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What’s better, Niche or General Group Buying Sites?

April 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many consumers have learned that they can save a lot of money by using group buying sites. As this trend continues, though, people confront a larger number of group buying options. Some of these sites focus on general group buying while others concentrate on niche markets. That has left many consumers wondering whether it’s better to use niche or general group buying sites.

Location, Location, Location

The biggest group buying sites, such as Groupon and Living Social, have already found that they can serve their clients better by focusing on local business promotion. Focusing on small, local businesses makes it possible for group buying sites to reach a larger number of consumers and acquire more clients in need of strong marketing services.

The focus on local businesses means that a person living in Denver, CO doesn’t get the same deals as someone living in New York City. Consumers find this useful because they get to take advantage of deals that appeal to them. The success of these marketing campaigns suggests that group buying sites will continue to grow by expanding into new communities and focusing on the local businesses there.

Ruling the Niche

Niche group buying sites have also shown that they can offer consumers and businesses the services that they need most. Gourmet food lovers, for instance, probably don’t want deals for cheap eats at greasy spoons. By signing up for a group buying site that focuses on their specific interests, lovers of gourmet food can get the deals that interest them rather than sifting through unappealing offers.

The appeal of niche marketing even has many people wondering whether Groupon and Living Social will eventually need to segment themselves into smaller, more focused categories. Living Social already has a site that exclusively offers deals to travelers. It’s possible that consumers will see more of this in the future.

Some of the top niche group buying sites that might interest you include

●      Parents Deals – focuses on deals for parents

●      Green Deals – offers deals for consumers concerned about the environment

●      Jdeal – concentrates on deals for Jewish consumers

Getting the Best Deals

There are plenty of group buying sites that already focus on niche markets. Searching for sites that focus on your interests will help you take advantage of the best deals. You can find sites that focus on camping, travel, food, video games, and just about anything else that you can think of.

What niche markets should group buying sites focus on to interest you?

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Where to Find Websites with Good Opinions and Good Perspectives

February 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are doing research, sometimes you need to find opinions about issues. This may be to get a different opinion from your own, or maybe you need to be able to provide more than one perspective on an issue. Finding well written opinions on the internet can be difficult since there are so many people out there giving their opinions.

If you have been struggling to find opinion pieces on the internet check out some of these websites. They will give you a good starting spot for many different subjects.

  • HeadlineSpot Opinion/Editorials. This website has a huge list of US newspapers and the links will get your right to the editorials and the opinion pieces. There are also some international newspapers listed.
  • PollingReport. This sites gives the results of many different surveys given to US residents. There are surveys on everything from politics, to business, and education.
  • Newspaperindex. This website offers newspapers from different countries all over the world. The countries are organized in alphabetical order so you can easily look for a specific country.
  • Social Issue. This website was developed for high school students who need to find information on different social issues. Each topic offers information and links to both sides of the issue. It also will get them to any court cases or decisions that may have affected the issue at any time. Even though this was developed for high school students, it is a great resource for all ages.
  • Publicagenda. This site gives a good analysis for social issues and where the public stands on them. There are pros and cons for each issue with links to organizations that support them. You can also decide what kind of information you need.

There is a lot of information on the internet, and a lot of it is well written and legitimate. Just make sure to verify all your sources to make sure they are coming from someone who knows what they are talking about.

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Good References on the Web

February 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are looking for information on the internet and you are not sure where to start, you can use some of these. Here is a list of websites with credible reference information that can be used. Some of these may require a subscription in order to use the full versions, while others are free and open to all users.

  • Encyclopedia Britannica. This is the same encyclopedia that you would find in print, but just the online version. You do need to sign up for a subscription, but there is a free trial period you can take advantage of if you only need to use it for a short time.
  • Encyclopedia.com. This has thousands of articles that are provided by several different trusted sources. Some of the sources include The Columbia Encyclopedia, Medical Encyclopedias, Websters Dictionary, The Oxford Pocket Dictionary, and several others. You can find a list of the references at the bottom of the landing page.
  • Purdue University Reference. This is a pretty comprehensive site full of reference material. There is quite a bit that is local to Purdue and the area, but there is also a lot of other information as well.
  • Educator’s Reference Desk. This is a great resource for teachers and educators. It includes tips on teaching, lesson plans, education standards, and many other resources for all different grades. The page was developed by the Information Institute of Syracuse.
  • The Internet Public Library. This is a web based library that puts all kinds of reference materials right at your fingertips. It has links to credible material in any subject you could possibly think of. You can look for information by subject, or look for newspaper and magazines. There is also a section for kids and a section for teenagers.
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Finding Academic Sources Online

February 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The first place many people turn these days when they need to find information is the internet. This is the case for not only general users, but also college students who are researching papers for their classes. The internet is full of good information, but finding good sources for academic papers can be difficult. If you can’t get to the library to talk to a reference librarian, here is the next best thing you can do.

