Monthly Archive for January, 2010

Real-Time Searching With Scoopler

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 29, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Web 2.0 Search
. 0 Comments

Here is a tool for individuals who are big fans of real-time search engines and the information that can gathered by them.

Scoopler allows users to search for content by subject that is available on Web 2.0 and social networking sites.  Some of the subject categories on the tool are:

  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • Sports
  • World & Business
  • Science
  • Gaming
  • Politics
  • Lifestyle

Figure 1 illustrates the index page of  Scoopler.

Figure 1: Index Page Of Scoopler

Once keywords are entered, the pages of results are divided into two parts: 1) Popular Shares and 2) Live Posts.   Figure 2 presents the first page of results for the keyword, “Kraft”.

Figure 2: Results For The Keyword, “Kraft”

1) Popular Shares - Located on the left hand side of the page, results from videos, links and images are provided to users.

2) Live Posts - Located on the right hand side of the page, Twitter results are furnished.

Two features that are available through Scoopler are the ability of share results with others and having the opportunity to have a peek at the results without visiting the full page with the information.

Scoopler is available at www.scoopler.com

Learn about more internet research tools in Intelegia’s seminar, “Effective Online Research Strategies“

The Use Of Testimonials In YouTube Clips For Investment Attraction

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 27, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Economic Development, Investment Attraction and Web 2.0 Strategy
. 0 Comments

What makes a good YouTube clip for investment attraction purposes?

1. A concise message with all the key locational factors that site selectors and or investors are primarily concerned about?

2. Footage of the existing land opportunities and transportation infrastructure in the region?

3. Testimonials from existing investors about the positive aspects of investing in the region?

All three elements are needed however; testimonials can go a long way in regards of putting a region on the map for investment attraction.

The following clip is from the Niagara Economic Development Corporation, the agency responsible for activities to advance the economic prosperity of the Niagara (Ontario) community.

The key elements of the video are:

  1. The various companies from an array of sectors that has selected Niagara to do business.
  2. How companies have built links within the business community and universities in the region.
  3. The level of government assistance offered to investing companies.

Through the use of testimonials to promote Niagara, the YouTube clip can effectively grab the attention of potential investors and site selectors.

Are seeking to improve your region’s investment retention or attraction strategy?  Attend Intelegia’s seminar, “Optimize Investment Attraction Strategy Through Information and Social Media Applications“.

Competitive Intelligence Research With Thoora

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 25, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Web 2.0 Search
. 1 Comment

News search tools are rapidly changing.  With the advent of Web 2.0 platforms such as blogs,  Facebook and Twitter, news and analysis can be available within a matter of clicks from various search tools.  A tool such as Thoora aggregates popular news content and provides a couple of other value added features.

The results from Thoora are broken down into three distinct sections.

1. Current Popular Stories

In this section, users have access to the relevant articles based on the keywords that are entered.  Figure 1 illustrates the results for the keywords, “Kraft” and “Cadbury“.

Figure 1: News Results For Kraft and Cadbury on Thoora

Along with initial results, the tool gives users access to links to related articles and blog posts.  Results can be sorted by time period (i.e., 24 hours, 2 days, 1 week)

2.  Search Stats

This section provides information regarding search queries for the keywords for news and blogs postings for the past seven days.  Figure 2 presents a look at the search stats for “Kraft” and “Cadbury” by category breakdown.

Figure 2: Search Stats For Kraft and Cadbury

3. Twitter Results

The third section of Thoora contains results from Twitter feeds.  Figure 3 below shows the results for both keywords on the popular social network tool.

Figure 3: Results From Twitter For The Keywords, Kraft and Cadbury

Thoora, a real time search engine, allows competitive intelligence researchers to conduct a news and Twitter feeds in one place on the web.

Thoora is available at www.thoora.com

Need to improve your online researching skills?  Attend Intelegia’s seminar, “Effective Online Research Strategies“

Searching For Articles With Digg

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 22, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Web 2.0 Search
. 0 Comments

Here is a tool that will come in handy when searching for articles and/or blog posts.

Digg is a social networking tool in which individuals can share content (i.e., news, videos and images) with others.  It can serve as an efficient avenue to promote content.  The index page of Digg is seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Digg’s Index Page
Click On Image To Enlarge

Conducting a keyword search is straightforward however; users may sort results by:

  • Best Match
  • Most Dugg (Articles or posts that have the most votes)
  • Newest First (Most Recent)

Figure 2 illustrates the first page of results for the keyword, “economic development 2.0″ sorted by “Most Dugg”.

