Subject: FOURTH FREE PINT "Review of Online Information 97" Free Pint Helping you find quality information on the Web ISSN 1460-7239 18 December 1997 #4 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Welcome to the fourth issue of Free Pint! Once again we have a packed issue with lots of practical advice and guidance. The Tips & Techniques section tells you how to search a number of search engines at the same time, and the Feature Article is written by Dr Anne Barker who gives a very informative review of what happened last week at Online Information 97 in London. From the New Year we are going to be having subject specific issues. Lined up so far we have issues on how to find Internet sources about IT/Telecoms, Engineering, Current Awareness and Medical resources. The articles will list the best sites and tell you how to find more. As you know, Free Pint relies on your support to keep it first-rate and free. All we ask is that you forward it to as many other people as you can. To make this even easier, why not click on the Forward button now, and put the following message at the top of your email ... = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = To: From: Subject: Free Pint Newsletter I subscribe to the attached newsletter called "Free Pint" and thought you may like to have a look. It contains tips and articles on how to find good quality and reliable information on the Internet. You can reserve your free fortnightly copy at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Please do visit our sponsors, and don't forget to tell them where you saw their advert. Also, why not link your Web site to ours and you could win free advertising (see http://www.freepint.co.uk/ for more details). May I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and an Excellent New Year! William Hann Editor w.hann@freepint.co.uk PS: If you don't already receive Free Pint automatically, then register to receive your free fortnightly copy at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/ You may find it easier to read and use if you print it out first. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Is Meta a Bit or Much Better?" by William Hann FEATURE ARTICLE "Review of Online Information 97" by Dr Anne Barker LETTERS ADVERTISERS Home Run, RBA Information Services, Interlink UK BizWeb2000, Riverside Promotions > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = *** THE SECRET TO SUCCESS AS AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OR EXPERT *** If you work alone or in a tiny business, how do you keep motivated or informed? Where can you find the best techniques to run your business more profitably when you haven't got the time or cash for training? HOME RUN is the answer. This monthly magazine is aimed at supporting and inspiring independent businesses with practical articles, money- saving tips and vital contacts. It offers you the key to success. For details ring 01291-641 222 or see our site at www.homerun.co.uk. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[hr41] TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Is Meta a Bit or Much Better?" by William Hann Following earlier articles in Free Pint about the numerous differences between all the search engines, I received the following letter: I am frustrated with the time and effort involved in re-formatting search strategies that are needed for various search engines. I use Dogpile to search them all, or most of them. Try it out - despite the terrible name for a search engine, it is a good 'retriever'! Mary Cordeiro Ex-Brit. now working in Toronto Dogpile is one of a number of so called "Meta Search Engines" which simultaneously search a number of search engines at the same time. The results are then pulled together and displayed in one list. Therefore I thought for this issue of Free Pint I would try to answer the question "Is Meta a Bit or Much Better?". Mary is quite right that it is frustrating to have to remember the different search languages for all the engines. I generally find myself sticking to one or two that I know well. Therefore it would initially appear a great bonus that one can go to a single site and search a number of them contemporaneously (isn't that a great word?!). However, as always I'm afraid, there are things to remember. Therefore, I will look at four different meta search engines and point out their good and sometimes not so good points. Metacrawler ----------- The most well known meta search engine site is Metacrawler located at http://www.metacrawler.com/. Here you can enter your keywords or search terms like you would in other search engines, but search syntax is limited to saying whether all or any of the words should be present, or if they are a phrase. Metacrawler searches Lycos, Infoseek, WebCrawler, Excite, AltaVista, and Yahoo. The results are collected and ranked according to "Service Vote Rankings" - basically taking the rankings from the six search engines and combining them to give a score for each site from 1 to 1000. The "Power Search" screen allows you to further restrict the search to: Continents, US Educational, Governmental and Commercial sites. However beware, this actually works by looking at the last part of the domain name, and so an address ending in ".com" will not be listed in a search in Europe - even if the site is based here. Another problem is that phrases don't always work properly because "Some of the search engines MetaCrawler utilizes do not rigorously obey the _as a phrase_ condition.". Be warned. Savvysearch ----------- Savvysearch is a meta search engine, based at the memorable address: http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/. This engine searches a much wider list of 25 resources. These include search engines, newsgroups, a movie database, shareware archives and so on. Searching is very similar to Metacrawler and search results can be listed by search engine or integrated together. --------------- Metacrawler and Savvysearch are the best known meta search sites. Personally however my favourites are two quite similar ones called "Dogpile" (mentioned by Mary in her letter earlier) and "MetaFind". Dogpile ------- Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com/ searches 15 major search engines, 5 newsgroup archives, 3 newswires and 2 FTP sites. You enter your search terms, tell it how many seconds to search, and send it away to "Fetch". The results are displayed for three search engines at a time. There is a lot to searching in Dogpile and so I recommend a look at the Help page. There is a "Custom Search" link where you can tell it the order in which to search the engines. Mary was right in her letter at the beginning when she said that it is a terrible ... uh hum ... memorable name for a search engine, and that it is a good 'retriever'! MetaFind -------- MetaFind at http://www.metafind.com/ searches six major search engines and you can also accept Boolean and phrase searching (quotation marks). It translates what you type in into the correct syntax for each engine; for instance, a search for "free pint" will be sent to InfoSeek as "+free +pint" and to Excite as "free AND pint". Again, you can tell it how many seconds to search and whether to sort the results alphabetically, by domain or keywords. Summary ------- Well, Meta search engines are very useful, a great idea, and they are a fast way of searching a number of search engines at the same time. It is true that you don't have to remember individual search engine syntax, but then you don't get all of the search options you would if you went directly to the individual search engines. Metacrawler and Savvysearch are really being left behind in this sense by the new wave of sophisticated meta search engines like Dogpile and MetaFind which are making more of each individual engine's functionality. However, it is still worth being aware of how they are working so that you understand what you may be missing by using such a service. My advice, as always, is to have a glance at the Help section or FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Therefore, "Is Meta a Bit or Much Better?" ... well, I think its another great resource to add to your searching toolkit. William Hann Meta Search Site Links ---------------------- MetaCrawler - http://www.metacrawler.com/ Savvysearch - http://guaraldi.cs.colostate.edu:2000/ Dogpile - http://www.dogpile.com/ MetaFind - http://www.metafind.com/ For a list see the following Yahoo! category: Computers and Internet:Internet:World Wide Web:Searching the Web:All-in-One Search Pages > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - William Hann is the founder of the UK based consultancy "Willco". The company provides Internet training, consultancy and Web site services. More details can be found at http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Free Pint: what do you like and dislike? Please let us know: letters@freepint.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = RBA Information Services For publications and training on how to use the Internet more effectively, contact us at RBA. Topics that we regularly cover in our workshops and seminars include Internet search tools, using the Internet for business information, beginners guide to the Net, choosing the right software, how to avoid and get rid of junk mail. Tel: 0118 947 2256, E-mail: enquiries@rba.co.uk http://www.rba.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[rb42] Thinking about advertising in Free Pint? See the notes and special offers at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ Subject specific issues start in the New Year - spread the news > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = InterLink UK is the UK's biggest and best banner exchange. This is due to the simple yet effective nature of InterLink UK. When you sign up, you add a small section of HTML code to your Web Site. Now, every time two people view your site, your banner will be shown on someone else's Web Site. Thus you will keep on getting more visitors, meaning more people will see your site. Best of all, InterLink UK is absolutely free. However, if you are not satisfied with thousands of free hits, we can provide more intensive promotion cheaply. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[il43] FEATURE ARTICLE "Review of Online Information 97" by Dr Anne Barker The 21st annual Online Information international conference and exhibition, the prime display area of the electronic information industry, took place at Olympia in London last week (9-11 December). On the first day, Reuters released its latest report on the world of information at work (remember "Dying for information?" last year, about executives" "information overload" and the associated stress?). "Glued to the screen" investigates the latest phenomenon of "information addiction". Some people spend so much time looking for information that they never find time to use it, according to this survey of 1,000 business managers worldwide. Many have problems in prioritising information from different sources and 60% believe that the cost of gathering information outweighs