The
Internet for "Newbies"
At
last count, there were millions of sites on the World Wide Web.
Jumping in to such a huge pool of information can be intimidating.
NT&T has reprinted the following articles
to boost your know-how before diving in!
Valuable
Lessons For New Cybernetters
Douglas
B. Keller
If
you are just beginning to enjoy the wonders of the Web, there
are many lessons you need to learn to navigate safely and securely,
with the least amount of frustration possible. These tips won't
cover everything you might encounter as you begin your online
journey, but they will help you be more aware of some of the Internet
traps that every Newbie must face.
Beware
the Cybersharks
To
the unwary cybernetter, there are tremendous dangers lurking in
the turbulent waters of the Internet. Speaking mainly from my
own experience, and from untold hours of surfing the Net, I have
come to realize that the Internet is full of sharks. These aren't
the teeth toting, man eating type, nonetheless, these cybersharks
are quite capable of inflicting great harm on their prey. These
predators will cross all boundaries to make a kill. Their favorite
morsels by far, however, are the brand-spanking-new cybernetters
going for a swim, looking for a new opportunity to better themselves
or their family, hoping to make some money with an online business.
They
especially love the newbies sitting in front of their computers
with credit cards in hand. These sharks use unscrupulous tactics
to persuade these unwary beginners into believing that, should
they decide to swim with them, they will become millionaires in
no time. Boy, they sure are persuasive! As most experienced Netters
know, the bombardment of offers and opportunities are an endless
source of aggravation and turmoil to be dealt with on a daily
basis. The key to avoiding 90 percent of these shark-inflicted
migraine headaches is in acquiring a savvy education as to what
to look for, and by all means, what to avoid online.
Searching
and researching using the Internet can be a very enjoyable and
rewarding experience, whether young or old. The Internet truly
is the information superhighway, and then some. It can provide
assistance in almost every facet of life, from reference information
to history. Whatever topic we choose to explore, the Internet
provides a smorgasbord of past and current events on subjects
such as news, weather, sports, health and much more. Not to mention
the plethora of technological information that is sweeping the
world, all available at the click of your mouse. It doesn't take
a psychic to get a glimpse of the future of the Web. It can only
continue to grow. However, a savvy online education as to what
to do and what to avoid is very important.
Consider
these important Do's and Don'ts:
Never
give out personal information, like your name, address, telephone
number, or online password. This should be stressed especially
strongly to children.
Don't
pursue face-to-face meetings with strangers. Instruct your child
to inform you immediately if someone asks to meet him in person,
and warn him of the dangers involved in that kind of meeting.
To
insure your private information is secure online -- including
personal information such as name and address, credit card numbers
and other financial data -- it is very important to know with
whom you are dealing. If you are unsure whether the company or
organization requesting your information is reputable, research
them before providing them with ANY information.
Don't
take the truth of other users' proclaimed identities for granted.
Online user profiles and personal information provided by others
may be less than complete, and may even be total fiction.
Remember
the old adage, "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably
is."
Avoid
online gambling sites. The legality of online gambling is still
under debate and most online gambling sites are operated from
foreign countries.
Cyber
Surfing Tips
Become
familiar with your computer and how it works. Knowing how to use
your browser, keyboard, and mouse is important in order to navigate
cyberspace more easily. There are many inexpensive books and literature
available to provide help for anyone, from rank beginner to more
advanced cybertechs. There is a lot of helpful information available
free online, as well, that you can print and read at your leisure.
A
printer is a must. If you don't think you need one, think again.
It's not an option.
Learn
how to use search engines so you can locate all those important
pieces of data that are so dear to you and your family.
Use
your bookmarks. Mark favorite places online and those you'd like
to visit again so you can return to those sites that are of special
interest to you.
Familiarize
yourself completely with how to use your DELETE options. You will
probably use them every single time you use your computer.
Always
spell check outgoing emails. Nothing looks worse -- or less professional
-- than a bunch misspelled words.
