One of the worst things about surfing the web, is you are usually looking for something at the time,
and you can't find that specific topic. Your first natural thought is to turn to a search engine (i.e.:
Google, Dog Pile, Yahoo, and many more), but the result that awaits you at the end of your search is
usually thousands upon thousands of websites that have nothing to do with the subject that you were
searching for. Is it the search engine's fault or yours? Is there a way that the results could be
lowered to only show websites related directly to the subject you were originally searching for? While
the answer is no to most of those, you can use these simple steps to make the results a little bit
more generalized, and hopefully you can find what you are looking for a little bit faster. As a member
of the Awards Team, I have been using search engines and other tools to find Sci-Fi websites for almost
two years. I would be crazy if I hadn't learned a few tricks of the trade during all that time. Luckyily
for you, I'm willing to share!
One of the easiest ways to shorten your results is to be direct as possible with your entries for the
search. Let us use the example that you're looking for a website on Commander William T. Riker on "Star
Trek: The Next Generation" and the actor that plays him. If you just put 'Star Trek' as your entry, you'd
get any results that were even remotely related to the franchise. Be short and concise, but as direct as
possible. Using our example, the best way to start the search is to use 'Commander William T. Riker'
for the character, or 'Jonathan Frakes' for the actor. If that doesn't bring the results you want,
broaden your search by using 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'.
Several times, I have heard people complain about search engines and the mindless hours they spend
sifting through the results they were given. I've always been shocked to hear that they have never heard
about using quotation marks (") around the subject. Many people know that this is an easy and quick way
to cut down on all of the unwanted websites. So, instead of writing Commander William T. Riker, you would
write "Commander William T. Riker" in the search entry. This tells the search engine that you want
websites with those words and those words ONLY.
The last suggestion I have for you to take on your hunt is to be creative. There are methods out there
to find the websites you want other than search engines. They are great and powerful tools, but some are
very picky about which websites they allow to be in their search possibilities (although sometimes you
can't believe that given what crap you end up getting during the search). There are websites dedicated
to a link page for only one topic, and they usually take the time to break it down into subjects. Even
if you find just one website in your search, why not try the links? Usually a high-quality website will
have links that match it better. Keep that in mind next time you are ready to give up all hope in
finding something on that one topic.
In the Awards Team's own pursuit of the great Sci-Fi website, we have found some great winners that will
hopefully keep you from having to resort to the search engines for awhile. For the first time since I've
taken over this team, the Sci-Fi category has taken the lead with the LOTR Fanatics Website with their
great flash, organization, and enough information to keep any fan updated. Portraits of Collinwood and
Battlestar Galactica finished out that category with a look back on some Sci-Fi classics! Trek 47
finished first in the Star Trek category with Subspace Relay and Original Trek following! Star Wars gave
all the categories a fight with Star Wars - Unknown, Anakin And His Angel, and Simply Hayden. Once
again, we are reminded of the talent right here in our website in the OTF Members category with U.S.S.
Endeavour, Blue Strawberries, and Aussie Lore's Biggest Mistake Yet. Find these websites and more on the
Awards Team's Website
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