Info Biz

Finding Local Business and Market Information

2011-04-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Research on Main Street: Using the Web to Find Local Business and Market Information

Sooner or later you're going to need reliable, localized, business information.

Ideally, you'd like it to be freely available and easy to find.

Until now there has been no targeted guide to this type of research.

Research on Main Street fills the gap. We now have a guide for finding business and market information at the local level that points to sources for researching people, companies, demographics, economics, and issues. Author Marcy Phelps has spoken widely on this topic and done her own fair share of local business and market research as owner of Phelps Research.

In this one-of-a-kind resource Phelps provides background, search strategies, and key sources to help readers find reliable local-level information on a budget. Phelps puts this research niche in context, coaching the reader to look at how a given geographic area relates to larger geographic areas, how it relates to nearby geographic areas, and how it relates to similar areas from other regions.

Learning this kind of strategic thinking alone justifies the cost of the book ($29.95 from Information Today). But wait. There's more.

After a general overview of the kinds of resources valuable to local area research and a reminder of how to discern quality information, the author moves into a detailed discussion of sources and strategies for finding demographic data, economic information, people, and ways to understand the issues that come to bear on a specific geographic region. Each chapter includes strategy tips. In addition, as Mary Ellen Bates points out in the Forward, Phelps offers short case studies throughout the book that help in "understanding when I could use these resources in my day-to-day work." Author Phelps has also called upon a number of experienced researchers to share their advice in Tips from the Pros. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that yours truly contributed one of those Tips.)

The final chapter provides guidance on when to turn to the fee based sources for information. "For local searchers, fee-based sources are often the fastest route to detailed information for small geographic areas." Here you'll find tips on how to pay (subscription, pay as you go, or other options), when to pay (calculating what your time is worth), and who to pay (listing key fee-based services.)

To get a sense of the valuable information offered in this 254 page book, try this one tip offered on page 26. To quickly find relevant information on local sites, try GovScan. Powered by Google, GovScan searches more than 5,000 city, town, county, and state government websites within all 50 United States. Now doesn't that just make you wonder what the other 253 pages contain?

Use LinkedIn to Build Relationships

2011-04-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Several readers have asked about social networking. What is it? How does it work? How can I use it?

This is the second in a series of articles on using social media.

LinkedIn, according to their website, "operates the world's largest professional network on the Internet with more than 100 million members" worldwide. Members include executives from all 2010 Fortune 500 companies and over one million LinkedIn Company Pages.

Individuals can leverage this network in at least three ways to identify prospects for collaboration or joint ventures, as well as likely clients and customers. Use Connections, Groups, and Answers. Using LinkedIn you can build a network of connections that expands "who you know." Remember the old saying "it's not what you know it's who you know"? With LinkedIn you can keep track of who you know, but also become aware of who "they" know. When you need a letter of introduction, a reference, or access to expertise, rely on your connections to put you in touch with the right people.

Join Groups. By joining groups you are immediately in the company of people having similar interests or expertise. Join groups that represent the people you would like to work with, the people you would like to work with you, or the people who know what you need to know. Joining a group expands your network. Visit the Groups Directory to browse or search for groups of interest. If that's overwhelming, click on Groups You May Like to view a filtered list.

LinkedIn Answers provides an interesting opportunity to demonstrate your expertise by answering questions, to seek advice by asking questions, or to identify experts who have answered someone else's questions. Remember, it's all about building a reputation and credibility which leads to trust. LinkedIn will generate a list of questions that have come from your network. That's a great place to begin answering questions as appropriate.

Leap in. Begin by inviting me to connect.

Get Up to Speed on Social Networking

2011-03-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Several readers have asked about social networking. What is it? How does it work? How can I use it for marketing?

Here we offer several resources that will introduce some of the social networking tools and begin to touch on how to use them, starting with some definitions.

Social Media - For purposes of discussion we will think of social media as Internet sites. These sites facilitate information sharing through various types of interactions. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube are examples of very popular social media sites.

Social Networking - Social networking is interaction made possible by social media sites.

Social Media Marketing - I like the way SearchEngineLand describes it as the "process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites."

For an entertaining, rather ingenious explanation of Social Media in Plain English, watch this video about Scoopville.

In future postings we'll take a look at strategies for using LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for social networking and social media marketing.

In the meantime, if you're wondering whether all of this social media stuff deserves so much attention, watch Social Media Revolution 2, dated May 5, 2010. This four and a half minute video provides statistics that are hard to ignore. For instance, Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S. It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users. Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year. Take a look, and let me know if you think social media is a fad.

Info Pro Culture

2010-06-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

What defines the culture of the info pro?

Sharing? Sure. Info pros happily offer high levels of service to clients and customers needing guidance in finding and using information.

Learning? Definitely. Info pros generally learn something new every day while going about the business.

Embracing change? Not so much. Info pros have a reputation for liking things just the way they are, thank you very much.

How does our culture work for or against us? The culture of sharing makes us good at delivering valuable information, providing useful training to our constituencies, and mentoring new info pros. At the same time, the propensity to "give it away" makes it hard to monitor return on investment or charge sustainable rates for our services.

The willingness to learn helps us improve our skills and fosters the curiosity we need to help our clients and customers. Could learning ever work against us? I can't see how, but maybe you can.

The tendency to resist change has proven useful to info pros over time, as we carefully and systemically develop the cataloging and classification systems that make information findable. By the same token, we may have missed opportunities to better connect with users by holding on to the "we've always done it this way" approach.

What else defines the culture of the info pro?

Professional Development - Face to Face

2010-05-13T09:26:00.001-07:00

What do you do for professional development? How do you stay current in the industry and keep your creative juices flowing?

