Free Pint No.79 - Commercialisation and Voluntary Resources Free Pint "Helping 34,000 people use the Web for their work" http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN 1460-7239 18th January 2001 No.79 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from James Hatts FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Internet Resources for the Voluntary Sector" by Allan Pearson BOOKSHELF "Organizing Knowledge: an introduction to managing access to information" Reviewed by Paul Pedley FEATURE ARTICLE "Online Business News: A Tale of Boom and Bust?" by Tim Houghton EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/180101.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ******HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS?****** NewsEdge is a leading provider of business-oriented eContent for websites and corporate intranets. We provide the highest quality, most cost effective and flexible solutions for serving the information needs of thousands of corporate and Internet online communities. To find out more about how to make your website stickier and your employees smarter, visit www.newsedge.com or, call us now on +44 (0) 20 7448 4400 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ne791] >>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<< Free Pint is a community of business professionals who use the Web for their research. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet. Signing up at provides free access to the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, industry news and events, with answers to your research questions and networking at the "Free Pint Bar" and "Student Bar". This newsletter is best read when printed out and viewed in a Courier font. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EDITORIAL The Free Pint Bar is a fun place to be. I am regularly staggered by the lengths Free Pinters will go to when helping others with their tricky research questions. Like any good Bar we welcome a broad spectrum of visitors. Most members enter into the spirit of things, but there are those who voice their objections about what's happening to their favourite haunt as the owners try to find different ways to please their regulars and earn enough money to make the venture commercially viable. It therefore upset the barrel recently when we were accused of surreptitiously commercialising Free Pint and thus compromising our independence. Simon has become our nominated spokesperson on this topic and has presented our response to the accusations most eloquently below in his regular Bar Summary. I would therefore urge you to join this debate and give us your feedback on whether you believe we are acting appropriately in trying to secure a financially viable future for Free Pint. On this theme, we continue to enhance our commercial offerings. It is now possible to pay for reports from our gateway to UK company information by invoice instead of just by credit card. You can still search for free and there are no setup or subscription fees, and being able to pay on account should make the service available to even more members. Try a search today at . Both articles in today's Free Pint continue the commercial theme, one looking at resources for the not-for-profit sector, whilst the other tries to identify commercially viable models for the future of business news media online. I hope you enjoy this issue with its regular mix of reviews and tips. I'd like to thank all those who have been spreading the word about Free Pint, and of course the advertisers in this issue who include NewsEdge, Factiva and Learned Information. Let's raise a glass to a financially viable future for Free Pint. Cheers William William Hann BSc MIInfSc Founder and Managing Editor, Free Pint e: william@freepint.co.uk t: +44 (0)1784 455435 f: +44 (0)1784 455436 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Get up-to-date news, reviews, career moves and profiles, PLUS free access to the online archive, by subscribing to Information World Review - the information industry's leading monthly news magazine. http://www.iwr.co.uk Information World Review - addressing the agenda of information professionals and providing guidance to those working in an information-based career. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [li792] >>> UK COMPANY INFORMATION PURCHASES CAN NOW BE INVOICED <<< Search for any UK company and view basic details for free. Purchase detailed information by credit card or invoice. No setup fees or monthly subscription. Try it today at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/icc/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES from James Hatts * Ananova - I use this service whenever I need to research something that's been in the news. * Master.com provides an excellent search facility for Web sites. * FlatText - I recently discovered this tool which makes it easy to build simple database applications on the web with CGI. A SQL version is coming soon. * MediaGuardian - I visit this site nearly every day for the latest media news and gossip. * Dogpile - I used to be a Google devotee, but the newly redesigned Dogpile is a great meta-search engine. James Hatts is Website Manager at Politico's , Britain's leading political bookseller and publisher. He also manages the London SE1 community Web site . Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at or email > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = **** MYSTERY AND MISCHIEF ON WWW.FACTIVA.COM/INFOPRO **** You can now read the first chapter of our six part serialised mystery 'Trouble at Risk-eGames' on www.factiva.com/infopro. In mid May you will be able to enter a competition to guess the perpetrator of the crime. Read the first chapter and enter the world of Risk-eGames.