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FreePint No.57 was published on 2nd March 2000.

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                             Free Pint
         "Helping 27,000 people use the Web for their work"
                    http://www.freepint.co.uk/

ISSN 1460-7239                                   2nd March 2000 No.57
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                           IN THIS ISSUE

                             EDITORIAL

                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
                     "Travel related websites"
                           By Lynn Temple

                             BOOKSHELF
                       "Electronic Commerce -
      Strategies and models for business to business trading"
                   Reviewed by Margaret Morrison

                          FEATURE ARTICLE
     "Chemistry Webzines - How to find the right news for you"
                 By John Buckingham and Jenny Drey

                       FREE PINT BAR SUMMARY
                         by Simon Collery

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                      >>>  ABOUT FREE PINT  <<<

Free Pint is a community of business professionals who use the Web 
for their work. Members receive this free newsletter every two weeks 
packed with tips and articles by information professionals who share 
how they find quality and reliable information on the Internet. The
Web site at <http://www.freepint.co.uk/> gives free access to the 
substantial archive of articles, book reviews, industry news and 
events, with research questions and answers at the "Free Pint Bar".

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                             EDITORIAL

It's all about people. That's been Free Pint's ethos right from the 
start.  By people I mean you the members of our community, and the 
super team we have working here at Free Pint.

As of today, Rex has been the newsletter's Editor for two years, and 
what a great job he has done.  His dedication to sourcing top quality
articles in a wide range of topics has been outstanding.

Lesley and I have been hearing about the importance of a good team as 
we've been talking to various finance parties about our plans for the
future. This is certainly an exciting time as we meet with advisors 
and venture capitalists, and is proving a full-time job for both of 
us at the moment.

Simon, our "Star at the Bar", is another full-timer supporting the 
community with his in-depth knowledge of what's available on the Web. 
Our diligent administrator Jane will also have been with us 
two years in the summer, and beavers away handling subscriber 
enquires, administration and user profiling.

I think all of this goes to show that large communities in this 
"new economy" are actually being underpinned by hard work from 
professionals with real business and life experience.


Today's Free Pint brings you a look at Web sites for the business 
traveller and a review of a book about B2B eCommerce strategies by a 
senior member of the European Commission, Directorate-General XIII. 
This is followed by a round up of chemistry publications available 
online, and Simon's summary of the latest 200 postings at the Bar. We
outline some of the conferences taking place over the next few weeks,
and finish by letting you know what we've got planned for forthcoming
editions of Free Pint.

If you enjoy today's issue then please do tell your colleagues and
friends. We'd also love to hear from you at the Bar.

Kind regards,
William

William Hann BSc MIInfSc
Founder and Managing Editor, Free Pint
e: william@freepint.co.uk
t: +44 (0)1784 455435
f: +44 (0)1784 455436

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                        TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
         http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/020300.htm#tips

                     "Travel related websites"
                           By Lynn Temple

The candlestick maker is already extinct. The butcher and the baker
heading that way. The travel agent may be next for the chop.  Booking
travel online is becoming easier daily as airlines, hotel chains and
tour operators gradually adapt to the new selling medium. I have
covered sites in this article where online booking is a feature. Many
travel sites offer online brochures, but still require a phone call or
visit to the travel agent when it comes to booking.

Air Travel

Many airlines offer online booking facilities. These include Virgin
<http://www.virgin-atlantic.com>, TWA <http://www.twa.com>, United
Airlines <http://www.ual.com>, Delta <http://www.delta-air.com> and
Continental <http://www.continental.com> for transatlantic flights.
But better deals can be found by going to online flight shops such as
ebookers <http://www.ebookers.com>, deckchair 
<http://www.deckchair.com>, Cheapflights <http://www.cheapflights.co.uk>
and Airtickets Direct <http://www.airtickets.co.uk>.