Consider the options - podcasts, blog postings, online videos, and electronic newsletters represent some easy, at your desk options. What about face to face, you ask? Good question. How often do you get out of your office and rub elbows with colleagues from outside your organization?

Effective and essential professional development cannot happen without the occasional live, real time, face to face interaction. We're coming into the conference season for info pros. The Association of Independent Information Professionals met last month. The Medical Library Association meets later this month. Specialized librarians in SLA will meet next month, and the American Library Association meets in July, just to name a few.

AIIP drew over 100 attendees while ALA will draw over 25,000. What's the attraction?

First and foremost, humans are gregarious. We like to gather with people who understand who we are and what we do. It is refreshing to interact with colleagues who "get it", to share experiences, and even to commiserate.

Second, we learn from each other. We pick up ideas, solutions, strategies, and alternatives to take home to our own work environment. These learnings satisfy a professional need to know and make us even more valuable to our organizations.

Most importantly, however, is the "cross fertilization" that happens in a face to face environment. Here we encounter ideas, issues, and concerns that we may not have sought out. Unlike the RSS feeds and newsletter subscriptions that we opt in to, conferences foster serendipity and the friction of dialog that often sparks new ways of thinking. One does not have to cross the country to attend a large gathering like ALA. While I strongly recommend one such excursion every year or so, most communities have a local info pros group of some kind. Join. Attend. Participate. Cross fertilize. Learn. You and the profession will be better for it.

Professional development thrives in a face to face environment. In fact, without conference gatherings, withering on the vine is inevitable. Don't you agree?

Attention Info Entrepreneurs - The Tribe is Gathering

2010-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

If you provide information services as a contractor, freelancer, or business owner, it's time to pack your bags and head to the 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).

This year the gathering takes place in Cleveland Ohio, April 29 - May 2. The conference offers professional development, networking, and social opportunities especially tailored for the independent information professional.

One of the many program highlights is the Roger K. Summit Award Lecture. This year's award recipient is Peter Shankman, Founder of Help a Reportert Out, HARO. HARO serves journalists on deadline, offering more than 100,000 sources around the world to be quoted by media.

Invest in your business. Invest in yourself.

Social Media Searching for Competitive Intelligence

2010-02-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Real-time sources contain useful information about your competitors' organization and products. These sources also contain information about your organization and products. Trust me on this. It's not just about who just had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.

Consider developing new services and products for your clients for competitive intelligence, brand management, and reputation monitoring.

Here are some tools.

Addictomatic is a federated search engine that pulls results from live sites such as Google Blogs, Wordpress, Technorati, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and much more.

OneRiot crawls the links people share on Twitter, Digg, and other social sharing services.

CrowdEye searches Twitter and compiles a bar chart of tweet volume over the last three days with a word cloud of keywords.

Backtype is the only free tool I know that searches blog comments.

There are also fee based products such as Radian6 and Attaain that offer powerful features to research, analyze, engage, and tract activity on real-time sites. Consider starting out with some of the free offerings mentioned here and dazzle your clients with the information you can deliver.

The Value of Twitter

2010-01-06T13:49:00.001-08:00

I don't have time for Twitter. Who cares what anyone is having for lunch, and how can anything important be reduced to 140 characters?

Even if you haven't had this thought yourself, you've likely heard it expressed by someone else. What's the deal with Twitter? Who has time for it, and why should I care?

While Twitter can surely be a place to post random answers to the question "What's happening?" (Note: When did the question change from"What are you doing?") Twitter can also be much more than that. Using Twitter it's possible to push meaningful information out to a large and/or targeted audience and to bring information in to your sphere of influence.

Savy companies have begun using Twitter to communicate important messages to customers and clients. According to USA Today Wells Fargo and Bank of America alert customers to changes in bank fees, product features, and customer service information. Individuals who follow the Tweets coming from these banks will have information deliberately and strategically pushed to them by company employees. It may be an advantage for the customer, but it is surely an advantage for the banks to be able to deliver such targeted information.

BusinessWeek points out how entrepreneurs are gathering information through Twitter that they can use to grow their businesses. By strategically searching the Twitter archives for people interested in a given product or service, it's possible to find new customers. In the BusinessWeek article, Wistia.com CEO Chris Savage found a buyer for his video sharing service by searching the phrase "video sharing."

Companies also monitor their brand and reputation on Twitter, keeping abreast of what people are saying. This kind of awareness makes it possible to do damage control or deliver alternative messaging if necessary. A quick search on a pharmaceutical of interest to me revealed a Tweet inquiring whether anyone had ever had an trouble with the drug. "I would really like to know if I should be concerned," he said. If I were the manufacturer of that drug, I would surely want to be a part of that conversation.

To search Twitter, simply go to the home page and enter your term or phrase in the search box. Use quotations to force phrase searching. You can also access the advanced search form through Search Twitter in order to search on words, phrases, people, places, dates, attitudes, and Tweets containing links.

The best overview I have seen on how to use Twitter strategically comes from this slide (posted by loichay on November 3, 2009 to a blog called KJB de signets graphiques.)
It addresses six business strategies (customer relations, crisis management, etc.) with suggestions on what topics to follow, how to create content addressing the business strategy, and how to engage others. For instance, the drug question posed above falls within the business strategy of Crisis Management. In this case the loichay slide points out that you can Follow your brand, products and relevant issues; Create directions to additional resources, updated information, and explanations; and Engage in answering questions, responding to comments, raising issues, and providing information.

