Newsletter No. 101
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Free Pint
"Helping 44,000 people use the Web for their work"
http://www.freepint.com/
ISSN 1460-7239 29th November 2001 No.101
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IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
from Sam Vaknin
FREE PINT BAR & STUDENT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
Reviewed by Simon Collery
JOBS
Researcher, Research/Library Services, Information Analyst
Information Officer, Information Professional
FREE PINT REGULARS
TIPS ARTICLE
"Picture This: 'Free' Photos on the Web"
By Patrick Hartary
BOOKSHELF
"The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines" (2nd Ed.)
Written by Randolph Hock
Reviewed by Duncan Parry
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Communities of Practice"
By Martin White
FACT, EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/291101.htm>
ADOBE ACROBAT VERSION WITH NEWSLETTER FORMATTING
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/291101.pdf>
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KnowUK
Easy answers to everyday questions
Combining the latest editions of over 80 of the United Kingdom's
leading reference publications gives users of KnowUK unparalleled
insight into the people, places, organisations and institutions of the
United Kingdom. KnowUK covers every subject pertinent to life in the
UK, including healthcare, education, community, travel and heritage.
For more information, visit http://www.knowuk.co.uk
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>>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<<
Free Pint is an online community of information researchers. Members
receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on
finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet.
Joining is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and provides access to
the substantial archive of articles, book reviews, jobs, industry news
& events, with answers to your research questions and networking at
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EDITORIAL
You know it's nearly Christmas when two things happen. One, the
christmas trees and lights are bolted to the outside of our new
offices by the local chamber of commerce (they look very nice
actually). And two, it's the unmissable Online Information conference
and exhibition at Olympia here in London next week.
We're really looking forward to our regular catch-up with Free Pint
members on our stand, where there will be discount vouchers and plenty
of freebies. These include thousands of the newly designed Free Pint
beer mats, and some useful gifts from Free Pint Bar sponsors Factiva.
Thank you to them as always for their invaluable support.
We'll also be chairing a number of "Information Masterclasses" with
search supremo Gary Price. So, it's looking like it's going to be
another great show and conference, especially with the move to the
larger 'Grand Hall' at Olympia. We really hope you can come as there
will be plenty going on. Find out all about it and get your free
exhibition tickets at <http://www.online-information.co.uk/>.
Among other things, we'll be promoting the recently launched UK
company director reports at the show. These are proving extremely
popular and are a great supplement to the company reports we've been
selling for a while. If you want to find out all about a UK company
director (such as their address, birth date, and details of all live
and resigned directorships with basic financial information for each
company) then try a free search now at <http://www.freepint.com/icc/>.
A regular search request at the Free Pint Bar is where to find free
photos on the Web to enhance reports and presentations. Today's tips
article brings you a range of resources. In today's feature, Martin
White talks about communities of practice. In a way, the Free Pint Bar
and Bar Digest (now sent to 7,000 people three times a week) could be
called a community of practice. Members help each other find the best
information resources in response to requests for research assistance.
I really value your feedback on today's issue, either directly by
email to me or publicly at the Bar. Do pop by and say hello if you're
at the show next week, and pass this edition on to your colleagues.
Best regards
William
William Hann, Founder and Managing Editor
Email: <william@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1784 420044
Free Pint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (c) 1997-2001
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Online Information 2001: Worldwide answers to your information needs
4-6 December 2001, Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK
http://www.online-information.co.uk
HAVE YOU REGISTERED? Meet hundreds of content providers, publishers,
solutions vendors. Exploit professional know-how in free expert
seminars. Find more new ideas in one day at the show than in weeks of
fact finding at the office!
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>>> HATE PLAIN TEXT? PREFER A PROPERLY FORMATTED NEWSLETTER? <<<
A fully formatted version of the Free Pint Newsletter
is available online now in Adobe Acrobat format. Visit
the archive at <http://www.freepint.com/issues/issues.htm>
To have it emailed to you automatically every two weeks
modify your account online at <http://www.freepint.com/subs>
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
from Sam Vaknin
* <http://www.bookcrossing.com/> - Members register their books,
obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to
someone, or simply leave it lying around for a stranger to find.
* <http://www.realsci.com/> - Having (freely) registered as a member,
a scientist or a scholar can publish their papers, essays, research
results, articles and comments online.
* <http://www.plagiarism.org> and <http://www.Turnitin.com> - A
statistics-based technology which creates a "digital fingerprint"
of every document in its database. An instructor, teacher, or
professor can then use the report to prove plagiarism and cheating.
