Jinfo: Newsletter No. 193

Newsletter No. 193

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View the fully formatted version free at:
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.pdf>
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                             FreePint
         "Helping 75,000 people use the Web for their work"
                     http://www.freepint.com/

ISSN 1460-7239                               27th October 2005 No.193
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                           IN THIS ISSUE
                           -------------

                             EDITORIAL
                          By William Hann

                       MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
                          By Emily Wilson

                           FREEPINT BAR
                    In Association with Factiva
                   a Dow Jones & Reuters Company

                   JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
                     Information Professional
                      Knowledge Co-ordinator
                        Information Officer
                  Knowledge/E-Government Manager
                     Part-time Library Manager
                    Senior Information Officer

                           TIPS ARTICLE
          "Shifting Platforms - CD to online publishing"
                         By Chris Bradley

                              REVIEW
        "The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search is
                Transforming Application Software"
                   Written by Stephen E. Arnold
                     Reviewed by Martin White

                          FEATURE ARTICLE
                   "Measuring Public Relations"
                       By Catherine Dhanjal

               EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES

                        CONTACT INFORMATION

             ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
            <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.htm>

                      FULLY FORMATTED VERSION
            <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.pdf>


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              IS JOB SATISFACTION IMPORTANT TO YOU?

At CILIP we believe that job satisfaction comes from doing a job to
the best of your ability. By investing in CILIP membership you can
benefit from a range of services, including new online content, which
will help you do your job better and enhance your career prospects.
Join in October and get 15 months' membership for the price of 12.
Visit <http://www.cilip.org.uk/freepintoffer> today.

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                 *** Moreover features in VIP ***

The October issue of VIP features an in-depth review of CI-Newsdesk,
a current awareness product from Moreover that provides access to news
sources and weblogs. A further item examines the latest enhancements
made to LexisNexis Butterworths.

                     <http://www.vivaVIP.com/>

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                     ***  ABOUT FREEPINT  ***

FreePint is an online network of information searchers. Members
receive this free newsletter twice a month: it is 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
a substantial archive of articles, reviews, jobs and events, with
answers to research questions and networking at the FreePint Bar.

Please circulate this newsletter, which is best read when printed out.
To receive a fully formatted version as an attachment or a brief
notification when it's online, visit <http://www.freepint.com/subs/>.

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                             EDITORIAL
                          By William Hann

There are certain things in this world that everyone seems to find
absolutely necessary, but at the same time are completely useless,
lack any real consistency and often seem to be downright wrong.

Take, for example, job titles. What's your job title? Did you decide
on it or did someone else? Would someone with the same job title as
you, but who works somewhere else, do the same job that you do? People
really 'care' about job titles, but in truth they're really rather
useless.

The information world has as much trouble with job titles as any other
industry. One FreePint Bar regular describes how "... I've been
librarian, information manager, market intelligence manager, market
information researcher, information liaison manager and head of
information. The job title hasn't made a jot of difference to what
I do. It's the job description that's important".

As you'll see from the Bar Summary below, there are battles being
waged with other job titles too, e.g. 'Information Manager vs.
Information Specialist' and 'Librarian vs. Information Professional'.
There are also a number of questions about what the information
industry actually is <http://digbig.com/4fbyy>, and whether it's
possible to build a career doing research <http://digbig.com/4fcaa>
or information broking <http://digbig.com/4fcab>.

The answer is, of course, that a lot of people make a living doing
this kind of work. There are plenty of opportunities in related areas
too. Take 'search', for example, which is something that interests
most people. It's an area where information skills can really shine.
See Stephen Arnold's excellent report on 'How Google's Internet Search
is Transforming Application Software' <http://digbig.com/4fbyt> or
Martin White's report on 'Enterprise Search'
<http://digbig.com/4etwb>.

Think of all the Web sites that need help with information
organisation and navigation, and even online help. Today's feature
article talks about this, looking at the good and bad points in the
move from CD-ROM provision of information to online. One area of major
improvement, for example, is the provision of help pages and support.