With a few possible exceptions, we probably don't need to know who ate what for lunch, but we surely want to know what people are saying on topics of interest to us. We likely want to deliver a point of view or information related to a topic of interest to us. Twitter is a viable option for accomplishing both objectives.

Online Information in London

2009-11-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

Info pros from across Europe and parts of the rest of the globe are in London this week for the annual Online Information meeting.

This conference always offers a great program for the info pro, and this year is no exception. One session on Wednesday morning looks especially interesting.

Moderator: Mary Ellen Bates, Owner, Bates Information Services Inc, USA

A toolkit for searching the social web
Phil Bradley, Independent Internet Consultant, UK

Finding the key (words) to the hidden treasure
Inbar Yasur, Information Professional, Hipusit, Israel

Competitive Intelligence and the evolving internet
Victor Camlek, Vice President - Market Intelligence, Thomson Reuters, USA

What? You say you can't be in London at the moment. Well, not to worry. There are a couple of pretty good options for following the action from right where you sit.

Marydee Ojala, Barbara Brynko, and Dick Kaser are blogging the conference for Information Today on the InfoToday Blog.

You can follow the Twitter stream using #online09, or check out the Twapper Keeper created by Mary Ellen Bates to collect all of the #online09 Tweets in one space.

I'm going to be watching the blog and the Twitter stream to see what might be said about that Wednesday mornign session.

Delivering Value to Your Clients or Organizaton

2009-10-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Information professionals deliver value to their organization or risk becoming expendable.

I recently delivered a webinar program to members of the Association of Independent Information Professionals on how to deliver value added analysis. You can download the slide deck titled Adding Value to Your Research: Value Added Analysis to get the gist of the presentation.

Cyberspace is abuzz right now as specialized librarians debate the merits of renaming their professional organization. The current name is SLA: Special Libraries Association. The suggested name is Association of Strategic Knowledge Professionals.

The proposed name actually represents a mind shift from information management to something broader. Some info pros appear to object to this change. From my angle it represents an appropriate evolution in our profession. To demonstrate the value in what we do, we have to wrap value into the services and solutions we offer.

Value added analysis serves as one proven strategy for an evolving profession.

Develop Your Professional Skills - Focus on Management

2009-10-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

As independent info pros we are on our own when it comes to professional development. Manager Tools can help meet the need for management and leadership training. Manager Tools offers podcasts on valuable topics including timely meetings, presentation attire, attention management, how to remember names, how to leave a voicemail, and lots more. Podcasts are categorized as Manager Tools and Career Tools. Take a look.

Learn something new today.

The Trustworthiness of Sources

2009-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

What role should the info pro play in vetting the trustworthiness of sources?

Short Answer: A large and active role.

Longer Answer: Most information professionals received training either in school, on the job, or through personal experience, that helps us evaluate a source and measure its credibility. Having this skill helps us point our constituents in the right direction. With the information floodgates standing wide open and information flowing all around us 24/7, info pros have a professional obligation to help manage that flow.

We should speak out on the wide variations in source reliability and educate the public on the importance of understanding a source's bias. Who is better qualified to do this than a trained librarian or information professional?

First, let's understand what we mean by bias and what our clients might need to know about the sources they consult. It is common knowledge that the National Review is a conservatively biased magazine, while The Nation represents the liberal point of view. Both are thoughtfully written and trustworthy. Historically they have not relied on exaggeration or misrepresentation to make a point. While biased, they are trustworthy. An info pro would know that and should make it known to others.

Here's a different kind of example. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is widely known in the United States for quality entertainment, educational shows, and trustworthy news programs. PBS is mandated by law to present objectivity and balance in its broadcasts. PBS posts its editorial standards on its web site, and an independent review board assesses whether PBS is meeting these standards. If our constituents are relying on PBS forinformation that may impact their business decisions, voting behavior, or other important decision making, they should know this.

Fox Broadcasting Company, on the other hand has no such mandate or oversight. Operated by News Corporation, Fox Broadcasting offers widely popular entertainment programming including shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and House. They deliver news programming through The Fox News Channel (FNC). Rupert Murdoch created FNC as an alternative to what he considered a liberally biased media. We know from the example of the National Review and The Nation that a conservative or liberal bias does not necessarily impact reliability or trustworthiness. Either a liberal or a conservative media outlet can provide fact-based arguments. The Fox News Channel has not proven itself to be trustworthy when it comes to delivering the news. Examples abound, but a representative one can be found on the Factcheck.org site. The example is a misrepresentation of the facts made by Glenn Beck about the Cash for Clunkers program. If our constituents are relying on Fox News forinformation that may impact their business decisions, voting behavior, or other important decision-making, they should know this.

Information professionals have an opportunity and an obligation to speak out on the trustworthiness of sources - now and always.

What's In a Name?

2009-06-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Let's assume you are an information professional. Given the fact that you are reading this blog, that seems like a safe assumption.

At a social gathering, when people ask you what you do, how do you reply? Do you give your job title - Information Specialist, Knowledge Analyst, Chief Researcher? Do you offer your educational background along with a job description - "I'm a librarian by training, and I provide research and analysis to corporate decision-makers." Do you dodge the topic and change the subject - "So, do you think Elizabeth Taylor will marry again?"

The conversation goes on in our individual spheres as well as at the broader level. The Special Libraries Association, known since its inception to have an awkward name, is looking at a name change. This is not the first time. The last effort ended in the practice of foregoing the full name for initials - SLA. Time has proven that to be a less than satisfying solution.

