It does not matter what you are looking for on the Internet because everyone wants the same thing.

Whether you are trying to find out about:

apples, business, cats, dogs, energy, food, garbage, health, insurance, jersey, knowledge, love, manuals, neon, orbits, people, queens, rubies, stars, town, ushers, valets, women, x-rays, yahoo or the zoo.

EVERYONE wants the same thing:

1. To find more INFORMATION on a subject.

2. To find PEOPLE with similar interests.

Basically, what you want to establish is your own personal community of information and people.

Some refer to this as your niche or target audience.

Where does your search begin?

The question gave you the answer; start your research with your favorite search engine.

1. Search Engines and Directories.

Top Ten Search Engines: http://emailexchange.org/promo2.html

I use Google. http://www.google.com.

That is where I begin my research.

Then, I suggest you hit at least the top 5 Search Engines And Directories.

For a list, via Auto-Responder, of the "Top 10 Search Engines and Directories!"

Send a blank email message to: mailto:Top10SE@emailexchange.org

Here is the List of the Top 5:

1. Google: http://www.google.com.

2. Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com

3. AltaVista: http://www.altavista.com

4. Excite: http://www.excite.com

5. AOL: http://www.aol.com

Review the Top 10 results of the "keywords" used in your search. Do it from each of the Top 5 Search Engines above.

This will give you a solid lead to begin your quest. Because your next task is to visit those 50 web sites.

Weed out the useless or dead links. Begin to form your community.

Bookmark all web sites that hold interest and promise.

When did you first discover the Internet?

It is a mysterious, scary, exciting, fun, never-ending adventure that is full of daily learning experiences.

Whatever reason brought you to the Internet, be it personal business, curiosity. you will soon discover that the Internet is all about communication.

In fact, the Internet = Global Communication.

And, the foundation of that Communication, is email.

Therefore your next step is to reach out and "touch" that [ "community of people" ] you seek by sending email.

ALWAYS without resorting to SPAM.

Because it is against Internet rules and because it creates more problems that it solves. SPAM is out.

With the list from above, decide if it is important to your quest to contact the web masters of each web site.

The list of web masters gives you a good start on which to keep building your community.

2. Mailing list.

Join a discussion or mailing list.

These are communities that already exist and discuss topics of interest by e-mail.

The Internet discussion groups may be mailing lists, newsgroups, message boards, chat rooms or IRC type chat channels, to name just a few possibilities.

Seek out the moderated type lists as they are loaded with target rich people. And you do not place ads in such groups, you participate.

However, a 2 or 3 line signature on posts is allowed. Some groups even allow larger signatures.

Here are some FREE Resources to find and Join Free Discussion or Mailing Lists:

Liszt - The Mailing List Directory: http://www.liszt.com/

Search The List of Lists: http://catalog.com/vivian/interest-group-search.html

CataList, the catalog of 46,902 public LISTSERV lists! http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html

3. Your Signature.

NEVER underestimate the power of your signature.

During a one week period, my signature was the ONLY form of promotion I used and in just five days we got over 1000 visitors to our unadvertised web site.

How To Use Your Signature: http://emailexchange.org/sig.html

4. Ezines/Newsletters.

Whatever your interest, there probably already exists a network of publications that tap into your community.

Tap into these publications, a few at a time, and you will get an instant pulse on happenings online.

Top 100 Online Newsletters: http://emailexchange.org/newsletters.html

5. Start Your Own Mailing List.

Email is the foundation of global communication on the Internet.

It is essential to begin your own mailing list of people that AGREE to receive your email.

Perhaps once a week, with a word of interest, you send out a mailing with info directly related to your common interest.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open with your community of people.

This gives you a basic "Blue Print" to follow to either begin to establish yourself on the Internet or expand on whatever you have already accomplished.

Once you know WHY you want to contact people, then you will know WHO it is you need to communicate with and for WHAT reason.

The basic resources outlined above will give you a strong foundation to discover WHERE to reach that special niche or target audience of yours.