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3rd March 2011
No.321
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Contents
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Editorial
My Favourite Tipples
FreePint Bar
FUMSI Features
- SharePoint - Face Your Fear and Do it Anyway: Part 1
- Content Analysis: Describing your Landscape
VIP Features
- On the VIP Horizon
- Recent postings to the LiveWire
- Recent postings to the Wire
Jinfo - Jobs and Events
Jobs in Information:
- Market Analyst - Real Estate/Manufacturing
- Library and Archive Supervisor
- Senior Researcher
- Senior Researcher/Manager - Thought Leadership
Events in Information:
- Online Information Asia
- TFPL SharePoint Summit 2011
- The Edge 2011 Conference, 'Tough Times, Tough Talk'
- More...
Highlights from DocuTicker
- Neuroscience: implications for education and lifelong learning
- Annual Privatization Report 2010
Highlights from ResourceShelf
- LinkedIn Launches New Company Search Feature
- GPO and Library of Congress to Digitize Historic Documents
Gold
Contact Information
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About FreePint
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FreePint publishes newsletters, websites, magazines and resources for the information industry. The FreePint Family of publications publishes practical tips, product reviews, expert tips, research collections and hands-on tools to support information work of all kinds.
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Editorial
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 By Michelle Manafy
Forming a constructive relationship with SharePoint
To keep your organisation working together and effectively informed, intranet design, management and improvement must be a focus of intelligent investment and our just-published FUMSI Report: Folio on Intranet redesign provides hands-on insights into how to maximise intranet effectiveness.
 Interestingly, one of the big names in intranets, SharePoint, increasingly strikes me as being an information professional's best frenemy. If you're unfamiliar with the term (that is, don't spend much time on TMZ or frequently converse with tweens), a frenemy is both friend and enemy. No, I'm not trying to imply that SharePoint will be telling you how cute your outfit is while stealing your beau anytime soon. However, SharePoint is a tool with which info pros have a pretty public love-hate relationship. Common criticisms include difficulty in navigating and locating information, its lack of lightweight (read: "easy to use") collaboration tools and difficulty to implement.
Certainly, there is no disputing widespread use of SharePoint. According to a New York Times' Bits blog post, SharePoint has fared quite well during the recession (even while Microsoft as a whole did not). According to the post, companies like Ferrari, Starbucks and Viacom number among the more than 17,000 SharePoint customers. And that was written prior to the much-lauded release of SharePoint 2010, which included long-awaited search enhancements based on the company's 2008 acquisition of Fast Search and Transfer.
While many information managers may view SharePoint as daunting, as many (if not more) believe that its benefits far outweigh the obstacles to effective implementation. This issue of FreePint features the first of a two-part FUMSI article by one such practitioner, manager of the BBC's corporate intranet, Nic Price. In this instalment "SharePoint - Face your fear and do it anyway," Price provides an insider's perspective into his organisation's journey from home-grown intranet to centralised content management system (and beyond).
Like many organisations, the BBC settled on SharePoint to provide the basis of the next generation of its intranet. And like so many others, Price and his team were concerned about what it would entail and the many hurdles faced - to meet technological objectives while maximising user experience and usability in order to make the transition "without causing havoc and confusion in the process."
Without doubt, SharePoint is an entity to be reckoned with, and one that information professionals best approach armed with both the sort of insights one has into a friend, as well as the caution with one approaches a potential adversary. Because while no solution is, out of the box, your dearest confidant nor your worst enemy, knowledge and understanding will equip you to make the most of even the most complex relationships. Stay tuned for part 2 in Price's tale, in which we will see how the BBC faced its fear and made SharePoint work for (and with) staff.
Best regards,
Michelle Manafy,
Director of Content
FreePint
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2011
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My Favourite Tipples
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 By Jean Graef
Since my main interest is figuring out how broad trends will affect the way we use technology in business, my favourites include some "big picture" links as well as others about technical features or use cases.
- The Atlantic: I love this magazine for its insightful writing on business, culture, and technology. I'm a particular fan of James Fallows, a regular contributor who's a great writer with an interest in computer products.
- Innovation Watch: I read this monthly digest of articles from a variety of publications because it helps me spot emerging trends: scientific, cultural and social.
- SharePoint Reporter: I think this is the most useful of the many sources of SharePoint information. The focus is mostly technical.
- What Matters: is the magazine of the McKinsey & Company management consulting firm. I like to see what the CEO's of large global firms are interested in, as reflected by the consultants they use to advise them.
