Internet update

Citation

Almond, N. (2006), "Internet update", Property Management, Vol. 24 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2006.11324eag.001

Internet update

It is amazing how, in a relatively short space of time, the internet has changed the way in which we access information. As soon as a major news story breaks, the majority of people head for the internet placing pressure on the ability of providers to make news available in a relatively short space of time. This is especially the case now news sites have full graphics and even video streams to watch, with the majority able to benefit from this, now broadband connections appear to be the norm.

For the layperson there are many news sites available, with a variety of content. The BBC news site (http://news.bbc.co.uk/) is one I often frequent to pick up the latest domestic and international developments. Their business section is also handy at the aggregate level for a brief introduction to the latest business news. Selecting the market data section provides an instant snapshot of the trends in the equity markets, currencies or even commodities – with quite erratic movements in oil prices over the past year being able to assess the latest trend is a benefit. The drop down menus let you choose the period of analysis from one, three or 12 months. Compared to several years ago, the BBC site now boasts video and audio clips to watch or listen to. With the progress of technology there seems little point to watching the main news these days.

Should you wish to undertake a search of the news site for an historic article then choosing the advanced search engine should help you to narrow things down. You have the ability to narrow the search by date, but also by section, for example choosing the business, politics or world sector for example.

Rival broadcaster, Sky (http://news.sky.com/skynews/home) has a similar web site to that of the BBC, although in my view the depth of commentary is perhaps not as great, with a more limited business section. Nonetheless, in terms of news coverage, and the ability to search, it is on a par with the BBC.

News is not just restricted to the traditional broadcasters. The newspapers have all come in on the act and improved the web coverage over time. Newspapers are now seen as providing old news compared to the instant access of the news over the internet. All the main broadsheets have sites, which offer content to a differing degree; you can check the sites out using the links below:

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  The Daily Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk/).

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  The Times (www.timesonline.co.uk/uk/).

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  The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk/).

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  The Independent (www.independent.co.uk/).

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  The Financial Times (www.ft.com/home/uk).

I have to say, once you have seen one news site, they all blend into one another, with most covering the same news stories; which site you use will be down to personal taste. Some provide better content than others, The Times for example has video news feeds to watch. The search engines on each site are nearly all the same in format with a more detailed facility available. Most enable you to restrict by certain dates and subject areas, although I have to say I did find the Guardian’s search engine a little trickier to navigate.

From my research perspective, my personal favourite is the Financial Times, simply from the depth of business coverage. The only downside to this site is the restrictions of content. Unless you subscribe to the site, you will not gain full access to all the information. There are of course other useful aspects to the FT site, including access to free annual reports as well as a currency converter – both accessible from the front page.

The trend towards subscriptions is evident elsewhere, noticeable in the US where again some of their premium papers also restrict use; these include the Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com/) and the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/public/us).

The advent of the Internet has also led to the development of other news services. Specialised websites have evolved provided subscription based content, which allows you to undertake detailed searches of news stories. As a researcher, these sites are great in that you can easily find news on relevant topics from across the globe in an instant. Care is required and you often need to use specific key words in order to minimise the number of articles returned. Factiva (www.factiva.com/) in one of these premium content sites. You can narrow your search by keyword, specific publications, by country or even language. There are other similar providers for example Lexis Nexis (http://global.lexisnexis.com/uk) also provides a news search service on much the same lines as Factiva.

Not everyone wishes to pay for such services; therefore knowing individual papers is essential. The Paperboy (www.thepaperboy.com/uk/) is one such site and this allows you to browse newspaper sites across the UK. The front end is easy to you, so you can quickly access a newspaper for a particular City or even County. For example choosing my local county, Hertfordshire, I was given a choice of nine papers. Of course this is not exclusive as I discovered from the above search, so you may have to rely on Google if there is a specific paper you are after.

The Paper Boy is not exclusive to the UK, so if you wish to find one of over 20 papers in Greece, or learn of the latest news in the Bahamas, you need look no further that this site for your choice and related link.

The view expressed, are those of the author and not those of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Nigel AlmondAssociate Director, Jones Lang LaSalle