So, what are some of the options? Association of Knowledge Engineers (my personal favorite at this point), Specialized Librarians and Information Professionals, and Knowledge and Information Specialist Society are among the proposals. SLA leadership is on board with the initiative. CEO Janice Lachance has posted her position to the SLA Wiki on Why SLA Must Consider a Name Change. To participate in the discussion, use Twitter and #slaname or visit the SLA Name Change wiki. The conversation is sure to be lively.

Finding Prsentations Online

2009-06-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Information comes in many formats. Last month we talked about images, audio files, and video clips on the Internet. Another ubiquitous form of communication is the PowerPoint presentation. Slide decks, as they are often called in business enterprises, can contain a bounty of information including statistics, lists, strategies, and sometimes confidential information.

Docstoc and Slideshare are two sources of slide decks, and Google Advanced Search provides a tool for narrowing results to this format.

Docstoc is an online community dedicated to sharing professional documents. With free registration, users can upload documents for sharing and download or copy documents when those rights have been granted. Docstoc supports sharing of the following formats: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .txt, and .rft. Documents are categorized as legal, business, personal finance, technology, education, jobs & careers, tax, real estate, current events, or politics and history. A search on "market share" led to some interesting slide decks on the automotive market, a word document on the airline market, and a pdf with instructions on how to find market share information. Docstoc lets you filter the results to the most viewed, most downloaded, most recent, most reviewed, and highest rated.

SlideShare claims to be the largest community for sharing presentations. Free registration permits uploading and downloading, and SlideShare offers an option called Slidecasts. In researching this article I found a slidecast of a children's storybook called Ravens Love to Sing, being read aloud in Japanese. SlideShare files can include video and automated slide shows, and when you select a slide deck to view, SlideShare will point you toward related presentations. Using this feature I found several useful presentations on how to use Twitter.

A third option for tracking down slide decks is Google's Advanced Search mode. From the Google home page click on Advanced Search. Enter your search terms and look down the
page for File type. From here you can select the .ppt format to limit the search to PowerPoint files. Try entering your company name in the box labeled "all these words." In the boxes labeled "one or more of these words" put "confidential", "proprietary", and "private" without the quotes. I hope you don't find the results to be *too* interesting!

Volunteering Provides Professional Development Opportunities

2009-05-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

When did you last hear of an organization sending its info pro off to the Wharton Executive MBA program, or any other advanced management training program for that matter? Has it ever been done? If so, I've not heard about it. So who's looking after the professional development of our information professionals? It is my observation that most info pros are either solo or tucked into an organizational corner where professional needs are little understood. For their own good and the good of their enterprise, info pros would do well to take matters into their own hands.

First a word on why we care. With a strong understanding of how businesses work and how leaders function within an organization, the info pro can deliver the highest value and return on investment. Business acumen leads to better decisions for the info pro and the enterprise.

So what skills and training do we need? Consider project management, strategic planning, budgeting, event planning, team leadership, and negotiation skills as core competencies for working within most organizations.

If you're not going to the Wharton School for an Executive MBA, how about volunteering within your professional association. This strategy has long been advocated as a means to network and make valuable contacts with professional colleagues. It is also an extremely effective way to learn the above mentioned skills while working with seasoned leaders within the association.

Think about the professional or non-profit organizations you are a part of. Think about how the routine activities of most organizations lend themselves to leadership and management training: coordinating a newsletter or blog; developing or updating a strategic plan; serving as treasurer or on the finance committee; planning programs or annual meetings or seminars; serving on the governing board; chairing a committee and managing the people on your team; negotiating priorities among the members or a contract with a caterer. These activities all advance the goals of the organization while providing the volunteers with valuable training.

A good organization will have the depth of leadership and experience to provide role models and mentors to those willing to volunteer and learn. I can say from my own experience that volunteering in professional and other non-profit organizations has provided more leadership and management training than I could have ever predicted, and it has served me well in the business environment.

Take matters into your own hands. Go forth and volunteer!

Finding Business Information in Audio, Video, and Image Formats

2009-05-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

For a recent article in FUMSI: Find, Use, Manage, & Share Information, I researched the many search engines available for locating audio, video, and images on the Web. "Finding Videos, Audio and Images on the Web: Search Tools" gives some useful links to sources that can deliver business-related search results.

The weakest link seems to be good search tools for podcasts and other non-music audio files. If you have some resources to suggest, we'd live to hear about them.

Camel Drivers as Info Pros

2009-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently where there's a will there's a way.

In 10th Century Persia Grand Vizier Abdul Kassem Ismael was loath to part with his 117,000 volume library. When traveling he carried the collection along in a caravan of 400 camels trained to walk in alphabetical order (A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel.) Thus his camel drivers were able to deliver volumes to the master upon request.

The Library Book: The Story of Libraries from Camels to Computers (for young readers) gives us a nice visual image of what that might have looked like.

I'm guessing Grand Vizier Ismael would have been an early adopter of the e-book.

AuthorMapper

2009-03-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Springer offers a cool tool that puts its authors on a map so that you can visualize patterns in scientific research. AuthorMapper integrates content with mapping technology. Besides mapping author locations, the technology also delivers graphs, timelines, and keyword tag clouds that visually summarize the data and can also be selected to further refine your search terms.

Although the site includes 150 years of articles from 1,900 journals, it's too bad more journals are not included. By way of comparison, PubMed indexes approximately 5,200 journals and the database contains over 18 million citations.

In any case, AuthorMapper creates graphs that illustrate publication year, author names, journal titles, countries, subject, and institution. Keyword searches on terms like leprosy, polio, and carbon footprint yield interesting results, leading to further exploration of why publishing patterns appear the way they do. Searching on a known author's name can produce a geographical view of his or her collaborators and co-authors. Be careful, however, in interpreting the results. AuthorMapper is a work in progress and developers have not given clear guidance on how it parses and responds to a query.

