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| >Learn how to use Google as a worship
resource >home |
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| This article was originally published in
the WorshipIdeas.com 09-09-03 newsletter.
Read other archived articles with a MoreWorshipIdeas.com subscription. |
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by Don Chapman
http://www.google.com
The Google
search engine
has to be one of
the highest
achievements
of the human mind.
Just think
about it for
a moment... type
any topic you
can think of
into the search
field and you're
on your way
to almost unlimited
knowledge.
How does this
apply to worship?
Read on, but
first, a brief
background.
Google (a twist
on the word
"googol,"
a math term
for 1 followed
by 100 zeros)
was only five
years old on
September 7, 2003,
and has quickly
become a vital
part of the
Internet. The
website performs
200 million
searches each
day - more
than 2,300 every
second in 88
languages.
Surpassing Yahoo,
Webcrawler,
Lycos and other
weaker search
engines, Google
now conducts
75% of all Internet
searches with
a unique, powerful
and fast
searching method.
Google returns
your searches
based on website
popularity,
ranking results
by the links
to them from
other websites.
The Google
search field
is now a handy part
of WorshipHomePage.com.
I can find
things
on this search
engine I can't
find on others.
I consult it
almost daily
for all kinds of
worship activities,
like:
1. Graphics for presentation software and
sermon illustrations. Google has an incredible graphics search
feature. It's legal to use images you find
in a worship setting (although you may NOT
use the images outside of worship, like in
bulletins, postcards, flyers, newsletters,
websites, etc.)
The US copyright
law of 1976
contains a clause
that allows
for churches
to use still images
in the context
of worship.
It's in section
110, subsection
3. Here's a
link:
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#110
Also, this
law only applies
to the United
States, not
to those of
you in other countries.
Try this: at
the WorshipHomePage front page, click the "search Google
images" and you'll go to the images
search page. Type "fall leaves"
(WITHOUT quotes) and up will pop thousands
of images. As of 09/08/03, the first two
images on the results screen are excellent.
They're also identical, but notice the second
one is a larger file. Go with larger files
- the larger they are, the higher the resolution,
and the better the image will look on your
projection screen.
Next, clicking
on one of the
samples will
take you to
a split screen.
The top portion
will have the
image, the
bottom portion will
have the page
where the image
originated.
Clicking on
the top image
will often result
in a larger
image appearing
in your browser.
If a larger
image is available,
right click
it and save
it to your
hard drive for later
use.
Wouldn't this
nice image
of leaves look great
on your screen
as a background
for song lyrics?
Try lightening
it for use
with lyrics in
a photo editing
program, and
keep the original
for a rich
video backdrop.
The possibilities
of Google's
image search
are endless
for sermon
topics, holidays and
other special
events. Use
different phrases:
"communion"
and "Lord's
supper"
bring up different
pictures. Need
an image
for advent?
Try "advent
candle"
or "Christmas
candle."
You'll find
good images
and some not so good
images, and
occasionally
you'll find a fantastic
image. Keep
looking and
keep trying different
phrases.
A note from MoreWorshipIdeas.com subscriber
Jeffery Ling:
"Don -
one comment
about your Google
article. Folks
need to be
aware of the safe
search settings.
People doing
searches may
get an eyeful
of something
they weren't counting
on. Google
offers a filter
within the site."
2. Praise song lyrics. Yes, I have CCLI's SongSelect so I'm legally
covered, but sometimes I'm just too lazy
to login and retrieve the lyrics I need for
PowerPoint!
3. Song searches. Ever have a few lyrics floating around your
head but don't know the song title or artist?
Try typing those lyrics, in quotes, in Google's
search field. For instance, the other day
I had the words of some hymn in my head,
but couldn't remember the title. I typed
"Thy tribute bring" into Google's
search field and the seventh result matched
the hymn I was looking for: "Praise,
My Soul, the King of Heaven."
Google's great
for locating
obscure CDs,
too. I heard
a different
radio version of
"Shout
to the Lord"
that I loved
and tracked
it down, through
Google, to an
obscure recording
by Aaron Benward
on a artist
compilation
CD. Type in
the name of your
favorite band
or artist and
their website
will probably
show up.
A note on quotes:
they refine
your search.
Typing in "You
are Holy"
without
quotes produces
results that
contain the
words "you,"
"are"
and
"holy."
These common
words bring
up way too
many results
that aren't what
I'm looking
for. Using
the quotes will find
instances of
the >exact<
phrase "You
are Holy,"
the title of
a popular praise
song. Typing
this phrase
with quotes yielded
the lyrics
I wanted at
the bottom of the
search page.
Other handy uses:
1. Popup blocker. I hate popups, and since I do so much searching
on the Net for lyrics, images and other worship
stuff, they've become quite a nuisance. Google's
new toolbar fixes that, with an excellent
popup blocker. It installs for free on the
PC Internet Explorer browser. To date it
has blocked 368 pesky ads from my computer!
The toolbar has other nifty features, like
an imbedded Google search field at the top
of your browser window. Download your free
Google toolbar here:
http://toolbar.google.com
2. Google Answers. Although this feature doesn't necessarily
relate to worship, it's so unbelievable I
had to tell you my experience with it.
In addition
to writing
this newsletter, I
also enjoy
building my
websites from scratch.
Every year
I like to update
them with a new
technology.
At the beginning
of this year
I tried integrating
something called
CSS
(Cascading
Style Sheets)
into my HTML code.
If you've ever
built and uploaded
a website
for the first
time, you know
what a hair-pulling
experience
it can be!
However, with CSS,
I pulled out
a few more
hairs than usual,
and just could
not figure
it out completely.
Then I discovered
Google Answers.
Google
has somehow
assembled a
team of experts on
every topic
you can imagine,
including web
design (not
to mention
arts, sports, news,
computers,
health - you
name it.) I typed
in my specific
question about
CSS and paid
a small fee
of $10.00 (fees
vary.) Within
a few hours,
some expert
from somewhere completely
solved my problem
- a small price
to pay
to have a monumental
problem explained
that
was keeping
me up at night!
http://answers.google.com
Bottom Line: Use Google to make your life easier. |
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