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                             Free Pint
         "Helping 27,000 people use the Web for their work"
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ISSN 1460-7239                                3rd February 2000 No.55
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                           IN THIS ISSUE

                             EDITORIAL

                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
                    "Classical Music Web Sites"
                          By Martin White

                             BOOKSHELF
                    "Futurize Your Enterprise:
          Business Strategy in the Age of the E-Customer"
                    Reviewed by Tom Szczepanik

                          FEATURE ARTICLE
                  "Researching the Researchers -
           Finding Market Research Agencies on the Web"
                           By David Mort

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Egon Zehnder International seeks high-calibre candidates preferably
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Analysts in the financial services and technology practices. You will
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                      >>>  ABOUT FREE PINT  <<<

Free Pint is a free newsletter written by information professionals
who share how they find quality and reliable information on the
Internet.  Useful to anyone who uses the Web for their work, it
is published every two weeks by email, and your regular free
copy can be reserved at <http://www.freepint.co.uk/>. The site gives
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                             EDITORIAL

Although we at Free Pint are proponents of how wonderful the
Internet is for business research, there are times when you're better
off giving your fingers a rest and letting your feet do the walking.

A number of quaffers at the Free Pint Bar have recently been guided
to real-world exhibitions and conferences as the best place to
complete their research. However finding details about these events
can be a bit hit and miss.

We've therefore created a new section of the Web site with details of
more than thirty forthcoming events in the online information and
Internet industry globally. We'll be constantly adding new details as
we receive them, and so check back regularly.

                 http://www.freepint.co.uk/events


We bring you the usual cosmopolitan mix of content in today's Free
Pint, starting with a look at Web sites for lovers of classical music.
If you're fed up with researching, then our Feature Article tells you
how to find someone to do it for you. To help you prepare your
business for the e-revolution we also review a book by popular
author David Siegel.

We finish as always with a round up of what's been happening over the
last two weeks at the very popular Free Pint Bar. This research forum
is growing at the staggering rate of 50% more new messages every two
weeks, and so if you haven't checked it out yet then now might be the
time. You can post your own Web-related questions or discuss hot
topics with other readers. <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar>

I was recently asked if you're allowed to print out Free Pint and read
it on the train to and from work. Yes, indeed. You can also pass it to
your colleagues and even put it in your library if you wish.

I do hope you enjoy today's issue, and please contact me if you have
any feedback, or join me and the team at the Bar.

Kind regards,
William

William Hann BSc MIInfSc
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                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

                    "Classical Music Web Sites"
                          By Martin White

The scale of web resources on classical music is massive, and in this
article I can only point out some sites that will give you an entry
into these resources.  To make my life a little easier I am not
covering sites which specialise in sound clips, though a substantial
number of classical music sites do include these clips.

One of the characteristics of classical music is its capacity for
almost limitless sub-segments, with sites specialising on particular
instruments, composers, categories of work, individual works, and
performance issues, venues, artists, publishers, agents, and so on
almost ad infinitum. In the end I have to admit that what follows is
quite a personal selection of mainly portal sites, but fortunately
for me, and for Free Pint subscribers, the Free Pint Bar is always
open for additional contributions <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar>.

Classical Music Web Ring
------------------------

There are a number of web rings in existence which offer site owners
the ability to submit their site URLs using a straightforward
registration form. The list of these can be found at
<http://www.webring.org/#ringworld> if you have not come across the
concept before. There is no apparent quality check on sites.

The list of all music web rings is at
<http://www.webring.org/ringworld/arts/music.html>. The classical
music head page can be found at
<http://www.orchestranet.co.uk/ring.html> and claims to provide
access to over 1000 sites.  I am sure that many find these web rings
useful, but I find them unwieldy and unpredictable in quality, but
they can help uncover some of the very specialised sites that other
portal sites may miss.

Portal sites
------------

In my view one of the best entry points to classical music sites is
the BUBL site <http://bubl.ac.uk/link/c/classicalmusiclinks.htm>.
Each of the 15 sites has a brief annotation, and an indication of when
the site was last checked out. However BUBL does not stop there. Going
up a level to <http://bubl.ac.uk/link/art.html> provides a further 30
music-related sub-headings, including (just to do the B-C section)
baroque music, brass instruments, British composers, church music and
classical music composers.

The award for the best annotations goes to Paul Baker, who runs the
ClassicalUSA site at <http://classicalusa.com>. The links provided by
Paul may not be many in number but each has a personal annotation
which indicates that a lot of care has gone into the selection.
Although nominally a US site the global coverage is good.

