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Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an Internet speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. You'll see his column on REALTOR®Magazine Online every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your questions to help@askmrinternet.com.
Recent columns by Mr. Internet:
Big-Time Mail List Management
Let the Template Do the Talking
Outsourcing, Internet Style
| | You, Too, Can be Yahoo
Automating Your Research
Adapting a do-it-yourself search engine can make research easier.
DEAR MR. INTERNET:
I use content from various Web sources (like my local newspaper) to keep my own newsletter fresh. Is there some way to automate the search and retrieval process so it doesn’t take so much time?
Mark Benson, CRS, GRI
CB McFadden & Sprowls
Naples, Fla.
DEAR MARK:
Locating up-to-date information on a constantly changing site is not as straightforward as you might imagine. For example, many Web sites have on-site search features. But there's no guarantee that the site content is indexed (i.e., stored in a searchable form) frequently enough to be accurate and useful for your needs. So if you're looking for the most recent stories using keywords like "property taxes," or “school board,” you may not get them. Worse yet, if the search feature doesn't allow you to sort by date, the information you want may be buried under an avalanche of old, useless articles.
There's a very clever, and free, way to create your own indexed version of just about any site up to 1,500 pages. PicoSearch.com is a site-specific search engine service that gives you the ability to create a search capability on your Web site. But with a little ingenuity, you can re-purpose this Internet tool to make research easier. Here’s how.
1. Create your indexing account. Go to PicoSearch and create your own free account. When the set-up prompts you for the URL of the site to be indexed, put the primary Web address of the site you want to research. The prompt will then ask you to set a "spidering" restriction, which will be used by the search program to determine how far out into the Web it needs to go to find pages for indexing. I suggest choosing the "Domain Level Restriction" option as it will yield the widest possible range of pages. Next, and this is important, choose the "Build Off-Line" option. Otherwise it will tie up your Internet connection for hours.
Once you've made your choices, click the "Build Your Site" button. It may take up to 24 hours to initially set up your account and receive your ID. When you get your ID, write it down. Now log in as a registered user, and choose the "free" plan. (You will also receive an e-mail with some HTML code that would allow you to set up a search engine on your own site. Just ignore it. Otherwise you will inadvertently create a search engine for the site you want to search on your own site.)
2. Set up your search. Use the URL http://www.picosearch.com/cgibin/ts.pl?index=[your account ID] to access the actual search page for the site PicoSearch is indexing for you. Bookmark the URL for future searches, or save it as a "shortcut" on your desktop. Now you're ready to search your chosen site for specific keywords and phrases. Remember that you must re-index the site before every search to pull the most recent information from the source site. You can do this by logging on to PicoSearch, and clicking on the "Index Now" link.
If you use several research sites on a regular basis, you can duplicate the above process for each one. However, you will probably need to use slightly different versions of your name and e-mail address to create additional free accounts. This is easy to do through a free e-mail service such as “HotMail” if you have your own domain name.
Once you have this search process in place, you can easily delegate the daily search activities to an assistant or a virtual assistant you find on eLance.com. (See the May 2001 "Ask Mr. Internet," Outsourcing, Internet Style , for more on finding and using virtual assistants.
While setting up a personalized search engine won’t completely automate the research process, it will reduce the time you spend on finding interesting data for your clients. The Internet is just brimming with opportunities like this; the fun part begins with finding them!
Tip of the Month
In the past, America Online users had a tough time if they wanted to switch to another Internet service provider because AOL would not automatically forward e-mail to another address. This meant that you had to manually forward each message until your correspondents knew your new e-mail address. It was a tedious process that could go on for months.
Not anymore, thanks to a service called Re-Route.com. This very affordable service (as of this writing, about $25 for three months use) will automatically forward your e-mail from any Web-based ISP, including AOL, to your new e-mail address. It will also send an e-mail "change of address" notice to all senders so they can make the adjustment in their own e-mail address books. With Re-Route.com you can finally say "adios" to AOL.*
Article Resources
PicoSearch.com: This site enables you to set up any number of free site-specific search engines to help you do research. The site also provides a way to set up a search engine on your own site to help your site visitors find what they are looking for.
*Mr. Internet , the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, nor any of the staff or officers of RUSSER Communications receive any compensation whatsoever from this or any other vendors that participate in the e-Bate program. | |
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