I can hear you asking already: "Metaguide is a nice name for a column, but what's it going to be about?" Mainly, it'll be about keeping you up to date with the latest trends in finding what you need on the Internet. For some people, this is a one-shot deal. Read an article on it, stumble on a favorite search engine, and that's it. But for those of you who are interested in learning more, I'll be offering regular coverage.

Are Portals Gateways to the Internet, or an Info-Quagmire?
We’re now constantly besieged with claims about new search engines and guides that are supposed to overcome the perennial complaint: long lists of irrelevant results and cluttered, unhelpful directories. In the last couple of years, we've witnessed a fantastic pace of innovation in this field.

What we're now calling major consumer web portals were once merely search engines or directories with a few other things added on. Although the portals have now expanded into many areas, they're not going to be worth a second look if they don't offer a useful guide to high quality content. Amongst the array of helpful tools offered by the portals, only a handful are vital to Internet users' daily experiences. Number one is e-mail. Number two, for many people, is search. Yet a lot of people haven’t been having much luck finding what they need. The prevailing view seems to be that search stinks.

Searching the web doesn't have to "stink". Armed with the right attitude and a few basic principles, you can improve your luck in using the Web as a tool for serious research, curiosity satisfaction, and personal advancement. Below, I provide a few guidelines for becoming an empowered web searcher. As I put the finishing touches on this column, I suddenly discovered that it is packaged in a highly unoriginal format. I was pleased with my plan to borrow Stephen Covey's catchy "Seven Habits" phraseology for an article about web search ... until I noticed that Chris Sherman beat me to it by nine months. Just remember: you heard it here third!

1. Spend twenty minutes learning how to use search engines.
   The short route is to simply read the instructions that accompany most search engines, especially those for ‘power search’ or advanced search. The long way is to look into the various resources that can help you learn more about it. Try Search Engine Watch, or 4search.com. See what Chris Sherman has to say in his column "Seven Habits of Effective Searchers".

2. Don’t go racing to type keywords in a search box.
   Think about your task for a second. Recognize that a search engine is not always the best tool to find what you’re looking for. A good directory may allow you to drill down towards more targeted results, and the "editors’ picks" may be particularly impressive. If you need some publication information on a book, of course you could just go to AltaVista and type in "Wuthering Heights." This’ll land you on this attractive site. Typing the same thing at Amazon.com will get you a slightly different result. Depending on the purpose of your search, it might be just right for you. Over time, people come to recognize which search techniques work well for different tasks. A generic search is rarely the best route to take, although that’s often our first step when you’re getting interested in something new.

3. Replicate your successes.
   Keep tabs on those great resources that helped you find what you were looking for last time around. If you have found the ultimate site for cooking, football, finance, or romance, by all means bookmark it! The very best specialized 'vertical portals' or subject-specific search tools are like gold. If you've got a passion, it won't be long before you figure out how to cultivate it with the best resources the 'net has to offer. Of course it doesn't always pay to give away all your secrets.

4. Organize.

   Speaking of bookmarks or favorites, redouble your efforts to organize yours. Develop a filing system. Keep your favorite stuff organized in folders – get rid of clutter. For special projects, create new folders, and dump the bookmarks in them to keep them segregated from your other favorite stuff.

5. Recognize that this isn't Star Trek.
   A few of the newer-generation search tools like Ask Jeeves! or Google are worth looking into. But most of them won't be able to meet the high expectations created by a certain pasty-faced TV android who can locate historical information about interplanetary trade agreements while mimicking human emotion and dancing a mean tango with the ship's doctor. Recognize that the days of relying on artificial intelligence and ‘smart’ question-answering services are likely to be far off. Most current search tools are pretty dumb: closer to the computer named "Tweekie" from the TV version of Buck Rogers in the 25th century ("bee-dee-bee-dee-bee-dee...way to go, Buck!").

   Newer-generation tools come with state-of-the-art algorithms and even more loveable names, but they are still pretty dumb, when you get right down to it. There’s a good reason for the popularity of ‘human guides’. The need for editorial content, skilled researchers, 'ontologists' (the people who come up with classification schemes), and reference librarians isn’t about to evaporate tomorrow.

   That being said, I do love Google. As promised, the first result returned is often the most relevant.

6. Think like a pro.
   Many lawyers, journalists, medical professionals, scientific researchers, and financial professionals enjoy the benefits of privileged access to specialized databases. There may be advantages to doing just this. Remember, unless you make special efforts to seek out a special database or limit your search in some way, you are searching the entire Internet. This can be a prescription for frustration. Try pulling off the information superhighway for a change.

   Private databases may be conveniently accessible on the Internet, or through a university library, but are often for paid subscribers or 'members' only. Northern Light is one of several search companies which helps users find documents which are housed in such databases. Others include Ultraseek and Thunderstone. It's worth checking out whether your company, professional association, college, or university subscribes to any premium database services. Nothing beats getting expensive research reports, or full-text periodical articles, for free.

7. Become portal-literate.
   Learn about of the capabilities and weaknesses of the navigational offerings of the major web portals. These include search engines, indices or directories, guided content, maps, comparison shopping agents, customized news clipping services, and much more. Then, stop using the stuff that stinks. We’ll offer our reviews to help save you some time and energy.

Regular coverage

The central importance of navigation to the Internet user’s experience is what made me decide to devote a regular column to this subject. I’ll be assessing the navigational tools that are central components of major portal sites, such as Go2Net’s Metacrawler search engine or Yahoo’s well-known directory. I’ll also be reviewing independent guides, directories, and engines which have forged key partnerships with major portal sites. Some of these are major players in themselves – About.com and Looksmart, for example, are ranked in the top 15 web properties overall.

Occasionally, Traffick will provide reviews of tools and trends that haven’t yet caught on with any of the majors, but which seem important enough to follow. A few could really throw the big portal companies for a loop. If you're a power user, you may be delighted to find that someone has been listening to you and developing new products that better satisfy your need for improved customization.