Subject: TENTH FREE PINT "Business and Accounting Resources on the Web" Free Pint Helping you find quality information on the Web ISSN 1460-7239 19 March 1998 #10 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Welcome to Free Pint Number Ten! This issue is being brought to you amidst packing crates and chaos! Yes, we are moving to larger offices today but are still managing to bring you an issue packed with articles and advice on making the most of the Web. We start with an article about the best ways to catch up with friends and colleagues on the Internet. This is followed by a thorough look at the best business and accounting resources on the Web. Finally, we highlight some of the recent and interesting postings on the Free Pint Forum on the Web site. So, with removal men waiting, we must now pack up the last two remaining items - namely the PC and modem! Whilst we do so, may I invite you to read on and enjoy this issue of Free Pint. Kind regards, William Hann Managing Editor william@freepint.co.uk PS: This newsletter looks best with a fixed font like courier. If you do not already automatically receive your free copy of Free Pint, or would like to see past issues, then please visit our Web site at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ You may also find this issue easier to read and use if you print it out first. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Working the Net" by Alison Scammell FEATURE ARTICLE "Business and Accounting Resources on the Web" by Ben Heald FORUM FEEDBACK > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE ACCESS TO THE WORLD'S BEST MANAGEMENT LITERATURE Are you able to make informed decisions based upon the latest management concepts and practice? Anbar Management Intelligence provides rapid access to 60,000 management articles drawn from 400 of the world's best management journals. *** Try the database today - gratis *** http://www.anbar.co.uk/management/home.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [mc101] NET PROFIT Net Profit is Europe's leading source of non-technical information and analysis on the commercial use of the Internet - it is aimed at people who need to know how to get information from the medium, and those who need to use that information to do their jobs more effectively. Find out more at our Web site: http://this.is/netprofit > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [np102] TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Working the Net" by Alison Scammell The Internet is all about human communication, and interacting with people is very easy. There is no shortage of discussion groups, mailing lists, newsgroups and chat rooms, and the nature of the Internet sub-culture means there is an enduring fascination with the seamier side of these virtual communities. But what's the best way to go about networking for business, as well as pleasure? One estimate puts the number of current global Internet users at 113 million [1]. This represents a substantial networking opportunity for everyone. After all, as we are always being told, it's not so much what you know, it's who you know. Despite all this interactivity taking place on the Net, it is in fact quite difficult to find specific people. You may want to find an old friend, catch up on a business associate who has changed jobs, check on a contact's details or simply find someone's email address. People are moving around all the time, changing jobs, moving house and accumulating different email addresses for different activities (more of us are becoming "portfolio people," doing several different jobs at once). Getting someone's email address should be easy, shouldn't it? Well, you could always just ring them up and ask them (providing you have their telephone number) but for various reasons, people don't always want to do this. One approach is to try one of the "people finding" services on the Web. Often called "white pages" some of the more well known services are Big Foot http://www.bigfoot.com/ or Four11 http://www.Four11.com/. You can often specify types of people and types of information you want. WhoWhere (http://www.whowhere.com/) will even help you locate your ancestors (but this may just work for US citizens, I was unable to trace my own, British born, grandparents). I particularly liked the celebrity search facility offered by Metacrawler. I checked out Kate Winslet's address (I had a long conversation with her once on a flight to Los Angeles, just thought I'd drop that in) and sure enough, the search listed her London address. Many of the search engines, such as Yahoo, will also have links to these services or provide their own people search facilities. One problem is that these are US-focused services so they are not much use for tracking down people in other countries. The best UK-focused service does seem to be WhoWhere, but if anyone knows of anything better, perhaps they could let us know by posting details to Free Pint Forum, located at http://www.freepint.co.uk/eforum.htm Often it's easier just to do a routine search using an engine like Alta Vista. When searching for a specific person it is a good idea to put the whole name in inverted commas ("Alison Scammell"), and if the name is very common, add another key term such as the name of an organisation or company ("Alison Scammell" "Free Pint"). This generally only works if the person you are looking for has their own Web site/home page, has published on the Web or generally has a high profile. But what do you do when you find all these people? How do you communicate with them? We all need to build up our network of contacts and whether they are colleagues, associates, contacts or friends they (and you) may have different communication needs at different times. Sometimes email is best, sometimes real time chat, sometimes snail mail, so you even need bricks and mortar address information as well. Chat and messaging facilities are increasingly being offered by search engines and Internet Service Providers. There's Infoseek Instant Messaging (via http://www.infoseek.com/). This allows you to communicate with friends, family, and business colleagues. It also verifies e-mail addresses and allows you to set controls on the people who can communicate with you. The service is free but you will need to download software before you can use it (and so will all the people with whom you intend to communicate). Sometimes these services are called "pagers" or "buddy lists" and they're great for friends and family. You can find out who is online at any particular time, and then: start communicating. But if you want something to use in a business context you need something a bit more powerful and with more features. If you work in a large company you may have the advantage of using groupware like Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange but if you are a one man band, part of a virtual organisation or small/medium enterprise you need something powerful AND affordable to do some proper NETworking. ICQ would be a good choice. It is available, free, from http://www.mirabilis.com/. ICQ (I Seek You) can provide so much more than all the other, very basic, "buddy services". Check them out and let us know how you get on. So don't just waste your time talking to disembodied strangers (with wacky aliases in virtual chat rooms). The Internet is about people and communication. Get networking. [1] NUA Internet Surveys, available at http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/index.html > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alison Scammell, MA MIInfSci, is an independent Information Management Consultant specialising in all aspect of designing and developing information services, strategies and user needs analyses. Alison usually works with a network of different information/computer specialists, tailoring information needs to specific corporate environments. She combines her commercial consultancy with academic research and is currently studying teleworkers' information use, for a PhD, at Loughborough University. Alison can be reached via email: alison@zayin.demon.co.uk Alison is also part of the Free Pint team and, as Account Director, would like to hear from potential advertisers. Email alison@freepint.co.uk or call +44 (0)181 460 5850. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The 8th Biennial UK Online User Group conference on New Networks, Old Information will be held on 14-16 July 1998 at the splendid Manchester Conference Centre. This is an opportunity to gain valuable information on current issues as well as renew old acquaitances and make new friends. As the hotel standard accommodation is limited, please book early to avoid disappointment. Further details and programme can be found at http://www.ukolug.demon.co.uk/meetings/confprog.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [uk103] *** Advertising in Free Pint *** Full details at http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm Email alison@freepint.co.uk or phone +44 (0)181 460 5850 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = JOIN THE INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION SCIENTISTS! The Institute of Information Scientists sets, maintains, monitors and promotes standards of excellence in the science and management of information.  IIS is the professional body for information services managers in digital and traditional print domain.  It raises public awareness of the benefits of expertise in information management. FOR DETAILS email:iis@dial.pipex.com or see http://www.iis.org.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ii104] FEATURE ARTICLE "Business and Accounting Resources on the Web" by Ben Heald "Your clients are doing business on the Net. Are you up to speed?" As is the case in all professional sectors, accountants are running into the Internet at every turn. Their clients are operating on the Net, and their own firm or business will almost certainly have considered establishing a site. Their institutes have started to communicate with them electronically; and perhaps most importantly, accountants themselves are wondering what might be out there to help them do better business. There are hundreds of business and accounting sites. You only have to type any generic business term like 'company information' into one of the search engines to appreciate the volume. Presupposing that he or she gets beyond this, our intrepid accountant will soon discover and get to know sites that are a valuable addition to the range of traditional services to which he has always subscribed to stay up-to-date. Company Information ------------------- Being able to get hold of decent company information on the Internet can be a revelation. Although company information is still something you will have to pay for in many cases, significant developments are underway. Within the UK, you can check that a company exists for free at the ICC site. Unfortunately the same cannot be said elsewhere, as in so many other countries either there is no requirement for all companies to file accounts, or even if there is, they are not held centrally. However in the US all documents filed by listed companies are available from the EDGAR site. For information on smaller companies try the Dun & Bradstreet GlobalSeek site. http://www.icc.co.uk - ICC http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar - EDGAR http://www.dbeuro.com/UK/globseek.htm - Dun & Bradstreet's GlobalSeek Many companies, and in particular quoted companies, are now putting their Reports & Accounts online, which in time will lead to new ways for companies to enfranchise their shareholders. There are a range of companies building links to this information. For UK PLCs try the UK Equities Direct service from Hemmington Scott, which contains financial information on all quoted UK companies. For US companies try the Annual Report Gallery site. http://www.hemscott.co.uk/EQUITIES/INDEX.HTM http://www.reportgallery.com/ Company information on the net doesn't stop at the traditional stuff though. There's all kinds of 'research' that you can do. Quite apart from having a good browse through the information they put on their corporate web site, which in itself is often fascinating, you can search the news wires about the company (for example on the various news sites like the FT's or the Wall Street Journal). Alternatively, you can use NetMind to alert you when the company's site changes. Finally, what about something distinctly sneaky, try searching DejaNews for postings from people with email addresses that use the company's domain! http://www.ft.com - The FT site http://www.wsj.com - Wall Street Journal site http://www.netmind.com - NetMind http://www.dejanews.com - DejaNews Your Institute -------------- Almost all the accounting institutes are starting to use the Internet as a way to communicate with their members electronically. They foresee a brave new world where accountants don't just pay their annual dues as a quasi tax to be allowed to put letters after their names; they foresee their sites as cyber libraries that significantly leverage the power they have over their members. All the Institutes have realised this, but some have got further in implementing anything. For example, the site from the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (ASCPA) has a weekly newsletter that updates members with new information, reviews and features on its sit. This is now sent to over 7,000 members each week. http://www.cpaonline.com.au At the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), there are now 10 different alerts to which users can subscribe, together with discussion forums and searchable databases of articles, events and student college exemptions. http://www.cima.org.uk Discussion Forums have historically been the carrot that has drawn accountants to online services (this is the model that CompuServe pioneered so successfully). There are still many accountants using the CSI forums; although project 'C' that was to make these available on the web has recently been shelved by new owners AOL. However, the functionality of online threaded message forums is now appearing on the Web. For example the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has recently moved its IT Faculty forums from CIX (a proprietary service) to their own site. http://www.icaew.co.uk/depts/td/tditf/misc/message.html The current leading accountancy Institute site is probably the site from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which of course has the largest membership in the world (over 300,000) and contains a vast repository of information. The one thing you can be confident of at sites like this is that you will not be asked to send off a 'self-addressed envelope' if you want to get hold of something. Unfortunately it is still possible to experience this deceit at some European sites - mentioning no names! http://www.aicpa.org Government Initiatives ---------------------- As with the initiatives from the professional institutes, the initiatives from the Government are also interesting. If not only because similarly they do not have to view the Web constrained by ROI guidelines (bless them), but as a method of enfranchising their constituencies (and hopefully as a way of saving costs). In the US, citizens are actively encouraged to use the Internet for all their dealings with Government. Check out the 'Digital Daily' from the IRS, and then compare this with our Inland Revenue home page, which, as I write this piece on the morning of Gordon Brown's second Budget, contains absolutely no mention of events this afternoon. http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/cover.html - The IRS Digital Daily http://www.open.gov.uk/inrev/irhome.htm - Inland Revenue home page The most interesting initiative in the UK is the recent launch of EnterpriseZone; a site that is intended as a hand-holding service for small businesses. http://www.enterprisezone.org.uk AccountingWEB ------------- AccountingWEB is a Internet resource and community for accountancy professionals, as well as hosting a large range of general business resources. It incorporates software support and discussion forums, accountancy news alerts, access to company information, and a PressZone into which suppliers to the industry post information about their products. It also contains a couple of unique features. Firstly we have developed a search engine that exclusively indexes 40-50 business sites. Run every night this results in a more focussed and up-to-date index than many of the traditional wide-area search engines that search the whole of the web. Secondly, we feature a dynamic directory of UK accounting firms. This means that all the firms in the directory are able to update their page 24 hours a day under password control. What's more, this service is entirely free to firms. http://www.accountingweb.co.uk - AccountingWEB > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ben Heald is the editor of AccountingWEB (and also BusinessZone - equivalent product for small businesses), which was voted European Information Product of the Year at the Online '97 exhibition at Olympia last December. He edits two electronic newsletters, the Prudent Surfer, a weekly summary of Internet developments of interest to accountancy professionals; and the Accountant's Internet Monitor, which is sent to all registered users of AccountingWEB. Members of the ICAEW can hear him at their Annual Conference (7 July 1998), where he is speaking on 'Financial Reporting on the Web'. Ben can be contacted by e-mail at bheald@sift.co.uk http://www.accountingweb.co.uk http://www.businesszone.co.uk http://www.prudent-surfer.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FORUM FEEDBACK "Free Pint Forum" This is our own Bulletin Board service which is provided for your use. There are some interesting conversational threads developing on subjects ranging from genealogy to evaluating websites for quality information - a concept very close to our hearts at Free Pint. So thank you to all those who have already posted topics and requests for further information. Meanwhile, the following recent postings are waiting for some of you to respond so don't be shy, give it a try. For instance, do you know what the XML standard is all about and if so will it help encourage better interchangeability between Web formats and printed material? Would you like a list of UK search tools in HTML format - it's up for grabs via the Forum pages. Next, someone wants to learn how to build a search engine - can you point the enquirer in the right direction (preferably without suggesting a preliminary search on an existing search engine)? Two other current postings cover respectively a plea for information on resources for Web users with various disabilities and details of a site which lists places where you can submit classified adverts and get certain business resources for free. If these topics don't whet your appetite why not use the Forum to make your own contributions to finding useful information on the Internet - now it’s over to you. Why not take a look now at the Free Pint Forum on the Web site at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/eforum.htm Rex Cooke, Editor > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please note, if you write to us we will not publish your letter if you do not wish us to, and cannot guarantee a reply to all letters. Letters may be edited for content and length, and we will withhold your contact details if you wish. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = We hope you have enjoyed this issue, and look forward to sending you the next issue from our new offices. See you in two weeks, Kind regards, William Hann, Managing Editor william@freepint.co.uk (c) Willco 1998 http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 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 at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ or call +44 (0)171 681 1653 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. 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