Product review of the InfoDesk product suite (sources - content & coverage)
18th September 2017

In the second part of Jinfo's review of the newly updated InfoDesk product suite, Chris Porter takes a look at the platforms wide range of content sources including commercial content providers and aggregators, video and radio, social media as well as open-web specialised news content and how its API can be used by clients.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2881

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Product review of the InfoDesk product suite (key advantages; introduction; contact details)
15th September 2017

The InfoDesk product suite provides content integration and information management solutions that can be used across multiple electronic sources. In part one of Jinfo's latest review we introduce the company and platform, its client base, key advantages, value and development plans as well as the changes that have been made to the product since it was last reviewed in 2014, including its Business Insight tool, semantic search, InfoPro and InfoDirect.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2881

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Are niche news sources disrupting traditional news aggregators?
14th September 2017

This article looks at the value provided by niche news sources that fall outside of the collections picked up by aggregators such as Nexis and Factiva. We also consider how specialist sources such as Lloyd's List, TradeWinds and Fairplay (in the shipping sphere) are identified, who makes the judgement call about the value and relevance of the content, and why they are given priority budgetary approval. We also ask if this can lead to other problems in procurement or organisation-wide content provision and how it will impact on news aggregators.

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Intranets and the digital workplace
11th September 2017

In a previous article, James Mullan looked at ways knowledge managers could promote intranets as a tool for knowledge sharing. In this article, James looks at how the technologies that have supported intranets have developed over the last few years and some of the trends we are seeing in how they are being used within organisations.

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Using signal media and artificial intelligence in news
8th September 2017

The analysis of news to identify signals and triggers is not new, but it is increasingly important and is finding application beyond the world of finance as the techniques are used to help identify misleading news items. In this article, Martin Murtland explores the technology and techniques used in news signal identification as well as highlighting providers such as Lexalytics, Clarabridge, InferLink, Sysomos and Open Calais.

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The use and limitations of benchmarking data
7th September 2017

Information centre managers would like to be able to compare their services and staffing levels with other centres in similar industries, but collecting and analysing this data can be challenging. A recent Jinfo Community session explored the data collected from the Jinfo benchmarking study and provided an opportunity for the participants to comment on several key areas including, customers served, metrics collected and staffing levels. This article takes a closer look at the results of this data.

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Defining content aggregators in current awareness
5th September 2017

To make better sense of the marketplace, Jinfo conducted an analysis of 19 products that address at least some of the needs around content aggregation and curation, enabling current awareness, delivering alerting newsletters and other elements broadly related to the purpose of current awareness provision. Director of research, Robin Neidorf, reports on the findings.

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Acquire Media instils confidence in content
29th August 2017

A recent Jinfo Community session looked at how well content aggregation platforms meet user needs and we also invited a number of vendors to give their feedback on the discussion. Brad Scher, CEO of Acquire Media, explains what makes the perfect ingredients for an aggregated current awareness solution and how Acquire Media's focus is on providing content that's relevant and curated together with meeting customer needs and being a true technology partner.

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The challenges of benchmarking your information service
25th August 2017

Comparing your organisation's service offerings and effectiveness with peer institutions requires benchmarking data. Collecting, analysing and understanding this data is challenging and sometimes confusing. Helen Josephine reports on the Jinfo webinar, "A look at the data for benchmarking your information service", as part of the latest Jinfo Research Focus, "Benchmark information roles - optimise your structure". This webinar discussed the data gathered and insights uncovered during the benchmarking research and how they could be applied to strengthen and improve information services.

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Mini review of PatentAdvisor
24th August 2017

Scott Vine reports on a fresh review of PatentAdvisor from Reed Tech, a LexisNexis company. This is a patent search database whose focus is more on the process, examiners, and assessing the relative chance of success or failure of patent grants and prosecutions. 

This review covers changes and developments since Jinfo's last review in 2015, including the addition of the Prosecution Guidebook data and the PathWays service; discusses PatentAdvisor's value; presents its user interface and search features; looks at the pricing model; and identifies its training and help options. We also note competitors in the field, including Juristat and Examiner Ninja.

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