Is Searching Online Becoming A Lost Art?

[BIG Mike]

Not ranting – just an observation…why does it seem like so many folks don’t or won’t make any real effort to search for information online anymore? I mean, the volume of information available online is growing at such an incredibly fast pace, It doesn’t make sense not to search for it.

I admit, I rarely ask questions in this forum (unless it’s something specifically related to the WF) – because my first recourse is always to search for the answer. Just look at the benefits:

1. You find what you need when you need it, and;
2. You can obtain a variety of opinions about it, and;
3. It always leads to new ideas, and;
4. Of course you learn something new.

Whether you Google it or use the forum search features, the information you need is only a few keystrokes away. Sure, you may spend half an hour looking, but your efforts will inevitably give you a clear picture of what you needed to know.

Realistically, it doesn’t take any longer to Google something and get immediate answers than it does to start a new thread asking the same question.

Developing your search/research skills is an invaluable asset to any marketer, so next time, try the search button first

[redstapler]

I always search online.
Makes it so much easier.
Especially when you can just type in "how to clean blood" and 100+ entries comes up to scan through.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

While it is certainly a good idea to search before asking a question, which would be especially helpful for common questions/answers, but I think there are areas where a personal recommendation--even from someone you may barely know--will always trump a Google search.

And, if you use something like, say Twitter, you can often get answers faster than a forum or endlessly searching Google.

[Ali Nobis]

for me, its always about searching befor i start asking questions really. The online world has become so big that the questions that i come up with, or the questions that i have or something that i don't understand, most likely there has been 100's of people asking or thinking the same thing.

so searching is my number one thing after all that's how i have learned everything i no about web design, web graphics and now IM

[Frank Donovan]

Mike, I understand your point, but my guess is that it's one, or a combination of, the following reasons:

Laziness, ignorance, inexperience, convenience, desire for social proof, perceived time-saving, need for expert opinion(s), to learn from the experience of others, to get different perspectives.

Fortunately for many of us, some of those reasons are also why people pay for information products.


Frank

[Bev Clement]

For a lot of people who do research, they get their results from article directories and assume all the information there is correct.

Some people are being told the wrong way to research, it is a lost art unless you find a good researcher.

[Diana Lane]

I've often wondered why the people who will regularly come on here to ask the most basic questions while positioning themselves as experts elsewhere - using the same name - don't seem to realise how easily their lack of knowledge can be revealed to potential clients via Google etc. Perhaps they just think other people don't use search either.

Not that there's anything wrong with asking questions. We've all done it and it would be daft not to, but it makes sense to see if they've already been asked by others first.

[jasonmorgan]

why does it seem like so many folks don’t or won’t make any real effort to search for information online anymore?

is this about people in general or a WF issue of people asking the same questions over and over again?

i dunno... some people are lazy? not really a big surprise there.

I'm sure a lot of people ask questions here because of insecurity, they need someone to make them feel like they are making the right choice and WF is their personal life coach.

I use google all the time to find information.

I just steer clear of anything 'article directory' related or has a hint of internet marketing about. I can deal with some ads but far too often IM sites are loaded with garbage information with the intent to sell me something.

and if a site starts off like this..

MAKE MILLIONS AND CURE YOUR HEMROIDS

you know it's no good

[jasonmorgan]

I've often wondered why the people who will regularly come on here to ask the most basic questions while positioning themselves as experts elsewhere

These are my favorite people... right next to the 'I'm not making any money so I'm gonna write a WSO' guys.

[Zach Booker]

Originally Posted by jasonmorgan

I just steer clear of anything 'article directory' related or has a hint of internet marketing about. I can deal with some ads but far too often IM sites are loaded with garbage information with the intent to sell me something.

Those damn marketers!

[jasonmorgan]

Those damn marketers!

At least I steal from the best when I'm spinnin' crap. Can't go wrong when your spinning Dr Phil for self-help articles.

You know the advice is legit.

come to think of it... I think I've spun my way through several college courses as well. hmmm... guess school was good for something... plagiarism.

[DennisM]

Hey Mike,

What's happened, at least for me personally is that you can feel overwhelmed at times searching in Google. Now I understand that by searching we can form our own opinions but what's happened is the "trust" factor is deteriorating on the web. Especially now that the whole "fake reviews" issues has come up. As a matter of fact, the fake reviews topic was on our local news here in Chicago, IL. For the average consumer online there's this fear factor I guess.

My issue is time. If I can find a trusted source online (such as the WF) I'd just assume ask as I trust the opinions of the fellow Warriors right here. I'll give one example...

I posted a question last year about what was a good webcam to use for making IM videos. Now I'm not that lazy that I didn't bother to look in Google (and I did) but the real value was the user experience. I liked the fact people responded to my post on their experiences.

