How to Stop Lurking and Start Using the Internet like a Ninja
- By Paul T
- 1 March, 2012
- 9 Comments
Ninjas, that’s what we need to become. A lot of us are so used to the idea of lurking around the internet without really getting anything done. The internet is so big and has such a huge potential that it won’t be a smart idea not to master it. The reality is that you don’t need to master it, you just have to know what you need. Being a ninja doesn’t teach you everything about the internet, instead, it gives you special knowledge above actual internet users and it ensures you never have to worry about getting lost online. Below are a few tips on how to stop lurking and start using the internet like a Ninja.

1. Master the Search Engines and Learn to Use Special Search Operators
As big as the internet is the cold hard reality is that you can hardly enjoy it except you master how the search engines work. The internet is just so big that you need a special guide when navigating its content, and for the smart internet users this can be the search engines. Search engines make it easy to come across the best content online in a breeze but even with a feature like that search engines still hide a lot of things. You can easily uncover most of the basic information search engines hide by mastering search operators. For example, here are some basic search operators you should know:
- The “site” Operator: This particular operator is used to find a particular keyword on a particular site e.g., “site:yahoo.com top autos” (with “top autos” being your keyword and “yahoo.com” being the site you want to search)
- The “inurl” operator: This particular operator is used to find a particular keyword in any url. It could be a keyword or any file extension. For example, you could use the following search to find a pdf file on ehow.com; “inurl: .pdf”; of course, you could regulate that to find other keywords or offers depending on what you need.
Explaining all major operators for top search engines will take some time but you can find a list of search operators for any search engine by searching Google for a list of search operators.
2. Own a Portion of the Web
In other words, create your own presence online. Don’t just use the internet whenever you want to read. Take action, start using the internet to teach and even for various other purposes that might interest you. Have your own portion of the web; have a website, be on main social media sites and try to interact on as much forums as you can. This not only gives you a partial control of your own part of the web, it also makes you smart as the day goes by so make sure you don’t ignore this important opportunity.
3. Ask Other Ninjas
It’s good to learn and keep improving your knowledge but don’t ever fail to learn when necessary. Forget the part about who takes the credit; instead, ask! Ask on forums, use the search engines to find questions that bother you and work constantly on improving your knowledge of the internet.

Some good advice, it’s always best to be proactive than reactive when working online.
Thanks David for your comment.
You made some very impressive point. Especially for point number 3 . I’m enjoying it a lot.
Yes thanks to the writer of this post.
I use special search operators in nearly all of my searches1
Ravi that’s they way to do it.
I agreed with ravi . Thank You!
This ninja style could also apply to security. I don’t even use an antivirus anymore. Common sense and knowledge is the best antivirus you can use.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have one. But staying outside of suspicious sites and not downloading anything from anywhere is a must.
nice, post and tips