The internet is a boon for finding information-but the internet is also fraught with misinformation.

An example to ponder. I was looking for information on an in-car GPS system, (a navman, tom tom...one of those things). I found an article on Cnet, a well known forum for all things digital and "techie", that proclaimed "in-car navigation systems a flop". Given that every second car driving down the road seems to have a GPS hanging from the windscreen, I had to wonder upon the accuracy of this claim. Then, I saw the date of the article at the top - 01 December 2005. Nearly 4 years ago! A lot has happened in the last 4 years to the hardware and software of in-car navigation systems to make them so prominent.

The ease of communicating and storing information means that much of it is outdated, incorrect or just outright wrong.

The lesson is, take the information you find with a grain of salt and try to verify the timeliness of the content. Also, try adding search terms such as the date eg: "in car navigation reviews 2008" to get back timely information.

The more concise you are with your search terms, the more likely you are to get back useful information.