- Knowledge Base Editor's Digest: I personally find this free monthly compilation of articles useful. It covers topics that cross the boundaries between computing, library science, journalism, and information management.
Jean Graef is the Founder of the Montague Institute, which provides information, education, and knowledge base design services to information professionals in large organizations.
Would you like to add your Favourite Tipples suggestions for the FreePint Newsletter or write an article for FUMSI (Find, Use, Manage or Share Information?).
If so, please submit them to support@freepint.com.
Have a single tip to share? Post it to the FUMSI Forum.
View the guidelines at: <http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute>.
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Factiva.
The Intelligence Engine.
Accurate. Powerful. Efficient.
Factiva offers a premier collection of the world's top media including The Times, The Sunday Times and The Times Literary Supplement.
Using Factiva's powerful search features you can find results fast and monitor news on companies, industries, issues and regional affairs.
Find accurate, trustworthy and timely information faster.
Learn more: factiva.com/fp
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TFPL SharePoint Summit 2011
Pushing the boundaries and driving innovation
Help your business achieve full business benefit from the collaboration and information management platform
- 6 innovative case studies, including speakers from KPMG, EEDA, Reynolds Porter Chamberlin LLP
- Practice advice from expert panels
- Peer-to-peer learning throughout the Summit
Full agenda and registration »
Quote TFPL1 for a 10% discount.
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FreePint Bar
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The FreePint Bar is where we publish information about the latest content from across the FreePint Family of resources.
The FreePint Bar is sponsored by:
Latest posts at the FreePint Bar:
- [FreePint] Focus on strategy and customer needs
Alchemy, Info pros and knowing better
During this eventful first month as Director of Content here at FreePint, I have focused much of my attention on getting to know the team and our readers. It is a testament to the quality of the FreePint editorial staff that in almost every chat, our editors and frequent contributors asked if we could provide them with reader feedback more often. Then, when I was discussing some of the insights I've gained so far through these conversations with FreePint's Publisher William Hann, and Director of Research Robin Neidorf, William expressed a desire for the holy grail of knowledge, asking if we couldn't create a way to capture customer interactions and share them in real time so that everyone could benefit from anyone's ad hoc customer contact.
Read posting online »
- [FreePint] The Enterprise App-Gap
FreePint Research has published the results of a two-phase project examining the barriers and market opportunities around delivery of mobile content in the enterprise.
Despite the surge of activity among consumers and individuals to go mobile, larger organisations are slower to deploy content to mobile devices. This two-phase project surfaces a number of surprising reasons why.
Read posting online »
- [FUMSI] Latest popular articles
The following are the most popular FUMSI articles over the last 30 days:
* US Private Companies: Research and Analysis
* Improving Intranet Navigation with User Research & Testing
* HTML5 for Information Professionals
* Creating User Centred Taxonomies: Part One
* Microformats: Digging Deeper into the Web
Free uses of FUMSI articles are supported by our sponsors.
Read posting online »
- [VIP] Latest popular LiveWire posts
There's a lot of valuable comment at the VIP LiveWire. The following are the most popular posts from our contributing editors over the last 30 days:
* Inc 500 Companies - more social media savvy
* Social Media - Creepy as Hell?
* Outsourcing - once it's gone you can't get it back
* Stunned by Tablet Growth
* Content Farms: Fertile ground for controversy
Subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly to stay informed. Your comments on any posting are always welcome.
Read posting online »
Visit the FreePint Bar »
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FUMSI Features
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 FUMSI publishes articles, tools, and a monthly magazine, to give you practical help with information skills. Visit http://www.fumsi.com/
However you Find, Use, Manage or Share Information, you'll find something in FUMSI to help.
Become a fan of FUMSI on Facebook »
Follow FUMSI on Twitter »
We add new articles to the FUMSI database in each practice area every month, which are free to read, browse, email, print or save. Here are the most recent additions:
SharePoint - Face Your Fear and Do it Anyway: Part 1
 By Nic Price
FUMSI: Share
The introduction of initiatives to simply the way that business is done can often cause a lot of disruption during the change before any benefits are seen. And, trying to keep a service functioning during the change adds another level of difficulty. In this two part series, Nic Price describes what happened at the BBC when Gateway, their intranet, was moved to SharePoint.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'Gateway, the BBC's intranet, had grown organically since it started life under a desk in 1996. The central Gateway team was formed, which embarked on helping to provide training, templates and a forum for discussing the development and management of Gateway. In 2005 the Simple Business Initiative was set up to simplify what it was like to get things done at the 'business end' of the BBC. Gateway, our intranet, had been identified as a key linchpin for the success of the initiative. Our task was to move SharePoint in as a core part of the platform which supported Gateway, without causing havoc and confusion in the process.'
