Ain't No Mountain High Enough: Factiva
Jinfo Blog

By Heidi Longaberger

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Factiva.com scales up its web and blog content, language offerings and mobile access functionality in an admirable effort to stay abreast of the trends and changes in technology and information access.

This business research resource has not rested on its reputation. By consulting with its user base, Factiva has identified four key trends around information content and access which they are using to mould their current solutions and map out the future.

To save us from drowning in the ocean of information, Factiva is focused on licensing content not readily available via the 'free' Web and avoiding duplication. Their sources also include a growing list of industry specific web and blog sites. They provide nifty tools for focused delivery, such as customisable Newsletters and Alerts.

Not wanting to leave out you social butterflies, Factiva crawls 15,733 websites and over 4,000 blogs in 23 languages. Media Monitor is an add-on module providing tools for analysis of emerging trends using Factiva content along with social media outlets such as blogs, boards, YouTube and Twitter. Factiva's interest is in capturing sentiment and chatter as well as static information.

For the upwardly mobile, Factiva currently provides an access platform for Blackberry and iPhone devices, including iPad, and is concentrating on providing the optimal information access and search experience regardless of user device. Users can receive Alerts and create their own Personal Page.

And while the mountain may be high, we all know it's a small small world, so Factiva is adding more local content as it pertains to a country, region or city.

But at the end of the day what I appreciate most is Factiva's core value of access to business news in a variety of formats from a diverse array of sources. It remains appealing on an international level due to its breadth of world coverage and languages. I hope with all the grand visions for the future that Factiva retains its ease of use and flexible search capabilities while resisting the urge to overcomplicate.

To read about further developments from the folks at Factiva, purchase the VIP Report: Product Review of Factiva.com from the FreePint Shop. Or save money by purchasing VIP Issue No. 84, which includes VIP Report: Product Review of Newsdesk 4.

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