Free Pint 'The Internet Newsletter That Means Business' ISSN 1460-7239 6 November 1997 #1 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Welcome to the first issue of Free Pint! This free email newsletter is written by information professionals, and is available to anyone in any business or organisation who uses the Internet to find information. It is best viewed using a fixed width font like Courier and is formatted to 70 characters wide. We also recommend that you print it out first as this makes it much easier to read. If you find this newsletter useful then please forward it (in its entirety) to anyone you think may also benefit from reading it. This extra support will mean that Free Pint can remain first-rate and free. Thank you for your support, William Hann Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES 'Back to Searching Basics' FEATURE ARTICLE 'Major Sources of Business Information on the Internet' QUESTIONS AND LETTERS ADVERTISER INDEX Dow Jones Interactive Publishing The Investext Group Information Access Company TFPL Hemmington Scott Publishing RBA Information Services Financial Times Information > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = DOW JONES INTERACTIVE PUBLISHING http://djinteractive.com provides fast, easy and timely access to 3800 reliable and authoritative business publications, including exclusive coverage of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones newswires; plus a vast collection of market and broker research, company financials and share price histories. Research a market sector like telecommunications, energy or healthcare, a specific country or geographic area, the emerging markets, a company, personality or topical issue. Email solutions@dowjones.co.uk for your free trial. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF DJ001001] GLOBAL BUSINESS RESEARCH FROM THE INVESTEXT GROUP ****VISIT US ON STAND 167 AT ONLINE INFORMATION 97**** The Investext Group offers the largest electronic collection of investment research, market intelligence and trade association information worldwide. Our Investext, MarkIntel, Pipeline(sm) and Industry Insider databases provide access to over a million research reports from over 500 investment firms, brokerage houses, market research organisations and trade associations worldwide. Access our data collections directly online, on CD-ROM or via the Internet. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF IV001002] TIPS AND TECHNIQUES 'Back to Searching Basics' by William Hann Search engines on the Internet are becoming increasingly important and relevant when talking about finding reliable, good quality information on the Web. Free Pint will be looking at a variety of search engines in more detail over the coming issues, and Karen gives pointers to some of the major ones later in the Feature Article. Although search engines are widely used on the Internet, most users have not had any specific information training. If you are a librarian or an information professional then it is highly likely that you will have had some kind of formal training in how to search for information, and have some knowledge of the inconsistencies therein. If you are not, then it is likely that you have never needed to worry about the inherent problems associated with 'information'. Since so many people now use search engines to search the Web, I thought it would be useful to re-introduce five of the key issues in Free Pint's first tips and techniques section. 1. What we say rather than what we mean Any information professional will tell you that someone searching for information will generally skirt around the issue and not say precisely what they want. This may be because the searcher says they will "know it when I see it", or because they find it difficult to put their request directly into words. When you use a search engine on the Internet however, you are asked directly to enter your search terms - words for which the engine will search. It is worth bearing in mind therefore that what the search engine is really saying is: "I will display a link to a Web page if that page contains the words you enter". This is often forgotten and it is expected that search engines can translate the words we enter into what we really mean, which of course they cannot. 2. Search for concepts It is vital to think about the concepts or subjects relating to what you want to retrieve. You then have to find words which represent these subjects - these are your 'search terms' or 'keywords'. You may think you already know these before going ahead, but even information professionals who use information systems daily still often plan out a search on paper before connecting to an online system. This allows them to concentrate on the most important concepts of their search without the added stress of wasting time or money. Of course the professional systems they use are expensive, but likewise if you spend a long time searching on the Web then you must remember that _your_ time is money. 3. Synonyms What you must also think about are other words which mean the same thing as your first search terms. These synonyms are very important - the person who created the web site that you are looking for has probably chosen different words to describe its content than you would have done were you doing their job. Therefore you need to second-guess what words that other person will have used to describe their site. 4. Subconscious knowledge Another problem is subconscious knowledge - that which we don't know we already know. For example, let's say I am looking for details about the Halifax on the Web. Most people in the UK would know that I am talking about the company which has recently converted to PLC status - they know this because it has been in the news recently. However, a search engine doesn't have this extra information, and so if you simply searched for the word 'Halifax' then you may also get information about the towns in Nova Scotia and West Yorkshire. Therefore, bear in mind the subconscious knowledge you already have when deciding on your search terms. 5. What you want ... and what you don't As a result, you must not only think about what you _do_ want, but also what you _don't_ want. This can often cause problems if, for instance, you decide to use a facility which a lot of search engines offer; namely the ability to tell the engine that you don't want to see links to sites which contain a particular word or phrase. This is done by placing a minus sign in front of those words (more details and examples will appear in subsequent issues of Free Pint). The 'Halifax' example above highlights the potential problem: if you were to tell the search engine that you didn't want links to documents containing the phrase 'West Yorkshire', then you would have made things ten times worse because that is actually where the Halifax's headquarters are located. As a result, the search engine could well have removed the correct Web site from the list of results. In summary therefore, you can save a lot of time searching if, before you connect to the Web, you concentrate on exactly what it is that you really want. Then identify suitable search terms and synonyms, think about the sub-conscious knowledge you already have about the subject, and also give some thought to what it is that you _don't_ want. William Hann > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - William is a qualified Information Scientist who has worked for a number of online information service providers, including the Financial Times, Knight-Ridder Information and News International. He runs the Internet consultancy Willco (http://www.willco.co.uk), and is the editor of Free Pint. He can be contacted by email to w.hann@freepint.