Finding what you want is a fairly easy process, but finding exactly what you want takes some tips. You have to narrow your search using the right words, otherwise you'll end up with a list of around 20,000 "hits," or web pages that match what you searched for. As of April, 1997, a search for "internet help" at Alta Vista will return 5 million hits! Try it for yourself!
The first step is getting to a Search Engine, a web page where you type in words to search for. Try any of the following:
Alta Vista: Currently the largest of the search engines, also a pretty good one at that.
Excite: Also a good one, uses so-called "concept-search technology," which may or may not be helpful in your particular situation.
Yahoo!: A good place to go when you haven't been able to find what you want. Yahoo! allows you to navigate their directory, so you can find what you want without reading through a list of 20,000 hits.
The next step is typing in keywords at the Search Engine. When you are at the search engine, you will see a box with a cursor flashing inside it (if not, simply click with the mouse inside the box). The idea is to type in words that are related to what you want to find, but are not too specific. Like the example given above: Searching for internet help will give you 5 millions hits. Now, you need to add words that separate your intended topic from other topics that are internet help related. You may be searching for a way to get started on the internet, or someone to help you set up some internet software, or a internet-addiction self-help web page (yes, they do exist).
You can also add Boolean Logic Operators. These are much simpler than their name. They are words like and, or, and not. With most search engines around today, and search for internet help is the same as two separate searches for internet and help. By adding the Boolean Operator and between your search words (i.e. internet AND help) the search engine will find pages that contain both the words internet and help on them. NOTE: The way in which you need to use these words varies from search engine to search engine. Some engines require that you use + instead of and. Check out the search engine's help page for which method you should use.
That's basically it. If you stick with a search engine you like, you should have a fair amount of success in finding exactly what you're looking for.
