Tag: Google Search

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Top 10 Google Search Tricks

We all know Google as a search engine but we haven’t tried to explore its features in depth. I’m amazed to know about little tricks that Google search bar incorporates. Not so many people know the little tricks you can use to get more out of a simple Google search. Following are the top ten Google search tricks:

1. Use the “site:” operator to limit searches to a particular site. I use this one all the time, and it’s particularly handy because many site’s built-in search tools don’t return the results you’re looking for (and some sites don’t even have a search feature). If I’m looking for Google related posts from UltraSpectra’ blog, for example, I could try this search: Google site:ultraspectra.com
2. Search within numerical ranges using the " .. " operator. Say, for example, you want to look for information about Pakistani blogs and their progress between 2009 till 2010, you could use this search: "Pakistani Blogs" 2009 .. 2010
3. Use Google as a calculator. Google has a built-in calculator — try entering a calculation like 110 * (654/8 + 3). Yes, your computer also has a calculator, but if you spend most of your day inside a browser, typing your calculation into the browser’s search box is quicker than firing up your calculator app.
4. Get quick currency conversions. Google can also do currency conversion, for example: 5000 Pakistani rupees in dollars. It only has the more mainstream currencies.
5. Use Google as a spelling aid. Entering a word into Google is a quick way to see if you have the right spelling. If it’s incorrect, Google will suggest the correct spelling instead. Additionally, if you want to get a definition of a word, you can use the “define:” operator to return definitions from various dictionaries (for example, define:blogging).
6. Use the "OR" operator. This can be useful if you’re looking at researching a topic but you’re not sure which keywords will return the information you need. It can be particularly handy in conjunction with the “site:” operator. For example, you could try this search: Google Or "Google X" site:ultraspectra.com
7. Find out what time it is anywhere in the world. This one’s really handy if you want to make sure that you’re not phoning someone in the middle of the night. Just search for “time” and then the name of the city. For example, try: time Islamabad
8. Exclude specific terms with the "–" operator. You can narrow your searches using this operator. For example, if you’re looking for information about UltraSpectra but don’t want any discussion related to Google, you could try: “ultraspectra.com” –google
9. Search for specific document types. Google can search the web for specific types of files using the “filetype:” operator. If you’re looking for PPT files about Blogging, for example, you could try: "blogging" filetype:ppt
10. Area code lookup. Need to know where a phone number is located? Google will let you know where it is, and show you a map of the area, too. For example: 831. But this only works with the US area codes.

Now if you know any Google Search Trick you can share with the readers here. What are your favorite Google search tricks?

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Why Google+ Should be Your Next Choice

After one month with Google+, it's clear that sending updates to certain groups of people and not to others is the main appeal of the service. You can do some of the same thing on Facebook, but so few people know this that it's basically a nonexistent feature; that's the problem with Facebook. With Google+, sending out certain updates to some people and other updates to other people is right at the forefront of the experience. You are always asked to make a conscious decision about your social circles and about which circles get to see which posts.

Some people don't like this approach but it is going to take a while. Google's previous social network, Orkut, failed to impress , and the prospect of dedicating your time to wherein you would interact with the same people you already know through Facebook or Twitter was not so appealing - yet!

The thing all of us fail to notice is that Google+'s Circles translate to Facebook's lists but not to Groups. Google+ prompts users to categorize every single person in their life into some sort of Circle, and those people won't be able to see any of your non-public posts unless you do so. On Facebook, lists are virtually unknown (and are in the process of being supplanted by Facebook Groups) and Facebook users are subconsciously pushed toward public disclosure thanks to default settings and the general UI. Google+ takes the opposite approach; the predominant thought when you go to make a Google+ post is, "Who exactly will see this?"

Because Google+ pushes the Circles so hard, divvying up your posts among different groups of people is at the forefront of the experience. Those who find this laborious tend to be heavy Facebook users, which is understandable—they're not used to facing this decision every time they make a post, and it's undoubtedly annoying to them. But for those of us who have always been trying to find ways to share information with friends while limiting exposure to others, Circles can be a blessing. Simply forcing users to always think about the distribution of their posts is in itself good for privacy.

Compare this to Twitter. Some people like to maintain two (or more) Twitter accounts in order to separate out different aspects of their lives. This has been going on since the beginning of Twitter, but seems to have increased in recent years over increased awareness about privacy. Someone might have a private account for close personal friends but still maintain a public account for everyone else; someone else might have an account for just his own musings while maintaining a second for links he wants to share.

There are other benefits, too. There's no character limit to Google+ posts, meaning that you have much more freedom than the 140 characters allowed by Twitter and the 400 character limit imposed by Facebook. This provides the freedom to treat Google+ like a blog, but most people don't (yet) do so, and it's not particularly annoying at this point.

There's also the (wondrous) ability to "mute" posts on Google+. You know how you "Like" a friend's photo on Facebook, only to get alerts for every single one of that person's 300 family members when they end up commenting on the picture and arguing over whose body part is in the corner? Imagine if you could simply hit a button to ensure that you never have to hear about that post ever again—even if it's your own post. We're not talking about blocking certain users—sometimes you want to keep a person around, but you just don't want to hear about a topic anymore.