Monthly Archive for April, 2010

Create Your Own Newspaper With NewsCred

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 30, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

Here is a quick tip for individuals who are tired of browsing through endless amount of irrelevant articles when it comes to searching for news.  NewsCred is a handy news aggregator tool that presents relevant articles in a traditional newspaper broadsheet format.  Figure 1 and 2 illustrates the necessary steps that were used to create, “The FDI Post”.


Figure 1: Naming The Newspaper and Associated Web Address

Once the “Create Your Newspaper” button is clicked on, users will be asked to enter keywords to retrieve relevant content for the newspaper.

Figure 2: Entering Keywords “Foreign Direct Investment”
Click On Image To Enlarge

The end product of the process can be seen Figure 3.

Figure 3: Index Page Of The FDI Post

To add more content to the newspaper, users can either submit keywords or a feed from an external news source.  In Figure 4 highlighted in yellow, are the different sections that were created in The FDI Post.

There are two Web 2.0 functionalities that Newcred offers to its users. 1) The ability to “follow” or be “followed” similar to Twitter and 2) Sharing content

Newscred is available at www.newscred.com

Enterprise Florida’s Web 2.0 Toolkit

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 28, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Investment Attraction and Web 2.0 Strategy
. 3 Comments

Thanks to the Linkedin Group, “Foreign Direct Investment - FDIexecutive“, Intelegia has discovered several economic development agencies that has implemented social media marketing applications to promote their region.  Recently, we were alerted to the Web 2.0 initiative by Enterprise Florida.

Enterprise Florida’s mission is “To diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries.” The agency has a full compliment of social media marketing tools that includes the following:

  • Facebook Page
  • YouTube Channel
  • Twitter Page
  • Linkedin Group
  • RSS Feed
  • Itunes Clip

For the purposes of this post, Intelegia will profile the Facebook Page, Twitter Page and YouTube Channel.

Facebook Page

The Enterprise Florida Facebook Page is rather straightforward.  It offers the following tabs:

  • Wall - With the latest news and events regarding the key sectors and companies in the state. (See Figure 1)
  • Info - With relevant links regarding the agency’s other social media tools.
  • YouTube - A section where some of the agency’s videos can be found.
  • Notes - A series of notes pertaining to the industry clusters and companies activities in Florida.

The notes from the Facebook Page is available via a RSS feed.

Figure 1: Enterprise Florida’s Facebook Fan Page

Twitter Page

The Enterprise Florida Twitter Page, EnterpriseFL, contains a steady stream of news regarding economic development activities in the state of Florida.  Figure 2 provides a sample  of what is available via EnterpriseFL.

Figure 2: Enterprise Florida’s Twitter Page - EnterpriseFL

One thing that is missing from the agency’s tweets are hashtags.  Hashtags for tweets will allow individuals find tweets easier.  (Read “Invest In Korea Social Media Tools” to have a best practices approach to using hashtags.)

YouTube Channel

The Enterprise Florida’s YouTube Channel offers access  to min-profiles of companies and the agency’s efforts in the following sectors or (Innovative Centers) :

  • Life Science
  • Information Technology
  • Clean Energy

The YouTube clip below is a profile of Intezyne Technologies that is active in Florida’s life science industry cluster.

Tips For Private Company Research

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 26, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 0 Comments

One of the most challenging tasks for a competitive intelligence professional is tackling a private company research mandate.  Clients, whether it be internal or external, are often asking researchers to perform miracles when it comes to gathering information on private companies.

Below are a few practical tips that can assist individuals who are trying their hand at private companies research for the first time.

1.  Know the clients’ expectations - Clients may request a complete profile for the company in question.  Such a deliverable may be difficult to submit.  Information such as the  company’s financial statements are not available and will not be a part of the profile.  As a result, it is important to discuss with the client  the key elements that must be in the profile and what can be collected through an exhaustive research process.

2.  Consider your time constraints - Similar to pubic company research, researchers need to budget their time for the specific mandate.  The challenges behind private company research requires extra time to track down small details that can be put together for the profile.  With this in mind, it is recommended that you inform your client on how long the search will take to meet the deadline for the deliverable.

3.  Set a budget - Private company research may warrant you to consult premium content databases or local online newspapers (paid access to archives).  Having the funds to spend on a wider set of sources will help tremendously when time is short.

4. Confirm the names of the companies - Before conducting an in-depth search, be sure to verify the name of the company in question.  There might a chance that the company is now public or has been bought over the past few months that result in a name change.

5. Consult Sources - There are a few sources that you can start with online.  Consider:

Figure 1 is a screen shot of the index page of Business Week’s Company Insight Center.


Figure 1: Index Page Of Business Week’s Company Information Center

6. Use The Phone - If you reach a dead end in your online research exercise, pick up the phone.  Talking to local business experts or journalists could provide you with details that are available online.

