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9th February 2012
No.344
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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
Coupon cutting and free information sources
Who doesn't like free? At the furthest end of the spectrum, consider extreme couponers - a phenomenon documented by the media in the US and the UK. The amount of work and number of hours that individuals will put in to get free groceries is astonishing. What might be accomplished if this work ethic were channelled into, say, a day job?
 But consider the diets of these need-it-for-free mavens, dominated as they are by items that grocery retailers and manufacturers are pushing: new products or those that no one wanted to buy at full price. The lure of free is strong. However, the labour it requires to obtain and the quality of what one ultimately gets must also be considered.
In the information industry, there is much debate over the value of fee-based versus free content. In large part, "free" has traditionally been defined as "that which can be derived from a simple Google search and culled from the first page or two of results". Here, information sources are not necessarily vetted, as the primary motivators are to find it fast and for free.
However, we're witnessing an interesting evolution of free when it comes to content. Perhaps the simple fact that so many consumers were willing to use good-enough content that they could locate quickly has driven more premium (read: quality) information providers to add free offerings to their menu. This freemium model - in which a content producer offers free content to develop customer relationships through which fee-based products and services can eventually be sold - is one that we see everywhere today.
There are others getting in on the free information action, though. At the recent Information Industry Summit, FreePint's Director of Research Robin Neidorf facilitated a revealing set of discussions with the theme Buyer-Seller-User: The True Lens for Evaluating ROI. One breakout group focused specifically on which free sources end users rely on (sometimes ignoring the premium sources their information managers have licensed for their use). At the start of the discussion, "Google search" was used as a synonym for "free web sources".
An attendee quickly pointed out that, in his experience, this is no longer accurate. For example, he says he uses LinkedIn as a free web source to find experts, talent, ideas, announcements on companies and competitive intelligence. In fact, these days, his social sphere gets much more of his mindshare for free web searching than does Google, and he uses that social sphere as a researcher - selecting the right source for the information he needs. This was reinforced by a recent custom research product undertaken by FreePint Research. When asked which social environments they rely on for business information and sources, almost 83% of respondents cited LinkedIn Groups, while Facebook trailed a distant second at 31.4%, followed by Google+ at 25.7% and Twitter at about 23%.
Certainly, neither of these examples is proof-positive that the open web search has been surpassed by social networks or other go-to freemium sources. However they suggest that information consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and selective about how they leverage their social networks and trusted brands as ways to locate information sources.
Without a doubt, social filters have increasing value for content discovery. However one can also see an emphasis on the increasingly deep well of free content provided through these networks, targeted interest groups and, yes, from trusted information providers.
Here at FreePint - as the name suggests - we know the value of free. Sharing information of value with our community helps reinforce our ties to it. We want you to turn to us for free content of a quality you can count on: We invite you to register to join us in an upcoming webinar or to view our archive. We also want to help you maximise your use of social tools as information sources with our new FreePint Report: Buyer's Guide for Social Media Monitoring. Register here to request a copy ... for free (no coupon required).
Best regards,
Michelle Manafy,
Director of Content
FreePint
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2012
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My Favourite Tipples
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 By Dr Hazel Hall
It's two years since I last listed My Favourite Tipples and it is a pleasure to list a few more. I should say that the tipples that I listed last time around are still very much part of my everyday life. The following have all become more important to me in the past two years.
- About me: There's information about me on numerous sites and services across the Internet. What I like about About.me is that the service provides a simple format for pulling all links directly relevant to me together in the same place. I find it so useful that I now use it instead of my University home page URL in my sig file. If you check http://about.me/hazelh, you'll find a simple set of links to Hazel Hall on the major services such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Google Scholar, SlideShare, Topsy and Vimeo, as well as those to my online presence on the Edinburgh Napier University pages and those of the Library and Information Science Research Coalition. If you are somebody who is frequently asked to provide profile information, for example to conference organisers or to publishers, it's nice to be able to point them to your About.me page.
- DREaM online community: We launched the Developing Research Excellence and Methods project, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and supported by the Library and Information Science Research Coalition, in January 2011. The project aims to develop a network of library and information science researchers by bringing them together at five events over the 18-month duration of the project. This tipple is the online community for the project. Anyone with an interest in LIS research is welcome to join, whether or not they are able to attend the DREaM project events. I spend quite a lot of time in the online community, especially around the time of the DREaM workshops and conferences. The most recent was a workshop held at the British Library on 30th January. Here we announced that Dr Ben Goldacre will be the closing keynote speaker at the DREaM conference on 9th July 2012. Anyone who would like to pre-register to hear Ben and the other speakers is invited to contact me (view the main DREaM project webpages)
- Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation: This is the home page of the research institute to which my own research centre - the Centre for Social Informatics - belongs. This is a great resource for keeping up to date with developments across the full range of research and commercial activities related to computing and informatics undertaken at Edinburgh Napier University.
- Blipfoto: I've known about Blipfoto for some time, largely because an Edinburgh-based company is behind the site, but it is only recently that I have joined the blipping community. The concept is very simple: each member has their own photo journal and the idea is that you tell your story, one day at a time, one photo at a time. Some members are fantastic photographers. Some (like me) are not. Since joining up I have become much more aware of the world around me. I'm paying attention to the light on days when I intend to take my photo of the day outside, and always keeping an eye out for interesting things to photograph. My Blipfoto activity also reminds me (as if I need to be reminded) that I spend far too much time at my desk!
- Dreamaticus: Like Blipfoto, my last tipple is also a blog. Most days at least one of the two authors, and often both, blog their latest dreams. If your sense of humour is anything like mine, it's possible that you'll find the Dreamaticus entries as funny as I do.
Professor Hazel Hall is Director of the Centre for Social Informatics within the Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University, UK. She is currently seconded two days per week to lead the implementation of the UK's Library and Information Science Research Coalition. Contact Hazel at h.hall@napier.ac.uk.
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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 Make the most of your professional development
Conferences and exhibitions are often the cornerstone of professional development but to get the most value from events, you must plan well and build upon what you've learned and who you've met.
The Folio on Conferences and Continuing Professional Development will help you:
- Learn how to plan for events from an event planner
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- Manage conference content during and after attendance
- Maximise event networking and ongoing relationships
Starting at only £39 for a single site license, the Folio on Conferences and Continuing Professional Development will help you maximise your investment in attending events and fuel your ongoing education.
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Now more than ever, companies and academic institutions need fast, convenient and intuitive licensing solutions that allow their employees and staff to share the content they require to do their jobs.
Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) is meeting this need with licensing services designed to help businesses drive growth and innovation. CCC's licensing services cover text, images, films and more and give organizations, colleges and universities the freedom they need to collaborate and share valuable information, while reducing the risk of copyright infringement.
Learn more now, and view a brief overview »
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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:
- [FUMSI] Latest popular articles
The following are the most popular FUMSI articles published in the last 60 days:
* "Frictionless sharing" - exploring the changes to Facebook
* A look at non-profit information websites
* From fragmentation to coherence: Building an information professional community for all
* Social media and the emergency services: Part 2 - Emergency management
* Is Pinterest of interest to the info pro?
Free uses of FUMSI articles are supported by our sponsors.
Read posting online »
- [DocuTopic] U.S. Presidential Elections 2012: Key Websites
In the United States, the quadrennial presidential elections consume the news media's attention starting at least a year prior to the vote. Our national election day is on the sixth of November, and it seems as if the media buzz has already been going on for a year. For those of us who don't have jobs requiring daily awareness of U.S. election news, I'd like to point you to a few free online services that can provide help when needed.
Read posting online »
- [FUMSI] Report on Professional Development
The continuing professional development of the library and information professional has many facets to it. In years gone by, the conference, either attending or presenting, was seen as a solution for ticking some of those professional development boxes.
Trends for conferences seem to be changing. The big ticket conferences seem to be falling out of favour, in part because of concerns around budgets and identifying benefits. The rise of the unconference model coupled with social media has also created a shift in what we as professionals find really useful in helping us do our jobs and being more creative and innovative people.
Read posting online »
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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:
Finding your passion
 By James Mullan
FUMSI: Manage
If you're anything like me, you're likely to have lots of things you do outside of work that you're passionate about and you really enjoy doing. But what about whilst you're at work? It is good to consider what it is that you enjoy doing so much that you will evangelise. For me, it has to be managing an intranet.
Read, print, save or forward this article now »
You do what exactly?