Even though there are great search engines out there with tons of information, the majority of academic journals do not put their articles online without requiring some kind of payment. When you do a general search you will probably not have much luck finding these.

The best way to go about finding them is to access the database from a library. You can try your local library or a library in your state to start. They will quite often buy the subscriptions needed to access certain journals so you can see them online without having to go to the library itself.

You can start by accessing the home page of the library. Look for some kind of link that will get you to either periodicals or databases. From here you can choose the database that you need. The best resources are journals that have been peer reviewed. You can narrow your search by choosing to search specific types of databases.

Just like with any other search engine you can broaden your search term or narrow it down to get more of what you need. Keep in mind that you may not find exactly what you are looking for since it quite often takes time for these types of articles to be published. The information you find may not be as up to date and current as what you are looking for.

If you can’t find exactly what you need you can try other library databases, or combine what you do find with other resources. The important thing is to put enough time in researching, but not so much that it is a waste of time.

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Wikipedia, is it a Good Resource?

December 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There is so much information on the internet, but how to you know when you are getting reliable information? This is a subject that many people struggle with, and many more are not even aware of.

Pages like Wikipedia and Answers.com look official, and seem like they have good information, but the problem is that many people do not realize that this content is all generated by internet users just like you and me. There is no real system of checks and balances to ensure that the information being posted is correct, and there is no assurance that the person writing the articles or information knows what they are talking about.

There are some websites where it is obvious that the information is coming from other users. Places like Yahoo! Answers are written in the format of a forum with questions and answers posted by users, so it easy to tell that you should take all information given with a grain of salt. But when a site like Wikipedia looks official, it is hard to tell what is true and what is not.

There are a couple of things you can do to make sure you are getting good information. First, look at how the article is written. If it is only considering one angle of a subject, beware of where the information is coming from. You should also look at the sources. If there is only one or two sources listed beware of the information you are getting. You can also look up information about the contributor. If they are experts in the field that they are writing about, you can be assured that the information is probably accurate.

The last thing to take into consideration is that sites like Wikipedia should only be a starting point in any research. It can give you something to start with, but always keep going with further resources.

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How to Find Good Resources Online

December 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Many people now turn to the internet to research papers and projects now instead of going to an encyclopedia or other print sources. The big question is how do you know the information is accurate and the source is something that can be trusted?  How do you know that the research paper you are putting together with open office will not be full of false information?
There are a few things you can do to make sure that you are getting good information from a good source. There are many websites that may look official, but they are full of content generated by users who may not know what they are talking about. To ensure you are getting valid information from websites that are good sources that can be referenced you should turn to .gov, .edu, and some .org websites.
A website that ends with .edu is most likely a reputable education institution. A site that ends in .gov is most likely a government website. Both of these are good sources of reliable information. If you cite an .edu website, make sure to research the institution though because they may have a political bias. If you use one of these, it would be a good idea to include several different points of view to make sure you don’t show an unintentional bias.
A website that ends in .org is most likely a non profit group. These can be a good source of information, but they can also be very biased. There are many non profit organizations that have a political agenda, so they may be biased in one direction. Before using one of these sites it is important to research the organization so you know what the background is.
There are also many internet journals and magazines. These can be very reliable sources, but you need to check out their list of resources to make sure. The bibliography should include many resources that are not from the internet, along with several scholarly sources.

Many people now turn to the internet to research papers and projects now instead of going to an encyclopedia or other print sources. The big question is how do you know the information is accurate and the source is something that can be trusted?  How do you know that the research paper you are putting together with open office will not be full of false information?
There are a few things you can do to make sure that you are getting good information from a good source. There are many websites that may look official, but they are full of content generated by users who may not know what they are talking about. To ensure you are getting valid information from websites that are good sources that can be referenced you should turn to .gov, .edu, and some .org websites.
A website that ends with .edu is most likely a reputable education institution. A site that ends in .gov is most likely a government website. Both of these are good sources of reliable information. If you cite an .edu website, make sure to research the institution though because they may have a political bias. If you use one of these, it would be a good idea to include several different points of view to make sure you don’t show an unintentional bias.
A website that ends in .org is most likely a non profit group. These can be a good source of information, but they can also be very biased. There are many non profit organizations that have a political agenda, so they may be biased in one direction. Before using one of these sites it is important to research the organization so you know what the background is.
There are also many internet journals and magazines. These can be very reliable sources, but you need to check out their list of resources to make sure. The bibliography should include many resources that are not from the internet, along with several scholarly sources.

