Q.

Write an essay on how you use the web effectively[250 words]

pros/cons. Mention search engine ?

Ans : - The Internet represents an important and rapidly growing medium of

communication. The biggest frustration that most people have with the
Web, especially those new to the Web, is the amount of time and energy it
takes to find useful information. With over a billion active pages, there will
never be enough time for you to take in all that the Web has to offer.

If you want to regularly use the Web and to benefit from what the Web has
to offer, you have to be smart about how you use what time you have.
While there are no hard and fast rules about what strategy to use, at least
some of the following common-sense tactics should help you to get more
out of your Web experience.

 Find a working environment that works for you :-

Whether your computer is in the home or at the office, make
sure you have a comfortable work area. You should also take
steps to minimize any distractions. At work this may mean
letting voice mail handle your calls or telling your coworkers to
take their conversation elsewhere. At home this may mean
scheduling your Web use so it is not in the way of your home
life.

 Have a purpose for every visit to the Web

The basic structure of most Web pages makes it very easy to
get sidetracked. In just a few clicks you could end up in a
completely different part of the Web. Sometimes you can take
so many twists and turns that even the back button on the
browser won’t get you back to where you started. The simple
way to avoid this problem is have a clear set of goals for every
Web visit. Once you have accomplished those goals, go do
something else. If your goal is to do work, stick to work-related
subjects. If you are out to have fun, don’t try to sneak in a little
work.
  Set time limits on each Web session
Getting what you want from the Web gets easier over time. You
either figure out where the reliable sources of good information
are or you become good at the techniques for finding new
resources. If you haven’t found it by the end of your self-
imposed time limit, then it is either not on the Web or too well
hidden for you to find. In either case, once your time is up,
move on to something else.

 Use search engines to find information fast

When you are looking for a particular Web site or looking for a
site about a particular subject, search engines and directories
are the easiest way to navigate around the Web. All you do is
type in a few keywords or key phrases, and the search engine
will provide a range of pages that may satisfy your needs.

 Choose the right equipment and software

Take the time to find the hardware and software you need to
get the job done and make sure that it all works together. If you
have the chance, test the component or the system you are
considering to see if it is easy to use and meets your technical
and ease of use requirements.

 Avoid bad Web sites

This may come as a complete shock, but most Web sites are
not worth a second visit. Usually, a quick scan of a few pages is
all you need to tell if the site is worth your time. If several of the
following are true about a site, then you should avoid that site in
the future:
 The site does not have a clear purpose.
 Information on the site is out of date.
 Other sites present the same information better.
 There are a lot of graphics and other elements that add nothing to the
site.
 It is difficult to navigate around the site.
 The site contains many spelling and grammatical errors.
 Review Evaluating the Content of a Web Site for insights into how to
systematically evaluate the quality and usefulness of a site's
information.

 Bookmark sites that are particularly useful or that you visit

frequently
When you find a page or a site that is particularly useful, use your
browser's bookmarking capability to record the URL. By using the
bookmarking function, it is easy to organize your favorite links for
quick access. Review your browsers documentation to see how to
bookmark a site.

 Turn your browser's graphics capability off

The time it takes a browser to load a new page depends on the
amount of data on that page. Since graphics are often the largest part
of any page, you can speed up loading time by setting up your
browser so it does not load graphics. Once you have found what you
are looking for, you can change the settings back to normal. This is
an especially useful tactic if you are hunting through many sites
during a search for information. To learn how to turn off the graphics
capability, consult your browser’s documentation or help files.

 Use links on a site to find related information

In addition to using search engines, you can also use the links on one
site to find other worthy sites. If a site is well designed and meets
your information needs, it probably has links to related information on
similar sites.

 Find potentially useful sites from newspaper and magazine

articles
Newspapers and magazines are increasingly referring to Web sites
either as sources for a story or as sources of related information. If
the magazine or newspaper is one that you trust, then the staff has
probably reviewed the site.

Advantages of using Web : -

Communication:
The foremost target of internet has always been the communication.
And internet has excelled beyond the expectations .Still; innovations
are going on to make it faster, more reliable. By the advent of
computer’s Internet, our earth has reduced and has attained the form
of a global village.

Now we can communicate in a fraction of second with a person who

is sitting in the other part of the world. Today for better
communication, we can avail the facilities of e-mail; we can chat for
hours with our loved ones. There are plenty messenger services in
offering. With help of such services, it has become very easy to
establish a kind of global friendship where you can share your
thoughts, can explore other cultures of different ethnicity.

Information
Information is probably the biggest advantage internet is offering. The
Internet is a virtual treasure trove of information. Any kind of
information on any topic under the sun is available on the Internet.
The search engines like Google, yahoo is at your service on the
Internet. You can almost find any type of data on almost any kind of
subject that you are looking for. There is a huge amount of
information available on the internet for just about every subject
known to man, ranging from government law and services, trade fairs
and conferences, market information, new ideas and technical
support, the list is end less.

Students and children are among the top users who surf the Internet
for research. Today, it is almost required that students should use the
Internet for research for the purpose of gathering resources.
Teachers have started giving assignments that require research on
the Internet. Almost every coming day, researches on medical issues
become much easier to locate. Numerous web sites available on the
net are offering loads of information for people to research diseases
and talk to doctors online at sites such as, America’s Doctor. During
1998 over 20 million people reported going online to retrieve health
information.

Entertainment
Entertainment is another popular raison d'être why many people
prefer to surf the Internet. In fact, media of internet has become quite
successful in trapping multifaceted entertainment factor. Downloading
games, visiting chat rooms or just surfing the Web are some of the
uses people have discovered. There are numerous games that may
be downloaded from the Internet for free. The industry of online
gaming has tasted dramatic and phenomenal attention by game
lovers. Chat rooms are popular because users can meet new and
interesting people. In fact, the Internet has been successfully used by
people to find life long partners. When people surf the Web, there are
numerous things that can be found. Music, hobbies, news and more
can be found and shared on the Internet.

Services
Many services are now provided on the internet such as online
banking, job seeking, purchasing tickets for your favorite movies,
guidance services on array of topics engulfing the every aspect of life,
and hotel reservations. Often these services are not available off-line
and can cost you more.

E-Commerce
Ecommerce is the concept used for any type of commercial
maneuvering, or business deals that involves the transfer of
information across the globe via Internet. It has become a
phenomenon associated with any kind of shopping, almost anything.
You name it and Ecommerce with its giant tentacles engulfing every
single product and service will make you available at your door steps.
It has got a real amazing and wide range of products from household
needs, technology to entertainment.

Disadvantages of using Web : -

Theft of Personal information

If you use the Internet, you may be facing grave danger as your
personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc.
can be accessed by other culprits to make your problems worse.

Spamming:
Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which provide
no purpose and needlessly obstruct the entire system. Such illegal
activities can be very frustrating for you, and so instead of just
ignoring it, you should make an effort to try and stop these activities
so that using the Internet can become that much safer.

Virus threat
Virus is nothing but a program which disrupts the normal functioning
of your computer systems. Computers attached to internet are more
prone to virus attacks and they can end up into crashing your whole
hard disk, causing you considerable headache.

Pornography:
This is perhaps the biggest threat related to your children’s healthy
mental life. A very serious issue concerning the Internet. There are
thousands of pornographic sites on the Internet that can be easily
found and can be a detrimental factor to letting children use the
Internet.

Though, internet can also create havoc, destruction and its misuse
can be very fatal, the advantages of it outweigh its disadvantages.
Search Engines : -

 Google
 Yahoo
 Ask
 All the web.com
 AOL Search
 HotBot
 AltaVista
 Gigablast
 Live Search
 Look Smart
 Lycos
 Netscape Search
 Open Directory