Internet update

Citation

Nigel Almond, D. (1999), "Internet update", Property Management, Vol. 17 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.1999.11317cag.001

Internet update

Keywords Internet, News

The views expressed are the author's and not those of WG&S

Five years ago we knew relatively little about the Internet. However, today one cannot miss hearing about how the Internet is growing, particularly of late through the growth of technology stocks on the world markets. In an article (Sunday Business, 4 April, 1999) it was reported that a year ago shares in Yahoo! were just $22.72, yet today are worth around $179. Forecasts for the future also show continued growth as individuals and companies embrace the Net, particularly through e-commerce.

In the USA, where the Internet is more "mature" then in the UK, the key players providing access through "portals" [1], such as Yahoo!, have developed through merging (or creating joint ventures) with media groups, for example Yahoo! and News Corp's Fox, Netscape, AOL and CBS.

Such alliances are not surprising. The Web provides an excellent way of communicating news instantly across the world for all to see as either text, audio, or video clips. Since moving from an academic environment to join Weatherall Green and Smith (http://www.weatheralls.co.uk/), the value of the WWW in providing up-to-the-minute news is easy to see, and the subject of this editorial.

In the UK, one of the best sites is the BBC news on-line service (http://news.bbc.co.uk/). Despite being a relatively recent newcomer in the provision of news on the Web, it provides an excellent news service, for which it was recently awarded the prize of best Internet news service at the British Press Awards.

The front page is divided neatly into three main columns. On the left is a summary of the key news pages, for example world, UK, business, and science and technology. The main central column provides the latest news, usually a picture with a brief overview of the news item. Links to relevant pages on this item are also provided. In the right hand column is a short sentence providing the latest news, and links to other topical news. With some items audio and video clips can be viewed or listened to.

Clicking on "Business" in the left-hand column takes you to the Business news page, with all the latest items provided. For example, on 29 March 1999 one of the headlines was "UK business failures soar" which provided an overview of a press release from Dun and Bradstreet that showed how business failures were on the increase. Whilst the article was useful, a link was provided to the Web site of Dun and Bradstreet (http://www.dunandbrad.co.uk/). From this site a quick look at the "what's new" page, and choosing the latest press releases (from the choices provided), took me to a screen providing the press release that the BBC article was based on. The report also included tables demonstrating how failures had changed through time according to individual regions.

This is one of the advantages of the BBC site. It provides the news item, and where relevant a link to more information relating to the site, enabling the reader to gain further information. Another useful development on the BBC site is the provision of a "ticker" (http:llwww.bbc.co.uklinforml). Following the simple instructions enables you to install a ticker on your PC, which can be customised to show the latest news in key areas, for example news, business, the markets, but also travel news. It can also be left on all day, and will provide regular updates of news throughout the day. If a headline catches your attention, simply clicking on the item launches your Web browser, and takes you to the BBC site to view the news item.

Within the UK, it was the Daily Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) who produced the first Web based paper. As with other newspapers on the web, registration is required, which is generally free. This requires some basic information to be supplied, including your desired username and password to access the site in future, although once you have logged on for the first time you can "bookmark" the front page for easier access.

The Telegraph site is nicely laid out in a distinctive blue and yellow colour scheme, with the main sections listed at the head of the screen providing access to the main sections of the paper, including UK news, International, and City and Finance news. Readers of the paper version will be familiar with these sections.

The front page displays the main headlines with links to the main articles in full. Clicking on one of the sections provides a summary of each story in that section with links to the full article. Furthermore, viewing an article also provides other links. For example, the business headline on 6 April 1999 relating to the link-up between Cable and Wireless and Telewest provided external links relating to both companies, together with links to past articles of relevance to the subject within the Telegraph, enabling you to read around the subject.

One of the advantages of the electronic versions is the ability to store past issues, which can then be searched. The search page on the Telegraph is very useful in that it allows you to enter some keywords to search on. The search can be narrowed down according to the day, month, year or section, depending on how you wish to search. For example, you could search for an article relating to an event that you know happened in January 1998. The search results (if any) are then displayed according to how well they match your initial criteria. Clicking on the link takes you to the relevant article. In some instances I have typed in words or lines from the paper version and found the report is not available on the electronic version. However, this should not seter people from using the facility, as overall the ability to search by keyword is very useful.

The main rival to the Telegraph is The Times (http://www.the-times.co.uk), which also provides a useful on-line version of the paper. The "Front Page" of The Times is perhaps a little clearer than that of the Telegraph, with the main sections of the paper listed in a separate frame on the left of the screen, providing links to the key sections of the paper.

The Times displays articles in much the same way as the Telegraph, although links to other articles or sites are not provided. The main differences between the Telegraph and Times site is that the Times allows users to view the past week's copies from the front page. This is also the format for viewing past articles. Choosing the "Library" section allows you to choose a past issue by choosing the day, month and year, from which the whole issue can be viewed. This is perhaps the main weakness with the site, in that in order to find a previous article you need to know the date; a keyword search would be much more useful. That said, overall, the site is very good.

There are of course other newspapers available on-line in the UK and overseas. If you are trying to find a particular paper take a look at "The Paperboy" (http://www.thepaperboy.com/). This site provides a comprehensive list of newspapers in various countries across the world, including Africa, Argentina, Iran and Yugoslavia. Simply choose the country you want, and a list of papers will be provided with a direct link to that site.

Whilst it is not possible to review every site, you might be interested in news based sites in the UK and USA shown in Table I, which generally provide a similar content to the sites reviewed here. Some of course are better than others, but may develop with time.

Site	&nbsp	URL
&nbsp	&nbsp	&nbsp
ITN	&nbsp	http://www.itn.co.uk/
Independent	&nbsp	http://www.independent.co.uk/
Guardian/Observer	&nbsp	http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Financial Times	&nbsp	http://www.ft.com/
CNN	&nbsp	http://www.cnn.com/ or http://cnnffi.com/(for financial news)
Washington Post	&nbsp	http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Evening Standard	&nbsp	http://www.thisislondon.com/
Western Mail	&nbsp	http://www.totalcardiff.co.uk/
Birmingham Post	&nbsp	http://www.go2birmingham.co.uk/
The Scotsman	&nbsp	http://www.scotsman.com/

Dr Nigel AlmondMarket AnalystWeatherall Green & SmithLondonE-mail: nia@weatheralls.co.uk

Note

1. A "portal" is a Web site designed to attract "surfers" by providing news and information together with links to other sites such as shopping sites.