These all cover the major airlines. For budget European flights, Go
<http://www.go-fly.com>, Ryanair <http://www.ryanair.com>, Easyjet
<http://www.easyjet.co.uk> and Buzz <http://www.buzzaway.com>. All
offer good deals and cover an ever-expanding range of destinations.

Hotels

There are many web-based hotel-booking agents. The France Hotel Guide
<http://www.globe-market.com> is an excellent site for French hotels.
It is easy to use and offers a wide variety of hotels in all
categories throughout France. Hotel Denmark
<http://www.hotel-denmark.com> is another good site with links to
hotels in other Scandinavian countries.  In both these cases
reservations were confirmed within 12 hours. The British Hotel
Reservation Centre <http://www.bhrc.co.uk> has many London
hotels on its site but none in the rest of the UK despite claims to
the contrary.  Online companies such as Hotel Hotel
<http://www.hotelhotel.co.uk> and 123 Go <http://www.123-go.org> have
online enquiry forms: submit the city you wish to stay in and they
will respond with suitable hotels. Room Service
<http://www.room-service.co.uk> has small, family run hotels in
Western Europe.

Hotel Chains have adapted enthusiastically to the web. The Hilton
<http://www.hilton.com> chain has special offers online and will email
value rates every week on request. Sheraton <http://www.sheraton.com>
for worldwide reservations and Travelodge
<http://www.travelodge.co.uk> for the UK are two more of the many
chains offering online booking. Worth a mention also is
Intercontinental <http://www.interconti.com> which has good weekend
offers in luxury hotels, such as the Carlton in Cannes.

Rail Travel

What do Richard Branson and my 21 year old son have in common? Neither
of them likes Sunday mornings. While trying to book a ticket on Virgin
trains <http://www.virgintrains.co.uk> for a Sunday morning journey
from Lancaster to London I discovered that the first train of the day
is at 15.05. Sunday daytrips to the capital from the North are ruled
out! I booked a ticket through thetrainline.com
<http://www.thetrainline.com> - you can also find out times and reserve
seats for any train operator in the UK mainland.  It is easy to use
and the tickets arrived the next day. For rail travel in the UK this
site is all you need as few individual operating companies have online
booking facilities, or if they do, it is usually via the
trainline.com. Eurostar <http://www.eurostar.com> can be booked online
but requires registration.
European rail companies have yet to offer online booking for UK
residents but sites such as European Rail
<http://www.europeanrail.com> and Eurorail  <http://www.eurorail.com>
are useful for timetables and fares.

Last Minute

Many hotel chains offer good deals if you can travel at short notice.
LateRooms  <http://www.laterooms.com> has good package deals as well
as UK hotel rooms for the following week. It is possible to register
for a regular newsletter giving bargains.  Their  'Holiday Helper'
will find you the ideal break once you have submitted your
requirements.  Global hotel rooms are soon to be added to the site.
Open World <http://www.openworld.co.uk> is a worldwide luxury hotel
search engine offering good deals.  Webflyer.com
<http://www.webflyer.com> is a roundup of last minute deals,
supposedly to save the trouble of scrolling through them all.  At the
moment, however, it is limited to a small number of hotel chains .QXL
<http://www.qxl.com> operates an online auction system for last minute
holidays and flights if you are prepared to undergo the tedium of
bidding.  Lastminute.com <http://www.lastminute.com> has numerous
offers throughout the world.

Destination Guides

Many well-known travel guides have a web presence although the
information they provide is sometimes limited compared to the original
books. This is true for example in the case of Rough Guides
<http://www.roughguides.co.uk> and Timeout <http://www.timeout.com>.
Fodor's <http://www.fodors.com> covers numerous destinations in detail
and also provides an online talking phrasebook in German, Spanish,
Italian and French. Lonely Planet <http://www.lonelyplanet.co.uk>
offers downloadable city guides, although this service is limited at
the moment.  The Association Of National Tourism
<http://www.antor.com> has links to UK representatives of Tourist
offices worldwide. These sites offer much information about the
countries and UK tour operators operating there. This site also links
to some tourist boards.