Furl Becomes Part of Diigo.com

2009-03-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you Furl your bookmarks or favorites, you'll want to know that Furl has become part of Diigo.com. The Furl team has handed the torch to Diigo.com as they offer users a link for exporting data from Furl to Diigo. It's pretty seamless. In fact, it's a two-click process that seems to take care of itself, even if you don't already have a Diigo account.

So what's the deal with Diigo? Here's what they say - "Diigo is two services in one -- it is a research and collaborative research tool on the one hand, and a knowledge-sharing community and social content site on the other." Diigo stands for Digest of Internet Information, Groups, and Other stuff. It is pronounced Dee'go.

Enjoy!

Time to Build Your Network

2009-02-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

During these times of economic uncertainty there is activity more important than networking. Now is a great time to build new relationships and nurture your existing relationships.

The easiest way I now to build your network is to become active in the professional organizations where your colleagues and prospective clients 'hang out.' Don't just join the organization (professional association, trade association, service organization, etc.) but volunteer. Demonstrate your business or management skills by serving on a committee or leading a program. Contact the president or a committee chair to discover what kind of help is needed. You will painlessly build your network and make valuable connections by volunteering.

Make it a point each day to contact someone in your professional network. Call a client to check in, post to a discussion list, or e-mail a colleague. Update your LinkedIn, Plaxo, or Jigsaw posting, and if you don't have a listing in any of those databases, get one post haste!

It's true what they say - it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Use Your Real Estate to Promote Your Brand

2009-01-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Use your real estate to promote your brand. You have space and opportunity at your disposal to connect your products and services with your clients or customers. Use it.

Just to be clear, branding is a promise between the supplier and the customer. Think Starbucks. Starbucks promises quality coffee, perfectly prepared, delivered in a friendly atmosphere.

The Starbucks logo offers a visual reminder of the brand.

You want this kind or recognition.

Deliverables and e-mails offer prime space for putting forward your info biz brand quickly and easily. When you deliver your product to a client, it should always be clear where it came from. If you don't have a logo, get one. If you're not using a template or consistent formatting for reports and e-mails, start now. If customized Power Point slides are an option, go for it. Be consistent in the look and feel. Use the logo, template, and formatting without exception.

Design an e-mail signature that displays your info biz brand. If you can include the logo, do it. If you have a slogan, tag line, or mantra that you can attach, do it. In fact, think Nike - Just Do It. Your clients must always know where their information comes from and where to turn for information services.

For help with graphics and visual representation of who you are and what you do, explore your options. Your organization may have a graphic arts department that can assist. For full service marketing strategies, including graphic arts, consider Chris Olson & Associates. For logo design you could try launching a contest on 99designs. It's a fun and affordable option.

Developing visual reminders for your clients is an easy way to brand and market your information services. Give it a go and share your results.

It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know

2008-12-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

At one time I found this unsettling. It seems wrong that connections could be more important than knowledge, skills, or capabilities. Well, think of it this way - what good are knowledge, skills, or capabilities without connections? Who will use your knowledge, tell others about your skills, or benefit from your capabilities?

The info biz is about nothing if not networking. At some level it's not even about the information, it's about putting the information into the hands of the people who need it. Having a robust network increases the odds of making this happen.

So, what are some options for growing and sustaining your network? For face-to-face relationship building, it's hard to beat the professional associations. You can join those related to your profession (in my case that's AIIP and SLA) or to the industry of your market. The local chamber of commerce or a service club such as Rotary are other options. Of course once you join you will want to volunteer on a committee, write for the association publication, or speak at association events in order to increase your visibility and build deeper relationships.

If you work inside of an organization, be sure to follow the same advice. Raise your profile and make yourself known by volunteering. Getting to know people beyond that casual "hi" in the halls will immediately expand your sphere of influence.

For virtual networks there are a number of options. Some have been discussed in this blog before. Be sure to explore LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook to see if they have potential for you.

For more on networking visit Bootstrapper's 75+ Tips on Becoming a Better Networker, AARP's Value of Networking, and from Searcher Magazine, Online Social Networks, Virtual Communities, and Information Professionals by Reid and Gray.

Remember, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Who do you know?

Analysis and the Executive Summary

2008-12-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

Do you create executive summaries for your clients' project reports? First, let's define "executive summary." For purposes of this discussion, we're not talking about my business plan in a nutshell as described by Guy Kawasaki in his blog. We're talking about the summary that brings together research findings to answer a question or series of questions.

If you do not include executive summaries in your research reports, why not? Indeed some clients prefer do all the summarizing on their own, but in my experience they represent the exception rather than the rule. As we all face info glut and data smog, most clients value a nicely written snapshot of the situation with the key questions answered up front.

What is it about info pros that makes us ideally suited to creating an information overview or executive summary? Stephen Abram has been heard to say that info pros are skilled at identifying patterns. I'm pretty sure that's one of the skills that helps us summarize mass quantities of information. I think we also have the ability to pull salient points from text heavy sources and distill the points into a few words. Hopefully we write well.

What other skills are required to create a useful research summary? Your comments are encouraged and most welcome.

Video Fun

2008-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hang with your fellow info pros, and you will surely learn something interesting and useful.

At Internet Librarian 2008 in Monterey CA I had the opportunity to hear from cutting edge info pro Connie Crosby. She shared a bundle of new tools and technologies, and I want you to know about two of them.

