The 3 S's: Surf, Save, and Share

Let's face it, the Internet is a mess. There are millions of web pages out in cyberspace and no human can possibly surf and read them all. So when you find a real cool site, you need to mark it, save it, and share it with a friend.

Surfing the Internet using one of the several web browsers will allow you to search for appropriate web sites. You can find tons of useful information such as college home pages (see an example) and important research being done at universities (see another example). There is also large amount of pointless information out there including useless pages which seem to be created by certain college students with too much time on their hands. Although search engines are a great way to find information, it is easy to become completely lost by over-linking. Over-linking is the condition in which you get lost jumping from one web page to the next and cannot retrace your steps to the really important sites. For instance, you know you've gone too far when you were reseaching financial aid and you ended up visiting The Burrito Page.

For this reason, it is important to save or "bookmark" the sites that really interest you and you plan to visit over and over again (even if it is The Burrito Page.) Different web browsers have different terms for saved web locations. Netscape, for example, calls saved web sites "bookmarks"; Microsoft Explorer and AOL's web browser call them "favorite sites." Marking web locations can save you time and aggravation by eliminating the need to search again and again for or type in the address (URL) of your favorite sites. Saving your favorite sites is similar to programming your most frequently called telephone numbers into your phone. Not only do you not have to remember the site's URL but they can be easily accessed with one easy click.

Since there are so many cool sites on the Internet and you have a multitude of interests, it is easy to go a little crazy and bookmark an enormous amount of sites. I suggest you organize your saved web sites in different categories or folders. For instance, my Netscape bookmarks related to going to college are in three different folders: college admissions, careers, and financial aid. Under each folder I've saved and sorted dozens of my favorite web sites. The better organized your bookmarks, the easier it will be to find the site you need when you need it.

After you have bookmarked some of the best sites on the web, you'll probably want to share your wealth of knowledge with others. There are several ways to pass on your bookmarks to a friend. You can write down the URLs of each site, though this can be time consuming and you might make mistake like omitting a dot or a slash. Another option is to give them your entire set of bookmarks on a disk or send them through e-mail. If you use Netscape, choose "save as" from the file menu and save your bookmarks on a disk as a html file.

Everywhere on the Internet there are people wanting to share with you their favorite sites. Many pages offer you lists of Hot Links or What's Cool. Take advantage of these lists, you'll find a web site that interests you.
 
 

As always, please continue to e-mail (drkenhartman@yahoo.com) your web stories and your favorite web sites.

Happy surfing.

Dr. Ken
 


Purchase Dr. Ken's new book, Internet Guide for College-Bound Students, on-line at Amazon.Com or at your local bookstore.