Searching For Past Tweets With Google Replay

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 23, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Internet tools and Web 2.0 Search
. 0 Comments

As announced in “Replay it: Google search across the Twitter archive“, Google is giving users the ability to find relevant tweets from February 2010 to the present thanks to Google Replay.  In the upcoming months, Google has plans to access and index all content from the social networking tool since its introduction on March 21st, 2006.

Figure 1 is a screen shot of the result page when the keywords, “investment attraction” is entered into Google Replay.

Google Replay Results For Investment Attraction

Figure 1: Google Replay’s Results For “Investment Attraction”
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

As seen in Figure 1, a timeline is available above the results to access relevant tweets by date.  Selecting March 20th, 2010, Google Replay will list the tweet(s) sent on that day illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Google Replay’s Results For “Investment Attraction” On March 20th, 2010
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

Users may visit the advanced search section to filter some of the unwanted results.

Google Replay is available at the following link.

Note: It is recommended that Google Replay should be used with the experimental version of Google search to have access to timeline above the results.  Select the “Keyboard shortcuts” option.

Green Capital Investments: E&B DATA’s Green Index

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 22, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Investment Attraction
. 0 Comments

E&B DATA has been monitoring capital investments across Canada since 2000 via its Investment Observatory.  The company is well aware of the importance of monitoring capital investments within any given sector.

Presently, an increasing amount of companies are quickly affirming their commitment to the environment by investing in clean technologies.

It is for this reason that E&B DATA created, “The Green Index©” to identify and classify capital investments into 5 main industry clusters:

  • Wind
  • Solar
  • Bioenergy
  • Recycled Materials
  • Others (i.e., tidal and geothermal power)

The index is an unique analysis tool and first of its kind in Canada.  It allows for the assessment of the progression and characteristics of green investment projects in Canada since 2001.

Here are some analysis reports that can be generated using the data from the index:

1) Monitoring of green investments in comparison of total investments made.

Figure 1: Green Investments Versus Total Investments Made In Canada (2001-2008)
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

2) A breakdown by province as per investment projects in each cluster

Figure 2:  Green Investment Projects Per Province By Cluster in 2007

3) The Green Index also allows you to create an unique mapping by cluster and geographic region as seen in Figure 3:

E&B DATA's Green Index

Figure 3: A Mapping By Cluster and Geographic Region For Green Investment(2001 - 2008)
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

4) A breakdown of the percentage of green investment projects by province.

Percentage Of Green Investment Projects By Province

Figure 4: Percentage Of Green Investment Projects By Province (2001-2008)

Wish to know more about The Green Index? Contact Frédéric Chevalier at +1 (514) 276-1700 Ext. 101

Panel Discussion At APDEQ Event

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 21, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Economic Development
. 0 Comments

Last week, our post, “APDEQ 2.0 - Economic Development Meets Web 2.0” introduced to you the upcoming economic development 2.0 event scheduled for May 5th, 2010 in Brossard, Quebec.  The event will conclude with a panel discussion centered around the theme of Web 2.0 applications and case examples of economic development initiatives.

Below is a listing of individuals that will be participating in the panel discussion:

1) Sébastien Daoust is a strategy adviser at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. He has 10 years of experience in the fields of process management and information technology.  During his career, he has presented at several conferences dealing with business processes, strategies for integrating information technologies and identify scenarios outsourcing business processes.  Passionate about sales and networking, he also promotes the strategy development and corporate uses of social networking to facilitate accounts management.

2) Benoit Meunier is a practitioner of 15 years and strategist in the world of digital marketing, user experience and social media. He has developed web sites and several strategies within large organizations and many SMEs in Quebec.  Benoit has worked with over 120 companies in diverse sectors such as B2B, media, commerce, education, culture and professional services. His strong experience in online marketing and his constant presence in the world of Web 2.0, enables him to offer effective tools to companies to become more efficient.

3) Isabelle Poirier is an expert in investment strategy at E & B DATA and a director / trainer at Intelegia. She has 15 years of experience in the fields of economic development and strategy of attracting investment in Quebec and the rest of Canada.  Isabelle provides training in using the internet to collect intelligence, improve competitiveness and brand regions using Web 2.0 tools.  Isabelle has given seminars at the European Business School (Paris, France), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) (Paris, London and Ottawa) and various federal, provincial and regional economic development agencies in Canada. In 2009, she co-authored, “Web 2.0 And Business Attraction - Canadian Cities Online Marketing Index“, a benchmark study assessing how economic development agencies in large Canadian cities are promoting their regions to potential investors.  In March 2010, she spoke at Restigouche Tourism Association 2010 in New Brunswick on the topic of the use of Web 2.0 and branding.

4) Sandra Dessurault is the communication officer at CLD des Chenaux.  Sandra will be present to share her insights on her organization’s use of social media marketing tools.

For further information on the APDEQ event, please visit www.apdeq.qc.ca/.