You can build your information career by providing such services, and
in other ways too: training or consultancy, writing or publishing.
When doing your homework, visit the FreePint Web site and read
articles about information work <http://digbig.com/4fcac>. Whilst
you're there, click on the pull-down menu 'Network' and find out about
information jobs at Jinfo or the business information industry at VIP,
which is currently reviewing Moreover's CI-Newsdesk.

So, there are lots of places to find out about careers in information-
related fields, and it is *the* place to work at the moment. Don't
limit yourself to a job title when looking for opportunities. Think
about what you're good at and what you like doing, and then find out
where those skills might be a needed. Thanks to the Internet,
knowledge of how information 'works' has never been so much in demand.

William Hann
Managing Editor and Founder, FreePint

e: william.hann@freepint.com
t: 0870 141 7474
i: +44 870 141 7474

FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2005

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              *** Factiva Keeps Your Skills Sharp ***

With Factiva's monthly newsletter, "InfoPro Intelligence", you get the
latest search tips, research tools and new sources.  Register today
for the resources you need to stay up-to-date.

             <http://www.factiva.com/ad/freepint0908>

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                   "Enterprise Search Guidebook"
                ISBN 1-904769-10-1 - September 2005

   This report sets out the principles and practice of specifying
       and selecting intranet or enterprise search software.

       "It is a complex and serious business and this report
         clearly explains so, while at the same time giving
                you a practical road map to success."

              <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>

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                       MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
                          By Emily Wilson

* The Global Yellow Pages directory, <http://www.globalyp.com/> for
  whenever you need to find an accountant in Argentina or a zoo in
  Zambia.

* More research, less junk. I use
  <http://mindset.research.yahoo.com/> to filter out purely commercial
  sites with little informational value.

* All the labour market data from National Statistics in easily
  digestible tables, <http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/>.

* Everything you ever wanted to know about imports to the UK,
  comprehensive and detailed data for free
  <http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=tradedata>.

* Trade Association Forum's directory of members
  <http://www.taforum.org/searchgroup.pl?n=500> is the gateway to a
  myriad of stats and facts that trade associations hold.

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Emily Wilson works for the Business Gateway Information Service
<http://www.bgateway.com>, providing research to SMEs and start-up
companies in Scotland.

Submit your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at
<http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.

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Glen Recruitment is a leading independent Employment Consultancy
dealing in the recruitment of Information Specialists, Knowledge
Professionals, Business Analysts, Researchers and Librarians. We
provide both permanent and temporary staff at all levels from senior
managers to recent graduates. Please visit our recently upgraded web-
site for a wide range of current vacancies.
For more details call 020 7745 7245 email <info@glenrecruitment.co.uk>.

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           ***  VIP reviews pay-as-you-go products  ***

     December's VIP will be looking at pay-as-you-go services.
      Please send us your comments if you use such services:
                 <http://www.vivavip.com/go/l166>

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   "Google Legacy -- How Google's Internet Search is Transforming
                Application Software" September 2005

   This unique 290-page report places Google under a microscope,
     dissects Google's technology, evaluates its potential and
        determines that Google's future lies beyond search.

              <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>

       "An extremely well analysed and brilliantly presented
               book - a must read for all interested".

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                            FREEPINT BAR
                   <http://www.freepint.com/bar>

                    In Association with Factiva
                   a Dow Jones & Reuters Company

Do you use the FreePint Bar because you need help with tricky research
questions, or do you use it to socialise with other information
professionals? Perhaps you just want to see what other people are
talking about. If you have never visited the Bar before, you are very
welcome indeed and here are some guidelines to help you begin:
<http://www.freepint.com/bar/barguide.html>.

The information profession seems to be under discussion a lot recently
with the following postings: this FreePinter wants to know the best
way to break into information brokering
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b34907>; "Is Internet research viable as a
full-time career commercially?" <http://www.freepint.com/go/b34789> or
what is the difference between information managers and information
specialists? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b35119>.

Perhaps you are more of a computer specialist and can help with these
postings: is it possible to flip negative images to positive on an
Epson GT 15000 flatbed A3 scanner?
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b35122>; how does one change the size of
slides created in Microsoft PowerPoint so that they fit the screen
they are projected upon? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b34943>

At what cost can this FreePinter get a couple of hundred photographs
digitised? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b35172>.

