Search engines have been around for almost as long as computers have been able to store large amounts of data. From their first days when they were sifting through large local archives, to their current ability to sift through the entire internet in seconds, search engines have shaped our computer using habits. Search engines and their popularity have many different implications for both the home user and for internet commerce in general. Here, I will discuss the search engine's effect on both of these areas.

For the average person, the most noticeable change from search engines has been on regular browsing habits. If you began using the internet after the modern conveniences were invented, then it may be hard for you to imagine what it was like before search engines abounded. If you wanted to find a site, you had to know the exact address, and punch it in correctly. If you want to do research on trees, the internet might not be the best place to go unless you know of any good tree sites. But now, that has all changed. To do research on trees, you can jump on your favorite search engine and immediately get hundreds of thousands of results. Where the internet used to be a tangled web, it is now sorted and organized to achieve the best results for the user.

These engines don't just make it easier to research. They give the users many other benefits. Since the search engines trawl through the whole internet regularly, they have all of the latest prices and deals on internet shopping. You can take advantage of this on search engines that specialize in products, combining info like prices and reviews from many different places. This is just one of the many ways that search engines pervasiveness can have a positive impact on the things we do on a day to day basis. Other ways include online phone and business directories, records databases.