertskelton-ga’s Spare-time

Got any weird hobbies?
You mean other than pulling my toenails out by the roots? I enjoy waking up in strange places without knowing how I got there. I’m very attached to my bonsai tree.

What was the last book you read, the last movie you saw, and the last album you listened to?

Do you know some other Researchers in Real Life?
Not yet.

Final words by Robertskelton-ga

If you’d write a book about your life, what would be the first sentence?
“His parents were constantly concerned, his friends humored and his lovers bewildered.”

Anything else you’d want to add?
I had always wanted to telecommute, but I never imagined I would find a job as fun and interesting as this.

Daypop and Google

Can Daypop Stay Out of Google’s Headlights? (Mark Glaser, OJR article, Tuesday, May 13, 2003)

Google World

A new Google directory covers all kind of Google-related websites (like this weblog):
Google’World - To find easily and quickly any type of information about the world according to Google."

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