David Novak - Internet Informed: Guidance for the Dedicated Searcher

Internet Informed

Guidance for the Dedicated Searcher

by David Novak

an element of:

The Spire Project

FOR MY FAMILY

AND FOR THOSE WHO SHARE THE UTOPIAN DREAM.

Copyright David Novak, December 2007

This book is copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means including electronic, photocopying and internet without prior consent from the publisher. Specific permissions are already in place, as discussed on the last page of this book and at SpireProject.com/copyright/

Published by The Spire Project

PO Box 60 Toorak, Victoria 3142, Australia and SpireProject.com Supporting art, testimonials and reviews at SpireProject.com/book/

Typeset in Gentium/Arial and printed by Ligare (Australia) Cover by Teknowledge Design (tekdesign.com.au) Cover Image NGC2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf was acquired by Howard Bond and Robin Ciardullo using the Hubble Space Telescope. Post-processing by Forrest Hamilton. The glowing ball near the center of the planetary nebula is a white dwarf, the remnant of an exploded star. It speeds away from the centre of the explosion at phenomenal speed. Image used with permission and courtesy of NASA, ESA, H. Bond (STScI), R. Ciardullo (Penn State) and F.

Hamilton (STScI).

Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Explorer are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Google Brand Features are trademarks or distinctive brand features of Google Inc. Many further identifying names used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where these terms appear in this book, they usually start with a capital letter.

Lastly, this book is not professional advice; rather a knowledgeable author writing candidly of his experience. While considerable precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or for damages resulting from the use of the information herein.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Author: Novak, David, 1969-Title: Internet informed : guidance for the dedicated searcher / David Novak.

Publisher: Toorak, Vic. : The Spire Project, 2008.

ISBN: 9780975729915

0975729918

Notes: Includes index.

Subjects: Internet searching--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Dewey Number: 025.04

Tis true. Theres magic in the web ...

A sibyl ... in her prophetic fury

Sewed the work.1

William Shakespeare

La Terre est couverte de gens

ne mritent pas quon leur parle.

The earth is covered with people

not worth talking to.

Voltaire

____________________________________

billions of stars twinkle and shimmer. Each star shines through the velvet blackness of the night. Red, blue, bright, dim, near, far, new and old, each star reveals so much more than just the twinkle. Each star also testifies to the long legend leading to its existence; to the age-old transit to our eyes; to the vast emptiness between us. A cascade of stories and histories fill our view. So vast. So beautiful. So inspiring.

The internet reaches across a vast mental space stretching beyond all horizons. Thousands ... millions ... billions of bits of information sparkle and chime. Each piece of information shines its light on those seeking guidance. Detailed, superficial, incisive, trite, new and old, biased this way and that, each statement speaks of so much more than the facts contained. Each attests to the insight, perspective and effort bringing it to light; to the challenge of capturing our attention. Once again, a cascade of stories and histories fill our view. So vast, beautiful and inspiring.

Let this be our metaphor. Let this image of an internet galaxy guide us.

It will help dispel the trendy but misguided notion of the internet as a web

a web mostly of lost objects from near anonymous sources. Internet information certainly consists of more than facts. Indeed, one of the central themes to using the internet well is to reconnect information with its history; to reconnect with the people, purpose and perspectives that give rise to internet information.

For example, encountering an internet statement of uncertain origin, I click a button on my web browser that reveals context. In essence, I retrieve a list of further publications by the same author and publisher

found in the same directory as the page I am reading. This simple act

this single click reveals more about the author and publisher than I would ever find within the page itself. Knowing an author and publisher in this way makes their information more vital, more valuable.

Context helps us enormously. Context is also just one of about forty techniques that lead us to a more valuable internet experience.

Let us return to this image of an internet galaxy. At first glance it may seem messy but this is no cloud of information; no ocean of facts. It is more than a web of interlinked pages. Our internet is a galaxy a vast collection of information where each item of information has a location.

These locations and the links between them are adequately described by computer science. Each item of information also has a history partly defining the nature of that information. This history arises from the informations context, format and source; a history closely following the insights of library science. Furthermore, all this information, far from being objects, are indeed messages; presented with purpose; competing for attention. This offers us a third approach to understanding the internet embedded in the social act of publishing as seen through the eyes of sociology.

Location, history and message concepts like these lend the internet structure, order and organization. And just like our galaxy spread across the night sky this structure, order and organization is not immediately obvious.

Step back. We must view this creation from a distance to see clearly.

Stars and the internet both display a holistic complexity ... and beauty; a beauty simply lost when we focus solely on the objects themselves.

See this beauty and so much becomes clear. Sweep away the appearance of chaos for just beneath our feet rests a solid platform to support us.

We may see only chaos at first. We may only suspect a degree of order. But there it rests a firm foundation that bears our weight and more.

In this book, we shall initially gather a collection of search techniques that extend our ability to collect and appreciate internet information. This will include the use of field searches, an understanding of prominence and endorsements as well the influences of context, format and source. I will also show you a very effective way to reveal quality on the internet.

We will then adopt several ways to move more swiftly. We want to liberate ourselves from some of the drudgery as well as notice the many clues that already flash before our eyes.

Following this, we will address the development of internet information from a sociological and historical perspective. The more we understand the internet, the less confusion will bar our way and the more we will feel at home. This also reveals one further elusive structure to the internet.

Finally, we will discuss choreography, as we decide what to search for and how to frame our questions. A comprehensive or controversial search can be particularly tricky.