If 25 people were asked the question, "What do you do on the Internet?" the answers would vary widely. Some check sports scores, others read the latest news headlines, still others spend time on social media, and others mostly email friends and family. One thing that would probably show up on everyone's list, however, would be searching for information.
I can remember a time when researching a topic on the Net yielded few results, with only a couple of paragraphs of information given to the topic of interest. Today, a person can spend hours reading about everything from a medical condition to what is expected in an upcoming season of your favorite TV show.
Depending on the topic of interest, it is possible to find specialized search engines that roam the Web looking for information pertaining to a given subject. With all the ways there are to search the Internet for knowledge, one site stands out for its sheer popularity: Google.
But what can you really do with Google? Is it just a place you go to type a quick search term and get whisked off to another part of the Web to view the results of your query?
When I learned Jonathan Mosen had released a two-hour audio course called The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search that would help unlock the potential of Google, I was curious. After all, I knew Google was more than a simple webpage containing an edit box and a search button, but I had barely explored any of the site's other features. I decided it was time to get the course to see what I had been missing, and what I could learn.
Purchasing The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search Course
Available from the Mosen Consulting Store, The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search is available in two packages. You can download one large MP3 file containing the entire course, or a series of short MP3 files that divide the course into sections for easy reference. I chose to download the large MP3 file. I could have downloaded both packages for one price of $35 if I had preferred to. I found the process of purchasing and downloading the course to be hassle-free, and I was enjoying the course in no time after I made my purchase.
Beyond Google Search
The course begins by visiting the main Google page. Using Jaws 2018 and Google's own Chrome browser, Mosen takes us on a tour of Google's site, and demonstrates some features many may not have explored. I have always known it was possible to set up Google alerts, but I never actually investigated to see what I could do with them. As it turns out, there are quite a few possibilities. Should I choose to, I could have Google alert me when my name is mentioned on the Web, and I could set up certain criteria such as when my name is mentioned in conjunction with AccessWorld.
For as long as I've used Google, I've been content with the first 10 results that show up when I do a search for any topic. Until Mosen pointed it out, it hadn't really occurred to me that 10 search results is a really low number considering the power of today's computers and the speed of the Internet. It makes just as much sense to increase that number to 100.
I'd also overlooked Google's advanced search options. It's possible to be quite specific regarding what words you want to search for, as well as which words you wish to omit from your search. Mosen gives some examples, and demonstrates how a list of search results can go from almost impossible to sift through to a list of relevant results that are exactly what you are looking for.
Once your browser is set up to use Google as its default search engine, all you need to do is type your search term into the address bar. Searching from the address bar of your browser can be quite powerful, and Mosen gives a lot of examples of various searches that can be performed and provides practical examples of why and how you would go about conducting those searches.
Most of us are familiar with using words such as "AND" and "OR" when doing Google searches, but I didn't realize that those two words need to be in all caps before Google will use them to change the parameter of my searches. Another common technique is to include certain words in quotes so that Google knows they should be grouped together. A search for braille watch on the Web will yield results for everything having to do with braille and watches. Searching for "braille watch" in quotes will narrow the scope of your search to results having to do with watches designed specifically for blind people.
It is possible to set the scope of your Google search to a certain website, such as CNN.
Did you ever consider using Google as a calculator? I certainly didn't until Mosen pointed out how easy it is.
Do you need to look up the status of a flight? No problem. Google has you covered.
The Bottom Line
I say it every time I write a review of one of Mosen's courses, but his engaging style and thorough knowledge of the subject in question keep me coming back for more of his work. The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search is no exception.
When I began reading The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search in preparation for my product review for AccessWorld, I hoped to be able to learn more about how to use Google in a more powerful way to get search results that truly were relevant to what I was looking for. Mosen's course met my expectations, and I am certain that I will refer back to the reference many times in the future in order to gain a better understanding to key concepts of particular importance to me.
One mistake I made was to only download the large MP3 version of the course. Since the download link for the copy of the course expires after a certain time, go ahead and grab both versions. I plan to go back and reread certain parts of the course, and having the separate MP3 files would have made things easier. I'm not sure why this particular course is not available in DAISY format. That might be something that can be made available in the future.
Some might ask why a quick reference card couldn't be inexpensively produced that would show the proper syntax for doing Google searches. For example, typing "define: intransigent" without the quotes to get a definition of that word. While that would certainly be possible, Mosen's course provides practical examples of how to use the various search capabilities of Google, as well as suggests ways that searches can be combined to provide even more relevant results.
For $35, The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search by Jonathan Mosen is an audio course that is well worth the price. This would make a great gift idea for the student or recent graduate in your life. What a cool way to get the edge on fellow classmates or coworkers. There is no way to retain all the information packed into this two-hour reference after just one listen, so you will find yourself coming back for more nuggets of insight from Mosen.
Be sure to visit Jonathan Mosen's website to learn more about what he has to offer.
Product Information
Product: The Secret Sauce of Savvy Search audio course
Author: Jonathan Mosen
Price: $35
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
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