Have you heard about "intelligent agents"? This is an example - a gizmo
that keeps an eye out for things that may be of interest to you, and
then gives you a little electronic poke in the ribs.
So what is Reference.COM good for? If you're wondering...
- where all the model train collectors hang out
- what a certain person said about a specific topic
- how to find a 1989 Ford Escort for sale in your area
- what's being said about Disney's new "Hunchback" flick
- the address of that French dictionary in a recent TOURBUS posting
- who's saying nasty things about your company online
... Reference.COM can probably help you. Remember, almost every word
posted in any public forum on the Net is searchable here. Add to that
the ability to stay up to date on your favorite topics with a stored
query, and you've got a really powerful tool at your fingertips.
(You should also be aware of a similar service called DejaNews at
http://www.dejanews.com which currently has a larger Usenet archive,
but does not offer mailing lists, stored queries or e-mail access.)