"Lurk"
(read messages without responding) for awhile when joining a news
group or chat room. Try to understand the topic of discussion,
as well as getting to know the people participating.
Be
polite and practice good cyberetiquette. If you don't know the
proper rules of etiquette for a particular situation, pick up
a book about that, too. You'll be glad you did, and so will those
who come in contact with you.
Avoid
insulting or offensive remarks (called flames). If you get flamed,
don't return the fire. Do your best to ignore the offender.
Writing
in all upper case letters is considered SHOUTING.
Dealing
with Spam
First
off, I hope you realize that I'm not talking about lunch meat.
Cyberspam is another term for unsolicited commercial email. My
personal definition is ANY unsolicited email. Spam is a fact of
life on the Internet. It can't be eliminated, but it's annoyance
factor can be minimized.
The
easiest thing to do from the beginning of your time online, however,
is to accept the fact that you ARE going to receive your fair
share of unsolicited email, just like everyone else does. It's
like opening your mailbox at the end of your driveway and finding
it full of junk mail. You don't necessarily like it, but do you
go stomping into the house cursing heaven knows what, then call
the post office with a bomb threat if they don't stop sending
you this junk? Of course not. You throw the junk in the trash,
or at the least in the neighbor's yard, and that's the end of
it. Right? (Unless your neighbor sees you.)
I
know there is nothing worse than checking your email to find your
box full of all these great offers that are going to make you
rich, or teach you what a fool you've been for paying Uncle Sam
taxes all these years. The bottom line is, it's junk mail just
like Ed MacMahon sends out every year... the only difference is,
he has to pay postage to get it to your mailbox and Cyberspammers
can do it free with the click of a mouse. (I bet that makes Ed
irate.)
But
my whole point is -- remember the delete option. You can make
spam trash just as quick as it was born. And really, it's easier
than disposing of junk mail, you don't have to buy plastic bags.
As
when entering any new culture, following the accepted mores will
help ensure that your first encounters with Cyberspace are exciting
and adventuresome and will minimize the heartaches and hassles
you may face as you learn to navigate the Net. Above all, relax
and enjoy!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SDoug
Keller is the publisher of Business to Build Ezine, a "Guide
for Helping Internet Newbies Make Money Online." Subscribe
at http://www.businesstobuild.com or BusinessToBuild-subscribe@onelist.com
This article extracted from the Marketing-Seek Archives at: http://www.marketing-seek.com/
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Surf's
Up: Tips for Navigating the 'Net Quickly
by
Kelly Cullison
Did
I say "quickly?" Well, what I meant was "efficiently."
If anyone has found a way to navigate the 'net quickly, please
share it! Until then, here are some useful tips to help you get
what you need without too much aggravation. For illustrative purposes,
I've used Internet Explorer commands here. A lot of the IE features
have corresponding commands, though, in Netscape, AOL and other
popular browsers so you should be able to execute many of the
suggestions listed here.
Getting
Connected
If
you spend a lot of time on the internet, consider upgrading your
modem to a digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable connection.
Forego
"free" internet service in favor of reliable service.
If I had a nickel for all the times my "connection has been
terminated..."
Set
your browser's default home page to a blank page - this will save
you download time when you first log on. Or, if there is a page
you always visit, make that your default page. This will save
you a surfing step.
Searching
Skip
the search and guess at what may be an obvious URL. *gasp!* You
can do that?! Yes. For example, if you are looking for the web
site for JC Penney, you might reasonably assume it would be something
like "www.jcpenney.com." Many webmasters anticipate
users' misspellings, typos and presumptions, and automatically
redirect you to the correct site. Typing www.jcpenney.com will
bring you to the correct address (www1.jcpenney.com/jcp/default.asp).
Note: in IE, you do not have to type the "http://" prefix
before each address.
Use
the right search tool. There is a difference between search engines
and directories, although that difference gets murkier every day.
