[WEB4LIB] FW: Questia vs Google vs bricks and mortar

[Richard Wiggins]

Librarians at Cornell did a study recently, measuring the "link rot" rate of Web sites cited in term papers.  See: http://people.cornell.edu/pages/pmd8

They found that 80% of all links were 404 within a few years of citation; 50% within six months.  I think that may actually overstate the problem, as Webmasters inevitably reorganize sites without necessarily invalidating the underlying content. 

It's interesting analysis, not news to anyone who teaches undergrads these days.  But if the students go to the first item in the hit list after the first search they try using their first search engine, then Questia has as tough a marketing problem as the library does...

/rich

------Original Message------
From: "Gimon, Charles A" <CAGimon at mpls.lib.mn.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at webjunction.org>
Sent: February 1, 2001 8:46:41 PM GMT
Subject: [WEB4LIB] FW: Questia: who is behind it?


I find it amusing that they're marketing this service to a generation of
students who've grown up on pirated music, software and porn. If the service
does become popular among students, there will be Questia password sharing
and cracking sites popping up like mushrooms.

For my personal use, the service looks fabulous. I have rather obscure
interests (not related to my job) that aren't well served by institutions in
my area; getting info through Questia looks much more attractive than making
field trips to Cornell, or Australia. (I would, of course, purchase an
account legitimately...)

--Charles Gimon
  Web Coordinator
  Minneapolis Public Library
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Richard Wiggins
Consulting, Writing & Training on Internet Topics
http://www.netfact.com/rww  wiggins at mail.com
517-349-6919 (home office)  517-353-4955 (work)  
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