Figure 2 Results For The Keyword, “economic development 2.0″ Sorted By “Most Dugg”
Click On Image To Enlarge

As with other good search tools, Digg offers advanced search options.  Below is a list of the options.

  • +b : Including “+b” at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to posted items that have received negative votes or “buries“.
  • +p :Including “+p” at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to posted items that have been promoted by Digg.
  • +np :Including “+np” at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to posted items that have not been promoted by Digg.
  • +u : Including “+u” at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to upcoming storing on Digg.
  • -d : Including “-d” at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to items in specific domains.
  • site: Including “site:” and a website address at the end of the entered keywords permits users to have access to items from a specific website.

Digg is available at www.digg.com

Are you looking to improve your internet researching skills, consider attending Intelegia’s seminar, ” Advanced Business Intelligence Gathering Approaches”

SeeClickFix: A Possible Economic Development Application?

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 20, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Economic Development
. 0 Comments

Here is a web application that we happened to notice on the City of Evanston’s Facebook Fan Page.

SeeClickFix is a tool that “encourages residents to become citizens by participating in taking care of and improving their neighborhoods“.  In short, the application is a platform to post concerns about the communities that they live in.  Figure 1 illustrates the SeeClickFix page for the City of Toronto.

Figure 1: City of Toronto’s SeeClickFix Page

As shown in Figure 1, the main issues that are posted on the page are:

  1. Maintenance destroying park
  2. Dead tree branches
  3. Tree Removal

Located on the righthand side of the page is a list of locations in and around Toronto that citizens are free to post their concerns about where they live.

By using the same model as SeeClickFix, would there be a need to have an identical application for an economic development agency?  The agency would be able to open it up to citizens and other stakeholders of  the city or region to measure their needs.  On the other hand, would agencies be ready to manage any reconstructive feedback (be it positive or negative)?

SeeClickFix is available at www.seeclickfix.com

Would your economic development agency be willing to use a tool such as SeeClickFix?  Tell us!!!

Searching For Regional News With Newslink

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 18, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 1 Comment

Here is a great reference for those who are new to competitive intelligence research and individuals wish to have access to regional news sources from around the globe.

Newslink provides access to 20 000 media links in a web-directory format.  Figure 1shows a screen shot of the index page of the Newslink website.

Figure  1: Newslink Website Index Page

Using Newslink comes in handy when researchers are not familiar with the locations that they are investigating.  Of course, conducting a search with Google News may work however; it may not be too efficient depending on the number of the keywords entered.

By using a mouse, users can access publications such as news dailies, business magazines and specialty newspapers.   A key advantage to accessing the publications via Newslink is the ability to use the internal search engine of the publications to find past articles in the archives.

Newslink is available at www.newslink.org

SlideFinder - Search For MS-Powerpoint Files

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 15, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

Here is a tool that will aid you in finding past slide presentations efficiently. SlideFinder is an online search tool that goes beyond the search capabilities of  Google’s filetype: pdf advanced search feature.

The permits you to submit a keyword query for an appearance on a slide or in an entire presentation.  Figure 1 illustrates the interfaces provided on the advanced search page of SlideFinder.

Figure 1: SlideFinder Advanced Search Page

To find a specific slide,  you may enter keywords in the following fields:

  • Title
  • Text
  • Notes

To find a specific presentation, you may enter keywords in the following fields:

  • Name
  • Keywords
  • Site

You may specify the language that you would like to find the presentation in.

Case Scenario

You wish to locate a slide in which someone created and commented on the topic of “industry cluster”.

Case Solution

By entering the keywords: “industry cluster” in the notes field in the search interface for slides, you can access the results page as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Search Results For Slide Notes With Keywords - “industry cluster”

By placing your mouse on the third slide, you may access the text of the notes for the first slide of the presentation, “University as the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurs”.  Figure 3 illustrates what happens when the mouse is placed on the slide.

Figure 3: Appearance of Slide Notes As A Mouse Is Place On A Slide

Just for fun, let us see if the same slide or the entire presentation could be found by using Google using a portion of the notes, including the phase, “A key factor underlying the operation of industry clusters”.

Entering, “A key factor underlying the operation of industry clusters” along with filetype:ppt in Google provides an unsuccessful search result.

:SlideFinder is available at www.slidefinder.net

Industry Cluster Development In Remote Regions: Desert Knowledge Australia

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 13, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Economic Development
. 0 Comments

The following YouTube video clips provides a look at two industry cluster development initiatives by Desert Knowledge Australia. Desert Knowledge Australia is an organization dedicated to “the know-how, ideas, innovations and perspectives that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of the desert have developed to thrive. Identifying, building, using, and sharing this desert knowledge can and does create social and economic benefits.”