After the last FreePint Newsletter was published, a request for an
article on French and Russian business information sources was posted
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b34850>. Do you have any topic requests or
perhaps you fancy writing an article; please email me at
<penny.hann@freepint.com> or see <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.

In response to feedback from the VIP user survey conducted last month,
VIP Eye is now sent out in HTML format as well as text
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b34841>. VIP also has a new format and has
just been published, with a review of CI-Newsdesk from Moreover
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b35214>.

Can you help this FreePinter find resources to help her write and
speak about the differences between France and England's use of
non-renewable sources? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b35025>.

Do you know of a site that gives chapter and verse for
quotations? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b34712>. Or perhaps you know
where to find information on the UK stamp collecting market?
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b34564>.

Thank you to everyone who has posted at the Bar and a very warm
welcome to all the newcomers too.

Penny Hann <penny.hann@freepint.com>
FreePint

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The FreePint Bar is where you can get free help with your tricky
research questions <http://www.freepint.com/bar>

Help with study for information-related courses is available at the
FreePint Student Bar <http://www.freepint.com/student>.

Twice-weekly email digests of the latest postings can be requested
at <http://www.freepint.com/subs/>.

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              ***  DigBig :: Ecologically sound  ***

  Shorter Web addresses mean less text which means less printing
    which means less paper, which is better for the environment.

         DigBig: Fast, free and environmentally friendly.

           "A super, simple and very effective service."
                  Business Research Executive, UK

                     <http://www.DigBig.com/>

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                   JINFO :: JOBS IN INFORMATION
                      <http://www.jinfo.com/>

The Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise
information-related job vacancies.

The Jinfo Newsletter is published free every two weeks, and contains a
list of the latest vacancies along with job-seeking advice. The latest
editorial is entitled "Skills for Records Management". Read it online
and subscribe free at <http://www.jinfo.com/newsletter/>.

Here are some of the latest featured jobs:

Information Professional (part-time)
  STN International, the world-renowned online host, connects those
  seeking scientific, technical or patent information.
  Recruiter: Royal Society of Chemistry
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4511>

Knowledge Co-ordinator
  Knowledge Management support vacancy. Excellent opportunity for
  bright person with K.M. experience and potential.
  Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4533>

Information Officer
  The post involves the day-to-day management of sportscotland's
  intranet, you will also have experience of web-editing.
  Recruiter: sportscotland
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4536>

Knowledge/E-Government Manager
  Help us ensure we have access to all the information and knowledge
  we need to turn our vision into reality.
  Recruiter: sportscotland
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4537>

Part-time Library Manager
  Part-time role for qualified librarian to provide info services to
  law firm in the Midlands, 20-25hrs flexible, 24,000 pro rata.
  Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4538>

Senior Information Officer
  A Senior Information Officer is required to work for Cumbria County
  Council in the Information and Communications Team.
  Recruiter: Cumbria County Council
  <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j4541>

NB: There are 40 other jobs in the current edition of the Jinfo
Newsletter <http://www.jinfo.com/newsletter/> and over 100 in the
Jinfo database <http://www.jinfo.com/>.

[The above jobs are paid listings]

Jinfo -- the best place for information-related job vacancies.

*  JOB SEARCHING? -- Free search and sign up to the Jinfo Newsletter.
*  RECRUITING?    -- Complete the form and advertise a vacancy for
                     just GBP195 <http://www.jinfo.com/recruit/>.

50% discount for registered charities and universities.
10% discount for agencies.

          Find out more today at <http://www.jinfo.com/>

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                            TIPS ARTICLE
         <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.htm#tips>
          "Shifting Platforms - CD to online publishing"
                         By Chris Bradley

There was a time, a few years ago now, when information vendors
perceived that CD-ROM technology was the future. So, with greater or
lesser success, they unleashed lots of shiny round disks to replace
the books that they had been publishing for years. To some extent this
was a great achievement, particularly in those instances where the
paper version was effectively a database, (albeit one that was
impossible to manipulate with any ease). So the Dun and Bradstreet
reference books became a formidable marketing tool rather than
ungainly multi-volume shelf-fillers. And you didn't need to read the
instructions. You might even be able to understand Kompass.