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [fa793] >>> HOW CAN YOU REACH 34,000 BUSINESS INFORMATION SEARCHERS? <<< Free Pint is read around the world by a large community of business information users and purchasers. An annual advertising account gives one million exposures in the newsletter and on the Web site for one low monthly price. http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT BAR In Association with Factiva a Dow Jones & Reuters Company Reviewed by Simon Collery http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/180101.htm#bar Free Pint Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address or enter the number in the "Jump To" box on the Bar homepage] Free Pint has been accused of 'commercialisation' (6666). If that means that we aim to make money then we are guilty. We produce good quality, original content for our subscribers and anyone else who is interested, free of charge. But we need to make enough money to cover costs and we must make a profit in order to expand the range of services we provide. That's why we place advertisements on the site and newsletter and why we offer to host people's mailing lists. It also explains why we accept sponsorship. We promote ICC because we sell their data. We do this openly, not covertly, as implied by our accuser. Many things on the Web are free, not just content. There's open source software too, mentioned in Tuesday's Pub Crawl (6853). But producers of such software usually make a living as designers or developers. Libraries that develop library software are usually publicly funded. In fact, most things that are free on the Web make money for the producer somehow. If they don't make money they don't survive. Look at the UK ISPs that have fallen by the wayside because they couldn't generate enough revenue (6726). Industry publications are full of dotcom businesses grappling with this problem (6721). Search engines are free to use, aren't they? The two I reviewed recently certainly are (6793, 6658). But it costs money to make sure that your site will be found when people use search engines. Search engines need to make money. Ok, you can get promotion advice free of charge by posting a message on the Free Pint Bar, for example (6827, 6608). But that's because people are willing to share something that they probably spent money or time in acquiring for themselves. Sites that cost money to run need to make money. That certainly applies to the following, most of which are commercial. There's the domain name information site (6698), the ecommerce data site (6772), the books and reviews site (6831), the out of print books site (6817), the ISP information site (6650, 6753), the business plan site (6836), free text messaging services (6639), computer training and advice (6771, 6759), timeline data (6725), information on the Gulf war (6765), European legislation (6757) and rail information (6630). Free Pinters have helped other Free Pinters to find media outlets in Cuba (6700), salary calculators (6690), management consultants (6746), cash flow templates (6782), business planning software and information (6713) and news sources (6649). They have given advice on US dollar accounts in the UK (6843), Web hosting (6806), leaflet design (6664), sites on interior design (6850), search engine statistics (6692) and international cost of living data (6662). Sharing information and services in this way is a commercial reality. It's also one of the things that made the Web possible in the first place. Further questions have been raised about information architecture training (6846), London and European Web design companies (6790, 6812), email encryption (6783), Web site marketing companies (6854), help desks (6814), wholesale rice prices (6859), UK company car figures (6824) and writing procedure manuals (6823), if anyone can help with these matters. You won't get paid in cash, but maybe you have a question that you want answered? Software recommended includes PC fax software (6794), email software (6837) and call notification software (6760). Still to be answered are queries about personal budget software (6641), printing the Outlook Express address book (6669), a way of sending videos by email (6808) and the minimum computing requirements for a library (6857). Any help with these would be much appreciated. Questions have been answered about dial-up networking (6646), Web hosting and copyright (6789), clearing the browser address bar (6801), virus problems (6832), converting PC produced graphics so they are the same on Macs (6735) and resources for simulating different browsers and browser versions (6604). There have been more miscellaneous questions about working from home (6724), Nexis Universe (6683), wedding stationery software (6681), a company that supplies online freelance work (6764), tracing people (6710) and 1991 technical specifications for a Super Morterplas, a APP plastomeric bitumen-based waterproofing membrane (6736). That's something you don't see every day in a Bar. Finally, our independence has also been questioned (6666, again!). Well, not only does it make good commercial sense to promote sharing and to make some content available free of charge on the Web. It also means that this content can be examined and compared with other content, peer reviewed, effectively. Free Pint is a community of professionals who can, and do, add to and make comments on what is written in the newsletter and posted on the Bar. Everything we say is open to inspection and you always have the right to reply or comment. Free Pint Student Bar - http://www.freepint.co.uk/student [Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of XXXX in the address ] The Student Bar