Shopping today is very different from the way it was. In the olden days you walked into a store and either bought what was on the shelf or whatever some sales person recommended. That worked because the selection was limited, you could still trust a brand, and sales people generally knew their products (which is often not the case anymore today). But times have changed. If you think of buying something as expensive and complex as, for example, a home theater system, you'll want more information than a bored sales associate at an electronics store is likely to give you.

People often talk about Web 2.0. It is a term that loosely describes the use of the Web for information sharing, social networks and web-based communities. Web 2.0 means websites where people contribute, generate content, help each other, and share experiences and opinions. Blogs are a Web 2.0 phenomenon, as are the customer reviews now commonly found attached to product listings. Have you noticed that today, when you want to buy something and look it up on the web, there are not only sites that only offer customer opinions and reviews, but that company websites have them also? If you go to a department store website it's not uncommon to find dozens of customer reviews and ratings with products, whether it's something complex like DVD recorders, DVD players, or even just a hair drier.

These ratings are reviews are very useful, and I applaud companies for including them (not all of them are positive). I often make a buying decision after I read what a number of other people have said about a product. I rely on those opinions so much that I often look up ratings and opinions on my iPhone while I am in a store. That works, but it can be a bit cumbersome and it's really better to do your research at home. But that is where you run into another problem: the Web has become so huge and commercialized that it's often difficult to find genuine information as opposed to sites with tons of ads and almost nothing of substance. If you think of setting up a home cinema and want to learn about the latest projectors, video switches and 1080p HDTVs, it's frustrating to have to sift through dozens of sites without getting good information.

The secret is to know where to look. There are sites that combine product reviews, product news, and just general product information in numerous categories. They may include YouTube videos explaining and demonstrating products, link collections to products and reviews of interest, RSS feeds, and more. The key is that it's all in one place so you can learn about products, see them, see what others have to say about them, and then also get an idea about costs. For complex, expensive items like home theater systems, educating yourself as much as you can is essential and can save you a lot of money.

The web is a wonderful thing. I knew next to nothing about home theater systems before I bought one myself. Research and a few dedicated websites on the technology helped tremendously.