Part IV: Tricks, Games, and Alternatives to Google

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Chapter List

Chapter 13: Hosting a Weblog with Google’s Blogger

Chapter 14: Alternatives to Google

Chapter 15: Twisted Googling and Google Games

In this part . . .

Like a supportive parent, Google is there when you need it but wants you to soar on your own. Blogging is one way Google helps you become an independent force on the Web, and Google’s Weblog service, Blogger.com, is the topic of this part’s first chapter.

Then come two chapters that will open your eyes to new ways of Googling. Google freely gives away its most valuable asset: access to its index. The result is a host of alternate Google sites that deliver the same search results as Google.com but through a variety of different interfaces. The TouchGraph browser described in Chapter 14 will twist your mind into a new perspective on the living network surrounding every Web site. Chapter 15 lightens the intensely determined mood in which most of us search by presenting online games based on poking the Google index in new ways. You would never think the Googlebeast was so playful.

Prepare to have your horizons widened and your worldview expanded. You’re going far afield in this part, to Googlish dives most people don’t know exist. The atmosphere is heady with experimentation. The sites covered in Chapters 14 and 15 are relatively new, and some are a little rough around the edges. No matter — you’re on an adventure in this part of the book. Third-party Google development will get better and more interesting. In the meantime, take satisfaction knowing that you’re a pioneer in the Googlesphere. [Editors’ note: The good news is that Brad’s caffeine saturation is wearing off. The bad news is that he’s headed to the espresso maker for another jolt.]

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