10/10/95 RMIUG Meeting - Use the Internet to Find Information

The Tuesday, Oct 10th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group (RMIUG) will feature a presentation on "Using the Internet to Find Information" by information consultants Susan Brandes (susanb@inedge.com), Debra Davis (dkdavis@netcom.com), and Barbara Wagner (blwagner@csn.net). Effective research on the Internet involves basic knowledge of subject content and some likely sources--to start with--which the speakers have utilized in their services to companies and individuals. The talk will focus on techniques for maximizing useful output (while minimizing costs and time spent) and finding gems of information on the Internet. The speakers will share tips and experience from their work as brokers connecting clients with relevant, timely information. Bring lots of questions for our experts to answer. (more details on the specifics of the talk at the end of this announcement)

The meeting is Tuesday, Oct 10 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm (with optional 6:30 pm start for informal networking and refreshments). The meeting will be held at the Department of Commerce (NIST) Building at 325 Broadway in Boulder, one traffic light South of Baseline. This facility holds 510 people. Park in the Dept. of Commerce lot, go in the main door (faces East), and find the main auditorium just to the right of the main entrance. The meeting is free and open to the public.

RMIUG appreciates the ongoing support from Internet One of Boulder for sponsoring refreshments and XOR Network Engineering for administration of RMIUG's electronic discussion lists & WWW site.

Consultants and companies are invited to bring Internet-related product information, brochures, and business cards which will be displayed on an information table.

There is an email mailing list set up for this group. General information can be obtained by sending an Email to rmiug@rmiug.org which will generate an auto-reply message that tells you about the lists and how to subscribe. You can also reach the RMIUG "Executive" Committee at rmiug-comm@rmiug.org. Our WWW site is at http://www.rmiug.org/rmiug/

Specifics of presentation

Brandes will discuss and compare the growing number of Internet search tools while demonstrating their use for competitive intelligence-gathering. Davis will cover consumer health information retrieval, when to use those expensive commercial database services, and how those vendors compare with search capabilities on the Internet. Wagner will discuss search strategies for finding environmental information, researching jobs using Web sites, and how to find an appropriate information broker for research assistance.

These consultants serve the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area and beyond. Susan Brandes' company, InfoEdge, specializes in customized information research services in business, health care and medical fields. Debra Davis' company, Knowledge Brokers, specializes in expert information retrieval for the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, and for businesses. Barbara Wagner's company, The Access Point, specializes in research for environmental, science and engineering information, serving consultants, students, researchers, law firms and companies.

They all use the Internet as a tool for accessing information sources while recognizing pitfalls to avoid. Their experience retrieving information from traditional sources pays off for developing effective Internet search strategies.

Davis recently said: "Searching the Internet is like using a shovel to find information: it's inexpensive but time-consuming, yet there are some information gems." RMIUG's October meeting will give "gem hunting" a new meaning to Internet users.