Good information is a scarce commodity that needs to be distributed to targeted individuals as effectively as possible. The only source this information is going to come from is the targeted community itself.

The unrestricted nature of the internet makes this forum ideal.

Okay.

So, where to begin.

How net savvy are you?

Can you build a website that'll give constructive and useful information to those who need it?

You know how to email memos to a group of people?

Can you use internet technology in an efficient and effective manner?

No?

Then take a load off, and visit for awhile.

Let's cut to the chase. Yahoo! is the best internet community out there. The little doohickeys you need (email, address book, bookmarks) are excellent.

If you're going just for the web building stuff and the essential features, then you might want to consider Excite.com (unlimited bookmarks and all the Lycos web building info and doodads your heart could desire). But for the complete internet experience, Yahoo! beats them all.

All right, you're an austere individual, and you don't want to be bothered with any nonsensical tomfoolery. Good for you!...

YAHOO! RULES!!

Kay.

This is the basic rundown.

Before joining an internet community, you'll need an email address. I've listed seven sites. Four of the links lead to the email sign up forms of major communities. Alta Vista is a top search engine that offers free email. And the last two sites offer links to several free email sites.

The advantage of selecting a community email is that it eliminates the need to sign up for membership. - Once you have one of their email accounts, you automatically become a member. (Forget about trying it the other way around. Community membership forms won't go through if there isn't an email address on it.)

Special note on member names: If the member name you want to use is already taken, some of these sites will offer an alternative name. Be kind to yourself - take it. If you insist on picking your own, this may well be the longest part of the signing up process. If you're the stubborn type, come up with five names. If all 5 are taken, just pick one of their variations.

If you decide to go for one of the other email accounts, go to the home page of whatever internet community you want to join after you finish looking at your email doonickeys. - I've included links to community homepages at the bottom of this page.

Sign up by clicking on the appropriate link. - It should say something like Create Your Start Page, My ---, Join Now, Make --- Your Home Page, Register, Personalize...

If you can't find anything like that, click the log in or sign in link. These pages are usually not as cluttered. Then just look around for the Not a member? Register now. kind of link.

Give the required information. (And don't worry about the optional stuff. If you don't like what you put down you can always go back and change it later. - The only exception might be the user name you select. But what the hell, if you really end up hating it, open another account. Inactive accounts automatically get deleted after awhile. Or you can contact customer service and see if they'll wipe it out right away.)

Make sure to deselect the boxes for "special offers", unless you like getting junk mail in your email address. (Again, you can unsubscribe or remove this option from your account if you decide it's more trouble than it's worth.)

If you want your profile to show up in the member directory, leave that box checked. (Or add your name to it later - get the idea?)

When deciding what you want on your home page, be sure to put in bookmarks. (Another thing you can do - or undo - at any time.) Apart from the email address, the bookmarks will probably be the most valuable time saving feature you'll use.

Yahoo and Excite put no limits on the amount of bookmarks you can have. Lycos.com gives you 20 and MSN.com gives you 10.

The first time you setup a home page might take you an hour; not because it's difficult, but because you're playing with a bunch of new stuff and you may not know what you want.

After that, expect to take thirty minutes to setup one of these things. (Of course, if you're the kind of person who can spend hours trying to decide what kind of wallpaper you want, then all bets are off.)

How many accounts should you have?

As far as the email is concerned, you'll need two accounts. At some point in time, you might want to do something at one of your sites that'll require an email validation. Well, that site won't want you to use the account you have with them for that validation. - If we're talking high security (usually something involving money), they might require you to confirm the transaction with an account you had to pay for. If this is the case, forget about it. There's more than one way to skin a cat. You've come this far in your life without some fancy internet service, and you can go on without it. Now, if we're just talking about posting a message on some bulletin board, no sweat. They may need some other email address, but in this case, any will do. Just hop over to some other site and join up. Once you have two emails, you don't have to worry about this kind of thing anymore. As a matter of fact, it's usually not a question of not enough emails, but too many. -- Everyone wants to give you an email address. They want you to hang around their site. They want you to see their little ads. It's all polls and Nielson Rating stuff.

Anyway, two will usually do. Get more than that and you might as well be a mailroom clerk. Believe me, going through all your email gets old real fast.

And what about the communities?

If you don't like the community you've selected, then by all means, go to another one.

Okay. -- You've got your email. You've got your bookmarks. You've even got a nice little place to read your horoscope and comics. -- Just kidding. If you've got your own computer, fine. If you're at a library, or some kind of campus or community center you always have to remember that you're on the clock. Don't waste time with that kind of stuff.

So how do you deal with such a disadvantage?

Can anything really be accomplished in 30 or 45 minutes?

Yes. But you're approach is going to have to be very systematic. Standardize as much as you can. Go in there with a To-Do list and stick to it.

Check your email.
Check your calendar. (Another excellent feature.)
Once you're into building websites, check that as well.
Send out whatever email messages you've got to send out.
(Which means, if your going for quantity as well as quality, it'll save you a lot of effort in the long run if you learn how to use the address book features.)

How effective are your searches? Do you find what you're looking for in a reasonable amount of time?

Here's a link to Yahoo!'s page on basic search tips.

Sometimes a search can take a long time even if you know what you're doing. Instead of blowing all your allotted time on endless searches, try using free expert services every once in awhile. These are sites that have been setup to allow users to contact knowledgeable people in just about any field. - If you can't find the appropriate category on such a site, be sure to suggest it.

Another time saver is the Find feature in your browser. Internet Explorer and Netscape list this feature under Edit in their menus. This feature will accomplish in seconds what might take the better part of an hour on very cluttered pages. Just put in the word or phrase you're looking for and this thing will highlight it wherever it may happen to be on the page.

If you're new to the internet, you're probably looking at the screen right now and thinking, you've got to be kidding.

Don't worry about being all organized and efficient when you start out. Just muddle threw the best you can. I promise you, if you stick with it, you will make a go of it.

Just keep in mind, this isn't some awesome business deal with loads of money hanging in the balance. -- This stuff is free, and the only schedule you have to keep is your own. Just stick to it.