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = If you have any questions, suggestions or letters, then please send them to letters@freepint.co.uk along with your full name and email address. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = INFORMATION ACCESS COMPANY:(www.international.iacnet.com) PRESENTS INSITE PRO, a powerful flat-fee business intelligence solution on the web designed especially for information professionals. INSITE PRO offers access to the most trusted databases in the information industry including PROMT. Providing fast and flexible search options, a single annual subscription fee and easy navigation, you can enjoy unlimited access regardless of how many searches you request or how many articles you download. Further information: iacinfo@iacnet.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF IC001003] TRAINING COURSES FOR THE INFORMATION PROFESSION TFPL, the premier training organisation in business information, presents the following courses: Competitor Intelligence - 19th November 1997 Researching Global Company Information - 27th November 1997 Internet for Market Research - 28th November 1997 For further details please contact sarah.sheldon@tfpl.com or visit our website http://www.tfpl.com/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF TF001004] If you would like to advertise in Free Pint, please see the notes and special offers at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE 'Major Sources of Business Information on the Internet' by Karen Blakeman If, a couple of years ago, you mentioned the Internet as a source of free business information you would be greeted with howls of hysterical laughter followed by "You CANNOT be serious?". Today, the story is very different. In fact many of us now use the Web as our first port of call. That is not to say that everything is hunky-dory on the Net. There remain sites that offer incomplete, out of date and highly suspect information so you have to keep your wits about you. And then there is the problem of finding them in the first place! Search engines can get you there eventually, but it does help to have the addresses of some key sites to hand. What I have brought together here is a small, unashamedly UK biased selection from my own personal list of favourites. I have concentrated on free sites but mentioned a few worth-while priced services. Disclaimer: The following addresses were valid at the time of writing, but they could change at any time. Neither can I guarantee the accuracy, reliability or quality of the information that you may find: things change very quickly on the Net as does the content of Web pages - and not always for the better. Gateways -------- Gateways are collections of links to other sites, usually covering a specific subject area or geographical region. RBA Information Services: Business Sources (http://www.rba.co.uk/categories.htm) My own company's collection of business sources on the Net. Yahoo - Business and Economy Section (http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Business_and_Economy/) An Internet search tool and directory and a good starting point for any subject. EMIC Information for Exporters (http://dtiinfo1.dti.gov.uk/OTS/EMIC/WEBPAGES/www.html) Company financials and share prices ----------------------------------- Many business people use the Net for share prices and company financials. Free share prices are delayed by at least 20 minutes, but you can obtain real-time prices at relatively low subscription rates. For a list of links to stock exchanges across the world try Qualisteam on http://www.qualisteam.com/eng/act.html, or the Financial Times on http://www.ft.com/ The FT also gives 20 minute delayed stock prices for UK listed companies plus some brief financials. One of the most popular services is Hemmington Scott (http://www.hemscott.co.uk/hemscott/) which covers UK listed companies. DataStream (http://www.datastream.com/) now gives free end of day quotes for 32,000 equities world-wide. More information plus share price graphs can be found on the related Market Eye pages (http://www.market-eye.co.uk/). If you are looking for reliable UK company accounts data, and you need it yesterday, go straight to ICC (http://www.icc.co.uk/). This is a priced service but you can be sure that if the company has a legal obligation to present accounts to Companies House, it will be in the ICC database. For US stock exchange listed companies, you can find two years of accounts on EDGAR (http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm). For share prices try PC Quote (http://www.pcquote.com/)or QuoteCom (http://www.quote.com/) News ---- Virtually every major newspaper and magazine has a web site of some sort. Many of them are marketing sites and have only a couple of top stories from the current issue. Few provide the whole issue online, and even fewer have a searchable archive. Newslink (http://www.newslink.org/news.html) and News Resources (http://newo.com/news/) have links into the majority of news services. Internet newspapers can be a great way of keeping up with the latest events in other countries, but the downside is that they are often in the original language of publication. So brush up your French, German, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Japanese........ Some UK papers worth reading online for free: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Has almost everything that appears in print, including Alex and the crossword! London Evening Standard (http://www.standard.co.uk/) Five day archive and all 4 editions for each day The Times and Sunday Times (http://www.the-times.co.uk/) Nearly all the articles of the hard copy since January 1996. Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/) Articles from the most current issue plus the latest Independent on Sunday. Directories ----------- Some directories on the Web are designed to be part of a marketing site for a printed directory or subscription based service, so do check coverage and currency. If you are looking for telephone directories try Worldpages (http://www.worldpages.com/global.html) or Telephone Directories on the Web (http://www.contractjobs.com/tel/). For UK business listings you have a choice of three: Scoot (http://www.scoot.co.uk/) UK Electronic Yellow Pages (http://www.eyp.co.uk/) Thomson Directories (http://www.inbusiness.co.uk/) Conspicuous by its absence is BT's UK residential directory. There are two sites which claim to provide a UK White Pages but they are of doubtful provenance and not to be recommended. (If you do come across them, bear the words "pole, barge, touch, with, a, don't" in mind.) Statistics ---------- The official national statistical offices are the obvious place to try if you are looking for country specific statistics. The UK Office of National Statistics (http://www.ons.gov.uk/) has a section called UK in figures and links to other countries' official statistics pages. Another good starting point is the Statistical Data Locators (http://www.ntu.ac.sg/ntu/lib/statdata.htm) That good old standby, the CIA World Factbook is available in full at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/, as is the Handbook of Economic Statistics. For the EU, the Eurostat Facts Through Figures is at http://europa.eu.int/en/com/eurostat/serven/part2/21p2.htm. Market Data ----------- So you are looking for market information for widgets in Portugal? Where better to look than the Web since most Market Research companies have a home page. The results from your search engine may look good but wait until you connect to the sites. Then you find that they have exactly the information you need but at a price :-(. More often than not, you will have to pay for reliable, up-to-date, detailed market information. One of the most respected providers of business information is IAC. They have two Web versions of their databases: IAC InSite (http://www.iac-insite.com/) and InSite Pro (http://www.insitepro.com/). Both are well designed, quality sites: the bad news is that you have to pay to use them. But if you are going to be a heavy user of this type of information, it may be worth it and you could save yourself days of fruitless searching. Search Tools ------------ And Finally .... if you still haven't found what you need, it's time to tackle the search engines. Here are a handful to get you started: Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.co.uk/) - particularly good for company web sites Metacrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com/) - combines searches from 6 other search tools Hotbot (http://www.hotbot.com/) - great search tool, shame about the day-glo colours Altavista (http://altavista.digital.com/) - very fast and one of the most popular Excite (http://www.excite.com/) - try the regional/country versions for country specific information. Good Hunting! Karen Blakeman > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Karen Blakeman has worked in the information profession for 19 years and has been a free-lance consultant with her own company (RBA Information Services) for eight years. She provides training and consultancy on the use of the Internet to access and manage information, and on sources of business information. Karen is Chairman of the UK Online User Group and writes the Internet column for Business Information Searcher and EBRD Business Information Review. Her publications include Business Information on the Internet, IT Strategies for Information Management, Telecommunications and Information Work, and Food Information on the Internet: a basic guide (joint publication with the Leatherhead Food RA). Tel/Fax: 0118 947 2256 E-Mail: Karen.Blakeman@rba.co.uk Web: http://www.rba.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = We welcome your feedback on any section in Free Pint. Therefore, please send your comments or suggestions to letters@freepint.co.uk along with your full name and email address. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = HEMMINGTON SCOTT PUBLISHING - www.hemscott.com Is the leading provider to the professional and private investor community of fundamental information on UK quoted companies. The company produces a number of publications, for example Company Guide. In addition HSP distributes electronic data directly to City Institutions and other data vendors for inclusion in their products. The HSP product set is completed by a range of CD-Rom products and a superb Internet site. Contact jsuckling@hemscott.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF HS001005] INTERNET SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS RBA Information Services is running a series of seminars and workshops on using the Internet: Internet Search Tools (half day workshop) 13th November Conventional Online Services Moving to the Web 18th November Business Information on the Internet 26th November How to make more effective use of the Internet 27th November Full details from training@rba.co.uk or http://www.rba.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF RB001006] QUESTIONS AND LETTERS In future issues, this section will contain questions, letters, comments and feedback from you the reader. If you have something you would like to say (whether it be good or bad), then please send it to letters@freepint.co.uk including your full name and email address. Please note, letters may be edited for content or length, and we cannot guarantee a reply. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FINANCIAL TIMES INFORMATION FT Profile - In-depth online service bringing together over 5,000 sources including newspapers, journals, newswires, trade publications, industry and market research, company data, financial statistics, trade tenders and more. FT Discovery - Web-based online service for business end-users. News, politics, industry information, country reports, business opportunities all available for a fixed monthly fee. Tel: +44 (0)171 825 7777 Fax: +44 (0)171 970 0420 email: ftprofile@ft.com web site: www.info.ft.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[ADREF FT001007] Thank you for reading the first issue of Free Pint. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. If you have found this newsletter useful, then please do tell at least two other people or forward the entire newsletter to them. If support increases in this way then we will know we are publishing a newsletter that people value. Why not visit one of our sponsors? Don't forget to tell them that you saw them in Free Pint. Remember, if you would like any more information then please see our Web site at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ See you in two weeks! William Hann, Editor (c) Willco 1997 http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN: 1460-7239 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a free email newsletter for anyone who uses the Internet to get information for their work in any business or organisation. The newsletter is written by professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information on the Internet. More details about subscribing, contributing or advertising can be found on the Web at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ Please note: The newsletter is published by the information consultancy Willco (http://www.willco.co.uk/), and the publishers will NEVER make the subscriber list available to any other company or organisation. The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers. All rights reserved. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =