Talking Over the Value of News for In-Depth Research
Jinfo Blog

By Chris Porter

Abstract

Chris Porter introduces his impressions of a recent FreePint "Communities of Practice" teleconference, in which information buyers shared their views on current options for using news within in-depth research.

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On a couple of occasions in 2014 I had the pleasure of taking part in "Communities of Practice" (CoP) sessions, in which groups of FreePint Subscribers from different backgrounds and industry sectors swapped experiences and shared opinions on issues of the day.

I find that hearing the candid views of one's professional peers can be a very stimulating experience. Catching up with a fellow participant a little after the first session, I was pleased to find that they thought so too, and had instituted some new work procedures based on ideas picked up in the discussion.

The latest session, just before the year-end break, delved into the subject of the value proposition for using news for in-depth research - one of the threads of the recently concluded FreePint Topic Series "News, and Beyond".

Shifting Priorities

Participants touched on issues which I'm sure many subscribers will recognise. The battle for news budget was instantly evoked; and it was also remarked that the focus for some buyers of news information, particularly in advising/consulting firms, has shifted perceptibly from research to current awareness.

The need, when conducting research, to combine news information with other kinds of domain-specific content - such as company and financial content, intellectual property data or scientific research - was also part of the equation for this group of buyers.

Those in the session also spoke of the need to understand and buy into the vendor's long-term technology roadmap, which needs to dovetail with that of their own organisation.

Tracking Trends

One technology-related point raised fits very neatly with FreePint's current Topic Series, "Making Information Visible". Participants in the latest FreePint CoP took the view that the big-name traditional news aggregators have not been leading the way when it comes to helping users to spot trends from within masses of news content - and that they may have been missing a trick.

"Market trends and trending of news is commonplace out on the internet; but where it's not is within our premium products," one speaker said. "[If you can] create an experience that can give you that trending, all of a sudden that's a huge opportunity for your marketing, your sales folks, your client engagement folks."

The full article "Information Buyers Discuss The Value of News for In-Depth Research" gives more information on the discussion; if you would like to find out more about future events, click here.  

Vendors are certainly starting to make moves to improve their trend-spotting capabilities, so if mining for trends is on your must-do list for 2015, do sign up for the Topic Series, "Making Information Visible".

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