* <http://www.doi.org/> - An exciting digital content numbering and
classification system. The interesting feature of the DOI (Digital
Object Identifier) system is its ability to resolve to multiple
locations and media (URL's, or data, or content).
* <http://www.ideavirus.com> - In Seth Godin's words: "Marketing by
interrupting people isn't cost-effective anymore. Instead ... ignite
consumer networks and then get out of the way and let them talk."
Sam Vaknin is an economic and political columnist and a published and
awarded author of short fiction and reference books. He is the author
of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain -
How the West Lost the East". <http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/>
Tell us about your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at
<http://www.freepint.com/author.htm> and email <simon@freepint.com>.
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> = = = = = = = = = = = = = ADVERTISEMENT = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
GET MORE FROM INFORMATION BY USING FACTIVA'S NEW KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
This new community has resources that illustrate how various types of
knowledge workers, including information professionals, can use
Factiva content more effectively. Knowledge Network also provides
professional development tools, information on understanding today's
technology and product tips on using Dow Jones Interactive, Reuters
Business Briefing and Factiva.com more effectively. Sign up for free
monthly updates at <http://www.factiva.com/knowledgenetwork>
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>>> NOT HAVING ANY LUCK FILLING YOUR INFORMATION VACANCY? <<<
Free Pint Jobs is a proven way to fill any information-related
vacancy quickly and cost effectively. Is there a bigger
information network you can use to promote your job?
<http://www.freepint.com/jobs>
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FREE PINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
Reviewed by Simon Collery
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/291101.htm#bar>
Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
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[Note: To read a posting enter the message number in place of
XXXXX in the address http://www.freepint.com/go/bXXXXX ]
One of the primary aims of the Free Pint Bar is to be a place where
people can start looking for good online resources and I'm glad to see
it's been doing a pretty good job of that. Those looking for
biographies (14205), patents (14068), news feeds (14026),
pharmaceutical data (14014) and articles (13950, 13948) have all
received a generous response.
In addition to this, I reviewed a site on European financial data
(14091) and a periodical historical atlas of Europe (14292). And a
Free Pinter has posted up a notice about her recently launched site on
global trade, aimed especially at small businesses (14279). I've
noticed quite a number of postings on this subject and I'm sure you'll
find this site useful.
The Bar is also good for the various questions that arise in day to
day business, about writing legal disclaimers without the need for a
lawyer (14270), targeting and email marketing (14095), Austrian
company data (14001), bank details (13955, 13986) and writing tenders
(14253). Then there are things like production processes (14126),
sales data by country (14081), specific types of company (13954) and
registered company information (14130).
Some of these business questions have been about financial matters.
People have been looking for a list of investment analysts (14120),
details of recently launched incubators and investment trusts (14169),
financial data on libraries and information centres (14058), UK
mortgage rate trends (13975) and the meaning of the term ISS in
relation to investment banking (13934).
And it's an ideal place to ask for pointers when you are researching
something online. Free Pinters have been researching the role of
utility companies in development and regeneration (14139), machine
readable cataloguing (14176), the European mushroom industry (14125)
and the evolution of Quality Management Systems or QMSs (14037).
Others have been researching news alerts by text message or SMS
(14180), routing public enquiries to the right staff (14035),
evaluating research articles (13976), companies using AS/400s (14254)
and the number of murder cases that have gone to trial where no body
has been found (14154).
Being an online resource, the Bar is especially useful for technical
questions. There are bound to be tipplers who know about memory
problems (14098), multimedia applications (14104), email problems
(14050, 14002), training needs analysis software (13985), Web
acceleration software (14009), alternatives to Gator (14011) and
unified access to a number of different databases (14211).
And the list goes on. People have been asking about alternative
notable dates for MS Outlook (14200), library cataloguing software
(14290), library automation systems (14192), VCP/monitor combis
(13957), mass document conversion from Lotus AmiPro to WordPro
(14022), email notification of site changes (14113) and keyword
generators for assisting with Web searches (14021).
Job searchers have been asking about working online (14032, 14117) and
others have been looking for job profiles for a "knowledge steward"
and "content manager" (14239), contact details relating to setting up
an online employment advice service (14084), statistical data on
director level recruitment in the UK (14087) and the numbers of
certain types of professional working in London and the South East
(14006).
Sometimes issues can outstay their welcome in the Bar and I think that
is now the case for the one about Women Empowering Women and related
Multi Level Marketing schemes (14100). If people are interested in
such things they should research them as they wish, but the present
exchange of views is unlikely to be of interest to many Free Pinters.
