Last week, I wrote about Gary Price, Web hero. This week, it’s Tara Calishain, Web heroine. From her base in Raleigh, N.C., she has helped make sense of the Internet for thousands of her fans. If you aren’t a fan yet, it’s time to become one. “I really, really love helping people use the Web better,” she says. Her enthusiasm is infectious whether you are reading her words online or talking to her on the phone.
There are several ways to tap into Calishain’s legendary Web knowledge.
- ResearchBuzz: This is a blog that keeps track of news about search engines, databases, and other online developments. She test drives all the sites and services she reviews and gives you unvarnished pros and cons in an easy-to-understand manner. If you can’t visit it regularly, you can subscribe to her free weekly roundup on items from the blog (subscription info on the left side of ResearchBuzz). I am one of 15,000 or so subscribers to the newsletter, which was started in October 1998 and just wrapped up its 300th edition. I have received countless story ideas and research help tips from the newsletter.
- ResearchBuzz Extra: A premium service that offers plenty of material not available in the free version. It costs $20 a year for students, librarians, and educators, $30 for everyone else.
- Google Hacks: A book, published in 2003, that she co-wrote with Rael Dornfest about tips and tricks for power users to access Google’ database. The material is aimed at the techies among us, but if you are feeling adventurous, it’s worth a look.
And now Calishain has written a new book called Web Search Garage that I recommend to journalists, writers, and researchers (Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Sept. 2004, $19.99, softcover). Here’s what it promises: “If you thought that Internet searching was just about plugging in a couple of terms into a search engine, think again. Web Search Garage will teach you to search more efficiently — helping you find what you need faster — by teaching you 11 principles of Internet searching.”
One of those principles, “The Principle of Onions,” is an example of how well Calishain understands Web searching. “When searching, it’s better to start with very specific search queries and then get more and more general. If you start with more general queries you will tend to get overwhelmed with results.” She then goes on to provide specific examples of how you can find what you’re searching for more quickly.
Calishain strongly believes in giving away free materials, as her 300 editions of ResearchBuzz prove. She is doing the same when it comes to promoting the book. On WebSearchGarage.com, you get links to places you can buy the book, but you also you get free access to the “Principle of Onions” chapter (in PDF) as well as two other PDF “goodies” (as she calls them) not in the book: “Four Things Yahoo Can Do that Google Can’t” and “Seven Ways to Save Time Searching.”
And finally, if you have never seen it before, make sure you visit Cookin’ With Google, Calishain’s fun, funny reverse cookbook (one of Time’s 50 Coolest Websites for 2004).
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