But was the technology driving the product rather than working in
tandem with it? One publisher now produces its quarterly magazine as a
series of interlinked PDF documents. Very nice technology, but to what
end? You now have to navigate in the same way as you might through a
book index to find a document, which is illegible when you print it
out. And you will need to print it out unless you have a high
definition screen and good eyesight. Also, consider the financial
implications of this shift: you'll need a PC, printer, CD drive. The
chances are you'll already have these, but you'll want a top-end CD or
more probably a DVD player and while you're in the shop you spot a CD
rewriter. All you needed before was a shelf.

More recently however there has been a shift towards web-based
products. Cue here a new batch of buzzwords ('web-enabled', 'portal')
and the ever-popular 'functionality'. I have yet to work out what
'granularity' refers to in online databases. I understand the concept
in sugar, even in sandpaper, but not in retrieval software.

There are distinct advantages of the web as a platform and one doesn't
need to be continually installing disks (and some are monthly); there
is not the same problem with networked/non-networked versions or
licence agreements, insofar as you have one password per user or have
agreed the general number of likely users.

Not wishing to be other than positive, there are some disadvantages
which should be mentioned. Aside from the inherent risks of relying on
an old bit of telephone cable (and you can never be quite sure whether
your spiffing broadband/blue tooth connection isn't relayed via a
mouse-nibbled bit of Bakelite from the 1930s, somewhere in darkest
Somerset), the dangers of virus attacks (now so well protected behind
firewalls that you're lucky to get an outside connection), there are
the applications themselves, reminiscent of the walls of cheap 1970s
TV sitcoms: wobbly and liable to fall over when you open another
window.

With one particular suite of well-known company databases, it isn't
possible to switch between them without crashing the system (and a
demonstrator managed to repeatedly do this). Connection time for a
different part of the same suite is so long that popping across to
India for a cup of tea is a viable proposition.

With the CD, if I wanted to download a list of company names with
addresses in a given geographic area, say 500 records, (which isn't an
unreasonable or rare request), I wouldn't worry about the cost because
I'd paid for upfront. With the new credit system they are now asking
for GBP 500, and I've got nine other offices asking for the same
search in each of their areas, as they are running a new marketing
campaign and are looking for new business, so that's a possible GBP
10,000, which was what I was paying for unlimited access on the CD. I
did run one search that suggested I should pay GBP 1.5 million: I
didn't proceed, I just used a different product. This ridiculous
pricing structure is echoed in another well-respected company's new
web interface. This one is so slow that you could grow your own family
tree while it attempts to build one, so I'm not wowed by this. And
don't get me started on country selection.

Or online help for that matter. In the CD days you were lucky to get
anything that remotely resembled a manual, so you patiently worked
through the product, swapped tips with colleagues and came up with
your own internal instruction manual. Of course, you can still do the
same thing, and that's a viable option in a big organisation over a
LAN, because you're permanently online anyway. But consider the one-
person organisation watching his or her budget being eaten away by the
phone company. So they go on a course and that's one less day that
they're enriching their service offering.

There are plenty of fine examples of how you can select multiple
criteria on a web database without the hair-tearing frustration of
waiting. If you consider the big names in news retrieval, there just
aren't the same speed issues and it's not as if they are sorting
through less material or for a shorter time span. I can search the
entire archive on Factiva or Dialog and it takes five seconds. Google
searches millions upon millions of web pages and it takes less than a
second. So why can't other information providers provide their
information as quickly? Do they need to upgrade their servers, their
network, or should they have tested their service in a live
environment before consigning those nice shiny disks to the dustbin?

Web platforms work: so much is clear from the news providers (but we
will leave the minutiae of their other failings for a different rant),
so why is it so hard for others?

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Chris Bradley has worked as an information professional for the past
eight years at Watson Wyatt Limited, a global consulting firm focused
on human capital and financial management. Watson Wyatt subscribes to
numerous online, CD and print resources. Chris holds a PG Diploma in
Information Studies from the University of North London and a first
degree in modern languages.