To locate the web sites for performers the definitive site is probably
the WWW Virtual Library for Music compiled by Gary Daum at the Music
Department of the Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington.
<http://gprep.pvt.k12.md.us/classical/artists.html>.
The main sections cover soloists, conductors, ensembles, orchestras,
choirs/vocal ensembles, opera, and management agencies. The main
virtual library site is at <http://gprep.pvt.k12.md.us/classical>.

A good UK source for links to musicians world-wide is provided by the
British and International Music yearbook
<http://www.rhinegold.co.uk/musiconweb/bmyb.htm>. Another
comprehensive site is maintained by Yale Fineman, the User Services
Librarian at the Music Library of Duke University, North Carolina
<http://www.lib.duke.edu/music/resources/classical_index.html>. The
site has a search engine, but the main categories of links are
composers, chronologies and necrologies, nationally and regionally
oriented pages, organisations and centers for scholarly research,
electronic journals and newsletters, genre-specific pages, and
databases.

Running a close second to Duke University is the William and Gayle
Cook Music Library at the University of Indiana
<http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/>. I'll also mention
the list of links from Princeton University in passing, though they
are nowhere near as comprehensive as the Duke and Indiana sites
<http://www.princeton.edu/~wprb/lists/links_classical.html>.

In the UK the Royal Holloway Department of Music (part of the
University of London) has its Golden Pages
<http://www.sun.rhbnc.ac.uk/Music/Links/>. There are seventeen
classified sets of links, including bibliographic aids, online
journals and composer home pages, and nearly 300 unclassified links
arranged alphabetically, each with a brief annotation.

Yahoo has a good structure for classical music
<http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Genres/Classical/>
and there are around 30 sub-headings under this main heading.
To shift away from US/UK sites, there is a very good Spanish site at
<http://www.webcom.com/musics/links.html> which is not quite as
comprehensive as some of the sites above, but does of course cover
Spanish classical music.  There is also a German site at
<http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/classmus.html> but this has not been
updated since August 1999, so you should approach this with care.
A Dutch site that concentrates on links to pages about composers is
also worth bookmarking <http://utopia.knoware.nl/~jsmeets/frames.htm>.

Record companies and recordings
-------------------------------

There are two sites which are especially good at identifying record
companies:

   <http://www.search-beat.com/labels.htm>
   <http://www.gramophone.co.uk/index.html>

Gramophone is probably the leading magazine for record (CD!) reviews.
Until recently it was privately owned, but last year the company was
acquired by Emap, a major UK publishing company, and there are
already signs of serious investment. The site also has a selection of
links, categorised under classical record companies,
fan/artist/composer, orchestras, opera, stage and screen, and record
dealers.  The site also lists the magazine's CD of the Month. The
Audio A-Z index on the site is not an index of reviews of CDs
however, but a list of equipment reviews. Useful all the same.

A site that I return to again and again is the BBC's Radio 3 site
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/>. Radio 3 is the classical music
channel of the BBC, and as with all the BBC web sites the care and
attention to the design and the content of the site is of the highest
standard. One valuable feature is a list of recommended recordings,
based on the CD Review programme broadcast every Saturday morning on
Radio 3.  Over the years it is rare that I have disagreed with the
recommendations, mainly because the reviewer presenting the programme
is able to play excerpts from the recordings, and make a much
sounder (Sorry!) case than in a printed review as to the merits of
the selected recording. Don't forget that the Amazon coverage of
classical music gets better every day at <http://www.amazon.co.uk>
and <http://www.amazon.com>.


Some specialised sites
----------------------

This is very much a personal selection of sites that I use as an
organist and church choir director.

For links to sites on early music and performing practice try
<http://toltec.lib.utk.edu/~music/wwwclas.html>. For musicians,
issues of performance practice are of special importance, and there is
 a site dedicated to this topic <http://www.performancepractice.com/>.

This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the death of probably
the greatest composer of them all, J.S.Bach, and you will find just
about everything you ever wanted to know about the composer on a
combination of <http://www.jsbach.org/> and
<http://odur.let.rug.nl/Linguistics/diversen/bach/intro.html>.
There is even a site that analyses the canons and fugues of JSB
<http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~tas3/bachindex.html>.

That brings me on to organs and organists, my particular interest. If
you have the patience to work though the home pages of the web design
company then <http://www.theneopress.net/them/them.html> provides
access to quite a wide range of US organ sites, including the
American Guild of Organists. The UK equivalent is the Royal College of
Organists at <http://www.rco.org.uk/>. This is a well designed site
with an excellent list of world-wide links of relevance to organists.
Finally there is the Royal School of Church Music <http://www.rscm.com>.

