The Importance of Using Synonyms, Truncation, and/or Limiters in Searching

As I stated in an earlier posted blog, I stressed the importance of narrowing your search down in order to find a more perfect match search for you. If you really want to get advanced, you can narrow your search even more by typing synonyms and limiters within your search. When you do this, it identifies the synonyms and limiters, then narrowing your search even more. Like I mentioned earlier about picking your search engines carefully. Companies pay certain search engines for their website to advertise on. They then pay more money for a better spot within that website. Therefore, a more popular search engine will have more flow of people, therefore a better chance of finding that result. Also, a small business owner might want to keep in mind, especially if they are going to start advertising their business on the internet. The more popular website will have the most flow of people. Your company would have a better chance of getting hits and views if you pick a more common search engine. Also, pick what you would emphasize within the search, such as key words. If I doing a lawn care business in western Kentucky, I would choose one website. Let’s say I choose Google and I pay more money for the key words such as "lawn”, “mowing", and "Western Kentucky". If I pay the right amount, it would be the first advertisement that would pop up. If you searched the similar words on Yahoo, it wouldn't show the same results. Of course it's always best to advertise in both, if not as many as you can. However not everyone has a budget for that initially, that's why you should consider your search engine wisely. I use the advanced search all the time and type synonyms as well, and it does well with my results. Sometimes I use a couple, if not more search engines, I know to isolate and narrow my search options down to better identify my end result.

Finding a Website

When attempting to find a website, you have to first consider your topic. Then you consider what search engines would give you the exact results you’re looking for. While it's really hard to say at first, your best option would be to check all the popular search engines. I would recommend the common ones such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, MSN and Askjeeves.com. You have to consider that industries and companies all pay for ads for certain websites, depending on your search request. So for instance, I start a lawn mowing business and I want to advertise the fact that I'm the best in Western Kentucky. I would essentially be paying for the key words, such as lawn, mowing, Western Kentucky. So I advertise my business to a solid amount with only Google. When you search the words in any combination such as "lawn, mowing, best, Western Kentucky", it'll be the first website that pops up. Remember Google only, if you were to search the same terms in another search engine such as Yahoo, it wouldn't be the first one to pop up as it would in Google. That is exactly why you should highly consider a more popular website. Currently Google and Yahoo are the most popular. It's not a reason to not check out the other search engines; I would just highly consider a more popular search where more internet traffic flows. The more flow of internet users, the more potential of you to come across your website you searched for. It is also something to consider if you ever want to advertise anything on the internet, pick a more popular website in order for a better chance of people of search and find your perfect match of a search.

Disney

I always knew of and loved Disney related films and toys growing up as a kid. As I grew older and began to realize a little more how the world worked, I just kind of figured Disney and it's rights will always belong to the founder of the of Disney, which is currently Walt and Roy Disney. However, back in 1998, a certain deadline came up that left Disney owners, employees and fans a little nervous. The rights to Disney were about out of a deadline due to copyright rights that only last for a certain year. On October 27th, 1998, Bill Clinton passed what's called a Copyright Term Extension Act that now extends copyright rights 20 years. Yeah left many at ease now, but what about in 2018? Then it enters the public domain. I initially thought that that's not right; the right should always be within the Walt Disney foundation, however, you have to think about other circumstances. For instance, a medical device is founded and produced by someone. Let’s say there’s no law to where the founder always has rights to this. This device is very helpful but it has a harsh consequence to leave scars, but is very efficient nonetheless. Well, somebody else believes they can produce the same device that is not only just as efficient, but it also doesn't leave the harsh scars. While he could still produce that device, certain rights along with benefits come along with this due to copyright laws. Wouldn't it make sense for the rights to have a deadline to rights then? I believe so. While it may initially not think it’s right for the rights of the owners to come into an end, you have to think on the other end of the spectrum that with a deadline, it opens the window for opportunities for better inventors to essentially tweak an invention for the better. That defiantly gives my okay, for the Copyright Term Extension Act to stay intact.

