Introduction: Founded in 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is the web’s most used web search engine; it receives hundreds of millions of queries each day. Its purpose is to aid people in finding what they are looking for in the web as accurately and quickly as possible. To do this, it uses a system, called “PageRank,” to rank web pages and determine which web pages most closely match the search criteria. It then provides the user with all the results found in order of the importance established by the PageRank system. Overall, Google Inc., which owns the Google search engine, offers a wide variety of services, such as Google Maps, Gmail, etc; however, this guide will only refer to the search engine.

Features: Google’s most important feature is it accurateness and speed in finding and delivering results to a search. When compared to other web search engines, Google is one of the fastest and most accurate search engines; which is why it is so widely used. There are several other features though. One of the features Google provides is a definition link for every word in the search. For example, if you search “red cars” there will be a link for red and a link for cars. If you click the link, the link will take you to its definition. Furthermore, Google has an integrated calculator. If you search a mathematical problem, such as “55+2” for example, the search engine will provide you with the result of the problem. Google also contains other similar features that work in the same way, which include a unit and currency converter. With Google you can also search images, news, maps, and much more.

Tips and Tricks: The key to use Google is to use the right keywords when searching. You want to make sure you only use the most important words when searching for something and exclude unnecessary words. That means you need to be specific, but not too specific. For example, when searching for the difference of plasma and LCD TVs, you want to come up with the least amount of search words that most strongly convey what you are looking for; in this case a good search criteria would be “plasma vs. LCD.” It is as easy as that. If your results are not coming out so nicely you can also do an “advanced search.” Click on advanced search and you will have several options to make your search even more specific, therefore getting more accurate results. Furthermore, you can accommodate Google to your needs by changing your preferences in the preference page. You can change language, safety filter, number of results per page, etc. Another feature of Google is its “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature. This feature allows a user to skip the results page and go directly to the first result listed by Google; making the search even easier and faster.

Newbie Friendly Rating: Google is fast and effective. Its searches, most of the time, provide the most accurate listings that you are going to find in the web. Not only that, it has several features which make the overall service very satisfying. In addition, it is extremely user-friendly and easy to use. Given all of these, Google has got a rating of 10 out of 10.

Introduction:

This popular social networking site of the world started as an interactive site between the Ivy League schools in 2004. However now, facebook is open for anyone above thirteen years of age and is a rage with children and adults. The users can create their profile page and by using facebook people are able to connect to their friends, acquaintances, class mates and colleagues, online. The users can join any number of networks they prefer based on college, city, workplace or school thus giving them access to other people’s profiles that are also on these networks.

Features:

Many features have been added over a period of time to facebook to make it more users friendly and popular. Every profile page has a Wall to ‘post’ (write) comments on it. An unlimited number of photos and videos can be uploaded on your page which can be viewed by people on your network. The user can tag or label a photo if you have any of your facebook friends on in that photo. Pokes are generally sent to a person when you do not have anything to say but want the person to be reminded about you. A person can change his Status message to let people know the recent happenings in is life.

The news feed feature was added later on which updates the user about any changes and alerts them about forthcoming events. Recently facebook has come up with Chat which is almost like any instant messaging service. Users also have an option of sending gifts, which are, of course, virtual, to close friends and loved ones. And as recent as September 2008, facebook introduced Facebook beta design which has given the profile page a much cleaner look.

Facebook games like WarBook and SuperSnake are so popular with the users; they have taken social gaming to another level where users invite their friends and contacts to play with them.  

Tips and Tricks:

For regular and addicted facebook users, a facebook toolbar is a helpful aid as it will pop up notification regarding a new message, post, poke or any change in your friends profile page. Facebook profile can be customized by changing your privacy settings to limit people’s access to your personal information. You can have different settings for a different set of people.

The friends finder option is a great way to start on facebook to reach out to your lost friends. By linking the address book of the account you are holding, facebook, from that address list, can find friends which already are facebook users. People may be faking their identities on the site so for a happy and safe ‘facebooking’ one has to be very careful while posting personal information. In case of any obscene behavior and virtual abuse there is an option of report where you can lodge complain with facebook about that particular person or content.

Newbie Friendly rating:

Facebook is very interactive social site and with its umpteen applications one is bound to try some; making it a very popular destination online. Very user friendly, Facebook has got a rating of 9 on 10.

Introduction:

Newbie.net helps a new user of a website learn and get the most out of the website that is new to them by providing guides.  Newbie.net’s goal is to provide a guide to all of the top used websites on the internet.  Each guide is devided into three sections, introduction, features, and tips and tricks.

Features:

Newbie allows the user to find how to use guides on popular websites by navigating through an alphabetical directory, or by using the search function.   Users can contribute to the guide by adding coments to the bottom of the guide.  Newbie also warns newbies of sites that are dangerous or malicious

Tips and Tricks:

You can contact Newbie.net to become a guide writer if you are intested.  If you own your own website and would like Newbie.net to write a guide about your website you should also use the contact form and include your website’s address and as much information as you can provide.

Newbie Friendly Rating:

Newbie.net is the best place for newbies to visit when they need help understanding what a site is all about and how to get started.  Therefore we give it a 10 out of 10.