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Martin White has been earning a living as an organist for about ten
years longer than as an information scientist. One objective in
setting up Intranet Focus Ltd <http://www.intranetfocus.com> last
year was to be able to retire early enough to be able to have the
time and energy to gain a Fellowship of the Royal College of
Organists. His favourite composers are Bach, Rachmaninov and Durufle.
Martin can be contacted at <Martin.white@intranetfocus.com>.

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Related Free Pint links:

* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/030200.htm#tips>
* Discuss this article with the author now at the Free Pint Bar
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar>
* Article in Free Pint No.48 reviewing popular-music Web sites
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/211099.htm>

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                        FREE PINT BOOKSHELF
                http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf

                    "Futurize Your Enterprise:
          Business Strategy in the Age of the E-Customer"
                    Reviewed by Tom Szczepanik

This book is David Siegel's vision of how the Web will change
companies. According to Siegel, to 'futurize' means to prepare your
business for the New World of e-customers. To 'futurize' your
company externally you have to take the customer's view of your web
site and turn it into a strategic tool. To 'futurize' your company
internally, let your customers lead the way.

Don't be put off by the jargon. Tools and methodologies required to
develop an on-line presence aimed at meeting consumer needs are
outlined in the four parts of this business management
book: Principles, Practice, Prototypes and Predictions.

1) In 'Principles', Siegel argues that e-customers are the most
   powerful economic force you have ever seen; that markets are
   'conversations', where companies currently provide ways for
   customers to talk with employees and in future will allow customers
   to talk with other customers. The web can facilitate this.

2) The section on 'Practice' is also covered in part at the highly
   recommended companion web site: <http://www.futurizenow.com>.

3) 'Prototypes' covers eight fictional case studies. He suggests
   that a management-led company relies on management's vision to set
   the course whereas a customer-led company listens to its customers
   strategically. I would prefer real case studies - Virgin, for
   example, which is putting its entire businesses on the net.

4) 'Predictions' (covering examples such as job seekers, students and
   lawyers) are of how "the Customer-Led Revolution will sweep away
   businesses that still cling to Old World strategies" and of
   "e-customers as the most powerful economic force you have ever
   seen. They will change your business in ways you can't imagine.
   Or they will leave you behind."

This book will help any business manager who does not want to be
left behind.

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Tom Szczepanik writes in a private capacity. Professionally he is
involved with implementing e-commerce and advises Internet start-ups.
Find out more on his Home Page <http://www.szczepanik.com>.

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Related Free Pint links:

* Related Internet strategy book reviews on the Free Pint Bookshelf
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/strategy.htm>
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
  <http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471357634/freepint0c>
  or Amazon.com
  <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471357634/freepint00>
* Read the first chapter on zdnet
  <http://www7.zdnet.com/filters/printerfriendly/0,6061,2394949-81,00.html>
* Companion site to Futurize Your Enterprise
  <http://www.futurizenow.com/bootcamp/>
* Read this book review online at the Free Pint Bookshelf
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/futurize.htm>
* To propose books for possible review, send details to
  <bookshelf@freepint.co.uk>

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                          FEATURE ARTICLE

                  "Researching the Researchers -
           Finding Market Research Agencies on the Web"
                           By David Mort

Introduction
------------

In 1998, the UK market for market research services was valued at an
estimated 915m pounds by the British Market Research Association
(BMRA), an increase of over 11% on the 1997 value. Provisional
estimates for 1999 suggest a further increase in market size of
between 10% and 12% producing a market valued at over 1bn pounds in
the UK alone. Relatively healthy economic conditions encourage more
spending on external research and, to exploit this expanding market,
more companies and individuals are offering market research
services - Yellow Pages lists over 3,000 organizations claiming to do
market research. Many of these companies and individuals do not
specialise in research, are not professionally qualified, or are not
controlled by any industry codes of conduct. For potential buyers of
research services, finding the right service can be difficult but one
of the best ways to track down appropriate companies is to use the
industry trade associations and professional bodies. Members of these
bodies are normally required to abide by minimum industry standards
or codes of conduct.

Most of the UK and pan-European market research associations and
industry bodies have developed Web sites in the last 12 to 18 months
and a number of these offer free access to membership directories
and/or details of the expertise, subject specialisms, and research
specialisms of individual member companies. Details of the major sites
are given here along with some information on similar sites in the
USA. There are also details of some independently produced sites, and
other sites which may not contain details of specific research
companies but offer other useful information, such as guides to
commissioning and undertaking research, or discussion lists.