Copyright and Cooks Source

There's no telling how many times growing up as a kid even until now, that I simply pulled up Google.com and copied then pasted pictures for my personal use on PowerPoint’s and presentations in general. Not to mention, I never cited the resources until about high school, but even then a lot of work slides by without getting properly cited. Sure, in school it may not be a big deal, unless it’s something like plagiarism. But regardless, the consequences in school aren’t near as bad as the stir of negative attention Cooke Source got into. A blogger posted a story about how Cooke Source used a copy of a picture she used in a previous story for their magazine article. They did identify her for their publish but did not notify her of the publishing of her picture in their magazine. You could see why there would be a stir. But how much can really be said. The internet is an open resource to virtually anything and with proper citing; it is okay in most circumstances to publish them in a viewing intent. But I believe you should have to notify and get permission, especially in a profit intent purpose. However, there doesn't seem to be a fine line to where it is okay or not to notify. While some do, think about how many more don't. Perhaps think about how many people use it in PowerPoint’s and other educational purposes. Or maybe it was used in the huge business presentation in a multi-billion dollar deal. Either way, it happens daily and not too much is always said. To some, it’s a not that big of a deal, then of course there's the ones that do think it's a huge deal. I mean, perhaps it was a huge piece of the appeal that sealed that deal in the multi-billion presentation. Shouldn't you get credit for that?

Open Source/ Community Sharing Resources

An open source or community sharing resource is very common, but how often do we really come across them in an average day? More than most people would initially think. Actually, it is considered highly controversial. I remember around the holiday times, even all the way back growing up as a kid and my family was consistently cooking. My mom would make a few pies, while my grandma was making different casseroles. When we all gathered with the rest of the family, that’s where all the different foods and drinks got put together as a feast. Point being, all these recipes came from somewhere. I know personally my family looked up a lot of their recipes on the computer. It's convenient, just a few clicks of a button and your all of a sudden at the world's biggest recipe book, the internet. This recipe sharing is just like downloading illegal music off the internet as well, right? Napster co-owners Shawn Fanning, John Fanning, and Sean Parker both claimed this as they battled their law suit years ago in regards to their "illegal music" downloading program. They claimed it was the same as sharing recipes, but everyone else didn't exactly agree. These programs are known as "peer-to-peer file sharing" services. These are an open source/community sharing resource that is legally controversial. Reason being, just as with Napster, this opened programs to allow people to download essentially free music, videos, software’s and games straight to their computer. See any potential red flags? I do. Even though I admit to using similar programs, it was around the same time I had a really popular program in the social world known as MSN Messenger. As long as you had an email address, you qualified. You had a user name that was open for your friends to identify you and you just chatted away at night with your friends. One moment I enjoyed was when me and my friend Jordan would get on chat and exchange the different music we had found. This was simply done by dragging your music file from your desktop per say and then dropping in your chat window. You could transfer virtually any file that was on your computer straight to the computer of one of your buddy's, or twelve. So let's say I buy a Nelly album with 12 songs for $15 onto my computer. The amount doesn't necessarily matter unless you look at a small scale figure in the sense of a typical MSN conversation I had. Instead of my friend just spending another $15 on the copy of same album for himself, I could just transfer the whole album straight through the chat and to my friend. That's $15 that Nelly didn't get. Or, I send the album to 10 of my friends. That's $150 that didn't go to this respected owner of that file. To compare, American studios lost 2.3 billion in 2005 due to those free downloading programs. Similar terms are considered online piracy and of course theft to some. However, not all open resources are considered bad. In fact, it’s got great benefits as well. I personally love that I can get on my Murray State account and access a free virtually library that consists of text for educational, spiritual and recreational purposes. You couldn't ask for a better, convenient resource just a few clicks away. Anyway, I think the fine line between the two is clear. But when you consider popular open sources/community sharing resources such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the capabilities of sharing pictures, music, videos, text, ect.  You really wonder where to draw the line sometimes. To say what’s right and what’s wrong, it’s just hard to put your finger on sometimes. That’s why open sources/community sharing resources are highly controversial and always will be.  