Self Catering

European self-catering is not easy to book online although many
companies accept email reservations. There are, however a number of UK
companies who offer online booking facilities. Cumbrian Cottages
<http://www.cumbrian-cottages.co.uk>, Lakelovers
<http://www.lakelovers.co.uk> and Red Rose Cottages
<http://www.redrosecottages.co.uk> cover the North West.

In Scotland, Discover Scotland  <http://www.discoverscotland.net> and
Houses in Scotland <http://www.scothols.co.uk> offer possibilities.

In Wales, Wales Cottage Holidays <http://www.wales-holidays.co.uk>
have many properties on offer. Town and Country Cottages
<http://www.ukcottages.co.uk> covers Somerset, the Cotswolds the Wye
Valley and Herefordshire and Recommended Cottages
<http://www.recommended-cottages.co.uk> cover the whole UK.

Those in search of something a little different might like to try
Footprint Adventures <http://www.footprint-adventures.co.uk>, which
offers Wildlife holidays worldwide. This is a good, informative site.
Travelbag Adventures <http://www.travelbag-adventures.co.uk>
specialises in small group holidays off the beaten track. The Ecodive
site <http://www.diveguideint.com/ecodive> provides an international
diving guide with links to tour operators.

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Lynn Temple worked for many years in Music Education until she
discovered the web! She now works with her husband Peter a financial
writer and web guru. Together they form Peter Temple Associates. They
both enjoy travelling.  All the sites mentioned here can be reached at
<http://www.linksitetravel.com>. Lynn can be contacted at
<lynn@ptassoc.u-net.com>.

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Related Free Pint links:

* "Travel and Tourism Resources on the Web" article in Free Pint No.19
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/230798.htm>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/020300.htm#tips>
* Discuss this article with the author now at the Free Pint Bar
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar>

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

                       "Electronic Commerce -
      Strategies and models for business to business trading"
                   Reviewed by Margaret Morrison

Paul Timmers' book published last October analyses strategic 
marketing approaches on the basis of both marketing theory and 
international case studies. Its systematic study of Internet commerce 
models should allow any company to better organise their business and 
understand where their sources of revenue come from. It offers an 
assessment of a rapidly growing area, covering current models and 
showing how they have fared in practice. The book also provides an 
analytical assessment of the marketplace for business-to-business 
electronic commerce strategies and includes recommendations for the 
implementation of a marketing strategy for business-to-business 
e-commerce. 

The area of e-commerce projected to generate the most enormous 
revenues, despite all the press hype about the business to consumer 
market (Amazon, Lastminute.com and so on), is the business to 
business market. It is an incredibly fast-moving area where a new 
idea can transform the whole structure of the "real world" business. 
There are eight case studies in this volume, of which an impressive 
four are European companies: a fact which should not surprise us as 
Mr Timmers is head of sector in the European Commission, 
Directorate-General XIII, in the Information Technologies Directorate.
He is thus directly involved in shaping the future of European 
e-commerce policy. While the US/global case studies (such as FedEx) 
are fairly well known and have been cited before, it is good to see 
less well known examples such as Infomar, a trading and auction 
system in the fishing trade. This is an example of where the 
real-world industry can be transformed by the implementation of such 
systems: real-time trading in the product can actually mean in 
theory that the feedback the fishermen receive could result in an end 
to overfishing - they would not catch more than they knew they 
could sell.

Infomar is also an example of involvement in e-commerce development 
by the European Commission - it was originally a pilot project in the 
ESPRIT program run by Mr Timmers. This does of course mean there is 
a great depth of information in the case study; other companies 
however are equally well represented, with if anything less 
emphasis on the more well known examples. 

Another effect of the author's day job I presume is the interest in 
the effect of e-commerce on competition and barriers to entry, some 
useful thoughts on cross-European standards to facilitate trading, and
a comparative look at the state of regulation in the EU and the USA.

