Web Searching Behaviors. Boxes and Arrows' Interview with Amanda Spink

The Boxes and Arrows article Long Tail and Short Queries: an Interview with Amanda Spinks showcases a researcher who has considered her subject, web searching behaviours, for some time. Her ideas are some what different to James Robertson who presented at the Southern Currents conference, he believes training the average user to become better equipped for web searching is hopeless. However, Spinks believes that long term training is fundamental.

Spinks provides a number of insights on bridging the gap between behavior and outcome, such as developers experimenting on how to adapt librarians reference interview techniques to help solve the phenomena (thanks to ubiquitous computing/web), of the average punter's information desires and their search behaviors. Most folks are lazy in their articulation of the search with their question (information required). Its exciting to see this revolution of information access, the great world liberation, a sort of information equality.

Though as George Orwell suggested 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.' As some of us are better placed in the information management society. I'd like to see a generational approach to adjust to the power of thinking like a librarian. (smile) Start with kids after they've learnt the abcs and 123s.