The first group of sites are UK sites, led by the British Market
Research Association (BMRA). This is probably the best starting point
with more UK companies and more detailed information on each company
than other sites. In Europe, my favourite site is maintained by the
European Society of Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) which has
detailed information on its members across the world. There is no
mention in this article of national associations outside the UK and
the USA but the ESOMAR site, and one or two others, have good links to
national sites.


UK Research
-----------

The British Market Research Association <http://www.bmra.org.uk> was
formed in 1998 by the merger of the Association of Market Survey
Organizations (AMSO) and the Association of British Market Research
Companies (ABMRC). The aim was to create a unified trade body for UK
research companies. The Web site has an alphabetical member's list with
contact details (including Web sites) on its 243 members but online
access to the Selectline service allows potential clients to obtain
information on relevant research companies. Users have to register to
use the service but this is free and the member's directory can then
be searched by selecting up to six keywords for subjects, area of
specialisation etc of the research. Choosing the "connect to
Selectline" screen option after registering enables the search to be
carried out immediately or, alternatively, the BMRA can undertake the
search for you and email or fax the results to you.

Marketing Society membership is primarily aimed at senior marketing
professionals and at the Society's site
<http://www.marketing-society.org.uk>, there is free access to the
Consultants Register. The Register is searchable by geographical area
in the UK (region), by keyword, and by category, the latter using a
drop-down menu . The results of searches can be viewed on-screen and
for each organization, there are contact details, information on the
number of consultants, a summary of activities, and more detailed
information on main, secondary, and additional activities and
services.

Other parts of the site are updated regularly and there are numerous
events throughout the year open to members and non-members. Details of
events up to November 2000 are already on the site.

The Market Research Society's site at
<http://www.marketresearch.org.uk> currently has no details of its
members but there are some useful introductory guides to market
research, including information on the different types of research
undertaken and advice on choosing an agency. A hard copy version of
the Research Buyer's Guide (20 pounds to non-members), listing
research companies with their activities and expertise, can be ordered
on the Web site. There are also details of national and local events
and conferences and a copy of the MRS Code of Conduct.

<http://www.mrnews.com> is a site developed by Philip Kleinman, an
established name in the UK market research industry. The Directory of
Market Research Companies is still under construction and only a small
number of companies were listed at the beginning of January 2000. The
directory can be searched by town, county, or postcode, or by company
name and any company can add its details to the Directory by email.

Other site features include regularly updated news on the market
research industry, a news archive, jobs, and events. There is also an
online ordering facility for reports about the market research
industry.

Another independently produced site is <http://www.mrweb.com>,
developed by two individuals Nick Thomas and Ian Paterson. The site
has many links to organizations involved in various areas of market
research and these include full-service research agencies,
consultants, producers of omnibus surveys, suppliers of market
research software, and viewing facilities. There are links to numerous
sites from agencies while a separate section describes what an omnibus
survey is and then offers details of a range of omnibus surveys by
sector. E.g. business, consumer, children's etc.  Independent
consultants are listed by sector and services offered while the
viewing facilities section lists facilities around the UK.

Other features include a jobs section with details of over 300 market
research vacancies, and a bulletin board for market research questions
and discussion


Other UK Sites
--------------

<http://www.aqrp.co.uk> is the Web site of the Association of
Qualitative Research Practitioners. There is a hard copy directory
listing the 850-plus members but no details on the Web site. There are
reading lists, details of events, links, and a discussion forum on the
site.

<http://www.cim.co.uk> is the Web site of the Chartered Institute of
Marketing (CIM). Institute members are individuals and there are over
60,000 worldwide. There is no directory information on the site but it
is a detailed site with sections for jobs, news and events,
information and library services, books for sale, training courses.
CIM has a Consultancy Department which offers services to various
clients and prospective clients can complete a form on the site
outlining their requirements.

The Direct Marketing Association's Web site at <http://www.dma.org.uk>
has a free directory with details of over 500 direct marketing
practitioners. The directory can be searched by name/place, or
services offered, or a combination of the two. The site has a good set
of links to global direct marketing associations and related bodies,
plus jobs and events.

The Web site of the Direct Selling Association (DSA) at
<http://www.dsa.org.uk> has an alphabetical member's list and a list of
suppliers to the direct selling industry. Also useful guides to the
direct selling industry, code of conduct, network marketing etc.