One of the most helpful features of this book is the flexible 
approach to forecasting the future of B2B e-commerce: Mr Timmers is 
well aware of the fast-changing nature of the industry and the 
difficulties in relying on market research: he therefore analyses 
models and highlights trends rather than making overly specific 
predictions. This enables the reader to better understand the likely 
impact of new developments as they occur. Sections I would 
particularly recommend are those on disintermediation and on the 
convergence of B2B and B2C markets. 

Mr Timmers' hot tip? One to one marketing has not reached it's full 
potential. My hot tip? If you can't plough through the whole book, 
the last two pages are a useful summary - and don't miss out on the 
case studies.

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Margaret Morrison is a Knowledge Specialist in the area of 
Electronics and High-Tech for Andersen Consulting. She provides 
secondary research in this area, more and more of which now focuses 
on e-commerce. She is also so keen on e-commerce she even runs her 
own e-business in her spare time - selling American candy 
at <http://www.cybercandy.co.uk>. 

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Related Free Pint links:

* Related eCommerce 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/0471720291/freepint0c>
  or Amazon.com
  <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471720291/freepint00>
* Read this book review online at the Free Pint Bookshelf
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/timmers.htm>

To propose a business-Web-related book for review, send 
details to <bookshelf@freepint.co.uk>.

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         Get the inside story on knowledge management ...
                     straight from the experts
            http://www.knowledge-management.co.uk/kmfp

Keep ahead with the latest issues and developments in KM products,
services and procedures with our monthly magazine and annual
conference and exhibition. You'll find everything you need to put KM
procedures into practice.

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                          FEATURE ARTICLE
        http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/020300.htm#feature

     "Chemistry Webzines - How to find the right news for you"
                 By John Buckingham and Jenny Drey

The problem facing all of us these days is how to locate that small
percentage of valuable and interesting material on the Web.

Chemists, like everyone else, need to be kept up-to-date with the
latest in their field. Most of us know which print publications fit
the bill. However, there are a growing number of publications now on
the Web, which (claim to) serve the same purpose as the longer-
established print media. But exactly what is there on offer, and how
do you locate it? And what advantages, if any, do the online media
hold over the print media?

Several of the sites covered here, including some of the more
successful ones, are electronic equivalents of print products. One
legitimate function of such sites is to raise awareness of the print
version and to generate more print subscriptions, and to do this the
main requirements are that the website should be at least as well
designed as the print equivalent, and generate interest in the news
stories and other content. Some sites are over-proprietorial,
restricting access to their data. It is difficult to see the
justification for this restrictive attitude, which seems to spring
from an overvaluation by the site owners of the information the site
contains, and of the level of interest the average browser might have.


New Scientist
<http://www.newscientist.com/>

This website has clearly been designed to mimic as far as possible the
printed version and to attract further readers, which it does
admirably. Colour headlines attract the browser, and crosslinks are
provided to related stories. The selection of articles and their
content are well chosen so as to generate a high degree of interest
whilst not giving away everything that is in the print version.

There are also valuable web-only features, including a job vacancy
register and fully-searchable archive of hundreds of questions and
answers on general science. You can search the associated Planet
Science site, which is an archive of about 1/3rd of the material that
appears in the printed version. A good compromise between holding
users' interest and giving away everything for free on the Web.

The sole, and major, disadvantage for chemist users of this site is
the low level of the chemical information presented. Most of the best
stories do not concern chemistry at all.

Rating: Design A; Functionality B; Topicality A; 
        Quality of Information C; Relevance to chemists D.


Today's Chemist At Work (ACS)
<http://pubs.acs.org/journals/tcwoe7/index.html>

The 'About the Magazine' link stated this is 'The industrial chemist's
personal handbook for on-the-job success'.

The content was variable. An article by Steve Heller had useful
working hotlinks. However, other articles were much less impressive,
with a lot of scope for such links, which had not been installed.

