8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The new phone book is here!, October 6, 2005
This review is from: Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages, 2006 Edition (Paperback)
So... have phone books become outdated in the world of on-line access? No, because not everyone has a computer or on-line access. But isn't a "yellow pages" of websites by subject rather useless with the abundance of search engines. Perhaps not as much as I originally thought... I got a chance to review Que's Internet Yellow Pages (2006 Edition) by Joe Kraynak, and the concept of a "paper search directory" does have a few merits...
The book (all 1100 plus pages) looks nearly identical to a real yellow pages directory. The web sites don't have ads, but the contents are listed by subject matter (like Reference or Cigars), and then the sites are listed alphabetically within those areas. Each entry has the title, the web address, and a brief description as to what the site offers (or how it's different than others like it). There are also some icons that help you get a bit more out of the directory. There's a "Best" icon given to the site that the author deems the best in that category. The dollar sign icon means you can purchase stuff on-line. The usability guide is one to five stars that rank how easy it is to find information. And finally, there are children ratings that indicate the appropriateness of the site for different age groups. It's well designed to find the information, and to get a feel for what you'll be visiting before you get there.
So back to the main issue... Why is this any different, never mind "better", than a search directory like Yahoo? It's a legitimate question, as I always used to snicker when I saw this book in the bookstores. But after leafing through the pages, I'm of a different opinion now. Online directories are driven by a single focus. You go on-line to find information about subject "X", and that's all you search for. You may miss other sites of interest due to a bad keyword choice, or you may not even know that other sites on similar subjects exist. And it's for sure you're not going to get much meta information about the site, such as the age target or how easy it is to navigate. The book gives you that advantage. And there's something to be said for finding an interesting subject and going off on a side trip that could pay unexpected benefits. Searching for specific terms make that much more unlikely. This book gives you the chance to broaden your view and allow various ideas to grab your attention...
Does this book replace or challenge Yahoo and Google? Not hardly. Searching for specific information is still something that the search engines excel in. But if you're looking for opinions on sites covering a subject, or if you just want to "surf something new that you've never though of before", the Yellow Pages might offer some interesting insights and diversions... Not a "must have" book, but it did force me to change my view and way of looking at search directories...
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, September 16, 2009
This review is from: Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages, 2006 Edition (Paperback)
I am a big fan of searching the internet, and I found this book very helpful with tons of interesting sites.
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