 By Africa S. Hands
FUMSI: Share
Usually 30-60 seconds in length, the elevator pitch is thought to be one of the most important tools used to describe what you or your business does. How do information professionals describe their work? How do you plant the seed of curiosity?
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
- Proposed changes to copyright law and what they would mean for your organisation
- The state of the associ-nation
- Middle East Content resources
- Developing a communication plan for stakeholders: when and where.
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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Request your free FreePint Report: Buyer's Guide On Social Media Monitoring
In addition to providing a guide to companies providing tools to power social media monitoring, this free report includes three FUMSI articles, written by experts in the field, on:
- Tools and trends to watch
- LinkedIn for connections, reputation and knowledge building
- A case study on the BBC World Service and Twitter
Plus helpful information from listings in the FreePint Buyer's Guide on media monitoring products.
Request your free copy now »
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 Are you effectively governing your information resources?
From Compliance, to Records Management, IP Protection, and Copyright
effective information management is essential for organisational security and success.
The FreePint Research Report: Information Governance Policies and Priorities will help you:
- Understand risk
- Better educate end users
- Better store, share, manage and deliver information.
Starting at only £39 for a single site license, the FreePint Research Report: Information Governance Policies and Priorities will help you take a strategic approach to information governance throughout the entire information lifecycle.
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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: Adding value to information services
By Joan Morris
I believe that the negative effects of not having good, actionable data are far reaching for a company when it does not have access to accurate, competent data. Actionable content means different things to different users. Regardless, however, companies need monitoring products or services, as well as collaboration and customisation.
Before the introduction of alerting and monitoring products we were not able to react fast enough, or be as informed. An individual or company had to troll the halls of government or send staff to conferences and wait to have the information translated or turned over to the reading room.
We have come a long way since then.
However, information overload is something we struggle with every day. How can we keep up with all the new government regulations? How can we get up to speed in a very short period of time on all these changes? We need to be smart about everything, and be able to speak intelligently about a multitude of topics.
One thing librarians and researchers in other industries would like to do is to be able to use methods such as single search within their workflow. Another is to have experts filter relevant information. The products reviewed in this issue both demonstrate how information tools are working to meet this demand.
NovaRes is a unique product for the financial services industry. This global regulatory and monitoring service has found a targeted niche to fill. With information overload, and the need to filter and monitor regulatory information, this type of product has become increasingly important.
SciVerse is an excellent first effort to begin the process of bridging the gap between the information professional and the information vendor, because it fosters collaboration in a way not seen or experienced by both before. With SciVerse search options, users are given many choices to customise their experience. Researchers and librarians can use these applications to work with developers to customise their own look and feel.
Essentially, these information publishers are saying let's work together so that we can give you the tools that operate on a principal of seamless workflow.
Researchers and librarians must justify every product in their information centre. Polling end users is a strong part of the renewal process. Information publishers try to remove duplication and shorten training time but still have to learn several obtuse search languages, in which the results suffer and the concerns, such as "Did I find everything? Was there another way to find a complete list? If so, can we do this for all industries?" still remain tantamount. Faster is always the way researchers want to go, while not losing accuracy.
Building other applications with your developers so that you can move information across variable platforms is a wonderful idea. This makes it easier to share and leverage your content and the information you are purchasing. Company budgets are shrinking to purchase information, yet accountability remains high.
I think all users can agree the coverage, the add-ons, the monitoring and real-time features are indeed useful, relevant - and timely. They help deliver the kind of value that organisations can quantify to help justify information resources.
Purchase VIP No. 98 in 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 Copyright Clearance Center.
Most Read Postings on the LiveWire Recently...
- The end of printed newspapers is nigh
It is the season for end of year round-ups and New Year predictions - see Jan Knight's comments this week on trends to look for in 2012 - to which I am able to add another one: the editorsweblog last week referred to a new study from the Annenberg Center at the University of South Carolina for the Digital Future, which predicts the end of printed newspapers in the United States within the next five years.
Read posting online »
- Infogroup turmoil continues with Hart's departure
Infogroup's turbulent history continues with news that Clare Hart, the former Factiva boss brought in to restore some stability and forward momentum to the company, is leaving after barely 18 months in the job. She is replaced as chief executive officer by Michael Iaccarino.
Read posting online »
- How will the social media bubble burst?