Read, print, save or forward this article now »
Content Analysis: Describing your Landscape
 By Kate Simpson
FUMSI: Manage
Having a clear idea of the content on our intranets and websites is the key to ensuring that the user experience is optimised and findability is high. But the idea of carrying out an information audit can be daunting, particularly when we feel we know where the content problems lie. So try this practical and realistic approach, put forward by Manage contributing editor Kate Simpson, to increase the value of your web content.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'As an information architect, paying special attention to an organisation's content is key. However, a full information audit often seems like a lot of work when most of us already know what's clogging up our intranets and websites and just want to get on with binning most of it, and designing a cleaner system with better, up-to-date and more useful content. So a tactical approach can be taken that is practical and realistic, recognising our increasing impatience with analysis and research phases before we want to jump into the more exciting design and build phases of projects.'
Read, print, save or forward this article now »
FUMSI Forum
The latest recommendations and tips from our editors, contributors and community:
Visit the FUMSI Forum »
FUMSI - Forthcoming Topics
- Cooperative intelligence
- Ingenious uses for information
- SharePoint and the lean intranet
- Peer-to-peer sharing
If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then please contact <support@freepint.com> or read the notes for authors at
<http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute/>.
Browse all FUMSI articles »
Subscribe to the free FUMSI Focus to receive a weekly update of the latest FUMSI Forum discussion.
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Who Does What?
Survey on Info Pros and End Users in the Enterprise
Participate in the latest FreePint Research project and help benchmark how organisations are balancing knowledge work between end users and information professionals. What goes on the desktop? What does the organisation value?
Free copy of resulting report when you provide an email address at the end.
Participate now »
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BRIC House: Home of Data on Brazil, Russia, India and China ...and 80 other emerging markets around the world
- EMIS: Company and industry research and current awareness
- CEIC: Macroeconomic, industry, and statistical data
- IFIS: Sharia-compliant financial information
- DealWatch: M&A and ECM transaction information
Learn more and request a trial of any of our products »
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VIP Features
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 VIP publishes in-depth, unbiased reviews of business information products. If you purchase or use premium information resources, make VIP part of your professional reading every month »
 VIP Magazine: On the Horizon
VIP Magazine features VIP Horizon, a brief summary of important news in the information industry, interpreted to help information managers communicate upward regarding strategy, risk management and planning for change.
The most recent issue of VIP (No. 87) features the following in VIP Horizon:
Cloud computing is the top technology priority for chief information officers in
2011 according to a survey by Gartner. But a new report from Ovum warns that CIOs should only implement cloud-based software as a service if they are clear about the business outcome they want to achieve and aren't swayed by industry hype.
CIOs could otherwise run the risk of the long term outcomes from implementing SaaS being "more expensive, slower and worse", Ovum warns. Any such outcomes could clearly impact on the quality of services provided elsewhere in the enterprise, including those managed by corporate information professionals.
http://www.vivavip.com/go/e32119
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In continuing regulatory interest in personal privacy issues, the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office has urged consumers to take control of the information that credit agencies hold about them. Meanwhile the European Commission has published an Opinion on the use of personal information in the Cloud.
The privacy law that should apply should not simply be the one where the data controller is based, but the one where the activities themselves take place, it says. Nor is it necessary for the controller to own or fully control the equipment involved for the processing to fall within the scope of the Data Protection Directive.
http://www.vivavip.com/go/e32144
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Bosses are focused on cost savings while information managers are more concerned about quality of service when it comes to outsourcing corporate information services, according to a new guide to the practice from Outsell. However a recent Economist Intelligence Unit report, Leaders of Change, suggests that the focus in change management generally is currently shifting from cost-cutting towards growth.
Outsell's survey found that virtually no initial outsourcing decisions were ever reversed. Nevertheless, information managers are not fully convinced that outsourcing relationships work effectively - and when services go offshore, then political environment, cultural compatibility and security need to be considered too.
http://www.vivavip.com/go/e32147
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Some leading names in the commercial information industry have featured in a little flurry of acquisitions recently, including Wolters Kluwer, LexisNexis, Salesforce.com and Thomson Reuters Tax & Accountancy. The development tends to confirm the view of international accountancy firm PwC that media companies of all kinds will see increased mergers and acquisitions activity in 2011.