Utterli lets you share text, pictures, video, and audio with your friends, even from your mobile phone. You can form groups and post to your entire community. I notice that GreenPeace, Photographers, DancingWithTheStars, and GTD (Getting Things Done) all have Utterli groups. Sadly, as I write this only one group is tagged "libraries." Come on info pros, let's make our Utterli presence felt. Note: Postings to Utterli are called utters.

Ustream is the live interactive video broadcast platform that enables anyone with a camera and an Internet connection to quickly and easily broadcast to a global audience of unlimited size. Interactive means that viewers can interact directly with whoever is broadcasting. People Ustream everything including speeches, talk shows, music, conference sessions, school and business events, training, sporting events, and special events like weddings, recitals, and parties. As I write there are 1081 live shows streaming. CompTV is up and running with 122 viewers talking about an ongoing talent contest. The one with the most viewers (13105) is the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam.

Cute, but boy can those puppies squeal.

Only 4 Ustream shows are tagged "libraries." Unfortunately they look like beta tests with little to offer. I'm guessing we can improve on that. What can we do that would draw more viewers than Shiba Inu puppies? Hmmmm.

Cindy Shamel

The Experienced Info Pro Speaks Out

2008-11-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

Internet Library 2008 offered a full range of learning and networking opportunities to all who attended. According to my observations, it also offered a peek at the variety of people who have influenced and will influence the profession. First the view from an experienced info pro on the brink of retirement.

Dan Lester retired last week as Head of Network Services in the University Libraries at Boise State University. In an interesting examination of where we have been and were we are going with technology ("Who Moved My Ultrafiche & 8-Tracks? Insights for the Future"), Dan reminded us of how much has changed during his 50 years on the job. Do you remember the 12" video disk, the Apple Lisa, punched cards, 8" floppy disks, and the OCLC impact printer for printing out library cards? These were the bees knees in their day, but technology has continued to develop since then. Dan gave us a good look at the evolution of technology in libraries and when to adopt. You can link to the slides from Dan's talk, including fantastic pictures of the aforementioned technologies and more, at Dan's River of Data web site.

Based on his wealth of experience in library technology, Dan offered the following things to think about:

Everything is temporary.
Never buy #1 of anything.
Be on the leading edge but not the bleeding edge.
Even sacred cows can be turned into filet mignon.
The" saving money" reason for adopting technology is almost always bogus.
Do bad decisions really matter?
Be a shark. Keep moving or die.
See number one.

Dan also echoed a sentiment found in several other talks I heard at IL2008 - "be willing to fail." More on that in the next posting as we meet info pros who are just launching their careers.

Remember the 23Things? I'm Finished!

2008-10-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Last summer, sometime around July 1st, I started working my way through the Special Library Association's 23Things. It is a remarkable learning opportunity for info pros who want to become familiar with the multitude of Web 2.0 tools that have come on the scene. These tools, including blogs, wiki's, bookmarking, and more are gaining traction in our workspace. Info pros who are not becoming familiar with these tools risk being left behind. (Note: I am blogging this from Internet Librarian in Monterey CA. Information Today President Tom Hogan listed the finalists in last year's contest for what to call a non-Internet Librarian. Winner? Zoe Anderson at the Napa Library. She dubbed the non-Internet Librarian as Librarian 1.0.)

Happily sometime in mid-September I finished the nine week program outlined by SLA, and at some level I am now conversant in the 23 Things. I strongly recommend this program to each and every SLA member. Knowing what these tools do, how they are being used, and how they might be used in your context, is empowering indeed. Our profession needs informed info pro's leading the way. I may not be Librarian 3.0, but I know I'm not a Librarian 1.0!

SLA has hung out the brass ring for you. I strongly suggest you reach for it.

Are You LinkedIn?

2008-10-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn has appeared on my radar screen three times in the last three days. I take that as a sign.

Recall that LinkedIn is a social networking tool. If memory serves, I believe it was originally marketed as a recruiting site for headhunters. Individuals can create and post a LinkedIn profile that includes biographical and contact info. The Web site states that "LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries."

According to the The Economist, (radar screen appearance #1), LinkedIn is the "Facebook for suits." Gotta love that description. Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn to manage his own network of business contacts. The Economist points out that a "big chunk" of company revenues comes from headhunters and companies who pay to search the database and contact members. The article points out that LinkedIn is benefiting from the upheaval in the financial markets as users step up networking and job-hunting activities.

An association discussion list that I subscribe to recently addressed the topic of Web site development (radar screen appearance #2). A clever colleague pointed out that a short term alternative to a fully developed Web site is to register a domain name and use URL forwarding to point to a LinkedIn profile. Pretty cool, huh? By the way, this clever colleague is writing a book on matters of Web site development. When it's available I'll let you know.

LinkedIn can also be used as a research tool for finding and using information. FUMSI (radar screen appearance #3) recently ran an article by prolific author and extremely knowledgeable researcher Amelia Kassel on using LinkedIn as a research tool. Kassel explains why and how to search LinkedIn, concluding that "Info pros will want to use LinkedIn similarly to other databases for finding answers to a range of questions."

Sounds as though LinkedIn should be on every info pro's radar screen.

Adding Value to the Information You Deliver

2008-10-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Remember rip and ship? There was a day when the value that the info pro brought to the table was access to and the ability to search commercial, subscription based databases. In those days, a professional search yielded otherwise hard to access information. Ripping the results from the dot matrix printer and shipping it to the client was standard practice.

Online searching is no longer novel. The technology is practically ubiquitous and answering the ready reference question or delivering full text articles is no longer a value add service.

So, what's an info pro to do? For an examination of the justification and how-to's for creating value add deliverables, see Amelia Kassel's Value-Added Deliverables: Rungs on the Info Pro's Ladder to Success published in Searcher. Kassel states that a value added deliverable will include organized research results with a summary of findings.

