The Deep Web is not Invisible

The Deep Web is a term given to huge parts of the web that are not necessarily accessible to ordinary search engines. It is estimated that the "deep web" is 500 times larger than the "surface web" we are familiar with, is growing faster than the surface web, and exceeds in size all printed matter in the entire world.

There are many guides to searching the deep web. This one is both fairly short and quite useful. This is another quite good introduction to the subject.

There is always Wikipedia, which has a fairly useful discussion and set of links on the topic.

If you are just getting started in professional life, or are even still a student (as we all are, truly), getting control of information sources 500 times larger than the surface web may seem daunting. More likely, it suggests exciting possibilities for information searches.

We really do need better brains if we are to do justice to the explosion of information happening right before our eyes. Better brains, and longer lives. The next level is waiting to be born.

Update 27Dec05: Welcome, readers of Carnival of Tomorrow #16, kindly hosted by The Ministry of Minor Perfidy. In honor of the occasion, and the holidays, I am providing a link to deepwebresearch.info, both here and on the sidebar. Deepwebresearch.info provides an incredible number of potent links covering the deep web. If you really want to master the deep web, this should help.