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The Internet - A Community of the World

Learn these easy steps to conduct your research:

A.

1. Consult general reference works to gain background information and basic facts, bibliographies, computerized data bases and other sources.

2. Use Almanacs and Yearbooks to provide up-to-date information on any topic along with statistical facts.

Atlases like the Hammond Atlas, the National Geographic Atlas of the World, and the New York Times Atlas of the World can help you identify places anywhere in the world and provide information about climate, places, and industry.

3. Consult Biographical Dictionaries ( noted authors of all time and contemporary authors), dictionaries (give correct usage of words and some information), and Encyclopedias (provide primary information and explanations). Random House and the new Columbia Encyclopedia give brief overviews. Collier's and Encyclopedia Britannica contain more detailed information.

4. Find specialized reference works

Bibliographies and indexes are tools. They help locate books and periodicals like magazines, newspapers, etc.

B.Computerized Resources

1. Databases are large collections of electronically stored information that function like indexes. Many library catalogs today are computerized as well, in the form of online databases.

Internet links, websites, and blogs are sources of additional and updated information.

Searching for works that are relevant to your topic is called browsing.

Most online catalogs allow you to perform key word searches. Making your keyword specific as possible will result in the most useful list.

Other sources of information are documentaries, surveys, special/rare articles/book collections.

2. Searching Online

The internet is a vast network of networks.

It is composed of the Electronic Mail (e-mail) where you can send electronic messages to any of millions of people around the world, newsgroups and blogs which serves as public bulletins, among others.

3. World Wide Web

While the rest of the Net is primarily text-based, the Web employs texts, pictures, graphics, videos, and more.

Web pages are linked to the others. To read Web pages, you need a browser program like the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Yahoo! Web crawlers also search the Web and a number of web tools, pages and links.

4. Evaluating

The more you research, the more expert you become at determining whether a source is useful.

Know the subject. Is the subject directly related to my research question? Does it provide information that support my view?

How about the author? What do I already know about the author's reputation? Is the author cited by other sources? Am I aware of any biases that might limit the author's credibility?

When was the source published (date)?

Who published the source (publisher)?

The electronic address suffix

.edu educational institution
.com commercial or business
.gov government
.mil military
.net various types of networks
.org nonprofit organizations

Check this:

How dated or current is the information?
How literate or accurate is the site?

In college research papers, the original published source will be considered somewhat more reliable. The fact that it is duplicated on a Web page (ownership to original author/writer) is a testimony to further texts/manuscript utility.

Rose Flores - Martinez
RoseVoc2 http://rosevoc2.wordpress.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Internet---A-Community-of-the-World&id=5030002] The Internet - A Community of the World

E-Business Development - Crowdsourcing Business Strategy

E business is constantly evolving. The crowdsourcing model with its internet rich community of volunteers and followers has proven to be a platform that will enhance e business development. As defined by wikipedia.org, "Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to a large group of people or community (a crowd), through an open call".

An example of this; Wikipedia.org itself. Wikipedia.org is an online free encyclopedia where anyone and everyone is invited to participate. In doing so, the "crowd" has become the author of the largest encyclopedia to date. At the time of this writing, there exists 3,384,039 articles in English alone. This is just since 2001, when Wikipedia was first launched by its founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

Wikipedia.org paved the way for many other peer to peer sites and opening the ebusiness world up to a multitude of possibilities. Crowdsourcing has developed a new opportunity for ebusiness owners who want to showcase their expertise.WikiHow for example, a How-to encyclopedia created for and by the crowd allows you to learn about different techniques and articles. The site ranges from, How to win big in Vegas to how to knit your baby's first sweater. Ebay created ebaywiki where it educates its members on "buying and selling photography" (find another example)

What is fascinating about this particular business model is the drive so many have to contribute. Volunteerism is driven my a sense of purpose and community involvement. Wikipedia and many others, which use crowdsourcing as their model for growth have grown exponentially in the last few years and many believe the trend is here to stay.

Crowdsourcing, sustains itself on trust and purpose, making this a true paradigm shift for the economic belief that people are driven by monetary compensation. The community "trusts" its members because they know those who contribute (for the most part) are driven by passion and not monetary gain. BitTorrent, for example is a social site which helps people share music from one another. Music unites people and having the ability to tap into music experts in order to discover new artists and music genres is a luxury even the most deaf tone person can appreciate because through the wisdom of crowds comes the increased wisdom of each individual community member.

Epinions consists solely of reviews and ratings. This allows for people to search reviews they trust and who share similar interests. Therefore, introducing them to new products or experiences. Epinions now goes a step further...You can even review the Reviewer!

Forums and reviews have become popular because of two main reasons: people seek experts for advice, and people want to be seen as experts themselves.

No longer must you feel like you do not have an area of expertise because you can turn your hobby into your Niche specialty and allow others to seek your advice.

Consumers shop differently now. They no longer shop at a bricks and mortar, they shop online. Not just online, but from one another. Non-affiliated private consumers as in the case of ebay.com.

We now live in the age of Transparency. Buyers are more educated because their knowledge base has increased through the interaction of online communities writing reviews, answering questions for one another. Consumers are now more apt to research forums to get the inside "scoop" on products and their developments. Companies have become more savvy to this trend and have now begun interacting with their customers online. Developers are beginning to interact with their "fans" online and involving them in the production process.

This is genius! Can you imagine being part of the process of creating your favorite music video? This is where the trend is going....it is you who decides...the crowd. And when the crowd feels heard acknowledged and looked after... the lines start forming. Buyers are literally waiting in line or should I say "on-line" for products to come out of production. Production they have been in the trenches with, with products they have helped develop. Along the way building loyalty for the companies' brand and product line. Crowdsourcing is the perfect integration of online and offline merging together in the development of e business.

Mommy, CEO is an e business development consultant specializing in e commerce marketing strategies for small businesses. Many of the tools available on the sites listed below are free and useful to the development of your online business. http://www.ebusinessdevelopmentconsultant.com/ http://www.ebusinessdevelopmentconsultant.com/uncategorized/e-business-develo...

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