Competitive Intelligence: Deciphering Corporate Strategy using Secondary Sources
1st May 2013

As part of FreePint’s series of articles on competitive intelligence focused on helping information professionals gain a competitive advantage over technology, Milan Dalal of the Brook Intelligence Centre explains how piecing together the clues contained within secondary sources can surface a company’s strategy. He details why there is an increasing need for this type of analysis, the sources to consider, and how to critically evaluate them. He also demonstrates how your opinions can add value to the process.

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Has LinkedIn Got its Finger on the Pulse of its Contacts?
1st May 2013

There have been a number of very interesting announcements from LinkedIn recently. Amongst these was their purchase of Pulse, a newsreader application that aggregates news sources. How will this acquisition and other announcements such as the new LinkedIn Contacts App enhance our LinkedIn experience?

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Infographics: The "At a Glance" Research Source
30th April 2013

One might think incorporating non-text sources into a research strategy of any sort would be almost a given considering the large amount of visual data available both online and in print but it does remain a neglected area. Infographics can be a valuable source for identifying and visualising trends, obtaining a quick picture of a situation, determining a starting point for research and much more. Jan Knight also highlights some of the popular tools for creating your own infographics.

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FreePint Report: Internal Communications
29th April 2013

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The Importance of Context in Search and Big Data
29th April 2013

Keith Cooper provides an insight into web data extraction and monitoring in the field of big data and explains how unstructured big data can be turned into actionable information. He also explains the importance of context in search and why narrowing the field of enquiry produces the most relevant data for subsequent analysis.

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Whistleblowing - Are You Getting the Help You Need?
29th April 2013

Reportedly there is now unprecedented awareness of anti-corruption regulation but the UK fraud prevention service finds that the incidence of whistleblowing is still exceptionally low. Perhaps the current staff oversight model is broken; maybe information companies may face special challenges in dealing with internal corruption? Meanwhile consultation is underway on ways to better protect whistleblowers. This could present opportunities for information professionals to have their say and cement their place in their organisation’s risk and compliance function.

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The Inexorable Rise of Social Knowledge Management
26th April 2013

One of the biggest challenges faced by information professionals is getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Whilst traditional knowledge management techniques have worked for many years, we're beginning to see a new trend: the use of Social KM techniques. James Mullan asks why social is so important and questions how employers can encourage staff to share information in the legal sector and elsewhere.

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FreePint Report: Information Services Management Monthly Update (April 2013)
25th April 2013

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An Array of Needs in Mobile Content: A View from the FreePint Community of Practice
25th April 2013

The mobile environment is a dynamic one. Robin Neidorf offers an update into how organisations are tackling the challenge of making content mobile, which devices are proving the most popular and which barriers to implementation remain. Security and authentication issues are discussed alongside BYOD and softer challenges such as users' lack of information literacy skills.

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Social Media Disclosure Means More Headaches for Info Pros
24th April 2013

The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that companies may use social media to disclose company information so long as investors know to look for it there. But, despite services like Thomson Reuters’ Accelus Disclosure Solutions, there’s always the risk of unauthorised premature announcements. Pressure from Ovum on European banks to improve their social media presence, and new UK rules on directors’ remuneration reporting, could also complicate the situation – not to mention findings from Pew that social media comment may not even be representative of opinion generally.

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