Hi, today I’m doing kind of a quick review of a book called The Joy of Search that I’m reading right now. Actually, I haven’t finished it, but I want to talk about it because really it’s the kind of book that you benefit from by doing the exercises while you read it.
And I haven’t worked my way through all of them yet, but they’re real cool. It’s a book written by somebody who used to work at Google. I think he used to work there. I’m not sure, but he is associated with or was associated with Google. And this book goes into various search methods to find different things, which is really of interest to me as a researcher and a person who went to library school. So, anyway, I will just show you an example.
Each chapter goes into a particular type of search he did for something and then he gives an example of it at the end of each chapter. Like here he had Notre Dame Cathedral and he says, identify the bridge right there with that view. So I was like, “Oh, that’s kind of interesting.”
So I went in and did it and you follow the tips in the book and it’s real easy and it just makes search really fun. And it shows you how you can use search engines to find things that are accurate. That’s another thing when people do a searches, the main concern I think is the accuracy of the information they find and understanding what is and isn’t an accurate source is so important when it comes to Internet searching.
Anyway, I like this book a lot. I think it’s the kind of book that should be used probably in classrooms to help people learn how to search. But that’s just me talking. What do I know? I’m not an educator, not a professional educator, I guess. Anyway. I do teach classes online though, so maybe I am an educator. I don’t know. I mean I have knowledge, right?
So, well anyway, having said all that and blundered to this part, I just want to say thanks for listening and if you enjoyed this at all, please subscribe or like the video. Thanks, and I’ll talk to you later!
PS: By the way, the author is Daniel M. Russell, who is Senior Research Scientist for Search Quality and User Happiness at Google. So yes, he works at Google. He has taught many classes on search methods, and more than four million students have taken his online power searching course. I can believe that—if this book is any indication of his teaching method, I can believe that he’s a great teacher. That’s it. Thanks.
