It's a Web, Web, Web, Web World

As with "VentureWire" and "Iconocast," it's often email newsletters -- and not the sites with which they're affiliated -- that are the real information sources for busy Net mavens. David Rosenblatt, 31, a senior VP of global technology solutions at DoubleClick Inc., in New York City, often reads the daily email newsletter "Digitrends Daily" (www.digitrends.net) from Digitrends.net. "I spend less than a minute on each one," he says. It covers online marketing. Andrew Susman, 31, president of New York City-based Studio One Networks, subscribes to internet.com Corp.'s weekly newsletter "@NY" (www.atnewyork.com) for insight into what's going on in the local new-media scene. Victoria Chang, 29, a marketing manager at Family Wonder, regularly scans the weekly headlines of eMarketer's "Weekly Newsletter" (www.emarketer.com) in order to get her industry-news fix.

Britannica.com's Maura LoMonico, 25, a producer for the Web site, gets a variety of similar newsletters, including the online-marketing updates from ClickZ Network (www.clickz.com) and the New York-centric daily dish from the "Silicon Alley Daily" (www.siliconalleyreporter.com). They may seem like a lot of clutter, but the newsletters actually act as filters, guiding you to what's relevant on the sites and reminding you to review them when you have time. "If I rely on visiting the Web sites themselves throughout the day, I probably won't get there," LoMonico explains. "This way, whenever I have a few minutes, I can catch up."

But no matter how many news sources and digests you subscribe to, there's just no substitute for having great human filters -- friends and colleagues who visit lots of different sites and who know your interests. Darby Williams, 46, chairman and founder of CookExpress.com and an ex-employee of Microsoft, says that it's through his network of personal contacts that he gets most of his best scoops. "So many people -- investors, old colleagues at Microsoft -- know what I'm doing," he says. "I get lots of information that's relevant to me through a network of email friends."

User Interface Inc., a customer-relations company in San Francisco, encourages not only the sharing of information but also the group analysis of it. Anyone can call a "mind meld" -- an informal meeting that happens about once a month to discuss topics that could affect the company's business. It's a way to filter out the industry's "noise" so that employees can determine what a new trend really means. "It's extremely valuable," says Jerry McLaughlin, 34, User Interface's director of company value. "A mind meld really helps you to think about things differently, instead of just staring into a screen all day."

Are You Smart About the Search?

What's the single-most-important skill to have when you're on the Web? Being able to find what you need. The bad news is, despite the proliferation of search engines -- and their multibillion-dollar valuations -- finding what you're looking for is getting harder, not easier. There's more data than ever to sift through -- and a smaller chance of finding what you need.

But there are some really useful sites that make searching faster, easier, and more fruitful. One great launching pad is Proteus (www.thrall.org/proteus.html), a guide to the Web guides. This site makes it convenient to use a slew of search tools, from HotBot to Excite to Yahoo!, all from one place. Its motto: "Type once, search everywhere."

To keep up with the latest search options, visit SearchIQ (www.searchiq.com), an independent site that reviews and ranks dozens of sites on relevance, accuracy, and speed. It's the place to go for no-holds-barred search intelligence. For example, about the AllTheWeb site, SearchIQ quips, "It's like a dumb dog: It fetches everything whether you want it or not." SearchIQ keeps you abreast of the newest tools and steers you toward different strategies, depending on what you need.

Meta-search engines allow you to troll more pages per click than do directories like Yahoo! or simple search engines like AltaVista. The concept is simple: Sites like RedeSearch.com (www.redesearch.com), C4 (www.c4.com), and Ask Jeeves (www.askjeeves.com) search multiple engines at once for a more comprehensive reach. Basically, they do a search of a search.

For searches that are not quite as far-flung, one innovative strategy is to allow other Web surfers to be your guide. Google (www.google.com), an easy-to-use search engine, ranks sites based on the number of incoming links. Essentially a "popularity engine," Google is the first place to stop when looking for an organization's or an individual's home page, since the most relevant site is likely to appear right near the top. It's a way to harness the collective intelligence of the Web.