Where do you find info online? 1

[tcady]

Just doing a poll to see if I am missing anything:

Where do you search for info at work?

just Google? or other SEs? Do you used advanced and boolean searches? or just type in a few words and go?
How many results pages so you typically look at?
Do you use Thomas Reg?
GlobalSpec?
EngNet?
Or other industry portals -such as?
Other?

Just curious how much you use Globalspec? Could you put a percentage to it? Of times you search to help with purchasing decisions, how much do you use GlobalSpec?

If you use GlobalSpec, do you use the regular Engineering Web Search, or the Product Search where you can type in your specs to find matching providors? Can you tell me a little bit about how you use GS, if not as described above?

My company is looking at paying to list there (GS), and they asked me to ask some engineers what they think of it

thanks!!!

 

[pso311]

I've used Thomas Register, yahoo, Matweb, and definitely eng-tips. Until this post, I've never heard of Globalspec. I may be a minority, though.

 

[jimbo]

I have been using MetaCrawler consistently for many years, and occasionally Yahoo.

Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

 

[DrillerNic]

Google

SPE website & online library

Occasionally the IADC website

 

[SomeYahoo]

GlobalSpec just muddles up my Google search.

 

[tcady]

Thanks GensetGuy, do you mean there are too many results on Google that are just a page of a list of companies like those listed on GlobalSpec or similar directories?

We see that trend too, which is why we feel we have to pay to get on these directories, they are the only way to get found on Google anymore.

So far no one uses GlobalSpec, I am surprised...I hope I get more responses here, I really want to hear what a large cross section of engineers think. GlobalSpec claims to be beating Thomas Register as a sourcing directory - I'd be amazed....

Thanks all!

 

[Wittenborn]

I personally tend to use Google, but also use Thomas Register to find specific components.

I've tried using GlobalSpec, but it just seems so convoluted. Thomas is much more straight forward.



Regards,
Grant
Aerospace Engineer

 

[buzzp]

I have used GlobalSpec on a couple of occasions. Not really to find a mfg but for their data sheets. But normally, I Google or Metacrawler. I would say I use Global 5% of the time.
They seem to be trying to do alot for the engineering community and I would expect improvements in search capabilities for parts(since they are relatively new). They do provide a lot of other info other than trying to find a part.

 

[SomeYahoo]

tcady - to clarify my original response:

The company lists don't seem to help me too much (GlobalSpec, TR, etc.) The categories are too broad, and clicking on 20 of them to find the one product I need is is a lot more difficult than letting Google do the searching.

 

[ewh]

I usually use google and vivisimo, which clusters the results.

 

[liberty]

I always think TR or Globalspec are going to lead me to the supplier of my dreams, but later I always end up finding what I need via Google.

It seems like TR or GlobalSpec just want to give you to an unorganized list of the paying advertisers that generally might match your search string regardless of what you are looking for, oh well. And it seems like the vendors shown blew their whole marketing budget on getting listed because the websites are uninformative and useless, if they exist at all. I'm goin gto try Metacrawler next time, thanks guys.