Follow Competitive Intelligence Pros On Twitter

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 19, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 4 Comments

Earlier this month, we posted, “Competitive Intelligence Groups On LinkedIn” which provided a listing of groups that practitioners may join to discuss or network with others regardless of their location around the globe. The microblogging application, Twitter, is another tool that can be used to discuss, network and learn from competitive intelligence professionals.  Below is a list of individuals / organizations which I follow @citweetz:

Did I miss a Twitter page solely dedicated to competitive intelligence?  Let met know by leaving a comment below along with  the Twitter handle.

Don’t forget to follow me @citweetz.

Mashpedia…Not Your Average Encyclopedia

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 16, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Web 2.0 Search
. 0 Comments

One of the most overlooked sources on the web are encyclopedias.  When the topic is relatively unknown, websites such as Wikipedia and Encyclopedia.com are handy to have around. Within minutes, individuals can be more comfortable  with a specific topic.  Mashpedia will definitely change the way we look at online encyclopedias.

As the name suggests, Mashpedia is a real-time search tool that provides a “mash-up” of information from a vary of sources in addition to an encyclopedia.   Below the encyclopedia entries, Mashpedia provides results from the following sources:

Figure 1 is a screen capture of the article for “nanotechnology“.

Figure 1: Mashpedia’s article for “nanotechnology“.
Click On Image To Enlarge

As a part of the article, Mashpedia provides a Twitter feed that is constantly scrolling.  Figure 2 is a sample of the content available on the Twitter.

Figure 2: Twitter Feed On Mashpedia For Nanotechnology

Mashpedia is available at www.mashpedia.com/

APDEQ 2.0 - Economic Development Meets Web 2.0

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 14, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith, Economic Development, Social Media Marketing and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

For those who will be in the Montreal area on May 5, 2010,  Intelegia invites you to the (Association des professionnels en développement économique du Québec (APDEQ)’s event, Le Web 2.0 C’est Vous. Maintenant!.

APDEQ’s objectives of this event are:

  • To provide an understanding of Web 2.0 and different social media tools
  • To put the use of Web 2.0 into context for economic development
  • To establish a strategy in order to help create a web identity for participants
  • To demonstrate the importance of following the principles of Web 2.0 to put a region on the radar for existing and potential stakeholders
  • To allow participants to question speakers regarding their visions on the new economic development paradigm

The event will be kicked off by Benoit Meunier, a web strategist and  Sébastien Daoust of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, who will be dealing with the topic of “Web 2.0 and Social Media: How?, For Who?, Why?”

My colleague, Isabelle Poirier, will be on hand at the event to present best practices in terms of the use of social media applications for economic development and to discuss  E&B DATA’s, benchmark study, “Web 2.0 And Business Attraction - Canadian Cities Online Marketing Index“.  In addition, she will participate in a panel discussion regarding practical uses of social media marketing tools and real case examples.

The event will be in French.

For more information on the event, please visit www.apdeq.qc.ca/

Gathering Strategic Intelligence Using Indeed.com

Published
by
Ian Smith
on April 12, 2010
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 0 Comments

It is always interesting to find competitive intelligence data on job search sites.  As discussed in the post, “Competitive Intelligence Research With LinkedIn - Who’s Hiring?”, researchers and analysts can gather strategic details on competitors if the tools are used properly.  Recently, the team at Intelegia stumbled upon Indeed that has a pretty valuable search application.

Indeed Salary Search permits users to find salary information for posted jobs on the web.  This search feature will allow users to gather information on what competitors are offering for opening positions within a city or region.

Case Scenario:

As a competitor to Pfizer, you are interesting in knowing the average salary that is paid to individuals in the field of competitive intelligence in the state of New York.    At the same time, you are looking to compare any data that is found to the salary levels for the same positions offered in Illinois.

Solution:

By entering the keywords: “competitive intelligence” and “New York” in the two fields of the search interface as seen in Figure 1, Indeed will provide the data on bar and line charts.

Indeed Salary Search

Figure 1: Bar and Line Charts For Data Regarding “Competitive Intelligence” Salaries In New York

According to Indeed Salary Search, the average salary for competitive intelligence positions in New York is US$ 83 000 and the salary reached its trend peak between October 2009 and January 2010.

To find similar data for the state of Illinois for a comparison analysis, users can simply click on the “Add Comparison” link and re-enter the keywords, “competitive intelligence” and “Illinois” in the respective fields.  Figure 2 provides the comparison bar graph for the additional query.

Figure 2: Comparison Bar Chart For “Competitive Intelligence” Salaries For Job Postings in New York and Illinois

Clicking on the link, “competitive intelligence” in New York or “competitive intelligence” in Illinois, will allow users to access the job postings for each state.  Figure 3 presents the job posting results for New York.

Figure 3: Listing Of Competitive Intelligence Positions In New York

Once the results are provided by Indeed, users can refine the results by three criteria as seen on the left hand side of the page: i) Salary Estimate, ii) Title and iii) Company.

Indeed Salary Search is available at www.indeed.com/salary