The Internet as a Source of Input Input can be any "raw material" used by a group to perform work.
Although input can include instructions given to the group, group members' attitudes
toward the group's task, and resources available to the group, an important
form of input for any group is information. One hallmark of the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) is the vast amount of
information available. Web databases, accessed by search engines, are used to
locate Web pages on specific topics. By typing phrases into the search engine
you can find Web pages on topics ranging from aardvarks to xylophones. Using
the Internet to find information is perhaps more common today than the use of
encyclopedias was 20 years ago. To illustrate the power of the Internet, assume you are the coach of a new
bobsled team wanting to rival the famous Jamaican team. Where would you begin?
If you use the Internet effectively, you can be well on the way to the gold.
Try using Yahoo! to search for the phrase "Olympic bobsledding." When
we tried this we found over 1,300 Web pages with information on the topic. A variety of search engines exist that can help you find information. Some
of the most popular include: Yahoo.com Google.com Metacrawler.com | 
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education