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

But deciding where to go based solely on popularity also has a flip side: You can miss out on great sites that fly "below the radar" and on new sites that haven't yet become popular. If you're looking for a way to tap into some of the lesser-known regions of the Web, go to WebRing (www.webring.org). "Web rings" are loosely affiliated groups of sites that have agreed to link to one another because they share a common topic. You can surf from site to site simply by following the links at the bottom of the page. There are rings of Bruce Springsteen-fan sites, auction sites, and every site in between. Use the Web-ring directory, RingWorld, to find the ring that is relevant to your topic from among the thousands of rings. In no time, you can become "lord of the rings"!

If what you're looking for is highly specific -- for example, What are the patent laws in my state? -- try a specialty search engine. There are thousands of engines on specific topics, from MP3 files to home loans. Beaucoup! (www.beaucoup.com) is a directory of other search options. Think of it as a Yahoo! for search sources. You can find a directory of specialty search engines on SearchIQ (www.searchiq.com/subjects). Ditto.com (www.ditto.com) is a search site devoted to helping you find pictures on the Web using key words. Sookoo (www.sookoo.com) is a search engine that tracks business strategies, from Net topics to interviews with management gurus.

But finding things on the Internet isn't just about trolling sites when you need some information. It's also about getting the information as it breaks. Company Sleuth (www.companysleuth.com) is a one-stop competitive-intelligence site for tracking public companies without the hassle of time-consuming surfing. All you have to do is enter the stock symbols of the companies that you want to stake out, and every day, Company Sleuth scours the Net looking for sec filings, analysts' ratings, stock rumors, patents, bulletin-board discussions, job postings, and other facts. You'll be sent an email, as often as once a day, linking you to the latest skinny on each company.

Have You Found Your Voice?

The Web isn't just about consuming what other people have created. It's also about sharing what you know with coworkers, partners, customers, and the world. But more than learning HTML or how to design a Web site, for most of us, online communication really means writing. And having writing facility on the Web sometimes means getting beyond some of the conventions of writing for print that we've all been trained for since grade school. It's harder to cast off those habits than you might think.

A good place to start learning how to become an online scribe is Charlie Morris's essay "Writing for the Web," on the Web Developer's Virtual Library (http://wdvl.com/Internet/Writing). The piece is a solid introduction to the basics of Web style. "Cut it down and open it up," counsels one section. You'll learn to write "a little tighter and meatier," thanks to the advice doled out here.

To get deeper into why Web writing really is different, look at a study on how readers read on the Web by usability guru Jakob Nielsen, at Writing for the Web (www.useit.com/papers/webwriting).

How do we read online? The short answer is, We don't. We scan. So you have to learn to write for scanners, not readers. Nielsen has a wealth of ideas about how to do this, including the liberal use of key words, subheadings, and bulleted lists.

To learn more about the Net-writing craft, listen to the writers and editors at "Contentious" (www.contentious.com), the online zine for Internet-content creators, where using links and other tricks of the trade are covered in depth.

But writing for the Web isn't just about making your concepts easy for humans to understand onscreen. It's also about communicating in a voice that's credible without being stuffy. The site that takes on the issue of tone most aggressively is the Cluetrain Manifesto (www.cluetrain.com), which has a lot to teach about what online communication means. Does your Web writing sound like corporate double-speak? If so, it won't fly online. This site is a good place for a reality check.

Finally, if your idea of communication is having the Net media write about you, look at the guidelines established by the Internet Press Guild (www.netpress.org/careandfeeding.html). This sometimes-cranky document presents a wealth of practical hints for dealing with an online reporter who's working on deadline.

Katharine Mieszkowski (katharinem@fastcompany.com), a Fast Company senior writer based in San Francisco, wants to upload her brain to the Web and be done with it.