Vol. 2, No. 29
TODAY'S LESSON: Surfing and Searching

With all the international strife and scandals in the news, it feels like this year is off to an ominous start. So perhaps it's time to take a deep breath and a little break from the working world. Instead of building out a new section to your website or fixing all its bugs, take a few hours to spin around the Web and look for some inspiration in your creative pursuits.

The problem some people have with Web surfing is they don't have an agenda. Some might say that's the beauty of the Web, the aimless, free-floating,unpredictable nature of hyperlinking the hours away. But there's a way you can have your cake and eat it, too. Instead of going willy-nilly around the Web, think about some of the projects or technologies you're interested in, and then find some sites that might give you new design or development ideas.

We'll call it productive slackerdom.

>>> Entertainment <<<

Although the Web as an entertainment medium is only beginning to take shape, there are some impressive sites out there where you can check out short movies, music videos, animations, and everything inbetween. If you've never entertained the idea of creating your own multimedia project, maybe you'll get some ideas from these sites.

"Entertainment TV"
Lycos' Entertainment site has a smorgasboard of movie trailers, animations, extreme sports and music videos. There's an all-in-one player that brings it all to the same screen.

"Old School Multimedia"
Back in the early days of Wired, the RGB Gallery hosted some cutting-edge Web art, and it stands the test of time pretty well. Each piece is a clever interactive experiment a multi-sensory adventure. So let your mouse do the walking through this series of otherworldly exhibits.

"Tunes"
You know, music is free on the Internet. Well, sort of. Many independent artists, and even some big-name musicians, make music available for free download in the form of MP3 files. You won't know what's out there unless you look.

>>> Search and Link <<<

If none of the stuff on those sites floats your boat, there are plenty of other creative sites out there, it's just a matter of finding them. If you are familiar with Boolean and exact phrase searches, you have a leg up in the game. On the other hand, if Web searching is a mystery to you, let the search engines help drive you along.

"Search 101"
If you're unsure about where to start searching on the Web, check out all the categories in the Hotbot directory. From "investing" to "video games" to "religion", there's a lot of turf to cover.

"Advanced Search"
There are some websites that are hard to find unless you know how to hunt them down. The advanced Lycos search page will lead you to FTP, MP3 and multimedia sites that might be hiding in the weeds.

"Link Exchange"
If some of the sites you run across are similar to your own, it's possible to set up a link exchange system with them, which benefits everyone involved. There are differen types of link programs, depending on your goals.

1. When your dabbling in multimedia files on the Web, you're bound to run into some file formats that are unfamiliar. Sometimes they will automatically launch a media player, other times they will play dead. It's helpful to have a reference chart to see what's what.

2. Exact Phrase is useful when searching for proper names, particularly a name such as River Phoenix (which when searched as individual words can lead to Web pages about tributaries near Phoenix, Arizona). Likewise, searching for the phrase Ronald Reagan can eliminate pages about what may have happened to other guys named Ronald during the Reagan era. But sometimes Exact Phrase is too exact: Search for the phrase Apple Pie and you may miss a tasty recipe for Apple Pecan Pie.

3. Spring training is just starting up in baseball. If you're not sure who to root for this year, go with a team that shows consistency over the long haul. Like the Chicago Cubs, for example, a team that hasn't won the World Series 93 years in a row.

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