continues to emerge slowly after the New Year excesses to questions about enterprise information portals (1109), university rankings for masters degrees in architecture (1112) and the forthcoming AUKML open day (1108). Simon Collery, Content Developer If you have a tricky research question or can help other Free Pinters then do post a message at the Bar or the Student Bar . Visit daily for "Today's Tipple" - a different Web site reviewed every working day at the Bar. Every Tuesday there is the "Pub Crawl", a look at full text articles from a range of information and Internet publications. Access the archive of Tipples and Pub Crawls at . To have the latest Free Pint Bar postings sent to you every other day, send a blank email to . For the Student Bar Digest send an email to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Sue Hill Recruitment - jobs every day - good candidates needed! We need flexible, adaptable, individuals with a recognised library / information qualification or relevant experience. Particularly those wanting temporary assignments. Our clients are mostly in London or based in other UK cities and want the best and trust us to provide it. Tel: 020 7378 7068 jobs@suehill.com http://www.suehill.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [sh794] >>> DO YOU PUBLISH AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER? <<< Free Pint is one of the most experienced email publishers in the business, so trust them to manage your subscriptions and handle distribution of your publication. Find out about the benefits at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/bulk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/180101.htm#tips "Internet Resources for the Voluntary Sector" by Allan Pearson Any article covering the voluntary sector quickly comes across problems posed by the sheer size and breadth of the sector and the fact that many Internet resources are not suitable for the UK. So, rather than try the impossible, this article will look at resources which meet the needs of smaller voluntary groups within the UK, although in a few cases details will be specific to England. An obvious starting point for advice or information is the local Council for Voluntary Service or its equivalent. Details of local CVSs can be found at . Unfortunately not all CVSs have websites and the information they provide is mixed. Another source for embryo groups includes . There is also some useful guidance at although most of their coverage is aimed at environmental groups. Details of constitutions and legal structures can be found at and this also has some material on employment issues. Advice on financial procedures, which is particularly important for charities, can be found on a number of sites. There are useful information sheets on and the South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau site at . The Charity Commission site has a wealth of information besides containing the register of charities. Finally, and may be useful. Fundraising is covered by a number of sites of which the most useful are perhaps - which includes an impressive amount of information, but unfortunately some of the links are broken - and the Association of Charitable Foundations site, . Lottery money is covered by , and . Details of who has been awarded lottery money is covered by . may have some useful information, however, this is a subscription site although trial access is allowed. The Directory of Social Change produces a large number of books on fundraising and their site may be worth visiting See for details of their catalogue. Volunteering is covered at the Timebank site as well as by the NAVB - while specific volunteering opportunities can be found at . The National Centre for Volunteering has a range of information sheets promoting good practice - and the International Year of Volunteering has its own website at . Businesses wanting to promote volunteering among their staff will find resources for them at and while businesses that would consider themselves to be social entrepreneurs may find worth a look. A number of sites deal with policies relating to the recruitment of paid staff including the DTI and ACAS sites . Equal opportunities are covered by the Commission for Racial Equality , the Equal Opportunities Commission and the National Disabilities Council . Sites dealing with vacancies in charities tend to be very mixed in their coverage. One of the most comprehensive is the oneworld site , but some vacancies are also covered by , , and . NFP Jobs also offers an email newsletter. Useful sites for training include the Association for Consultants and Trainers , Sharing Credit and the Training Zone . Finding details of a voluntary group can be much harder than would be supposed. Besides the Charity Commission with around 180,000 groups, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have details of over 600 groups that are online at in addition to a lot of information on the voluntary sector in general. BUBL also maintain a large list at . Details can also be found locally in a number of places such as Leeds and Birmingham , however, the Leeds site is by subscription due to Data Protection issues. Data Protection is covered by the Data Protection Commission while assistance on IT matters can also be found at the London Advice Services Alliance (LASA) site . LASA also produce a newsletter and other IT newsletters can be found at and . In a similar vein, email discussion lists are offered by NCVO, NACVS and Fundraising.org. Besides LASA a number of sites offer advice, examples of which include DIAL (UK) and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf . A number of Government sites are worth visiting, including the Health and Safety Executive