Back in the early days of the internet, there were only human-edited references. These are found mainly in special browsers such as Archie or Veronica programs. Later, Yahoo! use the same basic concept to create a descriptive list of websites. This was the birth of the first online directory for the World Wide Web.
Internet indexes have been around since the early days of the internet, and without them and search engines we would not have had an easy way to navigate the sites. Today, there are thousands of references on the Internet, which can be very confusing to determine which ones provide the best quality information.
In fact, most online references are no better than junk. Unfortunately, with Google's AdSense program, there has been a great deal of benefit in some cases compiling a directory just to play ads on it. These sites are automated and are no better than you might think.
The best links are those set up by dedicated people, not dedicated servers. That's because one knows what you really need to know, while the computer doesn't care. Examples of this are Yahoo !, which has a search engine component, but still retains its directory content; and Dmoz, an open-source volunteer guide that also has good quality content. These indicators, as well as many of the paid quality guidelines available, will be available for a very long time.
Search Engines or Directions: What Is the Difference?
To understand why indexes may be the future of online search, you need to understand the difference between a search engine and a directory.
Search engines have a full text catalog of a website. This document is stored on the website and is subject to full search. The information that appears next to the link depends on the metatag information on the web page, or in the text section where the search term first appears. There is no human intervention, and there is no quality guarantee.
The bibliography is very different. Human editors put each site in a directory. They went out and reviewed the sites in question, compiled data to determine what the site was really about, and ranked it more relevant than a search engine. And a new generation of indicators combines wiki technology with content that helps define the topic and show you where to go for more information.
What About Wikis?
Wikis are public information websites, and are visible everywhere. The first was Wikipedia, which recently became known for its destructive behavior that creates a one-man domain. The incident was widely reported in the media, and it likely changed people's minds. However, the incident was an atypical wikis. Nature magazine and other science editors recently made a quick review of Wikipedia science content, and decided that it was at least as accurate and up-to-date as the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Wikis prove to be useful and accurate. It is also a great place to go with a guide style and text links to sites to deepen your knowledge. Soon, wiki will be a natural place to go to for information on just about anything.
Paid and Non-Paid Guidelines
There are both paid and unpaid directions as well. Some of these references are Dmoz clones and other popular directory sites; this means the holder of the index license to duplicate it, and then sell the advertisement to it. The site owner receives index content with little or no activity on his or her part, as well as advertising revenue.
Not all free directories are, of course, but you get what you pay for. The paid list is real and personalized. It can also pay extra like advertising and marketing, ensuring that the catalog is known to the public. Paid lists can also use SEO experts who can work to optimize the site's search engine rankings, and traffic experts who can monitor and increase website traffic.
Over time, listing with all the free indexes is fine, but listing for paid subscriptions gives you a limit. And in today's market place, you need all the edges you can find.
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