You can also search all ACS journals from this site, but downloading
them requires credit card payment or subscription to the Web edition.
A sample search on Stereochemistry in title retrieved 162 documents;
although the search bar says 'all years', in fact titles were only
retrieved back to 1996.

A fairly useful site, but sweeping claims are made which are not
matched by reality.

Rating: Design B; Functionality B; Topicality B; 
        Quality of information B; Relevance to chemists B.


Chemical and Engineering News (ACS)
<http://pubs.acs.org/cen/index.html>

Access to the current issue is restricted to subscribers of the print
edition, and you have to enter your ACS membership number. My number
did not work - it is necessary to register your interest to receive
access to the electronic version, although this is nowhere stated on
the home page.

Access to certain features containing pdf files required acroread.exe,
and no facility was provided to download this from the site, as is
usually the case.

Having said this, once you gain access to the site the editorial
content is good (more interesting than the printed magazine, and up-
to-date).

There is a bias in content towards corporate news stories and ACS
corporate matter, such as conference calendars and abstracts, although
it is not possible even to read the full content of a conference
abstract without a subscription. The written articles had good
graphics and useful hotlinks, for example from an article on TRI
emissions there was a link to the Chemical Manufacturers' Association
homepage.  However, in this respect a learned society such as the ACS
can be criticised for being too much in the pocket of industry - where
are the hotlinks to environmental groups' homepages?

Rating: Design B;  Functionality B;  Topicality A; 
        Quality of information C; Relevance to chemists A.


BioPharm Magazine Online
<http://www.biopharm-mag.com/>

This site has a good feel, but falls down on topicality. The areas of
information covered are more at the biochemical/life sciences end of
chemistry.

There were a few innovative and user-friendly features, and an
extensive calendar of events, and pharmaceutical industry stock
quotes.

Two features that were looked at emphasised the lack of topicality.
Past Features and Book Reviews  were last updated a year ago. There is
no online ordering facility (such as Amazon) provided.

An attractive site for a major potential user group, but it falls down
badly on delivery.

Rating: Design B; Functionality B; Topicality E;  
        Quality of information C; Relevance to chemists C.


Chemical Engineering
<http://che.com/>

Another site corresponding to a print magazine.

The well-designed home page branches into;
(1) Features. Reasonably well-written, from the printed version on
topics such as Y2K compliance and corporate espionage. References in
these articles are few, and not clickable, throwing you back to the
print version for further information, so not a lot of value was added
by having a web version.
(2) News items called 'Chementators'. This is a useful service for
anyone whose interests lie in chemical engineering/process
development.
(3) New products and services. This section was mediocre (and out-of-
date) - if you should happen to need a BB300 jaw crusher from F. Kurt
Reisch GmbH in Germany, no contact name, address, telephone number or
email address is given.

In general this site gave indications of expectations exceeding
performance. Many links did not work. There is a calendar section
which is only accessible from the 'last issue', and when seen most of
the events were already past.

Rating: Design C;  Functionality D; Topicality C;  
        Quality of information C; Relevance to chemists C.


Chem Bytes (RSC)
<http://chemsoc.org/gateway/chembyte/chembyt3.htm>

This comes closer than any of the sites already mentioned to being a
useful resource for mainstream chemists. Its best feature is a web-
based database of databases, the Chemistry Resource Locator, which
contains direct links to some useful resources. Included in these
resources are a large number of specialist RSC information sites, such
as Focus on Organic Dyes and Colours (monthly, but the most recent
issue on the web was 6 months old).

This web page links in to the main RSC home page which leads on to
information about RSC products, information and services. In general,
a valuable resource but with a rather dull and bureaucratic feel, and
few graphics. A good place to start for routine factual information,
but not inspiring.

Rating: Design E;  Functionality D; Topicality C;  
        Quality of information B; Relevance to chemists A.