Desert Knowledge Australia Mining Services Network

This video presents testimonials of how small and large companies in the mining services sector in a remote region are operating together to offer their expertise to large mining and metal companies.  The expertise of each member of the hub is used to leverage the cluster as a whole to procure contracts for Rio Tinto Alcan, BHP Billiton and Xstrata.

Desert Knowledge Australia Bush Products and Local Foods Network

This video shares some insights regarding the working dynamics of an agri-food industry cluster.  Members discuss their experiences and the benefits of being apart of the network.  In addition, it provides an example of how the companies collaborated on a strategic initiative to identify gaps in the sector to better market their products.

Monitoring Social Networks For Economic Development

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 11, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence, Economic Development and Web 2.0 Search
. 4 Comments

As of January 8th, 2010, results for the keyword search, “economic development” on Facebook yielded 396 hits for fan pages. These pages are not only built for promotional purposes but to share information with the city’s or region’s stakeholders.   As a result, the pages become as a public source of information in which competitive intelligence data can be gathered for economic development purposes.

Search Results For “Economic Development” On Facebook For Fan Pages

With the use of Google, some think that there is no need to monitor content on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.  An argument can be made that tracking information via these platforms may contribute to a region’s economic development strategy by providing strategic intelligence.

How you may ask? Consider the following:

  • Facebook Fan Pages serve as a compliment to websites and hence provides information on a frequent basis.   The pages are easier to update than websites and enables agencies to maintain the resource within a matter clicks.
  • Twitter pages can be used as a tool to push relevant information to interested individuals.  Information such as local or regional news, analysis reports or details on financial assistance programs can be available.

The motivation to “Become a Fan” or “Follow” is simple to understand from competitive intelligence point of view.  Individuals with accounts for both social networks can have a steady stream of information on regions and/or cities that are competing for investment dollars from around the globe.

Strategic intelligence for economic development purposes that can be gleaned on Web 2.0 can be in the form of:

  • Success stories in the region
  • List of key sectors / companies in the region / cities
  • Successful incentive programs
  • Regions’ value propositions

To learn more about monitoring social networks for economic development, attend Intelegia’s seminar, “Optimize Investment Attraction Strategy Through Information and Social Media Applications“.

Northern Light Search Tool

Published
by
Ian Smith
on January 8, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

Here is an internet research tool that is very valuable but does not come to mind when discussing search tools.  Northern Light Search portal is a handy tool to find information efficiently.  Figure 1 presents the index page of the research portal.

Figure 1: Index Page Of Northern Light Search
Click On Image To Enlarge

By default, the index page is composed of the following sections:

  • Quick Search
  • My Favorite Research
  • Most Popular Search Terms
  • Most Popular Articles
  • Most Mentioned Venture Funded Companies
  • Most Mentioned Business Issues

For the purposes of this blog, the “Quick Search” function was used with the keywords, “foreign direct investment”.  The results are presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Results For Keywords, “foreign direct investment”
Click On Image To Enlarge

Once the results are provided, they are different options that users can benefit from such as:

  • Save this Search - Save a query for future reference or use.
  • Edit this Search - Modify a query to add or remove keywords or operates.
  • Sort by Date - Sort results by publication date.
  • MI Analyst - MI Analyst combines the power of Northern Light’s best-in-class free-text searching with advanced text analytics developed specifically for Market Intelligence applications.
  • Toggle Your Search - Select where you would like your results to  come from. (i.e.,  blogs, national news sources, regional news sources, white papers)
  • Analyze Your Search - Identify relevant results by Northern Light text analysis application.

Figure 3 illustrates the “Toogled National and Global Search” for “foreign direct investment”.

Figure 3: “Toogled National and Global Search” for “foreign direct investment”
Click On Image To Enlarge

What is interesting about the Northern Light tool is the search interface page.   The page is divided into two parts: I) General Search & II) Expert Search

I) General Search

Figure 4 presents a look at the search interface for the General Search function.

Figure 4: General Search Interface On Northern Light
Click On Image To Enlarge

The General function not only allows you to search the web but specifically:

  • Online publications
  • Websites if you enter a web address in the URL field
  • News, blogs and white papers

II) Expert Search

The Expert Search permits access to online sources for subject-specific information found by internet research experts.   There are 10 subject-specific directories that are offered on the page.  A sample of the directories can be seen in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Expert Search Interface On Northern Light
Click On Image To Enlarge

To benefit from the full compliment of options, an username and password can be obtained for free.

Northern Light Search is available at www.nlsearch.com

Learn about additional internet research tools in Intelegia’s seminar, “Effective Online Research Strategies“.