I think the same can be said for the Nigerian Bank con and related
scams (14202, 14304). Aside from the fact that this one's been around
for several years, I have only recently reviewed a site where you can
check such things up http://www.sinclair-thomson.com>
A UK consulting practice which provides a good set of links, including
one to a project that the company seems to have been carrying out for
the UK Department of Trade and Industry. This project is also
documented at <http://www.kmu.org.uk/our_projects.html> in a paper
authored by Pat Langford which is a little different to the version
linked to from the CKE site.
John D. Smith
<http://home.teleport.com/~smithjd/CP_bib/>
This is a list of references to communities of practice.
Etienne Wenger
<http://www.ewenger.com>
As you will have read above, Etienne Wenger is one of the founders of
community of practice consulting. His site also announces the
establishment of CPsquare, a practitioners' consortium on communities
of practice which Wenger has set up with Bill Snyder and Richard
McDermott <http://www.ewenger.com/ewprospectus.html>.
Systems and Software Suppliers
------------------------------
The overlap between consulting and systems provision can be
substantial, and all the companies listed below have put some effort
into their sites.
Sift <http://www.sift.co.uk>
Sift are the leading UK company in the provision of a range of
services to support online communities. I will declare an interest
here, as Sift commissioned me to write a briefing paper on Employee
Online Communities earlier this year. Their site has an excellent
range of briefing papers and presentations.
TCM <http://www.tcm.com>
This site has an excellent array of resources and links, including a
very comprehensive list of books
<http://www.tcm.com/hr-books/copbooks.htm> that opens up the relevant
page in Amazon <http://www.tcm.com/trdev/morecops.htm>. It lists 252
references from a search carried out on the Copernic site, but it is
not clear when the search was conducted and posted.
ToMoYe <http://www.tomoye.com>
An intriguing name for this Canadian consulting and systems
integration company. Not one of the best sites but worth a look.
Other sites
-----------
Community Intelligence Laboratories
<http://www.co-i-l.com>
In the past I have found this site to be a useful resource on
communities of practice, and it is referred to extensively from other
sites listed above. However, whilst finalizing this article I was not
able to gain access to the site for several days, and therefore have
placed it in this Other category just in case there is some longer
term problem.
Communities Online
<http://www.communities.org.uk>
This is slightly outside the communities of practice area, as it deals
with social and neighbourhood communities, but the range of resources
on the site might well be of interest to anyone contemplating setting
up a community of practice in an organizational setting.
Communities-of-Practice
<http://communities-of-practice.pagina.nl>
This is a Dutch language site which offers a wide range of links, some
with Dutch titles but a number are in English, including a list of
case studies. Worth buying a dictionary!
European Forum for Teamwork
<http://www.efteam.org>
This organization is concerned with some of the wider aspects of team
working.
Infonortics
<http://infonortics.com>
Infonortics is a UK company which organizes excellent conferences on
virtual communities, and the next event takes place in London on 17-18
June 2002. Presentations from previous conferences can be downloaded
from the site. The coverage is broader than just communities of
practice, but there are many first class papers.
International Association for Human Resources Information Management
<http://www.ihrim.com>
Given the convergence between HR, IT and communities of practice this
is a site that is worth watching, though at present there is not a
great deal of content specifically on communities of practice.
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Martin White is Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd.,
<http://www.intranetfocus.com> a UK company specializing in intranet
strategy and deployment. The company's client list includes Hull City
Council, the National Farmers Union, The Bank for International
Settlements in Basel, and the International Monetary Fund in
Washington. Martin writes a monthly column on intranet topics for
EContent magazine <http://www.econtentmag.com> and is Chairman of the
International Online Information Conference. Comments on this article
can be addressed to <martin.white@intranetfocus.com>.
Martin is a Free Pint Regular <http://www.freepint.com/go/r21970>.
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Related Free Pint links:
* "Finance and Business" articles and links in the Free Pint Portal
<http://www.freepint.com/go/p50>
* Post a message to the author, Martin White, or suggest further
resources, at the Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/291101.htm#feature>
* Access the entire archive of Free Pint content
<http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/>
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>>> FREE PINT FACT <<<
The location of Free Pint's new offices has been described by some
as 'convenient'. For instance, within a five mile radius you can get
to the M25, M3 and M4 motorways and Heathrow Airport. Oh, and also
the river Thames. There's also a direct 30 minute train to central
London, and we're right outside the station.