Chemical Week
<http://www.chemweek.com/>

The home page leads to a wide range of potentially useful features,
such as conferences, trade shows and directories. However, it lists
only conferences organised by Chemical Week (only 10). The directories
page is useful, covering a range of different  topics, from each page
of which you can download an Acrobat pdf file.
For four of the services (index of back issues, buyer's guide,
Executive Edition and product focus), it is necessary to register. The
home page says 'register once only for all', but in fact it means
'register once only for each'. The Executive Edition contained a dozen
or so of the usual type of business news information items such as
'Church and Dwight Acquires Majority Stake in Brazilian Partner'.

Overall, a reasonable site of the business-magazine type.

Rating: Design C; Functionality B; Topicality B; 
        Quality of information C; Relevance to chemists C.


Chemistry & Industry
<http://ci.mond.org/>

Again, this website corresponds to a print publication. Chemistry &
Industry is an interesting and well-written magazine, so expectations
were high. Initial impressions were good. The home page is jazzy and 
attractive without being trivialising.

The website is announced as 'A twice-monthly roundup of international
and interdisciplinary news features, comments and views', covering
chemistry and a number of good interrelated areas. It does not contain
everything that is in the printed version and in general the content
is fairly sketchy. It includes useful features such as a job search
service.

This site sadly falls down on topicality and depth of content,
however. The jobs page held only 4 jobs, the deadline for two having
already passed. The conference timetable only includes conferences
organised by Chemistry & Industry. The magazine archive did not
contain anything more recent than 1997.

All in all a great disappointment and unlikely to attract regular
users.

Rating: Design A; Functionality D; Topicality E; 
        Quality of information D; Relevance to chemists B.


Reed Magazines Online
<http://www.reedchemicals.com/>

A large site giving access to Reed chembusiness  journals; European
Chemical News, Asian Chemical News, Asia Pacific Chemical, Performance
Chemicals International, Chemical Insight.

Performance Chemicals International was well presented and features
such as the conference calendar were up-to-date. Hotlinks worked, and
this gave access to information and product prices for a number of
chemical companies. However, the 'Editorial Programme' in fact gave
access only to article titles, leaving you to take out a print
subscription or request a sample copy just to find out if the article
is really of interest to you. Asian Chemical News and Chemical Insight
were even more heavily restricted, and accessible over the Web only to
print subscribers or those requesting a free sample print copy.
Again, to sample Chemical News and Intelligence, you have to register
and fill in an extensive form -then 'someone will contact you by
phone/email to arrange your free trial'- too restrictive for a mere
browser.

Rating: Design B; Functionality B; Topicality A; 
        Quality of information D; Relevance to chemists D.


The Alchemist
<http://chemweb.com/alchemist/>

At last! A home page that looks as if it is designed by and for
chemists rather than industrial managers or bureaucrats. This is the
webzine of ChemWeb.com, the virtual community for chemists. How nice
to see some pure chemistry detail as part of the well thought-out
comment in some of the news stories. The news items on the opening
page are a lively mixture of pure chemistry research advances, applied
chemistry, and quirky 'side-issue' items.

Updated daily, each news item has hotlinks to related stories,
websites and ChemWeb.com-wide search results. The conference diary is
reasonably up-to-date, though not particularly extensive (although it
does link in to the full ChemWeb.com Conference Diary which lists
hundreds of chemistry events worldwide).

There is also a Conference Reporter, providing online updates direct
from worldwide chemistry events, as well as a Job Exchange. The book
reviews section contained some extremely well-written reviews by
subject specialists.

If this site can be criticised, it is that it casts its net very
widely outside chemistry, and in the search to stay lively, includes
items of peripheral interest. It is a tricky balance to hit, but the
writers give the strong impression that they are moving in the right
directions.

The Alchemist is a pure webzine, not a marketing vehicle for a print
product, and therefore has no reason to hold back any information from
the reader. The news is updated daily, and it's all free.

Rating: Design B; Functionality A;. Topicality B; 
        Quality of information B; Relevance to chemists A.

