Netparkone - ICT In Business - Research (forums, support sites)

Research (forums, support sites)

Researching information online

The web is a vast market information resource for the savvy business user. You can find out what’s happening in your market, research competitor’s products, generate sales leads, and investigate export opportunities and much more.

But finding this information can be a challenge. Most people jump straight to Google, enter a search phrase and are presented with millions of matching hits. Often the results you need will be close to the top of the result list, but sometimes not. Sifting through the results can often be time consuming and frustrating. Google and the other major search engines are constantly updating the way their search engines work to make the results more relevant to users.

For more accurate results on Google, use the Advanced Search option and see the search tips

Discussion groups, Forums and Mailing Lists

Your industry may have a forum where you can post questions for answers by other members, or browse for posts left by members with similar questions. This is often a very good way to find answers to very specific questions. Have a look on Google Group as a starting point.

Joining relevant mailing lists can be a good way of being kept informed of the latest developments in a particular field. By joining the list, you receive email updates from the list organiser. Other members can send questions to the list to be answered by other members. IN some ways, this is similar to the Discussion Groups mentioned above and indeed some services offer both features.