and details of these can be obtained from . Legal issues are covered by Sandy Adirondack , although it may also be worth having a look at Delia Venables and Freelawyer , whilst community law has already been mentioned. A newsletter is also available from but the site doesn't currently contain the most up to date version online. Quality assurance is currently important in the voluntary sector and examples include PQASSO , Best Value , Investors in People and the Business Excellence Model . A number of sources deal with news within the voluntary sector and Charity Times and the Guardian are both useful sources. A number of umbrella bodies have already been covered but the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) and the London Voluntary Sector Council should be added to these. Finally, saving one of the best sites to last, is well worth a visit. Navigation isn't always easy, but the sheer amount of material covered make this worth investigating. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Allan Pearson trained as an Information Scientist at Leeds Polytechnic and is the Information Worker at Voluntary Action Leeds , email . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Post a message to the author now at the Free Pint Bar * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> FREE PINT FACT <<< It is interesting to look back at the logs of the numbers of visitors to the Free Pint Web site over the last three years. Compared to one year ago, we're now welcoming three times as many visitors each month to the site, and they're looking at three times as many pages each visit. Compared to two years ago things are even more rosy. We're welcoming six times as many people each month now as we were then, and they're looking at ten times as many pages on average each visit. Rest assured that our trusty Web and email servers are coping admirably with all this demand, in fact they haven't had to be restarted once during the last 165 days. William Hann, Managing Editor > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Use Cruiser - for hosting with a difference! http://www.globalgold.co.uk/ Are you looking after multiple accounts or managing multiple brands or clients and in need of a more flexible hosting solution to help you handle your business efficiently and effectively? If so, think Cruiser. http://www.globalgold.co.uk/Hosting/Cruiser > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [gg795] FREE PINT BOOKSHELF http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf "Organizing Knowledge: an introduction to managing access to information" Reviewed by Paul Pedley The first edition of Organizing Knowledge was published in 1987. Now in its third edition, the book has been restructured and revised to apply in a world which now relies so heavily on electronic information retrieval. This is a substantial book, over 400 pages in length, and at its heart are the traditional skills of the librarian - 'cat' and 'class' (or 'cataloguing' and 'classification'). It is a standard text for students of information and library studies. The book provides a good grounding in cataloguing and classification. It deals with the concept and principles involved in organising knowledge, rather than being a straight "how to" guide. The book consists of 13 chapters which are split into four main parts: a) Information basics - explores the nature of information and knowledge b) Records - this section is about how to describe documents c) Access - looks at the tools for accessing information resources and covers indexing and searching, classification, thesauri, and access points in catalogues d) Systems - deals with the systems used to retrieve knowledge including OPACs, the Internet, and online search services. I volunteered to review the book because I regularly hear people talk about how the traditional skills of librarians in terms of classification and the use of thesauri are now in great demand. But when I hear this, it is usually when people are discussing the use of taxonomies to manage their intranets. Whilst the index to the book does contain the word 'thesaurus', it does not contain a listing for the words 'taxonomy' or 'taxonomies'. [TFPL in their recent report "Taxonomies for business" ISBN 1870889835 define taxonomies as the creation of structure and labels to aid location of relevant information]. The book has undoubtedly undergone a thorough revision, and certainly covers areas such as metadata standards and Dublin Core, just as much as more traditional concepts such as authority lists; thesauri; and classification schemes. This book certainly provides a good grounding in the issues concerned with cataloguing and classifying material. But what I would have found particularly helpful would have been for it to include a number of case studies from practitioners on how they went about organising their collections of knowledge. How, for example, have they gone about managing electronic content on their web site / intranet / extranet? What problems did they encounter? How did they overcome them? All in all I think that this book provides a good grounding for students of information management, and it is important that these topics are dealt with thoroughly on information and library studies courses. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Paul Pedley is Head of Research at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Paul is a Fellow of the Library Association and current chairperson of the Industrial and Commercial Libraries Group of the Library Association. He is also a special libraries representative on the Library Association Copyright Alliance . Paul is the author of two Aslib Know How Guides - "Copyright for library and information service professionals" and "Intranets and push technology - creating an information sharing environment". He also has two books which are due for publication by Aslib shortly: "Free business and industry information on the web" (January 2001) and "The invisible web" (June 2001). He can be contacted by email or on the Web at . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Information and Libraries" resources in the Free Pint Portal * Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read about other Internet strategy books on the Free Pint Bookshelf * Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com * Details: ISBN 0566080478 published by Gower and written by Jennifer Rowley and John Farrow * Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Bookshelf To propose an information-related book for review, send details to . > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> INFORMATION STUDENTS HAVE THEIR OWN HELP FORUM <<< If you're an information student then check out the Student Bar. It's a great place to get help with dissertations or projects, seek the opinions of experienced Free Pinters around the world, and find recruitment or placement opportunities. It's your resource so make the most of it: http://www.freepint.co.uk/student/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/180101.htm#feature "Online Business News: A Tale of Boom and Bust?" by Tim Houghton Introduction ------------ "The Internet shift endangers financial print media", Forrester Research 1998. "The Street closes down" Net Imperative, 16 November 2000. It all looked so bright in 1998. Online news was faster, cheaper to distribute and the Internet medium was great at providing news-depth. All ideal for fast moving business stories. So why did technology title Net Imperative need re-financing to survive and why did financial news site The Street.co.uk close its servers at the end of November? Is business news media like online retail now going bust? And does any of this matter for Information Professionals? Unsurprisingly neither "boom" or "bust" is an accurate description of the state of play. The reality, as ever, is more complex, contradictory and opaque than that. The State of Play: Positives ---------------------------- Business news web sites are popular. The most popular news site in the UK, BBC News, gets over 3 million unique visitors per month. OK so this isn't all business news but the FT gets over a million and The Register (an online only technology title) 700,000 plus. Not bad when the UK has around 15 million regular Net users (e-MORI October 2000). The web has fostered the growth of distinctive online brands including Ananova (formerly the Press Association news site) and The Industry Standard (a technology specialist). It has also enabled new business models: Moreover.com specialises in aggregating content and linking users to it from over 1,800 news sources. iSyndicate.com brokers content from media creators to web sites that want compelling content. The web gives smaller companies access to business news content that used to be just too expensive. For example Reuters newsfeeds can be accessed free via Yahoo! News or Hoovers.com. So all is actually rosy in the news media garden? Well no there are problems. The State of Play: Negatives ---------------------------- Whilst online readership growth is strong, monetising that interest is proving more of a challenge. Both the two principal revenue streams, advertising and subscription, are proving problematic. Advertising revenue is not expanding as fast as many of the titles hoped (which is partly why so many online news operations lose money). The bursting of the TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) stock market bubble has been a critical factor in causing revenue projections to be scaled back. Very few online titles manage to charge subscribers. The451, Wall Street Journal and The Economist have managed it but the majority have not. TheStreet.com has given up trying and popular sites like FT.com and CBS MarketWatch have also eschewed the pay model. Much of the news agenda is still set by the old fashioned news brands. The printed FT and the Sunday broadsheets still drive much business news sentiment and discussion. In many cases the web is just another delivery mechanism for content that is also being distributed elsewhere (for example CNN and the BBC). This is a much less influential role for the web than was envisaged a couple of years back. What are the Implications for Information Professionals? -------------------------------------------------------- The current and future development of online business news clearly has implications for information professionals. Media content is so often the start point for topical research and is a key input into any competitor or market intelligence system. As the mantra has it, content may be king but the medium can make the king's words more easily accessible. The fact that much online content replicates its print media coverage can be seen as a positive not a negative. It is already digitised; and this of course makes for easier dissemination. Hands up how many information professionals still have to circulate photocopied packs of relevant news to staff? (we've talked to quite a few). Geography: For those looking to track competitor and market developments overseas the web reduces the time and cost of accessing local news content. Overseas news portals like Mainstream.nl in Holland make country coverage far easier to access than in the past. Archive Retrieval: The majority of business news sites have well indexed archives, enabling topics to be tracked back for years if required. Context: Sites such as CNN sensibly link their articles to others