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Dr John Buckingham is Consultant Editor for the Dictionary of Natural
Products, Dictionary of Organic Compounds and other dictionaries in
the Chapman & Hall/CRC CD-ROM electronic series (soon to be available
on the Web). He joined Chapman & Hall to establish this series in
1980, and before that was lecturer in organic chemistry at London
University. He can be reached via <jbuckingham@crcpress.com>.

Jenny Drey is a freelance writer/marketing consultant who has worked
in the publishing/information industry for nearly 15 years, in a range
of different areas including general publishing and scientific,
technical and medical. Her particular interest lies in electronic
publishing and primarily the Internet.She can be contacted at
<jenny.drey@dial.pipex.com>.

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Related Free Pint links:

* "Idiots' guide to chemistry information resources on the Web" 
  article in Free Pint No.36
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/150499.htm>
* Respond to this article and chat to the authors now at the Bar
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/bar>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
  <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/020300.htm#feature>

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             *** http://www.internet-librarian.com ***
FREE EXHIBITION ENTRY TICKETS FOR FREE PINT READERS - SAVE 15 POUNDS
Internet Librarian International & Libtech 2000 - Europe's key
Internet librarian event. 20 - 22 March 2000, Olympia 2, London.
3 full conference days - 2 satellite seminar days
3-day Libtech 2000 exhibition  - Special full-day book trade seminar
Plus lots more...get your programme and free exhibition tickets from:
http://www.internet-librarian.com

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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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Are vertical portals the future (2195)?  I often hit a vertical 
search facility when I know one is available.  So when someone 
asked for the whereabouts of a textile business discussion forum, 
I pointed him to an apparel directory (2162).  On the other hand, 
I use general search facilities to find other things, for example, 
the vertical search facility itself.  After all, there are probably 
several for apparel.  I find both vertical and horizontal search 
facilities have their value.  What do you think?

Apropos of last issue's review of When Things Start to Think, a 
provocative message was posted about failing to distinguish between 
the signpost and the destination (2107).  A casualty of this sort 
of failure was someone who arrived in the Bar looking for a 
discussion list for Internet researchers (2198).  While Free Pint 
has many signposts, it is also a destination, as a quick look at our 
index <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/issues.htm> will show.  
So if you are looking for information on pharmaceuticals (2098), 
chemistry (2196), search engines (2177) or classical music (2086), 
you'll find annotated signposts for all of these in our archives. 

While Javascript date formats (2097) and BBS software (2102) may 
titillate the appetite of some, others prefer lighter beverages, such 
as e-bulletins (2117), Web site search facilities (2118), attaching 
PDF files to Web pages (2119) and Web site hosting (2120).  Perhaps 
we could tempt you to some tips on Web design software (2160), using 
Outlook Express for a mailing list (2175), caption icons (2178), FTP 
files (2229) or online application forms (2241)?  We also have low 
alcohol options for your delectation, such as domain suffixes (2122) 
and books about the Internet (2114).  And drinkers at the Fountain of 
Knowledge should rest assured that praise for Free Pint is never 
off-topic (2257).

On the marketing and publicity front, tips have been supplied on 
click through statistics (2126), site evaluation (2147), appropriate 
domain names (2190), banner networks (2199) and server logs (2216).  
Does anyone know what price to demand for ads on a site (2167)?  
Show yourself.  We're talking publicity here.

We have had requests for resources on research into recruitment 
(2093), .com/.co.uk companies in the UK (2092), mobile phone 
use (2170), Wireless Application Protocol (2225) and regulation in 
UK industry (2247).  Many have been supplied, but if you know of more, 
please let us know.  Do you know where to find information on 
financial auditing (2083), securitization (2095), charging for online 
documents (2096), fax machines (2116, 2166), Dutch/English 
dictionaries (2146), traditional publishing and the Internet (2168), 
mergers and acquisitions (2183), lawyers in France (2191), inflexion 
thesauri (2210), installing Bullseye (2217), the order of service for 
a Catholic wedding (2234), chambers of commerce in the UK (2249) or 
touchscreen technology (2259)?  And do you know of a facility that 
generates names for products when you specify the criteria (2249)?  
I wonder what it would call itself?  Suggestions welcome.