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Related FreePint links:

* 'Publishing' articles in the FreePint Portal
  <http://www.freepint.com/go/p121>
* Post a message to the author, Chris Bradley, or suggest further
  resources at the FreePint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
  <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.htm#tips>
* Access the entire archive of FreePint content
  <http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/>

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       ***  FreePint Events :: Information Conferences  ***

   Information-related conferences and workshops are listed free
   in FreePint Events. It's a great place to keep up with what's
           happening 'offline' in the information world:

                 <http://www.freepint.com/events/>

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                               REVIEW
        "The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search is
                Transforming Application Software"
              <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>
                   Written by Stephen E. Arnold
                     Reviewed by Martin White

The day that this review is being written, Google is the lead story on
the front page of the Financial Times as the company announces an
instant voice messaging and online voice calling service. In less than
ten years the company has grown from a bright idea of its founders,
whilst at Stanford University, to a company processing 300 million
searches a day. The fact that it has been able to scale with demand is
a tribute to the robustness of the relevance algorithm, the IT
infrastructure and the business acumen of the founders.

Yet despite Google being one of the most recognized global brands, it
is also a highly secretive organization. A few years ago, I visited
Google in San Francisco, and was intrigued both by the grand piano in
the reception area and the liberal use of bean bags in the offices.
This excellent book really goes behind the scenes and it is a tribute
to Steve Arnold, that he has managed to write a book of such detail
and insight without the cooperation of Google itself. Indeed, I would
not be surprised if Google employees were among the early readers of
the book!

The eleven chapters of this 289 page book cover the technology and
business objectives of every Google application, from the development
of the relevance ranking, GMail and Google Maps, Google Clustering,
Google Scholar and Google's venture into enterprise search with the
Google Search Appliance. The final chapters look at privacy issues and
attempt to assess the current and future impact of Google on the web
business. Appendices list all the Google patents with a brief
description of their claims, and all the Google publisher partners.
Throughout, there is an effective use of screen shots, and overall,
the layout of the book is excellent.

This is not a journalistic approach to Google but the outcome of the
author's lifetime involvement with search applications. The result is
a level of technical detail and analysis which I cannot see ever being
bettered. Equally valuable is that Steve Arnold looks at some of the
issues that might yet derail the Google train. After all, I can
remember the days when no one could conceive of there being a
competitor to AltaVista.

These could be the problems of scaling the business (far more
difficult than scaling the IT!), the activities of competitors (Google
is big, Microsoft is bigger still) or someone inventing a better
search mousetrap. Steve Arnold observes "One of the basic discoveries
from the research conducted for this monograph is that Google may
indeed end like so many high-flying Internet companies. However, the
legacy of Google has been the vivid demonstration that distributed,
parallelized network computing and virtual applications represent the
next evolutionary phase in computing, systems and software. Google's
architecture can scale".

Not only is there quite a staggering amount of detail in each chapter,
presented in a very readable way, but the author and publisher have
managed the production process so that, at launch, the book is only a
few weeks out of date. The downside is that the book is currently
available only as a 24MB download. There are plans to provide an
update to the book, to cover a number of significant announcements
expected over the next few months.

I thought I knew a fair bit about Google, but it is the tip of the
iceberg compared to the knowledge that Steve Arnold has amassed and
presented with great clarity in this very highly recommendable book.

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"Google Legacy - How Google's Internet Search is Transforming
Application Software" published by Infonortics Ltd.
<http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>

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Martin White is Managing Director of Intranet Focus Ltd.
<http://www.intranetfocus.com>. He specializes in intranet strategy
development and the specification and selection of content management
software applications, and has worked in over 25 countries.  He is the
author of The Content Management Handbook
<http://www.intranetfocus.com/technology/cmhandbook.php> and of the
Enterprise Search Guidebook published by FreePint
<http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/enterprise-search/>. Martin is the
Chairman of the Online Information Conference and a regular columnist
on intranet issues for both Econtent <http://www.econtentmag.com> and
Intranets <http://www.intranetstoday.com/>. His own experience in
information retrieval dates back to the mid-1970s.

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Related FreePint links:

* Purchase this book online at the FreePint Shop
  <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>
* Purchase other information-management reports from FreePint:
  <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>

To propose an information-related book for review, send details
to <support@freepint.com>.