I recommend using the summary of findings as an opportunity to add further value to your report. The summary should answer the questions, but it's also an opportunity to share insights about the findings. We'll take a closer look at this in future postings.

In the meantime, let us know if you include a summary of findings in your deliverables.

Info Pro Employment Picture

2008-10-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hiring or not hiring? In the last couple of weeks I've heard several perspectives on the employment prospects for info pros. One came from the owner of a library staffing agency. She painted a rather dismal picture, indicating that we're currently experiencing a slow down in hiring. In my own experience I have had a vigorous response to my own search for info pros who have been cast into the job market as a result of layoffs in biotech.

At the same time, we learn that the Environmental Protection Agency will reopen their closed libraries and that each will be staffed with librarians. In the blogs I subscribe to I see an opening posted for an associate librarian at Christie's (attention art historians) and that LibraryThing is hiring (although the current openings are not for info pros.)

So, what's the deal? I'm guessing that indeed the job market is tight overall for info pros. On the other hand, the entrepreneurial sorts that I commune with in AIIP seem to be holding their own. Clearly there is a market for the value added information services that a 21st Century info pro can provide. Perhaps the answer lies in what kind of value we add. (More on that in a future posting.) What kind of value do you add?

Life Support

2008-09-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

You're not alone out there in trying stay ahead of the curve and get through the day. For support, wisdom, and guidance, try Lifehacker and DLM:Dumb Little Man.

Lifehacker contains "tips and downloads for getting things done." Recent posts to Lifehacker discuss browser speeds, best layouts for data in Excel, and why goal setting makes you cringe. It's good stuff, and you can set up to receive the info in an RSS feed. That saves you from revisiting the web site to see what's new. Beware, however, that Lifehacker can post 20 or more tips per day.

For a less prolific, but no less useful life support source, try DLM. "Each week we provide a handful of tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane." Recent posts include 5 ways to fall asleep quicker and 15 ways to break writer's block (timely, that one.)

Professional Associations - Do You Belong?

2008-09-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Do you work in the info biz? Do you belong to an appropriate professional association? If not, why not? Your comments are welcome and encouraged.

I belong to the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) and to Special Libraries Association (SLA). There are many, many reasons why I belong to these two associations, but the reason du jour is professional development. Today, without leaving my office, I had the opportunity to watch a web based, information packed training session delivered by Ed Vawter, AIIP President and founder of QD Information Services. Ed discussed using podcasts as a source of information for research. Since the vendor was experiencing audio trouble, Ed is going to offer a encore presentation next month, so those who missed it today will get a second chance.

SLA is offering a program called 23 Things. Participants become familiar with wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, picture sharing, podcasting, tagging, RSS feeds and much, much more through actual hands on practice. When proprietary software is required SLA makes it available, so everyone can participate. And, it's free with the SLA membership.

We info pros need to stay a step or two ahead of our clients, and associations such as AIIP and SLA make that possible. Do you belong?

Using Web 2.0 Tools - Wait. What's Web 2.0?

2008-09-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Online collaboration. Wikis. Office 2.0. Enterprise 2.0. GroupSwim, Atlassian Confluence, LinkedIn, Zimbra, and LiquidPlanner. These are just some of the terms being bandied about when the discussion turns to Web 2.0.

According to ReadWriteWeb, Businesses Can't Hide from Web 2.0, and "Today, if you're not staying current with Web 2.0 technologies' impact on business, then you're just not staying current. Period." Go ahead and check out this article, because it gives a really nice overview of the topic including links to more info. ReadWriteWeb is a blog with about seven writers focused on Web technologies. Their archives are chock full of information on products, trends, and predictions for emerging technologies.

Take a look at Businesses Can't Hide from Web 2.0. It will be 10 minutes well spent. Trust me.

Slow Down and Check the Facts

2008-09-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

Whoa nelly! The US Presidential campaigns are in full swing, and the assertions are coming on fast and furious. I say assertions, because some of the information we're seeing is simply not factual. In the interest of political neutrality I will forego the opportunity to give any examples. For now, suffice it to say that we must all check for the facts before passing along or taking seriously what may turn out to be simply rumors.

The #1 site for political fact-checking is Factcheck.org. Sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, they "are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics."

In the interest of seeing the best possible outcome for the November Presidential elections, I encourage all voters to visit this site regularly and get the facts.

Bacronyms

2008-08-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard of bacronyms (also spelled backronym) . This word breezed onto my radar screen about a year ago but at the time it didn't stick. I came across the term again this week while I worked on a wiki project.

Bacronym has multiple meanings, but the one I find interesting describes the case where a word is turned into an acronym by creating a phrase out of the letters in the word. Here are two examples.

SOS was chosen as a distress signal because the Morse code is unmistakable and easy to transmit. Three dots, three dashes, and three dots. SOS was never meant to mean save our ship, save our souls, or send out succor. These are bacronyms.

Wiki is a Hawaiian word meaning quick or fast. Wiki has been adopted by web designers to describe a simplified mark up language. It permits anyone who accesses a wiki web site to contribute or modify content. The most prominent example of a wiki in action is Wikipedia. Some have claimed that wiki is an acronym standing for "what I know is." Wiki is a word, "what I know is" represents a bacronym.

Bacronyms are an interesting language phenomenon. If you know of others, feel free to share them here.

Image Generators

2008-08-14T13:58:00.001-07:00

Here's a question for info pros who deliver value added research results in the form of electronic documents. Have you ever included content created by an image generator? I've been experimenting with these tools, and it seems like we have an opportunity here.

