Using the Net

Helping normal people make better use of the Internet

How to Find Answers to Life’s Questions

Sep 22

Posted by Arthur in Facebook, Google, Search, Twitter | No Comments

Questions We all have our philosophical moments and can’t resist pondering the imponderables.

What’s the meaning of life?
Where’s the best place to buy sponges?
Where do freckles come from?

The Internet has opened up a world of information immediately available. Try these methods to find answers online:

  1. Google Search.
    This is an obvious one. Enter the main keywords of your question into Google and you’ll get tons of results. And don’t waste your time with Yahoo search; Google is proven to return the most relevant results. Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, may be worth checking out though. It has a more visual approach to search and may be more useful in come cases.
  2. Facebook.
    Put your question into your Status Message. All of your friends will see it, and you’ll get tons of trustworthy answers within minutes.

    Facebook Status Message

    Facebook Status Message

  3. Yahoo! Answers.
    This is a great development that has proven incredibly useful. Go to http://answers.yahoo.com to post your question. Within 24 hours you should have a number of responses, and often these come from very knowledgeable people. Of course you can’t trust these responses blindly, but often you’ll be surprised at the quality of the answers.
  4. Wikipedia.
    Often your Google search will result in a Wikipedia entry as one of the top results. Wikipedia is a great starting point to any search on a popular topic. It’s quite the encyclopedia on almost all topics, and since it can be edited by any user, you should exercise caution, so use it as a springboard for leads that you should validate before you put in any essay or report.
  5. Twitter.
    You probably don’t have an account yet, but if you’ve amassed a large following, ask any question in a tweet and you’ll get a ton of answers. You can also search Twitter and see anyone’s up-to-the-minute tweets on a topic.Twitter search is especially good for movie reviews hot off the presses. Supposedly that’s why the Bruno movie underperformed. It was projected to earn $50-million in its first weekend but flopped bringing in only $30.4-million. Time Magazine attributes this to moviegoers expressing their displeasure with the movie on Twitter upon leaving the theatre, spreading word through the social stratosphere.
  6. YouTube.
    Surprisingly, YouTube is now becoming a viable resource for solving real-world problems. You’ll find tons of tutorials and how-to’s on this multimedia search engine including sports tips and DIY guides to computers and home renovations.

If you haven’t tried Yahoo! Answers yet, give it a go. It’s probably the least known of these options, but often the most helpful.

Always Search for Product Reviews

Sep 20

Posted by Arthur in Search | No Comments

Before you make any big purchase, you’d be wise to look up some product reviews first. Whether you’re looking for a cell phone, camcorder or ping pong racket, do a few Google searches first.

Just search for productname reviews.

You should easily find some reviews sites with customer reviews. And don’t just limit this to products. Look up reviews for renovation contractors and other businesses you’re thinking of doing business with.

Of course you can’t trust every review, but after you’ve browsed through a few sites, you might find a lot of complaints about a certain model of phone, etc. I did this before choosing a phone carrier (I’m glad I didn’t go with Koodo Mobile) and then when choosing a particular model.

While there are individuals and companies who will post fake reviews (good or bad), it’s still worth reading, especially across multiple reviews sites.

Facebook

You can also try asking your friends through Facebook. Simply inquire in your status message, and in less than 30 minutes you should have a few trustworthy opinions and suggestions. If you’re not on Facebook yet, get on it, you’ll love sifting through family gathering photos from long lost elementary school peers you never speak to.

With information so easy to access these days, it’s a crime not to perform your due diligence.

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How to Reduce E-mail Spam

Sep 20

Posted by Arthur in E-mail, Productivity | No Comments

I love spam. Slice it up and throw it in some Ramen noodles and you’ve got yourself a lunch for under $2.00. But I don’t like it in my inbox.

If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate some tips on reducing inbox spam.

  1. Never post your e-mail address (unprotected) on a website or blog.
    If your e-mail address is plainly visible in the HTML code of a web page, a spam crawler can find it. Google has crawlers to find content to populate the search engine, and spammers have similar crawlers that harvest e-mail addresses.

    Some blog software like Joomla will automatically obscure your e-mail to protect it (note that it looks unprotected on the webpage, but when you view the HTML you see it’s a bunch of complicated Javascript code that crawlers can’t read). Basically you can check by Viewing the Source (in Firefox it’s Ctrl+U) and trying to find your e-mail address in the HTML. If you can’t find it, it’s probably safe.

    If your e-mail address is listed on a site that you don’t have control of, ask the webmaster nicely to change your e-mail to:

    • An image of your e-mail address like so: Obscured E-mail
    • A textually obscured version like: me [at] hotmail [dot] com
  2. Never Unsubscribe or Reply to a spam message.
    Even though they provide a link to unsubscribe, this is actually how they get you. Initially they send spam to random e-mail addresses, not knowing if it is actively used. By unsubscribing, you’re validating that this is an active e-mail account, and signing up for more spam.

    Note this tip only applies to illegal spam, meaning spammers who are not trying to send legit newsletters, etc. Proper newsletters will honour your request to unsubscribe, so you first have to figure out whether it’s legit or not. A good rule of thumb is that if you didn’t sign up for it, it’s probably illegal spam.

  3. Don’t use your e-mail address on low-quality websites.
    If you have to create an account on a website that isn’t yet established and respected, don’t use your primary e-mail account. Unsavoury sites like to sell your e-mail address to spammers.

    Make a back-up e-mail account that you always use for these types of sites, or make a “disposable e-mail account” using a specialized service like Yopmail which you use to create the account then throw away when you’re done.

  4. Don’t opt-in for third-party offers.
    Often when you create an account on a website, it will have a checkbox to opt in to messages from third parties with offers you might be interested in. The fact that the site has this as a checkbox means it’s probably legit, so only opt in if you actually want to.
  5. Configure your e-mail client to not load images automatically.
    If you use an e-mail client like Outlook, Thunderbird, or even the webmail services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, make sure images are not loaded automatically in e-mails. When you open these e-mails, it should ask you whether you want to load the images. When an e-mail contains a image linked from a website (not included as an attachment), the sender can detect when that image gets loaded. Spammers use this technique to know that you have an active e-mail account and will send you more spam.

    If you encounter a suspicious e-mail, don’t load its images.

  6. Don’t buy through spam messages.
    This is more of a long-term tip to eradicate spam from existence. If spammers can’t make more than minimum wage sending spam, they’ll eventually start flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Don’t make it profitable. If you really need to, find another source for your Acai berry diet that doesn’t work.

So they you go, employ these tips and save some headaches.

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