I’ve been working on this for the past 2 years, but here and now, I predict The Official Next Big Thing — specialized search engines. Google is great, don’t get me wrong, I love it! But when you need to do a specialty search in a specific area, why not use a search engine where its sources are pre-defined and reviewed for relevancy.

For instance, try doing a search on reviews of any electronic or computer product on Google. More than half the results will be links to a site trying to sell you the product itself, or an Amazon.com affiliate. It’s useless unless you know how to massage Google with a lot of stop words and limits. Wouldn’t it be nice to say, “Hey, I want to do a search for professional and consumer product reviews only on digital cameras.” A specialized search engine can provide you with those results.

Now imagine searching only refereed health and mental health resources for a physical or mental health concern. No more prozac ads. No more herbal supplement sites. No more amazing people who think they have the answer to exactly what you’re experiencing. Just factual information to help you understand what you’re experiencing.

Stay tuned.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 13 Jan 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.