Two years ago in Free Pint, the title of our feature article was 
'But What Is It Good For?'  Many people who expressed skepticism 
about technological innovations in the past were subsequently shown 
to have been misguided.  We may no longer doubt that the Web is good 
for lots of things, but we are still exploring its potential (2111).  
Another article looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the Web for 
market researchers.  While online marketing and publicity concerns 
are aired in the Bar constantly, this time last year we were advised 
to promote our sites offline too.  Do you have your URL on 
tee-shirts, brochures, car stickers and other products?  Moving 
signposts have their uses too.  We were also urged to inform 
ourselves on data privacy issues, always a good idea.

Simon Collery, Business Development, Free Pint

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

         <http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/020300.htm#bar>

Free Pint this time last year ...

* Free Pint No.33 4th March 1999 "12 Offline Ways of Promoting Your 
  URL" and "Data Privacy Web Sites"
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/040399.htm

Free Pint two years ago ...

* Free Pint No.9, 5th March 1998 "But what is it good for?" 
  (integrating the Web into your life) and "Market Research 
  Information On The Internet"
  http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/050398.htm

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Email:   To write to the Free Pint team, please send your email to 
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             It would be great if you could show your 
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         It's really easy, simply by using the HTML code at
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                         FORTHCOMING EVENTS
                 http://www.freepint.co.uk/events

It's going to be a busy seven days around the Ides of March if you 
want to catch up on all that's happening in the information world.

Our very own William Hann is talking about targeting customers on the
Web at the British Library's "E-Commerce for the smaller business" 
conference in London in a couple of weeks. Don't forget he'll also be
presenting at the "Third Generation Web" conference at the Royal 
Society of Arts next week.

Over on the continent, EUSIDIC have their "Spring Meeting" in Lille, 
Belgium, and the "Digitizing Journals: Conference on future strategies 
for European libraries" is being held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nipping across the Atlantic, the "InfoSoft Summit" is coming soon to 
San Diego and "Computers in Libraries 2000" to Washington DC.

If you're up for more, then make a note in your diary for the 
following week when you could attend the "Internet Librarian 
International" conference featuring the "Libtech 2000" exhibition in 
London (alongside the London Bookfair), and the "iB2B Conference" 
organised by The Industry Standard in Boca Raton, Florida.

Full details of these and over 30 other forthcoming conferences and
exhibitions in the online-information and Internet industry can be 
found on the Free Pint Events page at http://www.freepint.co.uk/events

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                   FREE PINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES

 * Corporate Web sites * Knowledge Management * Legal information *
 * Middle Eastern information * Museum sites * Portals * Weddings *
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                                                        [Provisional]
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We really hope you've got a lot out of this issue of Free Pint. If 
you'd like to chat about anything with us then don't hesitate to get 
in touch. You can call, fax, email or simply join us at the Bar.

                       See you in two weeks!

                   William Hann, Managing Editor
                      william@freepint.co.uk

(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
on the Internet.  Useful to anyone who uses the Web for their work, it
is published every two weeks by email.

To subscribe, unsubscribe, find details about contributing, 
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Product names used in Free Pint are for identification purposes only,
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FreePint Topics
Sources: Staying informed and aware
Sources
Technology: Improving information work with technology
Technology
Value: Maximising value for information work and investment
Value
 
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FreePint NewsletterNewsletter 393
27th February 2014

Keeping track of new products and services is essential - find out how FreePint's Community of Practice (CoP) sessions, reviews and Topic Series can help you stay on top of developments. Upcoming CoP sessions offer the opportunity to discuss how to determine the value of information investments, and the state of the industry as regards product development. Tools which allow PR professionals to monitor social media are also under the spotlight in the next couple of months.


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