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How to Determine If An Online Source is Reliable

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The internet has quickly become one of the most used resources for research. The problem is that since the internet is an open source, information can be posted by anyone about anything. They don’t necessarily have to be knowledgeable about the subject they are writing about.

In order to make sure you are getting good information there are a few things you can do. First and foremost you can research the author. If the name of the author is not clearly stated, it is sometimes part of the URL. If this is the case the pages created are probably personal pages which means there is no publisher who can vouch for the author. These may need a more stringent investigation to ensure reliability. Once you have the name, you can research their background. Find out who they are and what they do. If they are an expert in the field they are writing about the article or information you are reading is most likely reliable. If you can’t find anything about the author’s background, they most likely are not an expert and you should keep looking for additional resources.

The next thing you need to do is make sure there are several sources cited by the author. It is also important to verify these sources. Make sure the information is coming from scholarly publications and even other experts in the field.

It is also important to look at the date of the page. If you need current information this is extremely important. Using outdated information can hurt and entire research paper or project. It is just as bad to use information that is not dated as it is to use information without a source.

There is a lot of good information on the internet. The key to finding it is to do some research to make sure that it is reliable.

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Wikipedia as a Source

December 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Wikipedia can be a great source of information, and millions internet users turn to it every day to find informaton. There is almost nothing that you could possibly be looking for that does not have a Wikipedia page. The important thing to remember when using Wikipedia is that it is not an encyclopedia. All the information written on it is generated by internet users. There is a very strong possibility that the information is not accurate.

It is not a viable source to be cited for college students when they are writing papers or doing research projects. Even the founders of Wikipedia state that the site is a great place to go to when you need some basic information about a subject for your personal use, but if you are a student and are writing a paper about the Boston Tea Party, you need to do your research in the history department.

Wikipedia is the place to go if you are reading a book and it mentions something about Greece and you want to know the capital or where it is located. It is also good for instances when you hear something about an actor or actress in conversation and you want to know who they are and what they have done. If you are curious about something and want a quick answer, Wikipedia is the place to go.

Even though Wikipedia is not a relevant source to be cited in academic papers, it can be a source for other sources. In other words, if the article is well written it should have several sources listed at the bottom that may be useful in your research. These could be academic journals or good .edu websites with information that can be extremely useful. Depending on what you are looking for, these additional sources may be just what you need and an acceptable academic source.

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How to Recognize reputable Online Resources

December 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There is a lot of good information on the internet. The issue is weeding out the information that is misleading whether intentionally or not, and there is a lot of content that is not necessarily based on fact, it is based on opinion. There are some questions you can ask yourself to evaluate the content of a website and its validity.

First you can look at the authority of the author. Check into who they are. Are they well known in the field they are writing about? Look into what else they have written, and question if they are stating facts or offering opinions.

Think about the source of the information. Where did the information originally come from, and is is a reputable organization? Check to see if the information has been looked at by others in the field to make sure it is accurate. It is also important to check into the sources they have cited.

Another important piece of information to look at is the date the article was written. The relevance of timeliness depends on what kind of information you are looking for, but current information is most likely better than old information. It is also important to look at the timeliness of their sources and any links they used. A link that is no longer available is not a good source.

Relevance is also something to look at. Is the information just fluff that you already know, or does it contain the depth that you need to broaden your knowledge of the subject? If it is just touching the surface, think about whether or not you need the source or if you should move on. You can also look at how the information is organized. Does it flow and make sense with a professional look?

It is always important to look at information on the internet with a critical eye. This will ensure you are getting good information.

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Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of an Internet Search

December 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Getting what you need from a search on a search engine can sometimes be very frustrating. Even when you think you are entering in the right information to get relevant results, users are often left with millions of hits that will not answer their questions.

If you are in the same boat as many others who want to get the results they need without having to search though pages of information, there are a few things you can do to narrow down your results and help your search along. These tips may only help some of the time, and it is important to keep in mind that sometimes just entering a simple query is your best option. The variations that the search engine may offer can sometimes be helpful if you are not looking for something very specific.

If you put double quotations around your phrase, this tells the search engine to search for the exact words in the order that you have put them. This will yield only results exactly as you have stated them. You can also search for a specific website by putting in (site:). This is helpful if you want to only look at specific types of websites such as .gov sites, or .edu sites. It will filter out other types of URL’s.

You can also exclude certain results by putting a minus sign before a word. In order for this to be effective there needs to be a space before the minus sign. If there is not a space the search engine will treat it as a hyphen. You can exclude as many words as you want within a phrase as long as you keep putting the space and the minus sign.

The (*) sign can be used as a way to ask the search engine to provide information. When this sign is used it is treated as an unknown and the search engine will provide possible matches.

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