Finding a number of frequently visited websites can take time or require keeping a list of web addresses handy. Web browser history can be long if it is used to store site locations. Then there are those Internet searches that take time to find the desired result and may have to be run several times before the research is complete. What can be done to save time online? Choosing options to save time performing searches and finding site addresses can help save time in the future.
If the same websites are visited frequently, bookmark them instead of keeping a list of URLs (uniform resource locater) somewhere. Use your web browser’s bookmark feature (or IE’s Add to Favorites) to save URLs with an appropriate name for quick access. Another option is to find a social bookmarking site that has all your favorite pages. Find the book marking site that best suits your personal needs for easy scanning and reading. When bookmarking URLs, bookmark either the home page of the website or the page that should be most referenced on the website.
If research requires multiple search engines, switch to a metasearch site that checks multiple search engines, or create a bookmarks/favorites folder with your primary search URLs for quick access. Two well-known meta crawlers are metacrawler.com and mamma.com. Many search engines offer search suggestions to narrow the results when you write a request for information. Take advantage of these suggestions to get more accurate results. Some search engines keep a temporary history of recent searches so they can be replayed later. This can be helpful when interrupted during an Internet research project. Usually, the history is deleted after closing the browser.
If multiple blogs or news sites are reviewed regularly, either set them all up to be displayed together under a specific account on a site like technorati.com, or if the news site offers a free RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, use this option. Both options return the latest information instantly via an RSS feed reader or to a specific site’s account. Depending on the site’s RSS feed or subscription code settings, updates may go directly from the site to email, another website, or require a compatible RSS feed reader for immediate display. Using RSS means you no longer have to keep revisiting a website to see updates. RSS options save both time and keystrokes.
In addition to saving time, using the site review or search options above keeps your browser history clean and short. When it comes to time management, make the right choice for Internet search to both reduce and focus research results.