its value. One in three believe others are obsessed with finding information, 84% would like training in information management and 86% think it should be taught in schools. Perhaps attending the Online Information exhibition would help to identify ways of solving these problems? The range of satellite events tagged on to Online Information this year included an "executive briefing" on corporate information resource strategies (by Ashridge Management College), "Using the Internet as a source for competitive intelligence", a seminar on "Internets and intranets" (from Coopers & Lybrand), another on "the new search engines and the web search services", "Official information resources on the Internet" (the Institute of Information Scientists) "Electronic publishing" and "the effects of the Internet and intranets on users and workflows". Knowledge Management is the latest exciting expression for a range of information management and retrieval techniques and functions brought together to enable organisations to exploit available resources effectively, in a timely manner, and for the benefit or advantage of the organisation. Currently this is often equated with corporate intranets. Conference speakers here and elsewhere in recent months, describing their own organisations' experience to date with intranets, have emphasised the key role of business process change, change management and getting people on board by offering quick returns. Potential problems include getting caught up in the technology but accrued benefits should include greater management control and improved internal communications. It is salutary to recall that the first mentions of the Internet in the press were late in 1993; Dun & Bradstreet put up one of the first 3,000 sites on the World Wide Web in July 1995, offering credit card sales of their information on companies. Current predictions from Dataquest indicate that there will be over 160 million people using the Internet by the end of the millennium. Forrester Research estimates that 40% of US companies already have or plan to have their own intranet, and another 24 % are considering one. Forrester also predict that by 2001 the percentage of corporate employees directly accessing online business information from their own desks will rise from 2% to 40%. There is no doubt that there is a huge market developing and most of the big players in online information are lining up to grab the opportunities. The 1990s has seen many database producers beginning to offer their online information via their own search systems rather than via a third party host, and of course, web interfaces are becoming the expected norm. Many of these companies are now aiming to get their web interface built into corporate intranets as the first choice external source of information. Some come with links to other web sites of interest. Push technology was in evidence from the number of business and news information suppliers offering delivery to intranets and work stations. Desktop Data Inc. (which has recently merged with Individual Inc.) demonstrated NewsEDGE, a product which can take news items from a variety of sources and sort them according to user profiles before delivering the relevant material to the user's PC. The new Dialog Corporation was unveiled at Olympia, with two large stands offering group demonstrations and individual attention, also previewing "intranet solutions". The Dialog Corporation was formed in November by the merger of M.A.I.D. and Knight-Ridder Information, Inc. The latter owned both DIALOG, one of the very first online hosts originating from Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. in California in the 1970s, and DataStar, which was set up in Switzerland in the 1980s by a Radio Suisse consortium. Both were initially aimed at information professionals. M.A.I.D., founded by Dan Wagner in 1985, has always aimed directly at the information user, as a provider of global business news, market research, financial, company, country and market information. Its core product is Profound, featuring M.A.I.D.'s proprietary technology, InfoSort. In early 1997, M.A.I.D. launched two new products: Profound for Intranets and Profound LiveWire. The merger has caused a certain amount of consternation and anxiety in the information world. In his opening speech at Online Information 97 Dan Wagner announced the Dialog Corporation as "the new global leader" in online information, with a 25% market share. He emphasised the importance of adding value to the information retrieval process, simplified pricing and integrating internal and external information within corporate knowledge management strategies. "A visit to the Push Pavilion will give you the opportunity to witness exhibitors displaying the latest in Push Technology", said the blurb on the back of the Free Exhibition Ticket for Online Information 97. If this had been your main inspiration for attending then you would have been disappointed. No "Push Pavilion" in sight. If your aim was to follow the "Information Trails" designed "to improve the ease of navigation around the exhibition" according to your interests in Information Management, Financial & Corporate Information, News & Media, Legal & Government Information etc. then you would soon have been lost. Those expecting coloured lines on the floor (as used in hospitals and other large buildings) needed to look up, not down! The "Information Trails" consisted of coloured rosettes (normal size, not anything spectacular) attached somewhere on exhibitors' stands to indicate which "Trails" they were part of. Noticeably absent from the exhibition were BT. There appeared to be well below the predicted 300 stands ( more like 250?). About half the exhibitors were representing online hosts and database producers (LEXIS/NEXIS, Dun & Bradstreet, FT Information , Reuters etc.) and the remainder were a mixture of software houses, associations, data conversion and electronic publishing specialists, consultants, and others. Business information offerings dominated the exhibition, almost to the point of overwhelming visitors interested in this area, although the scientific, technical and medical information community was also well catered for. The move into the National Hall at Olympia allowed bigger and more extensive stands on the ground floor; the Gallery was also fully occupied but the stands petered out half way across Level One. There seems to have been some attempt to group stands on the ground floor, but the advertised sections on Electronic Publishing and Information Management were not easily distinguishable from the rest. Further information on the exhibitors and speakers at Online Information 97 may be found on the organisers' web site Free trials: - LineOne (News International and BT) : Internet service provider, one month free trial until 31 Dec. 1997. Tel: 0345 777 464, email Enquiries@LineOne.net - Engineering Information Village: free one month trial - Anbar Electronic Intelligence management library: free 30-day trial Web sites worth visiting: - BBC News: - Euromonitor: consumer market intelligence - Financial Times Information - Reuters > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr Anne Barker lectures and researches in information retrieval (with a focus on online and Internet searching) in the Department of Information and Library Studies at the University of Wales Aberystwyth. Before joining DILS in March 1994, Anne spent 15 months as a member of a "change management" team within Corporate Estates at AEA Technology (the UK Atomic Energy Authority), helping to prepare the facilities management division for privatisation. Prior to this Anne managed the Technical and Business Information Centre at the AEA's Risley site near Warrington, where she was responsible, amongst others things, for implementing quality assurance systems to BS 5750 (ISO 9000). Before joining AEA Technology, Anne was Principal Technical Librarian, Rolls-Royce plc, Civil Engine Group at Derby. Anne may be contacted at Anne.Barker@aber.ac.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Link To Us And Win Free Advertising! http://www.freepint.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Small Business Internet Marketing Assistance: http://www.bizweb2000.com Come see why this company has been featured in major publications by Inc., Opportunity, and PC Novice! Visit their site for free online marketing assistance. NEWSFLASH: "New from JDD--> "Insider Internet Marketing" Their secrets are out! > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[bw44] LETTERS We have once again had some great feedback from readers. We started publishing Free Pint with the intention that it would be useful and practical, and the letters we are receiving indicate that we are succeeding. We have already mentioned a letter about meta search engines in the first article, and have printed a couple more in this section. We would love to hear from you also. Please send any questions or letters to letters@freepint.co.uk Please note that we will not publish your letter if you do not want us to. Any that we do publish may be edited for content or length and we cannot guarantee a reply. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - William, I just ran across Free Pint (through SearchEngineWatch). Your short article on capitalization was great. As I know very well from the seminars I do on Web searching, the need for understanding more about the intricacies of search engines is just beginning to be realized. Information professionals can benefit greatly from the kinds of details you presented so clearly. I will be mentioning Free Pint in seminars I give. Best wishes for Free Pint. I shall look forward to future issues. Ran Hock Online Strategies www.onstrat.com > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ... I presume that you have to place adverts throughout the text rather than at the end? That would be my only criticism - I guess you have to get paid for doing it ... Norman Boyd Viscount William Hann replies: At the development stage of Free Pint we did experiment with bunching all the adverts together, but tests showed that readers just skipped over all of them. Somebody likened it to the difference between watching a video and watching the television: with the video you just skip over the adverts at the beginning, but with commercial television you accept the interruptions because they mean that the programmes are free. You are right that it is the advertising messages which financially support the newsletter. In this way we can keep Free Pint true to its name: free. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Promotional gifts supplied by Riverside Promotions Tel: 01784 454785 Fax: 01784 466157 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =[rp21] Thank you for reading Free Pint. We return on the 8th January with an issue covering the best IT/Telecoms sites on the Web. Take care and have a great holiday break. William Hann, Editor w.hann@freepint.co.uk (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. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =