Web 2.0 Tools To Master Economic Development and Competitive Intelligence
Could you please tell me why I can’t sort my news results from Google News and Yahoo News? When I want to have access to press releases exclusively, the tools does not allow me to generate such a list. Why? It seems like decades ago when I could conduct such a query with Northern Light and Yahoo. Now I have to visit each release service’s website to search for content. It really annoys me.
If you have an idea on how I can solve my issue with sorting news for press releases, let me know.
Missed an important development in the search engine industry in 2006? 2006 Search Engine Wrap Up is an article that takes a look at the events that shaped the industry, specificly:
I don’t want to be negative but I think that Time Magazine took the easy way out in naming their Person Of The Year. How many years have we been creating content online? Years, and Time has just decided this year to notice? Geez, thanks Time Magazine.
Yes, it is cool that all of the Web 2.0 platforms are making information sharing alot easier however; individuals have been a source for information for hundreds using a variety of publishing tools.
Do you ever wish that you could create your own search engine? The trouble with all major search engines is that they provide TOO MUCH information. Information overload is something that online researchers try to avoid at all cost.
Rollyo is a personalized search engine application. The tool allow you to select the sources that it indexed to provide relevant information. In addition, you can share your “searchrolls” with colleagues, perfect for project collaboration.
Competitive Intelligence, Marketing Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Strategic Intelligence and now, JI - journalism intelligence, yes, journalism intelligence. I know that I just made it up but the the connotation makes sense. Any professional journalist should conduct research for articles and the internet is a tool to verify facts and find stories behind key issues.
The article, “How to: find contacts and information about people online” is an excellent piece on the key tools to search for information on individuals. It refers to some U.K. based tools however; there are a variety of tools for people based in North America.
I remember the first time searching for patent information on the United States Patents and Trademarks Office website. With all the difference fields and syntax statements to enter, it was quite complex. Fortunately, with alot of practice, I am able to use the tool with ease now.
Recently, Google introduce a search gateway to the USPTO patent database. The gateway will make life easier to the casual internet searcher. Google Patent Search allows individuals to search for U.S. patents by keyword, patent number, inventor and filing date. The tool is currently in beta testing.
I guess it is a matter of time before Google Trademark Search is online.
Whether you are working within the fields of competitive intelligence, business intelligence or knowledge management, you are probably called upon to find information that is stored on an in-house server. Intranets have made a strong impact in terms of how users stored and retrieve data efficient. It was just a question of time before search engines offer their services to retrieve documents on local servers.
IBM and Yahoo has partnered to supply an application that “aims to use Yahoo’s familiar search interface to show small- and medium-size businesses the value in accessing information they already have, but may have difficulty finding.” The tool, IBM OmniFind Yahoo! is a free download application.
One of the most challenging tasks regarding internet research is locating country specific statistics. A few issues comes to mind: 1) Locating current data, 2) Using a credible source and 3) Using a complete resource for all countries.
Information industry expert, Mary Ellen Bates, has reviewed NationMaster. NationMaster is “massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. Using the form above, you can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease.”
Read the review of NationMaster courtesy of SearchEngineWatch.
ChaCha is a new search tool with a twist. Users have the option of conducting their own keyword search or submitting the query to an individual who is online. You can message the individual in real-time with the hopes of getting a credible answer within minutes.
When I tested ChaCha, I tried to find out the qualifications of the individual that attempted to help me. The individual logged off and did not reply to me.
Are you a heavy user of wikipedia? Wikipedia is a very handy resource to consult to aid you in understanding the basics behind a particular subject or person however; it does have its disadvantages.
The article, “Wikipedia: To Use or Not To Use” by Caryn Wesner-Early discusses the issues behind using the source on a regular basis.
