The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher [Paperback]

Randolph Hock (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0910965846 | ISBN-13: 978-0910965842 | Publication Date: February 8, 2010 | Edition: Third edition

An essential guide for anyone who conducts research on the internet—including librarians, teachers, students, business professionals, and writers—this fully revised handbook details what users must know to take full advantage of internet search tools and resources. From the latest online tools to the new and enhanced services offered by standbys Google and Yahoo!, the major search engines and their myriad of possibilities are thoroughly discussed. This revamped edition also features chapters on popular social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well as a collection of up-to-date screenshots for visual reference. For those with little to moderate searching experience, friendly, easy-to-follow guidelines to the world of Web research are provided, while experienced searchers will discover new perspectives on content and techniques. A link to the “Extreme Searcher’s Web Page”—featuring additional resources, updates, and news—is also included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Randolph Hock teaches customized courses on how to use the internet effectively through his company, Online Strategies. He is the author of The Extreme Searcher’s Guide to Web Search Engines, The Traveler’s Web, and Yahoo! to the Max. He lives in Vienna, Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Information Today, Inc.; Third edition edition (February 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910965846
• ISBN-13: 978-0910965842
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Computers & Technology > Home Computing > Internet > Online Searching

More About the Author

Ran Hock divides his work time between writing and teaching. On the teaching side, he specializes in customized courses teaching people how to use the Internet effectively (through his one-person company, Online Strategies). His courses have been offered--in the U.S. and eleven other countries -- to companies, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, schools, universities, and associations. On the writing side, he has written The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook (now in its Third Edition, CyberAge Books, 2010), The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines (CyberAge Books, 1999, 2001), Yahoo! to the Max (CyberAge Books, 2005), and The Traveler's Web (CyberAge Books, 2007). He has also been a chemistry teacher, a librarian at two universities, and has held training and management positions with DIALOG Information Services and Knight-Ridder Information. He lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife, Pamela, and they have two sons, Matthew and Stephen, and one daughter, Elizabeth. One of Ran's passions is travel, and he hopes to someday also have time to return to his hobby of genealogy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource, December 22, 2010

By 

William Corsair "Will" (Leavenworth County, KS USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher (Paperback)

Rand Hock does it again. This thoroughly updated version (I've had the previous two) is a terrific start to using the web as a research tool. From portals to search engines to listservs to a/v file sources, Hock does a masterful job of not only pointing you in the right direction, but giving you the context for the search so that you can feel more comfortable the next time.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Become an Extreme Searcher, February 24, 2011

By 

Alain B. Burrese "Author, Speaker, Mediator, ... (Missoula, MT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher (Paperback)

Looking for something on the Internet and need more than the results you find with a quick Google or Bing search? If so, this might be just the book you are looking for. "The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide For The Serious Searcher" by Randolph Hock is touted as the essential guide for anyone who uses the internet for research - librarians, teachers, students, writers, business professionals, and others who need to search the web proficiently. The book provides strategies and tools (including search engines, portals, and social networks) for all major areas of internet content. The author explains how and when to go beyond the leading search engines and offers techniques for using Web 2.0 resources like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and more.

Here is the really great thing about this book. Hock has organized it very well, so you can easily find what you are looking for, and the book is also written for everyone. Don't worry, you don't need to be a computer geek to understand this book. In fact, it is written for the non techie or geek, and for anyone who just wants to use the internet and web to locate information. Again, the book is organized well. It starts with a detailed table of contents, then a listing of the figures and tables in the book, a foreword and then introduction that includes a brief overview of the chapters and some advice on proceeding. There is also a page about the web page that accompanies this book that you will most likely want to check out. I'm planning on using it.

The book is divided into ten chapters that focus on the basics for the serious searcher; directories and portals; the basics about search engines; more specifics about search engines; discussion groups, forums, newsgroups, and their relatives; an internet reference shelf; sights and sounds, or how to find images, audio and video; news resources; finding products online, and your own place on the web, participating and publishing. All of these chapters contain many websites and a lot of practical information regarding finding what you are looking for. There are so many different places to look for things, and this guide really does help you figure out the best places to look for what you need. In the back, there is a list of all the sites covered in the book, and if you visit the accompanying website, the links are provided there.

Easy enough for the novice, but with ideas that even experts may not know about, this book contains the information to make anyone an advanced expert at finding things on the internet, or in other words, an extreme searcher.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, March 13, 2011

By 

Bluefish (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher (Paperback)

This was a required text for a university course dealing with databases and webliogrphies. This book was a great indtroduction for a novice like myself. I highly recommend it.