Since the concept is new to me, I haven't had a chance to try out my idea. I have created a couple of images, and it's really pretty cool. Here's one I made just for fun using Badge Maker at Big Huge Labs http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

There are other image generators like ImageChef http://www.imagechef.com/
and CustomSignGenerator http://www.customsigngenerator.com/.

Once I've had a chance to use this concept in a client report, I'll post something here and let you know how it goes. In the meantime, for those of you who are one step ahead, how have you used an image generator to enhance a deliverable?

Flickr vs Picassa and Furl vs. Delicious

2008-08-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks I've been participating in a professional development program called 23Things. The idea is to expose info pros to a wide variety of technologies so that we can adapt them as needed to our various work situations. (SLA members will want to check the organization web site to see what the program offers.)

The program introduces Flickr as a useful image sharing site and Delicious as a social bookmarking tool. This is all well and good. I have learned a lot and dutifully progressed through the prescribed exercises. The trouble is, I had already been using Picassa for images and FURL for bookmarking.

I can't help but feel a bit torn and fragmented. Which is better? Why did the 23Things people pick Flickr over Picassa and Delicious over FURL? Granted, they have different functionality and assorted pros and cons. My beef is that now I have some pictures uploaded to Flickr and others on Picassa. My bookmarks are split between FURL and Delicious.

Ultimately I will pick one and go with it. In the meantime, however, I'm experiencing some kind of multiple personality syndrome.

Del.icio.us Becomes Delicious

2008-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well, no sooner do I blog about the virtues of Del.icio.us for social bookmarking than the powers that be implement substantial changes. First, Del.icio.us became Delicious.com. Frankly, that's a good move. It's easier and a whole lot more straight forward.

The Web site looks different and it boasts a faster search function. You can still post, share, and organize bookmarks. Also, you can access your bookmarks from any computer with Internet access. So, if you haven't tried Delicious yet, this looks like just the right time to give it a go.

What's the Deal With Adding Value?

2008-07-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

The law librarians talked about it in Portland earlier this month. The specialty librarians talked about it in Seattle last month. The independent info pros talk about it regularly on their association discussion list. So what's the deal with adding value? Information professionals are coming to realize that the old rip and ship model of information delivery is no longer sufficient. Attaching a hodge podge of documents, PDFs, and URLs to an e-mail is not adding value.

In responding to a research request, it is incumbent upon the info pro to deliver answers, not just information. Delivering answers means taking time to create a document that summarizes findings and puts the desired information front and center. Doing this takes time, but it also brings to light our ability to separate the wheat from the chaff, summarize findings, draw conclusions, and provide insights.

Add value. It's good for your organization, your decision-makers, and your career.

Web 2.0 and the Info Pro

2008-07-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 encompasses interactive tools such as RSS feeds, social bookmarking, image sharing, blogs, and wikis. The debate is on about how info pros should/could be using these tools to improve information access and information delivery. To take a peak at the discussion, visit Library 2.0 on Ning.

For those interested in learning more, there are lots of opportunities, including the SLA initiative called 23Things, modeled after the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County's 23Things.

For anyone in San Diego CA on October 3, 2008 the local chapter of SLA is hosting an all day seminar entitled Web Services - Embracing the Web as the Library's Core Service Space. Watch the chapter blog for more information.

The Learning Curve

2008-07-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

In order to obtain hands on experience with some of the newer technology options (Web 2.0 tools) I'm taking advantage of a program offered by SLA, the association of specialty librarians. The program is called 23Things. It offers tutorials and guidance so that participants can practice what they learn. This blog is a product of this learning opportunity.

As of today I have finished 7 of the 23 Things including topics such as blogging and social bookmarking. I've still got a ways to go, but it helps to have a structured, step by step opportunity to progress.

Feel the Power

2008-07-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today I posted a tweet on Twitter, watched an instructional video on YouTube, created this blog entry, delivered a short presentation to a colleague two times zones away using a virtual meeting tool, and saved and tagged several web sites using Del.icio.us. Oh yes, I also sent some e-mails and talked to a client on the telephone, which goes to show that the "old" technologies don't necessarily disappear. The new technologies expand the possibilities.

Taking the new techonologies for a test run doesn't necessarily mean they will become part of the daily routine. It does mean that at least we are familiar with the concept, the jargon, and the functionality. Staying current in your field is important to all professionals, info entrepreneurs included. Feel the power.

Del.icio.us

2008-07-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site for storing URLs on the web. Advantages of doing this include easy accessibility from wherever you are (since it's a Web based tool) and tagging. In this case tagging means adding descriptions or terms to your bookmark entries so that you can later search and sort your bookmarks based on the term you have assigned.

Using Del.icio.us requires registration (easy enough) and the installation of two buttons on your Internet browser toolbar. Del.icio.us makes this easy with very clear instructions, however, in the process I found that the Firefox extensions currently available on the Del.icio.us Web site are not compatible with Firefox 3.0. I'm sure the extension creators will catch up, but in the meantime just use the drag and drop method to put the necessary buttons on your toolbar.

To find other interesting blogs, go to Del.icio.us and enter your the word blog plus subject word in the search box. Blog quilting yielded 337 hits!

Info Pros are on the move

2008-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Last month over 5,000 specialty librarians met in Seattle WA for their annual conference. This week the American Library Association is meeting in Anaheim CA, and week after next the American Association of Law Libraries will meet in Portland OR.

There are more public libraries (a total of 16,549) in the US than McDonald's.
Reference librarians in the nation's public and academic libraries answer more than 7.2 million questions weekly.
85% of companies ranked in the to 100 of the Fortune 500 companies employ an information professional.