Strategic acquisitions among information companies can enhance an information product's usability as workflow solutions increasingly displace traditional content as the main offering. But each acquisition also means potentially fewer opportunities for those who purchase content on behalf of their organisations to take their
business elsewhere.
http://www.vivavip.com/go/e31903
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Up-and-coming "Inc 500" businesses in the United States embrace social media to a far greater extent than the more traditional Fortune 500 companies, according to a survey by the University of Massachusetts. 71% of the Inc 500 companies questioned used Facebook while 59% used Twitter, and half have corporate blogs, up from 45% in 2009.
In Britain, research by publishers Daryl Willcox indicates that small and medium sized enterprises have not adopted social media to quite the same degree as their US counterparts. Nevertheless, around 60% of UK SMEs believe that social media are beneficial to their companies' bottom line.
http://www.vivavip.com/go/e32155
Purchase VIP Magazine No. 87 from the FreePint Shop, or subscribe today »
VIP LiveWire
VIP contributing editors comment daily on what's happening in the industry.
Visit the LiveWire for their insights, and subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly for regular alerts.
VIP Wires Weekly is generously sponsored by TFPL Intelligent Resources
Most Read Postings on the LiveWire Recently...
- Inc 500 Companies - more social media savvy
Knowledgespeak this week alerted us to an interesting study on social media usage amongst the USA's Inc 500 companies, an index of the fastest growing private businesses in the country...
Read posting online »
- Social Media - Creepy as Hell?
As both Hoover's and Experian announce new social media related initiatives, the march of social networking into business continues unabated. But should other new developments with perhaps less obvious benefits be starting to ring alarm bells? ...
Read posting online »
- More with less in 2011
2010 has come and gone and we're now well into the 2011 prediction season. Video, fee vs free, offshoring and the decline of professional bodies all feature in the predictive mix...
Read posting online »
- Outsourcing - once it's gone you can't get it back
No-one seems greatly enthused at the idea of outsourcing information services but most people seem to agree that it's here to stay so they might as well make the best of it. That seems to be the message of an intriguing new guide from Outsell on how to make it work...
Read posting online »
- Stunned by Tablet Growth
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is slated to release volume one of its two-part study of Consumer Attitudes Towards E-Book Reading this week. According to a blog post by consultant John Parsons, who is working with BISG on the study, some of the emerging trends are 'stunning.'...
Read posting online »
Always feel free to comment on any item on the LiveWire, and if you do not yet have a free subscription to the VIP Wires Weekly, you can sign up now »
VIP LiveWire »
VIP Wire
Information-related product and news announcements. Post your releases and subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly for regular alerts.
Recent VIP Wire announcements...
- ISI Emerging Markets Releases ISI2GO Application
ISI Emerging Markets Releases ISI2GO Application for iPhone and Blackberry
London / New York--(January 3, 2011) - ISI Emerging Markets™ (ISI), the leader in hard-to-get information on more than 80 emerging markets, today announced the release of an application for the iPhone and Blackberry, called ISI2GO. The application will allow users to easily view and explore Emerging Market Information Service (EMIS) and DealWatch...
Read Press Release online »
- Participate: Survey on Info Pros and End Users
When is someone a "knowledge worker" and when an "information professional"? Given the amount of information the average knowledge worker interacts with on any given day, the distinctions seem to be more of degree than of substance. Or are they? FreePint Research is investigating the balance between information professionals and knowledge workers through a new survey, sponsored in part by Dow Jones. This survey asked respondents to share insight about...
Read Press Release online »
- INFORUM 2011 Conference in Prague
INFORUM 2011: 17th Annual Conference on Professional Information Resources Prague. INFORUM is the annual conference for information specialists from academic, public and special libraries, corporate sector and government agencies. For example Jane Burke from ProQuest, George Machovec from Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries and Jiri Travnicek from Institute for Czech Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic are guest speakers this year. The entire programme is bilingual (English-Czech). Don't miss spring in Prague and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from the European continent...
Read Press Release online »
VIP Wire »
VIP - Subscribe and Back Issues
Start a trial subscription today for only £84 for three months. Visit http://web.freepint.com/go/shop/vip/volume/trial/ to start your trial. You can also purchase back-issues of VIP from the FreePint Shop.
