INSOURCE - conference on Professional Information Resources

Autor: Marydee Ojala, ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals, USA

Fulltext

Abstract:

Information is the life blood of business. Increasingly, it's external information that influences executive decisions, corporate strategy, business directions, and management actions. Knowing not only who your competitors are but what they're planning for the future, identifying potential competitors flying under your radar screen, understanding the role social networking plays for brand loyalty and marketing, using newer technologies to advance your company's presence in a target market, and assessing the reputation your business enjoys with customers are only a few of the critical areas where it's vital to have good information. Business information is growing exponentially. The choices confronting business people, researchers, and information professionals are daunting. The trick is to discover the most appropriate information and apply it wisely.

About author:

Marydee Ojala edits ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals and writes its business research column ("The Dollar Sign"). Since 1987, Ojala has owned and operated her own research and writing company with offices in the U.S. and Denmark, specializing in international business, industry analysis, management processes, and competitive intelligence projects. She contributes feature articles and news stories to Information Today, Searcher, and Information Today's NewsBreaks. A long-time observer of the information industry, she speaks frequently at iconferences such as Web Search University, Online Information (London, UK), Internet Librarian International, and national library meetings outside the U.S. Her professional career began at BankAmerica Corporation, San Francisco, directing a worldwide program of research and information services. She has also worked in the academic libraries of West Virginia University and Stanford University. Ojala is an active member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals and Special Libraries Association. She also belongs to the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals and American Library Association. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University and her MLS was earned at the University of Pittsburgh.

Author: Vladimír Karen, Albertina icome Praha s.r.o., Czech Republic

Author: Dagmar Vránová, EPMA - European Projects & Management Agency, Czech Republic

Author: Rainer Michaeli, DIE DENKFABRIK / Institute for Competitive Intelligence (ICI), Germany