that may be of interest. The web's hyperlink structure thus enables a much faster identification of the relationship between topics and issues. Interactivity: The ability to discuss a topic with other users. Sometimes this has had negative impacts, witness the stock "ramping" that goes on in many investment forums, but at its best it can be a highly positive tool for extending understanding. News depth: Online news titles often contain greater depth than can be found in printed media. For example in the financial sector, eFinancial news and ii-Q.com provide detailed news for the fund management industry. Personalisation/Customisation: First generation attempts at this were not especially successful. Personalised newspapers haven't really taken off, however customisation for information professionals provides a powerful way to reduce information overload. CNN's personalisation features or the ability to track news about particular stocks (for example on CBS MarketWatch) helps filter the formidable coverage volumes these sites generate. Future ------ So what's the future for online business news if it's neither boom nor bust? Some of the trends that seem most pertinent to us are: Broadband content: Established news operators like the BBC and CNN are starting to pump broadband content down the line. But the more interesting trend is that the economics of online media creation and distribution enable new types of multimedia content to be commercially viable. A pioneer in this field has been Silicon.com; expect many others to follow. Mobile news access: We're unconvinced that this will have a big impact on business news in the next year or two. Mobile devices (including PDAs) are just too limited by their screen size to function as much more than "news alert" devices. Indexing and Sourcing: One of the most exciting areas in new media generally is not the content itself but developments in how content is indexed and located. There are 2 key trends: * XML tagging: XML has been described as the web's answer to card indexes. It's a meta-data language that helps users find information about information. The news dialect of this language, NewsML, is currently being finalised and should make it significantly easier to locate relevant content right across the web. Other 'tagging' structures for broadband content are also being developed. * Unstructured data searching: Other innovations run in the opposite direction. Instead of sophisticated tagging we may no longer have to bother with any indexing at all. A company called Autonomy has achieved a multi billion pound market capitalisation by developing software that can find meaning in unstructured data. The free version of its software is called Kenjin (full versions are very far from free!). Alliances and Co-opetition: Online business news is seeing some fascinating tie ups between brands that might once have felt they were deadly rivals. BreakingViews.com co-operated with The Wall Street Journal, Handelsblatt and La Tribune to achieve distribution for its content despite the fact that it could be considered a competitor. Tough competition online may well lead to the survival of the most flexible and imaginative. Conclusion ---------- Online business news seems to have a vibrant future. As in so many other online sectors the most salient characteristics are change and fluidity rather than definitive structures. However an increasingly mature relationship with print and broadcast channels is apparent. The days of squinting at 8 point type on an overbright monitor seem to be very far from over! > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tim Houghton is a founder and director of Parallel54. He is happy to discuss any issues arising out of the article in the Free Pint Bar. Parallel54 is an online media monitoring and web research firm. Clients include advertising agencies, PR agencies, technology firms and professional services organisations. Parallel54 is based in Manchester and is supported by The Prince's Trust. For further information please visit the web site at: . > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Related Free Pint links: * "Newspapers and Magazine" links, articles and news in the Portal * Respond to this article and chat to the author now at the Bar * Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks * Access the entire archive of Free Pint content > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> TODAY'S NEWS. 300+ TOPICS. FREE AND CONTINUALLY UPDATED <<< If you're looking for today's news on any topic then visit: http://www.freepint.co.uk/news/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FORTHCOMING EVENTS http://www.freepint.co.uk/events This January in the UK there'll be the Corporate Intranets and Portals conference and the European Supply Chain Summit, both in London. In the US there'll be the Bot 2001 event and the Practicing Information Architecture, both in San Francisco, California. This year's Special Libraries Association Winter Meeting will take place in Savannah, Georgia. Full details of these and many other forthcoming conferences and exhibitions in the online-information and Internet industries can be found on the Free Pint Events page . Also submit details of your event via this page. Simon Collery, Content Developer > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >>> ACCESS ALL FREE PINT ARTICLES AND TIPPLES BY INDUSTRY <<< The Free Pint Portal gives quick and easy access to all our content: http://www.freepint.co.uk/portal/content/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT GOLD This time last year we had an article on promoting your site and making sure that it is visible on search engines. 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