THIS WEEK: Explorers wanted (map furnished)

[whatis.com]

September 17, 2002 >> Receive this email as text  >> About this e-mail   In this Issue >> From the editor: Explorers wanted (map furnished) >> Featured topic from SearchCRM.com: The devil's in the detail >> Reader Feedback: "Bit" bytes back  Explorers wanted (map furnished) By Lowell Thing, Editor "We're looking for a few good explorers. Stout-hearted men and women not afraid to be a little disoriented in hyperspace. Insatiably curious, driven-to-learn conquerors of technical worlds. GPS receiver and all-terrain vehicle not required. Initial assignment on well-known Internet encyclopedia. Goals range from: Learn everything to just solve a problem. Site map furnished. No pay, just a feeling of command over knowledge and the universe. Inquire at www.whatis.com." Thus read the Web site's ad in their weekly e-mail to subscribers. It was a roundabout way of telling them that (finally) the Web site had added a simple, but potentially powerful Site Map that was clickable from the "What's New" section of the home page. It had taken the editors of the site almost six years to realize that an explorer needs a map. A map can show you where everything is, what is there and what is not there (we like to call that "boundedness"), and encourage you to explore systematically or accidentally. A map gives you a safe place to return to in case you find yourself getting woozy in hyperspace again. Amazingly, some very important regions of the World Wide Web do not provide a map. But whatis.com now does. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/1,,sid9_gci850997,00.html  Featured Site: SearchCRM.com FEATURED TOPIC: Meta Group's Folger: The devil's in the data Meta Group analyst David Folger lays out the keys to successful business intelligence and says it all begins with the data itself. Find out more FREE CRM CONFERENCE: February 12-14, 2003 in Atlanta CRM Technology Decisions delivers 3 days of strategic insight to make the most cost-effective decisions with a full understanding of vendors/products. Register now  Reader Feedback: "Bit" bytes back by Lowell Thing, Editor Last week, we happened to mention that among our "Top 20" most consulted terms on whatis.com was one that seemed a bit mysterious to us. Why, we asked, would so many people look up the word "bit"? OK, so it's all based on bits, but did people really need to look it up? Some of you had various theories: Dan Giles wrote "To me, it seems evident that 'bit' would be near the top. Everybody talks about gigabit drives and megabit Ethernet, but most people aren't technically savvy. So, if they actually see a link to the definition of 'bit,' I'm sure they'd think - what the hell is a 'bit' anyway? At least, I would." Susan Huhn had another theory: "You wonder why 'bit' would be in the top 10 words this week. My theory would be it was the first week of school in many areas and students taking computer classes need to learn basic terms like 'bit.'" Daniel Singer wondered if..."...the list is self-perpetuating: You publish the list of terms that have been looked up a lot, and curious people then follow the links, thus chalking up more hits for those words." (Ed. note: We thought of this ourselves, but realized that the number of people who look at the list isn't significant enough to affect the results.) At any rate, "bit" has dropped from 5th to 13th in the "Top 20." http://whatis.techtarget.com/definitionsWhatsNew/0,,sid9,00.html Happy Birthday to Us! whatis.com was launched on September 17, 1996. We're six years old...and still growing!   This e-mail is published by TechTarget where you can get relevant search results from over 19 industry-specific Web sites.  Whatis.com contacts: Lowell Thing, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Margaret Rouse, Assistant Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) To unsubscribe from Updates on new site content: >> Simply Reply to this Email with REMOVE within the Body or Subject -OR- >> Go to: http://WhatIs.techtarget.com/register/1,,sid9,00.html    - Log in to edit your profile.    - Click on the link to Edit email subscriptions.    - Uncheck the box next to the newsletter you wish to unsubscribe from    - When finished, click "Save Changes to My Profile". Copyright 2002 TechTarget, Inc. All rights reserved.