Through keyword-driven Internet research using search engines like Google, millions worldwide have easy, instant access to a vast and diverse amount of online information. Compared to encyclopedias and traditional libraries, the World Wide Web has enabled a sudden and extreme decentralization of information and data.
Some companies and individuals have adopted the use of 'web-logs' or blogs, which are largely used as easily-updatable online diaries. Some commercial organisations encourage staff to fill them with advice on their areas of specialization in the hope that visitors will be impressed by the expert knowledge and free information, and be attracted to the corporation as a result. A current example of this practice is Microsoft, whose product developers publish their personal blogs in order to pique the public's interest in their work.