Ah....the "user experience". Isn't that what Google references to when ranking sites? So true of course.

I guess it comes down to time also in regards to searching yourself as opposed to asking. With some of the garbage out there on the web there's a lot of distrust so there's value in finding a trusted 3rd party. Again, referencing this forum.

One example is if I'm buying anything, I'll look at Best Buy reviews and Amazon reviews as I "trust" those websites.

Thanks for reading,
Dennis

[Lisa Gergets]

I always search online before asking...especially here. To me, it's just common sense.

[summer07]

In this forum, I think the reluctance to research has a lot to do with:

• Thread authorship bestows instant fame....which fits into the popularity of the "personal branding" strategy that so many marketers promote. Seems like there are a gazillion IM products that advise people to get out there and get famous...and the "rich" part will automatically follow.
• The number of IM strategies that advise creating a massive number of backlinks. Threads can be a group effort. The lead thread-starter opens the door, the rest of the poster bees look for his thread and post 1-liners.
• The short-term-profits business mindset that seems to have overtaken the world. There is a race to extract fast bucks whenever and wherever possible instead of spending time building long term assets (like developing boring research skills).
• Thread-posting as a kind of misinterpretation of how to outsource. Instead of learning solid business skills, and then outsourcing tasks from the vantage point of an experienced project manager, people are outsourcing to get out of a learning curve. ("Here's a new thread...now do my research work for me!)

And my final observation is: it may be that as I'm getting older, the "younger generations just don't appreciate the way I had to do things when I was their age". I'm quoting my mom here...and I'm sure my earlier points are more accurate!

Audre

[jasonmorgan]

Thread authorship bestows instant fame....which fits into the popularity of the "personal branding" strategy that so many marketers promote.

so are you saying using the name of character on general hospital was a bad idea?

[RobinSkeen]

I'm a google-maniac. It's a rare event when I can't find what I need. Lots of times the results include threads in this forum.

One thing about doing a search on the forum - I've always done that, however if I don't see what I am looking for the first time, I have to wait 2 minutes or so do another search. I understand why that's in place but it does slow me down a bit.

[JMPruitt]

I often do look in search first. However, If I can get the information i need here, without opting in to another crap IM list, I will take it.

[Lloyd Buchinski]

Searching has its place and I do enough of it, but there are some that are just not productive. I posted a question about CB's innards on Harvey's forum a day ago. I didn't get back to the forum for awhile but when I did, noticed he had answered it in 5 min.

At least some days it seems like 99% of the net is crap and after you do a search on something a little subtle it takes an hour to try to get down to what you are looking for in the results. When you do find a direct answer there is no guarantee offered with it, so you sometimes have to research a little more to make sure.

[JohnMcCabe]

If you are looking for user experiences, asking the question in a forum you trust makes sense.

If you have the context to tell a good answer from a bad one.

Without naming names, there is some awesomely bad advice dispensed daily right here on the WF.

Doing a little preliminary searching will give a little background to help filter the answers you get here (or anywhere else, for that matter).

It also helps you ask better questions.

[Elmer Hurlstone]

If I first ask Google, Bing or Yahoo who will see my signature?

Same thing for internal forum search.

Elmer

PS. Signature, ironically, disabled in this post.

[mywebwork]

I do agree with Big Mike, some people simply don't put any effort into answering their own question - I've responded to the "what's the best way to learn PHP or HTML?" question so many times that I'm tempted to write a macro to do it for me (answer = W3Schools in case there is any doubt).

But if all of the answers were available from Google there would be no need for a forum such as this. Sometimes what is needed is not an answer but instead an opinion or a consensus from a number of respondents. This is where this forum shines.

Bill

[Shana_Adam]

Candy store pick and choose what you want when you want it- big g will even deliver the results to you as and when you require. Now that's service and not a dime to pay.

[Sissy76]

I guess it all depends on the kind of information people are after. If it's general stuff, then the search engines should suffice, however more specialised information leads people to look for trustworthy sources.

I'm personally a bit of a research junkie and like to find things out for myself. However, I have an honors degree and have conducted research my entire working life, for me it's easy and something I do almost automatically.

I understand this isn't the case for others and that coming to a forum like the WF, which has a wonderfully strong and helpful community, makes them feel 'safe' and able to ask any question they like.

Sure, there are people who do so to boost their profile or post count, but that's pretty obvious and is dealt with pretty well, in my opinion.

I just don't think it's fair to judge people for asking, what may seem to you and I, basic questions. It may be the only way for them to reach out and learn. I'd rather them do it here and receive a good response than getting poor information elsewhere and continuing the plague of atrocious content or IM practices that's out there.

Having said that, I don't object to forum members sharing their methods of research and encouraging others to do so before posting a question.

Just may not be all that obvious to everyone.