From February 2000, my own company's site at
<http://www.irn-research.com> has been offering free access to
information about, and links to, all the main market research and
marketing association sites in Europe and the USA plus a regular news
update about these associations. There is similar information on the
main European market research publishers and Web-based sources of
published market research.

<http://www.marketing-lists.com> is a series of discussion groups,
open to anyone with serious questions about, or comments on, market
research. Maintained by CMR Consultancy Ltd, there are various lists
including lists covering sampling, online research, and market
research software.

<http://www.marketing-guild.com> is a site aimed primarily at small
and medium-sized companies looking for marketing advice and help. The
Marketing Guild has over 1,400 members in the UK and members have
access to various training events, a newsletter, helpline etc. The
discussion forum on the site is open to anyone.

Also worth mentioning is the Association of Users of Research Agencies
(AURA). This is a voluntary association representing buyers of market
research and providing a forum for exchange amongst members of their
views, experiences, and concerns. It does not have a Web site but it
can be contacted c/o ISBA at info@isba.org.uk.


European and US Research
------------------------

The Association of European Market Research Institutes
 represents European market research agencies.
Amongst its 80-plus members are some of the largest international
agencies and the "mr selector" search facility enables visitors to
find companies by country, by research specialisation, and by industry
experience. Each company entry has contact details plus notes on the
expertise and services of companies and a free-text search option also
allows for searches for words in the notes. Alternatively, potential
clients can fill in an on-screen form with their research requirements
and all relevant AEMRI members will contact them with their details.
The site has basic guides titled "What is Market Research?" and "MR
Standards" but the news and events pages are only updated
occasionally.

The most comprehensive site for European research contacts is probably
at <http://www.esomar.nl> where the European Society for Opinion and
Marketing Research (ESOMAR) offers free access to its Directory of
Research Organizations. This is the online version of an established
printed directory and it has detailed information on companies not
only in Europe but also in other countries around the world. The
directory is searchable by alphabetical order, by country, by research
methods/techniques used, and by operational fields of research.
Detailed entries for each company give information on contacts,
employees, turnover, areas of interest, methods used, services
offered. The Directory was last updated in December 1999.

Other parts of the ESOMAR site are updated regularly including the
Events pages, publications pages, and news. There are also good links
to market research associations around the world.

<http://www.casro.org> is the Web site of the Council of American
Survey Research Organizations (CASRO). The Council represents full-
service survey companies in the US and the membership directory is
searchable alphabetically on the site. There are basic contact details
for each member plus links to member Web sites. The CASRO site also
has useful guides about, and advice on, market research including
"FAQs about Online Research", "Survey and You".

The Council for Market and Opinion Research (CMOR) represents the US
market and opinion research industry. Its Web site at
<http://www.cmor.org> has an alphabetical list of members with basic
contact details, including email and Web site addresses. The list can
be browsed or searched by letter. The site has introductory guides to
opinion research and market research.

The Web site of the Marketing Research Association (MRA) in the USA
<http://www.mra-net.org> offers free access to the Blue Book On-Line
Database. This is the online equivalent of the Blue Book Research
Services Directory which lists over 1,200 research companies. The
database can be searched by company name, contact, location, primary
business activity, and specialisation or combinations of these. Other
facilities on the site include an online bookstore, jobs, and details
of events.


Other European and US Sites
---------------------------

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the professional body for
over 13,000 marketing professionals. No directory on the site but news
and events and details of publications <http://www.ama.org>.

<http://www.efamro.org> from EFAMRO, the International Federation of
Market Research Agency Associations within the EU, has only limited
information at present. There are contact details for the national
representatives in nine EU countries (eg, BMRA in the UK), plus
details of EFAMRO Quality Standards.

Described as the "Marketer's Portal", <http://www.zenithmedia.com> has
hundreds of links to marketing, market research, advertising, media,
and publishing sites. Under the heading "most useful sites for
marketing and market research", there is an alphabetical list of
worldwide links to associations, research agencies, trade journals
etc. This particular section has not been updated for some time and
there are still some out-of-date links, e.g. to AMSO, a UK
association which no longer exists.

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David Mort is an experienced business information professional with
expertise in market research information and statistical data. He has
produced a number of guides including the Market Research Sourcebook
from Headland Business Information. He is director of IRN Services
Ltd., an independent market research and business information company
offering a range of services from information broking to field
research. On 31st January 2000, IRN expanded its business information
and market research capabilities with the purchase of SVP UK Ltd.

