LBR110

Week 1

10 MYTHS and FACTS about the INTERENT

MYTH #1: If you do a search in Google, you are searching the entire Web.

FACT #1: Goggle indexes and searches only a portion of the Web. It is the biggest search engine. But no search engine searches all of the Web.

MYTH #2: I can find everything on Google.

FACT#2: Although there is a great deal of excellent information available on the World Wide Web, there is also a vast amount of information that is

hidden from search engines like Google. This information is held in databases that are either invisible to Google, or are fee-based, or BOTH.

MYTH #3: Google is fast and easy. One does not need special skills to use it.

FACT #3: Google is fast and easy. And it rewards in quantity. But a skilled researcher can find better information faster by mastering a few search

techniques.

MYTH # 4: All information on the Internet is free.

FACT #4: Much of the information delivered via the Internet is fee-based.

MYTH #5: The Internet and the World Wide Web are the same thing.

FACT #5: The Internet is the electronic network by which information is delivered and accessed electronically. The World Wide Web is the graphic-

interface portion of the Internet that can be searched and accessed for free via search engines like Google.

MYTH #6: If it’s on the Web, it must be true.

FACT #6: Anyone can publish anything on the Web, whether it is true or not.

MYTH #7: Information on the Web is reviewed for accuracy.

FACT #7: There is no over-all editor or fact-checker of information published on the Web. Anyone with access to a server can publish anything

without any mediation from anyone checking for accuracy or integrity.

MYTH #8: Google is the best search engine out there.

FACT #8: Google is an excellent search engine. But Google is not always the best tool for the job.

MYTH #9: If I find a good website today, I can find it again tomorrow.

FACT #9: The internet is volatile and changes all the time. What you find today may be gone tomorrow.

MYTH #10: Google is such a good search engine because it always returns high-quality, authoritative results. All websites I find are equally useful and reliable.

FACT #10: Google returns some excellent websites, but it also returns some junk. It is essential to carefully evaluate each website you find for

quality and reliability.