Google Groups

Some very early users of the Internet - not the worldwide web as we know it today - but the Internet from the early 1980s, will have heard of, and likely used, Usenet. This was the collective name applied to text-based electronic bulletin boards that were used to communicate in the days before the web and email existed, and that are still in use today. The Usenet posts were first collected and organized for worldwide web use in 1995, by a company called Deja News. In 2001, Google bought Deja News and applied their considerable search expertise to Usenet posts. The result is Google Groups.

There are well over 30,000 Google Groups today. These are hosted on servers all over the world, and Google Groups provides a browser-based interface to them, as well as creating searchable archives. From a very clean interface, users may search any of the various subsections of Google Groups. In the same way a clothing web site may be divided into sections for men's, women's, and children's wear, Usenet is divided into sections such as biz (business related), comp (computer related), humanities (art, literature related), and so on. From there, subsections may be divided into more specialized sub-topics where necessary.

Sadly, many Google Groups are now spammer hangouts more than anything else. Widely available web access and programs that can automatically post to thousands of newsgroups in just a short while have destroyed much of the original spirit and usefulness of the Usenet groups. And parents need to know that on some sections of Usenet there are some very inappropriate topics that have been started over the years, so they should exercise due caution in protecting their children from those sections.

For those who don't mind a bit of digging through the virtual trash can, there are still many, many useful and active Google Groups, full of friendly, helpful people, so be sure to check out this often-overlooked resource.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

---

Search Engines from a Webmaster Perspective

By now, virtually every webmaster has heard or read that... Read More

Not Ranking High Enough on Search Engines? Here?s Some Help!

Search engines are frugal things. (Froogle, too, haha! Sorry, lame... Read More

Your Online Home-Based Business Can Lead To Search Engine Stress

As a member of several search engine optimization forums, I... Read More

Google WebSearch? & Google Adsense - Yahoo!

The makers of the world renowned search engine, Google, have... Read More

PageRank and How It Gets Assigned

We know that each and every website page is assigned... Read More

How To Get Your Web Site Banned ? or Search Engine Promotion, How Not to do it!

Search engines constantly strive to advance their technology and algorithms... Read More

The Hottest Tip On Getting A Web Site Listed Quickly by Yahoo, Inktomi, MSN, FAST and AltaVista

Every webmaster knows that the free search engines are a... Read More

Dont Focus Too Much on Your Internet Business Website Ranking

No doubt, having a high search engine ranking is very... Read More

Search Engine Optimization :: The Basics and Why Websites Need It

We all know that the most targeted traffic we can... Read More

Google Wireless - Search Away From Home

For so many web surfers, it's almost automatic to type... Read More

HTML Title Tags Dictate Your Rankings

There are a lot of things in Search Engine Optimization... Read More

Search Engine Marketing: Choosing Keyword Phrases

Selecting the right keyword phrases is the key to a... Read More

PPC Advertising ? The First Step In A SEO Marketing Campaign

Often, sites view seo and PPC marketing as exclusive marketing... Read More

Most Overlooked Search Engine Optimization Technique

Some of the basics when it comes to SEO and... Read More

Surviving Googles Aging Delay

Google has always been the search industry's innovator and that's... Read More

How to Avoid the Google Duplicate Content Filter?

More and more webmasters are building websites with publicly available... Read More

The Great Search Engine War, Where Content is King

When search engines first appeared, they were simple affairs consisting... Read More

How to Get Listed in Yahoo Within 48 Hours, Without Paying $299

First of all you need to get a blog. If... Read More

Website Optimization, Good Overall Optimization is Key

Good overall optimization, the right keyword phrases and quality content... Read More

Search Engine Marketing Simplified

All the great efforts made for making your own site,... Read More

Dont Submit Your Website To Any Search Engines

We all want to get our websites high up in... Read More

Search Engine Wars - Quality Searches Vs Quantity!

It is no secret that Google and Yahoo are on... Read More

Optimizing Online Catalog Copy for the Search Engines

It only makes sense. You have an e-commerce catalog site.... Read More

Over Optimization and the OOP - Does a Penalty Exist?

If you have questions about whether or not the Over-Optimization... Read More

Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 3: Site Structure

Welcome to part three in this search engine positioning series.... Read More

Release from Google Sandbox Only to Search the Playground

The Google Sandbox Effect has been discussed at length in... Read More

Why Fear? Now Change Your Filenames Without Disturbing Search Engines/Visitors And Rank Well

By now, you know that to rank well in the... Read More

21 Search Engine Terms Every Web Marketer Should Know Part 1

1. Search Engine - Is a database of web sites... Read More

Beat Google?s Dampening Link Filter with SEO Articles

Most Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts agree that links back... Read More

The Modern Day Search Engine

The first task most netizens do when they log on... Read More

What Size Body Section Ranks Highest?

This is another one of the controversial questions in many... Read More

Search Engine Traffic: Winning With Content

Targeted traffic is the lifeblood of any online business. The... Read More

Arrogant Overture Placing Greed Ahead Of Their Customers Needs

According to the dictionary, the definition of the word "overture"... Read More