VIP Archive »
VIP publishes in-depth, unbiased reviews of business information products. If you purchase or use premium information resources, make VIP part of your professional reading every month »
VIP - Forthcoming Topics
- MarketVisual OnDemand
- Morningstar Direct
- Dialog STM
- SNL Unlimited
If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then please contact <support@freepint.com> or read the notes for authors at
<http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute/>.
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Off-the-Shelf Reviews Aren't Always Enough
Request Bespoke Reviews from Skilled VIP Reviewers
Did you know that you can commission bespoke versions of VIP Reports on Products? Our skilled reviewers can:
- Enhance existing reviews based on your specific criteria
- Conduct comparative reviews to your specifications
- Provide additional insight on marketplace resources, based on their extensive research
Request information from FreePint Research »
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Jinfo - Jobs and Events in Information
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 Jinfo is the central location for supporting your information career. The Jinfo Jobs database lists vacancies, and the Jinfo Events database lists workshops, conferences, training, webinars and other professional development opportunities.
Start a free subscription to receive the weekly Jinfo Update, with a complete list of the latest vacancies and events, or search the databases at any time (free).
Jinfo Jobs in the FreePint Newsletter are supported through our partnership with Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme offered by Dialog. Learn more at <http://quantum.dialog.com/>.
Jinfo Jobs:
Here is a selection of the latest featured vacancies in the Jinfo database:
- Market Analyst - Real Estate/Manufacturing
A market analyst is currently sought to provide research and analysis, insight and awareness within...
Recruiter: TFPL Intelligent Resources
Country: United Kingdom
- Library and Archive Supervisor
Our client is seeking a skilled individual - ideally available immediately - who can step into a role...
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
Country: United Kingdom
- Senior Researcher
Looking for a truly embedded research role? Using your strong knowledge of the financial sector?
Recruiter: Fabric Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
- Senior Researcher/Manager - Thought Leadership
Thought Leadership Research Specialist required by global organisation to manage in-depth research projects.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
Browse all Jinfo Jobs »
Jinfo Events:
Here is a selection of the latest featured events in the Jinfo database:
Browse all Jinfo Events »
Jinfo - the best place for information-related job vacancies and professional development opportunities.
- RECRUITING?
- Advertise a vacancy for just £195
- 10% discount for agencies
- 50% discount for registered charities
- RUNNING AN EVENT?
List it on Jinfo to reach a targeted audience seeking professional development opportunities
- Get started at <http://web.jinfo.com/events/load/>
- Partner events listed for free; enquire at <support@jinfo.com>.
Find out more today at <http://www.jinfo.com/>
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Highlights from DocuTicker
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Highlights from ResourceShelf
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Gold
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A look back at what the FreePint Newsletter covered at this time in previous years:
- FreePint No. 297, 11th March 2010 "How To Network and LIKE It: A 10 Point Plan" and "Knowledge Architecture: A Vision for the 21st Century"
- FreePint No. 272, 5th March 2009 "Automatic Classification - A Panel Discussion" and "Federated Search: A Year of Blogging"
- FreePint No. 247, 28th February 2008 "Managing Successful Vendor Contracts: Part 1 - Preparation" and "Online Digital Special Collections in English Universities: Promoting Awareness"
- FreePint No. 225, 8th March 2007 "All tied up? Escaping the Tangle of Red Tape" and "Business Information Trends: The Times They Are a-Changin'"
- FreePint No. 201, 2nd March 2006 "Purchasing and using market research services: some starting points on the Web" and "MP3s, Podcasts and all that"
- FreePint No. 177, 24th February 2005 "Website Usability" and "Recycling - A Growth Industry"
- FreePint No. 155, 4th March 2004 "Taking control of your PC" and "Librarians and The War On Terror"
- FreePint No. 132, 6th March 2003 "And the winner is ... Our experience with selecting a CMS" and "Information Literacy in a Corporate Environment"
- FreePint No. 107, 7th March 2002 "Fossicking for Information ... or ... What to do on Sixpence" and "The Death of the Intranet. Long Live the Corporate Portal Quantifying ROI"
- FreePint No. 82, 1st March 2001 "Electric Power Information Sources on the Web" and "Putting your money where your mouse is - online charities"
- FreePint No. 57, 2nd March 2000 "Travel related websites" and "Chemistry Webzines - How to find the right news for you"
- FreePint No. 33, 4th March 1999 "12 Offline Ways of Promoting Your URL" and "Data Privacy Web Sites"
- FreePint No. 9, 5th March 1998 "But what is it good for?" and "Market Research Information On The Internet".
FreePint Newsletter Archive »
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Contact Information
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