Basically, a search engine finds Web sites containing one or more
particular words or phrases. Search engines are good when you're
looking for specific information, and specialized engines are
even better (e.g., www.aqueous.com specializes in water-related
links). A directory, however, groups web pages by categories and
subcategories and is best for general searches. See the August
2000 issue of Short Cuts for more information www.atlasvs.com/newsletters/aug2000.htm
Surfing
Have
a purpose! Unless you have a couple hours to kill and don't mind
surfing aimlessly, make sure you know why you are logging on.
Write down your goals (i.e., "research inkjet printer features")
and stick to them. If you come across an interesting link that
has nothing to do with your goals, save it to your hard drive
for later reading, or bookmark it to visit later. In Internet
Explorer, simply right-click the link and select "save target
as" or "add to favorites."
Do
you really NEED graphics, sound, and animation options? If not,
turn them off. You will save time as you browse from site to site.
In IE, go to Tools, Internet Options, Advanced, Multimedia.
Adjust
your cache settings if you have space to spare on your hard disk.
Whenever you download a Web page, your browser saves a copy of
it in the cache folder on your hard disk. You can increase the
amount of space allocated to your cache. This will enable you
to surf the files on your hard drive rather than downloading the
files each time you visit them. (Fewer downloads = less time)
In IE, go to Tools, Internet Options, General, Temporary Internet
Files Settings. Move the scale slider to the right to increase
the amount of hard disk space used for your cache. (This principle
works in reverse if you feel your cache is taking up too much
space on your hard disk.)
Keep
your bookmarks / favorites organized. File them in folders much
like you would hard copy documents. Purge items you don't use
frequently.
If
you want to keep the current site open, open links in a new window.
In IE, right-click the link and select "open in new window."
This will preserve the original window and enable you to toggle
back and forth if you need to. Opening to a new window also works
great if you are downloading something in window #1 and want to
continue working in window #2. (Do Alt-Tab to toggle between windows.)
Learn
your browser's keyboard shortcuts for commands you use frequently.
This
will keep you from switching back and forth between the keyboard
and mouse. Some useful IE shortcuts:
Shortcut
/ Will Do This...
F1
/ Display the IE Help, or when in a dialog box, display context
help on an item
ALT+HOME
/ Go to your Home Page
HOME
/ Move to the beginning of a document
END
/ Move to the end of a document
F5
OR CTRL+R / Refresh the current page
ESC
/ Stop downloading a page
CTRL+O
/ Go to a new location
CTRL+N
/ Open a new window
CTRL+P
/ Print the current page or active frame
CTRL+E
/ Open Search in Explorer bar
CTRL+I
/ Open Favorites in Explorer bar
CTRL+H
/ Open History in Explorer bar F4 / Display the address bar history
CTRL+ENTER
/ Add "www." and ".com" to the end of the
text typed in the address bar
CTRL+D
/ Add the current page to your favorites
CTRL+X
/ Remove the selected items and copy them to the clipboard
CTRL+C
/ Copy the selected items to the clipboard
CTRL+V / Insert the contents of the clipboard at the selected
location
CTRL+A
/ Select all items on the current web page
Downloading
Check
the file size prior to downloading. Be sure you need the file.
Download
during off-peak times to avoid high traffic periods.
That
wasn't too painful, was it? Keep these tips in mind for more efficient
surfing. Who knows, maybe you won't have to go to that Surfaholics
Anonymous meeting after all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c)
2000, Kelly Cullison
Kelly
Cullison is a Birmingham, AL-based virtual assistant and the founder
of Atlas Virtual Services.
Atlas
provides a wide range of administrative support for small businesses
so entrepreneurs can focus on the core functions of running their
businesses. Visit Atlas at http://www.atlasvs.com, or email kelly@atlasvs.com
This
article provided by the Marketing-Seek Archives at: http://www.Marketing-Seek.com
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