Off the back of the Google book I've read, here are a couple helpful tips for getting more out of Google.
Tip #1: Google News - http://news.google.com
I've had a look at Google News previously and I've not really appreciated it's potential. Basically, Google News gathers news from "4,500 news sources" from around the world. Well, generally speaking the BBC does the trick for me. Sure I read several other things (The Register, Digital Spy, Tech Crunch, Pitchfork Media) but that is as much for their featured content as it is the news. It then occured to me that maybe I should try Google News for something more niche. So I did just that. I typed in the name of a band called "Modest Mouse" and sure enough it came up with some (for me at least) interesting results. All modern entries and from multiple sources. Brilliant!
It can be taken to the next level though. Thanks to joys of the interconnected modern day web, I can take the RSS feed of that search (on the left hand side of the search) and include it on my Netvibes homepage. So whenever I open my browser now, as well as seeing the latest updates that have been made to The Guardian's music section, Tech Crunch, my del.icio.us links, new gMail emails, pop3 emails and the latest programming Digg articles, I now have a dedicated panel dislaying the latest 10 news articles written about Modest Mouse from a massive list of news sites. Naturally this can be used to follow any niche subject that you'd otherwise struggle to keep on top of.
There are many more things you can use the RSS feed for though, but I don't really have the energy to go into that right now.
Tip #2: The Google Cheat Sheet - http://www.google.co.uk/help/cheatsheet.html
Ever since starting my job in devlopment I've come to love cheat sheets. Basically they are web pages/documents that have short, sharp information and tips on how to use a service/application/programming language etc which can be place on your desk for easy reference. I've got a couple in work pinned up on my desk board on how to best use the Unix text editor VI and find extremely useful.
In this instance though, it's a Google Cheat Sheet. I plan on sticking it up in work and hope that it helps me to get a little more out of Google.
Some cheat sheets I've found useful can be found at the link below. Funnily enough though the 2 VI ones I mentioned aren't there - typical :)
http://del.icio.us/greggannicott/Cheatsheet
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