Cheers,
Sissy

[Paul Schlegel]

Originally Posted by DennisM

Hey Mike,

What's happened, at least for me personally is that you can feel overwhelmed at times searching in Google. Now I understand that by searching we can form our own opinions but what's happened is the "trust" factor is deteriorating on the web. Especially now that the whole "fake reviews" issues has come up. As a matter of fact, the fake reviews topic was on our local news here in Chicago, IL. For the average consumer online there's this fear factor I guess.

My issue is time. If I can find a trusted source online (such as the WF) I'd just assume ask as I trust the opinions of the fellow Warriors right here. I'll give one example...

I posted a question last year about what was a good webcam to use for making IM videos. Now I'm not that lazy that I didn't bother to look in Google (and I did) but the real value was the user experience. I liked the fact people responded to my post on their experiences.

Ah....the "user experience". Isn't that what Google references to when ranking sites? So true of course.

I guess it comes down to time also in regards to searching yourself as opposed to asking. With some of the garbage out there on the web there's a lot of distrust so there's value in finding a trusted 3rd party. Again, referencing this forum.

One example is if I'm buying anything, I'll look at Best Buy reviews and Amazon reviews as I "trust" those websites.

Thanks for reading,
Dennis

There are services like http://www.rollyo.com that can help filter out the junk by allowing you to create your own customized resource lists to search through.

[Big JP]

Reasons why I might ask a quesion here in the forum, even though the answer may be elsewhere:

- I can get answers quick, and from more than 1 person
- I prefer a conversation, rather than just reading
- I can get fresh information, ideas, and thoughts
- Finally, the biggest one for me, I won't get distracted.

Although it really does depend on what the question/query is, I still use google, and search the forum regulalry, but only if it is for something that wouldn't be likely to have changes in thoughts, or no benefit from conversation.

JP

[Michael Worthington]

Mike, I agree with you to a large extent.

If it's a "how to" question such as "how do I
put an image on a web page" or "how do I
set up a Wordpress blog" etc., then yes, I say
hit google and go at it.

But then you have this:

Sometimes what is needed is not an answer but instead an opinion or a consensus from a number of respondents. This is where this forum shines.

And that's where I feel like asking here
is OK, although I very rarely ever do it.

Now, back in the old days (before google) you
never knew what you were going to come up
with when you did a search, but love 'em or
hate 'em, google really hit a home run in my
opinion when they came to be.

All of a sudden, if you searched for "Asus
motherboards", you got information on Asus
MBs and not viagra or the latest exploits of
Tommy and Pam.

I know it placed a severe hardship on SE
marketing when they cracked down on the
content thing.

I mean, it's inconvenient as hell to not be
able to stuff your web pages with popular
keywords so that when somebody searched
for weight loss, or migraine relief, your viagra
site would come up.

As far as searching this forum goes, it seems
the search function works a lot better on this
new platform than it did on the old one.

Why just a couple of days ago, I wanted to know
which were the "must have" wordpress plugins,
so I did a forum search, and lo and behold, a forum
post showed up that contained exactly what I was
looking for!

It didn't used to be that way.

Before this platform, I could search on my own name
and nothing would show up, so there's no doubt
in my mind it's better than it was.

Michael

[JAIDEEP2959]

I do search on Google first before posting a thread.

However, newbies can visit 'All In One' threads for desired information rather than asking the same questions again.

Hare is the link :

WarriorForum - Internet Marketing Forums - Threads Tagged with allinone

[BIG Mike]

Originally Posted by Sissy76

I guess it all depends on the kind of information people are after. If it's general stuff, then the search engines should suffice, however more specialised information leads people to look for trustworthy sources.

I'm personally a bit of a research junkie and like to find things out for myself. However, I have an honors degree and have conducted research my entire working life, for me it's easy and something I do almost automatically.

I understand this isn't the case for others and that coming to a forum like the WF, which has a wonderfully strong and helpful community, makes them feel 'safe' and able to ask any question they like.

Sure, there are people who do so to boost their profile or post count, but that's pretty obvious and is dealt with pretty well, in my opinion.

I just don't think it's fair to judge people for asking, what may seem to you and I, basic questions. It may be the only way for them to reach out and learn. I'd rather them do it here and receive a good response than getting poor information elsewhere and continuing the plague of atrocious content or IM practices that's out there.

Having said that, I don't object to forum members sharing their methods of research and encouraging others to do so before posting a question.

Just may not be all that obvious to everyone.

Cheers,
Sissy

The thread isn't meant to be judgemental, but rather educational. Bear in mind that just as much incorrect or misguided information is handed out here in the WF as is anywhere else online.

IMO, first searching and learning what one can about a topic before raising the question lends itself to a better discussion and informed decision making. And that in turn leads to more accurate information being disseminated as part of the discussion.