Noosphere

Noosphere is just a thought that denotes the "sphere of human life". This thought was documented by both Vladimir Vernadsky and Teilhard de Chardin. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin introduced the lexical analogy to 'atmosphere' and 'biosphere' from the word "Noosphere" back in 1922.  Édouard Le Roy, however, made first use of the term while he and Teilhard de Chardin listened to the lecture of Vladimir Vernadsky. (http://www.stanislavgrof.com/pdf/Akashic%20Field%20Evidence.PDF)

Vladimir Vernadsky created a theory that the Noosphere is the third phase of development of the Earth. Geosphere (inanimate matter) and Biosphere (biological life) are the two phases before Noosphere. He stated that the arrival of life essentially changed the geosphere, while the arrival of humans essentially changed the biosphere. Vladimir Vernadsky further mentioned that Noosphere comes at the point where humans begin to create resources through transmutation of elements. With that being said, Geosphere the inanimate matter comes first. Afterwards arrives the Biosphere, the biological life. Lastly comes Vladimir Vernadsky's idea of Noosphere, in which humans began to create resources. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noosphere)  Though this is really deep and could be taken a lot of different ways, I honestly don't know what to personally think about it. However, I believe the noosphere is just meaning a complex idea. Vladimir's whole idea of Noosphere is indeed a Noosphere itself, but because it's calling it a complex idea. While Vladimir's complex idea was really deep and wasn't exactly a test-able idea, there are still "Noospheres" that aren't as abstract as one would think. The problem is, it's hard to really say what is more complex and what's not. Why? Because who's to say which one is more, abstract than the other. That seems highly opinionated. Which brings me to the conclusion that a Noosphere is so broad, however so personal at the same time. They say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. It could easily be that same way with ideas and Noospheres. My idea may make a ton of sense to me, however my friend my think it's too complicated. Who's to say my idea is or isn't complex? Point is, I've realized each Noosphere is almost like a very personal idea.

Information Obesity

The idea of Information Obesity is simple and broad. It's simply the idea of information. Information is everywhere and essentially everything. It's what you touch, what you see, what you feel, what you smell, what you taste and so on. The fact that people can read information by touching and feeling is amazing to me. The process is called Brialle and you touch your finger to dots to essentially read. Your rub your index finger over a series of six dots in the shape of a rectangle with two columns containing three dots each.  This is considered an alternative to hearing or reading material. Brialle is a great example, however, touch and feel expresses information in other ways as well. (www.brailler.com/braillehx.htm) They say a firm handshake can tell you a lot about a person before they even speak or look at you. I believe that to a certain degree. That's all information being sent without words being spoken or being read. What about that guy you cut off at the interstate accidentally and he passed you, waving a certain finger out the window? Sure, it's not a great way, but it sure did get the message across. You got a very bold and potent message with just a simple hand gesture. That's information sharing at it's finest. Speaking of potent, does a certain smell or taste just instantly take you back to a certain or critical moment in your life? I'll never forget my first spring break as a junior in high school. Being young and nieve as everyone has been at some point, I got the bright idea to drink coconut rum during my day at the beach. Yes, 3 hours later I passed out in the bathroom floor for 16 hours straight, while I puked and dry heaved contstantly during that whole period. I learned my lesson, needless to say. Point being is, ever since that day, I can't stand the smell or taste of coconut now. Though it wasn't the cleanest story for grandma to hear, it just shows how a bold lesson was learned, even to the point where I almost get sick to the smell or taste of coconut to this very day. That's information passed by just a whiff of a smell that triggers an emotion or memory from the past. Although I won't elaborate on I will list some certain ways information is comprehended and shared. Body language, eye contact, tightness of hugs, smoke signals, brightness of lights, traffic signals, road markings, trail maps, how close you sit/stand to someone, dancing, philosophy, hairstyles and clothing styles all are little ways you send a message without actually speaking or hearing. What about when you visit historic buildings or just old buildings in general? I know I'm immediately trying to guess how old they are. I play the same game at retirement homes as well and both indicate to me that they've been around for a while. Point is, it may sound repetetive and unnecessary, but explaining Information Obesity is simple. Information over information is essentially an element of Information Obesity. Once again, its so broad, I could explain and elaborate for days. Anyway, that's my information over information to form more information. No pun intended.