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                           FEATURE ARTICLE
         <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.htm#feature>
                   "Measuring Public Relations"
                       By Catherine Dhanjal

News ... all depends. But you'll know it when you see it, says the
Discworld's first journalist, William de Worde: Things Written Down
(Pratchett [1]). So what is public relations? L'Etang [2] describes it
as the practice of presenting the public face of an organisation or
individual, the articulation of its aims and objectives, and the
official organisational view on issues of relevance to it.

This article focuses on the media relations side of PR: communicating
to target audiences through channels such as publications, broadcast
and internet programmes. It is generally agreed that public relations
plays an important role in the informational part of communications -
making people aware of products and their role, perhaps particularly
in this decade where many editorial departments have been slashed,
leaving less time for journalists' own research than previously.
Collection of press cuttings (or media monitoring) remains the most
popular way of evaluating how successfully information is communicated
by government or private sector PR departments.

Being traditionally 'informational', PR is generally seen to fit into
the awareness stage of the three stages of persuasion: awareness,
acceptance and action (Smith, 2002 - referenced in Watson & Noble
[3]). Media relations might involve activities such as sending press
releases, articles or case studies to editorial contacts, taking part
in media interviews, or for wider aspects of PR, communicating with
clients or potential clients through newsletters, seminars and direct
mailers.

I recently bought a solar charger for my mobile telephone and PDA. I
had read about the product in a national newspaper - I forget which -
and I had also forgotten the name of the manufacturer. However, a
search on the internet for 'solar mobile phone charger' brought up a
list of companies and I recognised the name Solio 
<http://www.solio.com>, and the charger's distinctive flower petal
shape. PR, and, in particular, media relations, played the major role
in prompting my interest and awareness in the product, although other
elements clinched the deal and took me through to the purchase stage.
It's easy enough to measure how many customers visit a website or
purchase a product but more complex to measure how effective your PR
efforts are. Examining the success of Dyson in bringing his bagless
vacuum cleaner to market, Boyle [4] states that: " ... journalistic
articles can be decisive in product success not only persuading
opinion formers to try out something new, but also encouraging more
conservative purchasers to follow the lead of the pioneer consumers."
She adds, " ... significant promotional effects from journalistic
interest can therefore only be expected from a long-term series of
articles".

In my purchase, external factors also played a part - and the company
almost certainly benefits from charity, campaigners and government
communications' efforts about solar power. My own situation was also
relevant - I saw a role for a solar charger as I often travel where I
have long periods with no means of accessing power points to charge my
devices, and I'm interested in solar energy. This brings us back to
the importance of press cuttings in highlighting trends in public
opinion or legislation on issues, giving the organisation the
opportunity to piggyback its PR on those trends or to lobby opinion
makers to put its own viewpoint across.

Some organisations still shy away from putting any tools in place to
effectively measure public relations. Perceived obstacles to
measuring public relations are many and varied - from lack of time and
resources for implementing measurement techniques, to lack of
understanding of the role of public relations and lack of resources.
Some organisations still prefer to judge the effectiveness of their
communications on 'gut feel' and to spend more money on implementing
PR campaigns rather than using press cuttings and other research
services to improve the effectiveness of existing campaigns.

Most organisations wouldn't think about employing people without
having clear job specifications, objectives and appraisals and ideally
this should be the same for communications and public relations.
However, communication also needs to be flexible to react to
marketplace and company developments. It (hopefully) involves two-way
communication and public relations is just one aspect of dialogue with
target audiences. This is partly why Watson and Noble [3] make the
point that it is because objective-setting is not simple in public
relations that public relations evaluation is also not simple.
However, media monitoring is the first essential step in the process
to awareness of your own organisation's profile in the media and the
public's perception of relevant external factors or issues.