You probably know the parable, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, Teach a man to fish, feed him for the rest of his life". In this case, teaching people to search for and find information they need is something I think gives them a powerful tool to use in both their personal and business activities online.

Lately, I've been trying to do just that - giving people search results rather than just direct answers.

[Steve Powers]

That is so-called wisdom of asking.I think when you post your question,you'd better think it over carefully by yourself first.After serching it online or discussing it with your friends or colleges,you're still confused.Then you can post a new thread to ask for help.In this way,you'll learn more and benefit more from it.Therefore,next time when we meet some problems,think it carefully before asking.

[SuzanneH]

Some people just don't know "how" to search. I'm known as the "Search Queen" because I amaze my family and friends with how I can find information online (and most are internet savvy). From what I've been able to see, it's a matter of knowing what keywords to use in the first place.

Suzanne

[Chris Stigson]

No matter what information you find on Google you need to take it with a grain of salt... even the authority sites will have content that is not as good as it's percieved.

How many times do people "invent" stuff and "go with it"? Too often. I trust mostly, videos with a good solid user experience showing results, proof etc.

If I'm looking to remove a virus, or find a software I google it. It always gives me the right answer, but of course you also need to know how to search =)

Doing, "Internet Marketing" probably won't teach you sh*t... But "specific problem in the niche" will, such as "How do I build an email list faster" or something like that.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Mike, I think what you're seeing is a problem that exists within a very small
world here. I truly believe that most people DO still search for things online.
It's just that many of us here have become lazy. We know somebody here
will have the answer so why bother searching?

On the other hand, there are exceptions.

For example, the other day I had a problem with renewing my Kaspersky
license. It just so happens that their support was closed because of the
holiday. So I didn't know where to turn. I did do some searching online but
couldn't find the answers I wanted. I was stuck, so came here hoping
that somebody else had Kaspersky and could help me with my problem.

Turns out, a few people knew exactly what to tell me and the problem was
solved.

Yes, I probably could have spent another hour or two looking for the
solution elsewhere, but I was sitting here with an unprotected PC. I felt
that coming here to get an answer (again, support was closed) was my
best course of action.

I rarely come here asking questions, and when I do, they're mostly
technical for which I have no clue where to even begin looking.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is this. When people know that they
have a resource they can come to, one that is pretty reliable, they're
going to come to it.

For what it's worth, I still love searching for stuff online. In fact, I'd
venture to guess that I probably do more lookups on a daily basis than
97% of the people at this forum. I find it fun. But that's just me.

What's not fun is having a serious problem and not being able to find a
solution.

That's when I come here.

[nyrsimon]

Personally I hope "deep" searching skills become a very rare thing. Most answers are available somewhere on the web - if everybody become a bloodhound how would I sell information products????!!!!!!

The more people want instant information handed to them in a pretty box with a bow the more I smile....

Seriously we have generations of "want it now, expect it now" coming through, think about it, they need to talk to a friend - IM or text them, and no need to goto the store, order it online with overnight shipping and boom it's at your house the next day. I hope this generation will put my kids through college!!!!!!!

Simon

[bobmcalister]

Mike,
tried to PM you but youdont have a link . I tried to buy some of your software but the discount code didnt work. mind PMing me the info ? thanks
several people off this forum have spoken highly of your work .

[Lloyd Buchinski]

There is one type of search suggestion that appears around here frequently that really does annoy me. This is an approximate quote from another thread about selling sites. "You can do it at flippa. Google it and you'll get it." The person might have added "Or you could just go to flippa.com and you'd get it there too."

Originally Posted by BIG Mike

Bear in mind that just as much incorrect or misguided information is handed out here in the WF as is anywhere else online.

Enjoyed that, and agree strongly.

Originally Posted by BIG Mike

Teach a man to fish, feed him for the rest of his life".

I have seen that modified to "teach a man to fish and he'll lay around in a boat and drink beer for the rest of his life" but there is more of a point to your original version. This one was just more fun.

[Diana Lane]

Originally Posted by Lloyd Buchinski

The person might have added "Or you could just go to flippa.com and you'd get it there too."

LOL. I think I've just said 'Go to flippa.com' on that very thread. I may have said it in a few more words though

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by Lloyd Buchinski

I have seen that modified to "teach a man to fish and he'll lay around in a boat and drink beer for the rest of his life" but there is more of a point to your original version. This one was just more fun.

Trust me, the boat is nice but not a necessity. A lawn chair and sand spike on the beach will do the trick much cheaper.

You could also say, "teach a man to fish, and he'll lie like a politician about it."

[Talinn]

Maybe it's the IM'ers targeting that keyword and dominating Google results with useless SEO-centric sites around the keyword that do nothing but promote a product?