Google for Dummies ISBN:0764544209 by Brad Hill John Wiley & Sons © 2003 (346 pages) This simplified guide to using Google will teach you how to find search shortcuts, add-on tools, ways to customize Google, shop, play games, get news, go blogging, and much more Table of Contents Google For Dummies Introduction Part I - Taming Google Chapter 1 - Discovering All That Google Can Do Chapter 2 - Better Googling: Finding the Right Stuff Chapter 3 - Directory Trolling and News Browsing 800 Million Messages at Your Fingertips: Google Chapter 4 Groups Part II - Specialty Searching Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 - Shopping with Froogle and Google Catalogs - Searching the Specialty Categories - Searching for Answers - Experimenting in Google Labs Part III - Putting Google to Work for You Chapter 9 - Google on Your Browser Chapter 10 - Googling in Tongues Chapter 11 - Using Google AdWords Chapter 12 - Bringing Google and Its Users to Your Site Part IV - Tricks, Games, and Alternatives to Google Chapter 13 - Hosting a Weblog with Google’s Blogger Chapter 14 - Alternatives to Google Chapter 15 - Twisted Googling and Google Games Part V - The Part of Tens Chapter 16 - Ten Google Tricks Chapter 17 - Ten More Google Tricks Chapter 18 - Ten Sites about Google Google For Dummies Cheat Sheet Index List of Figures List of Sidebars Back Cover Sure, you know it searches, but all the other things Google can do will leave you, well, google-eyed So journey into the heart of Google and then to its outer limits with this friendly guide! Discover how you can use Google to get the news, go shopping, build your business, play games, find phone numbers, and even go blogging About the Author Brad Hill has written fourteen books and numerous articles about technology, cyber-cultural trends, and online destinations He has appeared on CNN, the Business News Network, and Online Tonight Google For Dummies by Brad Hill Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8700 Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4447, e-mail: permcoordinator@wiley.com Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc and/or its affiliates Google is a trademark of Google Inc All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation You should consult with a professional where appropriate Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S at 317-572-3993, or fax 317572-4002 Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books Library of Congress Control Number is available from the publisher ISBN: 0-7645-4420-9 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 1O/QV/QZ/QT/IN About the Author Brad Hill has worked in the online field since 1992 and is regarded as a preeminent advocate of the online experience As a best-selling author of books and in his columns, Hill reaches a global audience of consumers who rely on his writings to help determine their online service choices Brad’s books include a Publishers Weekly bestseller and a Book-of-theMonth catalog selection Brad’s titles in the For Dummies series include Internet Searching For Dummies, Internet Directory For Dummies, and Yahoo! For Dummies In other venues, Brad writes about cybercultural trends, digital music, virtual investing, and all sorts of online destinations Brad is often consulted in the media’s coverage of the Internet He appears on television and radio Webcasts and is quoted in publications such as Business Week, The New York Times, and PC World Brad doesn’t get outdoors much Sunshine baffles him As compensation, he is listed in Who’s Who and is a member of The Authors Guild Dedication To my wife, Ann, whose loving support made this book possible Author’s Acknowledgments Every book is a partnership of author and editor Susan Pink is the editor of this book and a collaborator in other projects as well Her keenness, careful reading, and incisive comments shine through every paragraph except for the one that I hid from her You’ll know it when you see it Besides being an unusually fine editor who makes me look a lot better than I would without her, Susan has a gift for remaining calm during the most intense deadline crises She also laughs at all the right times Allen Wyatt had the challenging job of technical editor His insights, in this and other books, are invaluable Melody Layne at Wiley Publishing nursed this project from the start, getting it off the ground quickly and helping shape its focus I’m very thankful Mary Corder pulled me into the For Dummies family several years ago, and is a delightful friend She is so sick of seeing her name pop up in my acknowledgments But I am forever grateful, so she’ll have to deal with it Many thanks to all the copy editors and production experts who pored over every page of the manuscript Finally, I’d like to thank the Academy and my directory, Steven Spielberg, without whom — oops, wrong speech Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/ Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor Susan Pink Acquisitions Editor Melody Layne Technical Editor Allen Wyatt, Discovery Computing Inc Editorial Manager Carol Sheehan Media Development Supervisor Richard Graves Editorial Assistant Amanda Foxworth Cartoons Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com Production Project Coordinator Kristie Rees Layout and Graphics Jennifer Click Seth Conley Joyce Haughey LeAndra Hosier Lynsey Osborn Jacque Schneider Shae Lywn Wilson Proofreaders John Tyler Connoley Andy Hollandbeck Dwight Ramsey Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary C Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Introduction Overview There has never been an Internet phenomenon like Google Not even Yahoo! of 1994 and 1995 could claim the importance in so many lives that Google can claim Amazon, eBay, Napster — all have been milestones, but Google is a uniquely big wheel It has been adopted quickly, its user base is of global scope, and it has influence on society at large (A recent marketing survey reported that Google was a more recognized brand than Coca-Cola and Starbucks.) No online activity has become as deeply embedded in our culture and language as Googling Google is far more than just a search engine and has become more important than other general search engines Google’s value is partly due to its amazingly accurate search results, which sometimes seem almost as if Google were intuiting your information needs Part of Google’s appeal lies in its reactionary divergence from search engine portal design and its no-fluff presentation (As of this writing, the English version of Google’s home page contains 36 words.) Not to be forgotten are Google’s supporting services — all of which are covered in this book — which elevate its usefulness to the level of indispensability Want to find out something? Google it After I wrote three editions of Internet Searching For Dummies, Google was unleashed and started gaining traction At first I thought that if I were to write another edition of Internet Searching, it might contain one sentence: “Go to Google.” Then, after digging deeply, I realized that Google warranted — needed, demanded! — its own book You are holding the result List of Sidebars Chapter 1: Discovering All That Google Can Do Life without Google Chapter 2: Better Googling: Finding the Right Stuff How Google remembers your preferences How insensitive! Choosing the right keywords Chapter 3: Directory Trolling and News Browsing Google versus Yahoo! Open Directory Project Directory preferences (not) Searching and browsing combined Tracking a story over time Submitting a news source Chapter 4: 800 Million Messages at Your Fingertips: Google Groups A Usenet glossary Accessing newsgroups on and off the Web Search operators in Google Groups Up to the minute, more or less Keeping your own stuff out of the archive Fun and flames: newsgroup etiquette Chapter 5: Shopping with Froogle and Google Catalogs Price comparisons in Froogle Chapter 7: Searching for Answers Locked questions Improving your own research Refunds and repostings Chapter 8: Experimenting in Google Labs Spyware, adware, and other third-party issues Further distributed computing Chapter 9: Google on Your Browser Browsers are not all equal Using the Google Toolbar on other computers Chapter 10: Googling in Tongues Making happy of translate by automatic Chapter 11: Using Google AdWords Google's placement formula Chapter 12: Bringing Google and Its Users to Your Site Checking your status Index or directory? On your own Chapter 13: Hosting a Weblog with Google's Blogger Untangling Pro and Plus Chapter 14: Alternatives to Google Getting the Google license key Chapter 15: Twisted Googling and Google Games The ultimate random Web search page ... permcoordinator @wiley. com Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies. com, and related... campaign, everybody started saying Google this” and Google that” with little or no formal advertising from Google I’ve written Yahoo! For Dummies and Google For Dummies Each service is a cornerstone of the Internet... Brad’s books include a Publishers Weekly bestseller and a Book-of-theMonth catalog selection Brad’s titles in the For Dummies series include Internet Searching For Dummies, Internet Directory For Dummies, and Yahoo! For Dummies In other venues, Brad writes about cybercultural