The IRN Web site at <http://www.irn-research.com> has evaluated links
to over 600 Web sites containing market and statistical data plus
details of market research associations and market research publishers
on the Web.  Email: David.Mort@virgin.net.

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Related Free Pint links:

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                       FREE PINT BAR SUMMARY
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Here is your summary of what's been happening at the Free Pint Bar
over the last couple of weeks. To read a discussion thread you can:

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Ah, the intoxication of knowledge.  Ok, information.  Several
postings on the Bar this past two weeks have emphasized the
availability of business and industry information (1805).  Not just
European but Middle Eastern (1669) and Asian (1837) too.  No less
bountiful are sites and resources on Web site marketing (1760),
promotion (1691, 1719, 1767, 1684) and development (1826).  And
sometimes consultancy can be obtained for just a few
curlywurlies (1686).  One Bar recidivist brought up the familiar
subject of Webtrends only to get the lowdown straight from
the manufacturer (1761).

Was there ever a Cones Hotline for the Information Superhighway?  If
you regularly experience net delays you can check the traffic
situation (1695).  If your line is the problem there is plenty of
advice on that too (1708, 1742).  On that subject, how many people
have an ISP on their Friends and Family list?  Advice was also
forthcoming on annotating bookmarks (1732), saving Internet pages as
files (1745), tools for alerting one when a site's content has
changed (1787), free ISPs compatible with MS Outlook (1831) and how
to capitalise on a database of email addresses (1854).  There were
exchanges on the legal considerations when using trade names in
metatags (1824), cheap credit card processing for ebusinesses (1847),
and the very popular subject of frames versus tables (1782).
And have you used a search facility on your site (1842) or tried the
one on the Free Pint site?  Share the experience with us.

No doubt some of you will be able to help out with questions arising
in the Bar.  Do you know about CIHost.com (1700), email
backups (1704) or upgrading IE 3.02 to IE 5 (1705).  We have all
filed things but has anyone ever used a flexible set of rules for
naming files (1715)?  Do you know about running Flash4.exe from a
different exe file (1812)?  How about establishing which domain names
are registered to a company (1815), creating brand extensions of
magazines online (1823), copyright issues in inter-library document
supply (1825) or magazine mastheading on cable and terrestrial
channels (1838)?  Would you like to be a speaker at a web content
conference?  Do you know anything about building a portal?  And if
you are from uk2.net, somebody needs your help (1809).  Hardly a
metaphysical question, but when you delete something from your
recycle bin, has it really gone, or can it be recovered (1891)?

If you ever burned to know what a favicon.ico is (1701), where to
find recruitment sites (1711, 1822) or how to work online (1754),
the meaning of c-visa (1752) or the distances between London
postcodes (1814), do join us in the Bar.  Are you researching the
Boer war (1730) or rural poverty (1873), would you like to know where
to find out about journal subscription agents (1808) or the reasons
why people do and don't buy online (1866)?  Can you recommend an
excellent web design agency (1852)?  There must be lots.

It's a coincidence that someone should post a query about saving
information from the Web (1745), as that was the subject of an
article in Free Pint this time two years ago.  There was also an
article about engineering resources and the list given there has been
supplemented considerably since.  Yet another matter raised
above (1754) was covered in an article this time last year,
researching from home.  And there was an article on resources for
senior citizens.  What will they think of next?

Simon Collery, Business Development, Free Pint

Remember, to read this summary with activated hyperlinks visit ...

         <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/030200.htm#bar>

Free Pint this time last year ...

* Free Pint No.31 4th Feb. 1999 "Researching from Home" and "Internet
  Resources for Seniors" http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040299.htm

Free Pint two years ago ...

* Free Pint No.7, 5th Feb. 1998 "Fabricating Information" and
  "Engineering Resources" http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/050298.htm

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                         FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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If you are in London around the 15th and 16th of February then head
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"ISPCON Canada" is running concurrently with "Internet World 2000"
in Toronto next week. Whilst in the US towards the end of the month
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2000 Conference & Expo" in San Jose.

Full details of these and over 30 other forthcoming conferences and
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That's it for this week. We hope you've found this edition of Free
Pint useful, and will consider joining us on the Web site. We'd
also appreciate it if you can help us spread the word about the
newsletter by forwarding this copy to your colleagues and friends.

                       See you in two weeks!

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(c) Free Pint Limited 1997-2000
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                        CONTACT INFORMATION

William Hann BSc MIInfSc, Founder and Managing Editor
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Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a free newsletter written by information
professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information
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