Week 5: Search Engines and the Wide Availability of Information

Search engines have made any kind of information available at our fingertips. The Web would be of limited use without search engines. Search engines are our GPS systems for finding information on the Web. In the real world, if you don't have a GPS system and don't know where you are going, you have to either ask somebody or buy a map. On the Web, search engines are our GPS systems, our maps, and the person whom we ask for directions on how to get to the information we need.

Most industries have greatly benefited from the wide availability of online information, which has been made possible through the use of search engines. Education and politics are probably the sectors of society that have benefited the most from it.

Online classes and online libraries made it possible for college students to balance their busy work and family schedules with getting a degree. Issues like copyright infringement and plagiarism related to school work have vastly diminished in the last few years due to the use of software by instructors to detect if plagiarism has been committed. Schools have cracked down on online plagiarism and the penalties are severe, which have prevented students from doing so.

Readily available online information forces politicians to be held accountable for their acts and promises. You can go back and search for a speech a candidate gave before he got elected to office to find out if he has carried out on his promises. Chances are you will be disappointed regardless of your party affiliation. However, during a presidential campaign, having information readily available helps you to make an informed decision about who the best candidate is. You can search for a candidate's record on any particular issue, and then compare his position a few years ago with his position now on that issue.

The news industry has had mixed results with that, however. As mentioned in previous posts, the printed press, if not smart enough to cope and adjust with this new information age, will not be able to compete with the online version of their publications. A lot of newspapers are no longer in circulation. It is up to us, readers, to check and question the validity and credibility of the news being posted online.