Easy research tips
One question I get asked a lot is, “How do you conduct research online?”
Truth be told, there are plenty of ways to do research online, some that will cost you a fortune and others that will only cost you time and energy. Some are qualitative (rich with details) and some are quantitative (i.e., more measurable).
Here is a random sample of research methods I use when I’m looking into a new opportunity.
- I usually start with Google Alerts. You can set these up for free, having Google send you daily or weekly alerts for certain keywords or phrases. You’ll get a list of links with context in each email.
- Once you get the hang of alerts, sign up over at Yotify, it’s pretty much alerts on steroids.
- Don’t forget about Google Zeitgeist. There’s a ton of data in them there hills. Especially the hot trends for today.
- Do some searches on Technorati and Buzzfeed. You’ll learn some of what’s going on in the blogosphere.
- Check out PopURLs. It’s a buzz aggregator that will show you the top stories and content on NYTimes, Huffington Post, Newsvine, YouTube, Delicious, Magnolia, Reddit, Digg, Mixx, and more.
- Once you’ve got a good handle on the top-level activity, then start digging around inside of Reddit, Digg, Mixx and others. Spend some time with Delicious, you’ll find lots of folks have bookmarked interesting material for you.
- Do some searches on Twitter.
- Don’t forget Wikipedia.
- Here’s a list of 99 other research resources.