At the end of 2011, social media continue to dominate the information industry - becoming the agenda as well as setting it. But graphs don't go in the same direction for ever, and one analyst suggests that they're riding for a fall.
Read posting online »
- Giving a fig for negative research?
In December 2011 I was reporting from #Online11 where publishers are looking at different ways to add levels of granularity to peer content. Hurrah - but the problem remains in the current publishing model that negative data is very rarely published.
Read posting online »
- Resources for small businesses: 1
In previous posts, I've talked a little bit about the information management needs of small businesses. In this post I'd like to cover their information resource needs. Having worked for a number of small businesses in various information guises and having spent the last eight years working for business support organisations, I've used a number of resources aimed primarily at smaller businesses. The ones covered here have worked particularly well; although many of these are UK focused there will be similar products available for other countries.
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...
- Bureau van Dijk distributes Fitch Solutions' Bank Credit Model via Bankscope
Fitch Solutions-London-07 February 2012: Fitch Solutions and Bureau van Dijk (BvD), one of the world's leading publishers of business information, are pleased to announce that BvD has incorporated Fitch Solutions' Bank Credit Model into its Bankscope database. This data set is now live and available to all Bankscope subscribers effective from today.
Read Press Release online »
- PubMed Users Now Save Time Accessing & Organiz
Santa Monica, Calif., February 2, 2011- Reprints Desk, Inc., a Derycz Scientific (OTC.BB:DYSC) company, today announced new PubMed citation and saved search importing features in Bibliogo, the journal article web app that helps users do more with scientific papers. Available freely to individual users who sign up at www.bibliogo.com, the latest Bibliogo features enable researchers to save time accessing full-text papers from PubMed and to improve the ways in which they manage and collaborate around scientific literature.
Read Press Release online »
- Maney and EBSCO Publishing renew agreement
Maney Publishing and EBSCO Publishing agreement renewed with extended content
Maney Publishing has added its range of material science and engineering e-books to databases from EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO), which offers nearly 300,000 e-books and more than 375 research databases available via EBSCOhost®. E-books published by Maney that are available from EBSCO include the publications of the European Federation of Corrosion...
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
- Bibliogo
- Silobreaker
- Pantros IP ProSearch
- Newsedge
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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 Tend Your Garden: Influencing your stakeholders and making your organization look good
"Thank you for selecting this topic. It was most informative and relevant to a role I enjoy. I appreciate your focus to provide value by allowing us to have presentation materials as reference resources to support the application of lessons learned." -- Tend Your Garden webinar participant
Missed this session? You can access the recorded version and learn from panelists Anne Caputo, Scott Brown and Helen Clegg:
- How to identify and prioritise stakeholders
- Best practices for stakeholder communication
- Approaches to creating a communication plan.
Register now for free access to the recorded version of this FreePint Webinar »
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Health Literacy
Adrian Janes provides a curated collection of grey literature resources on health literacy along with practical articles that deliver hands on insights from practitioners to provide a solid foundation for further research in this essential area of information work.
The DocuTicker Report: DocuTips on Health Literacy provides guidance to quality research reports that help users separate fact from hype.
Providing:
- A deep collection of current research
- Resources for further research
- And articles and insights on health literacy in practise
Starting at only £12 for a single site license, the DocuTicker Report: DocuTips on Health Literacy is a smart addition to your learning and library.
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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:
- Client Advocate
A global professional services firm requires an exceptional client focused/account manager to join...
Recruiter: TFPL
Country: Hong Kong
- Librarian
Librarian role at Turner Broadcasting
Recruiter: Turner Broadcasting
Country: United Kingdom
- Operations Manager
We are seeking an experienced person to manage the selection and shipping of books to partner libraries in Africa...
Recruiter: Book Aid International
Country: United Kingdom
- Digital Content Specialist - 12 month contract
Digital Content / Intranet / Customer Support Specialist required for Maternity Leave contract to work in Central London for prestigious global organisation...
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
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Data Architect Manager
Permanent role leading and managing a small team providing data modelling methodologies, architecture, ETL processes & testing.
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
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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Contact Information
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Please note: FreePint (ISSN 1460-7239) 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 Michelle Manafy, Director of Content, <michelle.manafy@freepint.com> for more details. Product names used in FreePint are for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. FreePint disclaims any and all rights in those marks. All rights reserved.
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