Information vs. Knowledge

Its simple, the difference of information versus knowledge, Right? To my best understanding, information refers to a general base of data that can be shown as numbers, words, pictures, sounds and things such as that. Knowledge, however is the usage of this information. Information can be stored and share throughout, whereas knowledge is considered more on a personal level. To seperate better, imagine two biology classmates. The student reading the material will learn and share information, however the other student that is conducting the activity, will be the one personally having knowledge of it. I see the difference quite easy, however is it that clear to other people? The only reason is because the difference is seen daily. For instance, a person can study, study, study the human analogy with every intents of being a doctor someday. However, would you trust them to do a surgery without hands-on training? (knowledge)  On a smaller scale, I find this very similier situation in my life a couple years ago. I was umpiring with a new guy, Josh, that had never played baseball in his life. You could tell he was manager (or mascot) material, or a stats guy. Meaning, the guy was statistically smart when it came to baseball. He knew the rules and the ways of the game. However, he's never personally experienced the game. Due to his lack of decision making as an umpire, he was banned from umpiring in our league again. Point being, he knew all the information of baseball and how its played, but he never trully got to experience the game. This showed greatly in the way he handled himself with calls in the field and especially defending himself in arguements with coaches. Knowledge won. Why else do you hear about media relying on veteran athletes in big situations instead of younger athletes? Knowledge. Why do big companies love students that had previously had an internship? Simple,  they got to experience and learn about the job instead of just learning about the job. Knowledge is crucial. However, don't get the impression that I'm saying knowledge is more important than information, because that is impossible to me. They are so much alike in a lot of ways and depend on eachother in a lot of ways. With that being said, I find them oddly different as well. Either way, know the difference.


(thefilter.blogs.com) - Although wisdom is involved, we'll disregard that part for now. However, it simply shows the cave man stuck on the world without a clue what to do. It then turns to a new window showing the man applying his information he has learned in the world and thats considered knowledge.

Cleveland's 7 Characteristics of Information

There are 7 characteristics of information and they are human, expandable, compressible, substitutable, transportable, diffusive and shareable. (http://marytreacy.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/harlan-clevelands-characterization-of-information-as-a-resource/) Human is so much more complex compared to any other species, therefore this is saying how "human" is referring to the complex meaning for people as opposed to animals or machines. The second characteristic is expandable. Information in todays time is everywhere around you. Magazines, television, advertisements, to your left, to your right and everywhere in between. Therefore, information is always expanding. Compressible is the third characteristic. The fact that information is everywhere has been earlier stated, but how are we able to contain and maintain all of it so well? It's able to be compressed and summarized to where it's easier to comprehend. Substitute is the fourth characteristic. This shows how information in the robotic aspect has substituted robots/machines instead of a human doing jobs and certain services. The fifth is transportation. This is simply just how we are able to transport information so fast and efficient . I could send an email to a buddy in Germany before I could even ask the student beside me how his day is going. Diffusive is the sixth characteristic. Since information is so broad, the ability to contain it is trully amazing. The last characteristic is shareable. Perhaps the most simpliest characteristic, simply just the ability to share the information you learn. Daily talk, text messaging, news, and even social websites are all places to share information. The best excuse I can give is looking back on the snowy nights and mornings back in high school. Instead of going to a news channel and being forced to watch the whole agenda or going to their website, I simply just got on Facebook. If you have Facebook, you'll completely understand how news, whether it's local or even on a national level, is vented through Facebook constantly. These 7 characteristics are very crucial to know and to understand. Why? These are the key elements in searching for information, learning information, sharing information, applying information and just comprehending information in general.

Buy Dehydrated Water

In class, we had to answer some questions about certain websites. Our group's website was over http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/ . At first, I knew that this stuff wasnt very popular mainly because I've never heard of it. As I began to work through the work sheet and all the questions, I started to realize the biggest picture out of the whole problem. If you take the "hydrate" out of water, you get stuck with air. Go figure, considering the "online store" took you to Amazon.com to buy little packets of "dehydrated water" after you read some non-sense about their product. As you read along though, you start to pick up on that this website is a complete joke and humorous as well. Sure, some people may buy it just for spits and giggles, but just reading the information, I would hope nobody actually got fooled. Regardless, I'm sure the creators got the attention they wanted. To be almost exact, a little over 1,000 people visited this website last month. Towards the end of 2010, over 3,000 people visited this website. I, obviously wasn't the only person that has been interested in this website. (www.compete.com) The last piece of information I read about was their testimonials. That's where a handful of red flags came in, with good humor though. For instance, the guy looking for a good gift for his father. Seriously? It's all fun and games, which means I am definitely a fan of websites such as this one. I, personally, wont be a customer of this website, but ill be sure to follow this website and others very similier for years to come.