Is Google Faster Than The Library?
from the maybe-not... dept
When you need to find out some information, these days, most people turn to a search engine first. Is that the smartest choice? The Guardian has decided to do a very informal test to see just how effective Google is in answering certain questions, compared to a well-connected person on a phone and someone in a library. The basic answer is that it depends on what you're looking for. It also appears to depend on how good you are with Google, how strong your personal phonable network is, or how adept you are at finding info in the library. However, it is worth pointing out that Google isn't always the best place to go. In the informal test, Google was only the fastest half of the time - and wasn't always accurate. Of course, if someone were to run the same test again tomorrow with different people and different questions (or, hell, even the same people with the same questions), the results might be completely different.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google is the worlds biggest library
Google IS my library !
It allows me to search and learn about anything @ any time. It's open 24/7. It links to the library of Congress, virtually every newspaper in the world, 1000's of books, a bazillion images & more databases then any library could possibly have. I don't have to have a membership card. I never have to return the medium ( book, etc ). I never have to pay a late fee & I don't have to deal with an understaffed traditional library.
Oh, & its not based on the archaic Dewey decimal system ! :-)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Poor SE skills
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Google
[ link to this | view in chronology ]