Car, plane or train. Three convenient opportunities for daily delay
and commuter congestion. That's why we now canoe to work on the Thames.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
<http://www.freepint.com/events>
The big event next week of course is the Online Information
Conference and Exhibition at Olympia in London and we would urge you
to come along. Full details and free exhibition tickets are available
at <http://www.online-information.co.uk/>.
The City Information Group have their Christmas party in London at the
beginning of the month. This is followed by the last ever Institute of
Information Scientists Christmas party before they merge with the
Library Association.
Staying in the UK, the World Trade Group have their third annual
"European Supply Chain summit" in Birmingham, and Pira International
are running the "Cross Media Production and Workflows for Publishers
and Printers" conference in Leatherhead.
Details of these and many other conferences and exhibitions in the
information industry can be found on the Free Pint Events page
<http://www.freepint.com/events>.
Submit details of your event for free promotion, and keep us informed
about any changes to current listings.
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FREE PINT GOLD
This time last year we looked at rail industry sites (very topical
at the time) and had a resource-packed article on film sites.
* Free Pint No.76, 30th November 2000 "Britain's Railway Industry Web
Sites" and "Web Sources for Film and Television Information".
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/301100.htm>
In Free Pint two years ago there was a unique look at the range of
UK welfare sites available. Although we then covered a range of
residential property sales sites, I wonder how many are still
thriving in today's dot-com and economic downturn climate.
* Free Pint No.51, 2nd December 1999 "UK Help and Welfare Information
on the Web" and "Homepages: Househunting on the Internet".
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/021299.htm>
Three years ago we ran one of the most popular Free Pint articles
ever on business case studies. If you're attending next week's Online
Information show then you really should read the preview to 1998's
event by show director Katherine Allen to get the most out of it.
* Free Pint No.27, 26th November 1998 "Business Management Case
Studies" and "Online Information 98 Preview".
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/261198.htm>
Four years ago, I talked about how to use CAPITALISATION in search
engines, and when to avoid it. We also talked about how to spot a
scam on the Web, and how to ensure your online purchases are secure.
* Free Pint No.2, 20th November 1997 "CAPITAL Punishment in Search
Engines" and "Fakes and Frauds on the Net".
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/201197.htm>
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FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
[Provisional]
* Technology Transfer * News Searching * Biomedical Sources *
* Legal Sources * Olympics * Virtual Reference * Benchmarking *
* Intellectual Property * Academic, Economic and Social Science *
* Library Content and Wireless Devices * Plastics and Rubber *
* Effective Problem Solving * B2B * Tracking Site Changes *
If you have a suggestion for an article topic or would like to write
for Free Pint then please contact me or sign up for the monthly Author
Update on the Web site at <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.
Rex Cooke, Editor <rex@freepint.com>
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GOODBYE
Many thanks for reading today's edition of Free Pint and we hope you
picked up many new resources to help with your work. If you have a
bunch of resources you'd like to share, then do check out the
information for contributors at <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.
See you in two weeks!
William Hann, Founder and Managing Editor
<william@freepint.com>
(c) Free Pint Limited 1997-2001
<http://www.freepint.com/>
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Address:
Free Pint Limited
4-6 Station Approach
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TW15 2QN, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1784 420044
Fax: +44 (0)1784 420033
Directions and maps: <http://www.freepint.com/contact.htm>
Key contacts:
William Hann, Founder and Managing Editor <william@freepint.com>
Rex Cooke, Editor <rex@freepint.com>
Simon Collery, Content Developer <simon@freepint.com>
Web <http://www.freepint.com>
Subscriptions <subs@freepint.com>
Letters & Comments <feedback@freepint.com>
Authors <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>
Latest Issue Autoresponder <auto@freepint.com>
Advertising <http://www.freepint.com/advert.htm>
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Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a free newsletter written by information
professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information
on the Internet. Useful to anyone who uses the Web for their work, it
is published every two weeks by email.
To subscribe, unsubscribe, find details about contributing,
advertising or to see past issues, please visit the Web site at
<http://www.freepint.com/> or email <info@freepint.com>.
Please note: Free Pint is a registered trademark of, and published by,
Free Pint Limited. The publishers will NEVER make the subscriber list
available to any other company or organisation.
The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the
sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care
has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the
publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.
This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its
entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or
distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers.
Write to Rex Cooke, Editor <rex@freepint.com> for more details.
Product names used in Free Pint are for identification purposes only,
and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Free Pint disclaims
any and all rights in those marks. All rights reserved.
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About this Newsletter
- Publication Date: 29th November 2001
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