JISC's press and PR manager, Dr Philip Pothen, says: "Media monitoring
is vital to JISC for a number of reasons. JISC <http://www.jisc.ac.uk>
is in the thick of a variety of issues which are the subject of public
debate, such as plagiarism, open access publishing, open source,

e-learning, the place of technology in education, and so on. We need
to know as it happens how these debates are playing out in the public
domain, to be able to explain what our position is in relation to
these discussions in a range of publications, both general and
specialist, to inform our own communications. We need to know too how
JISC is being represented in the press in order to analyse the
messages being communicated but also the factual correctness of the
coverage itself. It can also help internally by informing JISC staff,
Committee members, funders, etc., that their work receives coverage,
that it has a very public face and that communication of it is an
integral part of the work itself".

Pothen touches on the importance of receiving copies of press coverage
in allowing the organisation to react to coverage about itself - and
to have the opportunity to contact journalists to correct it or add to
it; and to allow the organisation to monitor external factors which
might impact on them - such as changes in government legislation or
public reaction to launch of a competitor's product.

Sarah Walton of Big Giraffe Marketing Services, (Tel: 07796 178305)
says: "Copies of media coverage are extremely useful for integrated
communications activities - perhaps using articles as direct mailers
or stating: see product X reviewed in magazine Y on a banner at an
exhibition stand. Third party endorsement via the media can be a very
powerful tool in positioning the organisation or product."

She adds: "services like Special Cuts provide quantifiable metrics
which can be reported back to the company board and make it easier to
monitor the effectiveness of PR activities."

Richard Bagnall, Managing Director of media evaluation specialist
Metrica <http://www.metrica.net> makes the point that: "Whereas in
times past the thud of a hefty book of press cuttings on the desk
would earn a PR practitioner a slap on the back, accountability is now
the name of the game". Sourcing the relevant coverage is just the
first in a long line of tools the PR industry has at its disposal.
These can help PR practitioners improve upon current strategies, react
to changes in the media environment and ultimately document PR's
unique contribution to the bottom line. Along with benchmarking and
reviewing past performance, media measurement must be used as a
forward-looking planning tool to improve the effectiveness of ongoing
PR. After all, if you're failing to plan, you're planning to fail.

Understanding the impact of good and bad communication is fundamental
to business survival. Tracking your company's reputation and
reportage in the media helps to assess whether your key messages are
reaching target audiences so that you can adjust your public relations
and wider marketing campaigns or strategy accordingly. This
information can then help concentrate your efforts - saving you both
time and money.

[1] Pratchett, Terry. The Truth. 2000. Pg 12 & 435
[2] L'Etang, Jacquie. Public Relations in Britain. 2004. Pg 2
[3] Watson, Tom & Noble, Paul. Evaluating Public Relations. 2005.
    Pg 165, 157
[4] Boyle, Emily. Press and Publicity Management: the Dyson Case, in
    Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Volume 9,
    No 3, pg 209-222.

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Catherine Dhanjal, Director, Special Cuts
<http://www.specialcuts.co.uk>, a media monitoring and press cutting
service for the academic, learning, government, information management
and library sectors. Clients include Eduserv, Emerald Group
Publishing, JISC and Softlink. Special Cuts aspires to be the best
press cuttings agency there is for the trade and technical
publications in the academic/education, government, learning and
information management/library sectors. FreePint readers can try the
Special Cuts service free for a month - quote 'FreePint' and email
 for more information. Catherine is also
Director of TheAnswer <http://www.theansweruk.com> which provides
public relations and marketing services, specialising in the
information management and library sectors. Catherine has worked in
public relations for over ten years and is currently taking an MA in
Strategic Communications. Email: 
Tel: 0798 1271177.

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* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
  <http://www.freepint.com/issues/271005.htm#feature>
* Access the entire archive of FreePint content
  <http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/>

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                          FREEPINT GOLD

A look back at what FreePint covered at this time in previous years:

* FreePint No.170 28th October 2004. "European Industrial Relations
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  <http://www.freepint.com/issues/281004.htm>

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* FreePint No.124 31st October 2002. "Job Hunting Resources On The
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* FreePint No.99, 1st November 2001. "Web Sources for Climate Change
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* FreePint No.74, 2nd November 2000. "Web Sources for Central and
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* FreePint No.49, 4th November 1999. "Key UK Library and Information
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* FreePint No.25, 29th October 1999. "Delivered to your Desktop" and
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  <http://www.freepint.com/issues/291098.htm>

                    Penny <penny@freepint.com>

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