I love lists of directional resources...

I love lists of free/cheap directional resources [sites/approaches] because they expedite my secondary searching, allowing me to more effectively move on to  whatever combination of primary research / humint / synthesis / analysis / recommendations etcetera a project calls for.  I listed a few more foundational/functional ones already, but wonder what areas readers would more be most interested in seeing uploaded / maintained...

It's not like there aren't lists for many of these out there -- but they each have their own spin, and miss pieces... [Not that I would claim to be all inclusive, either..] And some are out of date.  BUT... many lists focus on the "category" of the information like newspaper or directory -- as opposed to the need the source fills. Today, what originally would have be classified as a newspaper site now also offers shopping, or interest group communities, etc. The old boxes don't really provide adequate boundaries to capture what's out there.

Here are some I have planned -- albeit not all at once.  I have the basics, but I want to update them...

• Company rumor / employee venting
• Patents / intellectual property
• Other [non-IP] legal / regulatory information
• Reputation / brand / advertising etc
• Country-specific information
• Industry/Product -specific information
• Indentifying HUMINT sources & biographical background on same
• Private companies / subsidiaries / NGOs
• Specialized & meta-search engines, also consolidators
• Sources of free or inexpensive market research or extracts
• Web site monitors
• Publicly available data collected by government organizations -- which is not the same thing as government information.  Ditto data from NGOs.
• Great widgets
• Financial information
• Ratings / Rankings
• Benchmarks & best practices
• User-generated content that actually has business applications
• Demographic data
• Statistics, not elsewhere classified -- especially when times series / trending available...

Big caveat though -- as much as I love the web, it drives me nuts when people think everything they need to know can be found free on the web.  1)  Just because it's there, doesn't mean it's authoritative or even true.  2)  Even if it is to some extent, it needs to be taken in context.  How dated is it?  What does / doesn't it include? Does the source have an agenda, and who financed it all? How complete is it?  3) Just because you pass 1 and most of 2 -- that doesn't mean your most needed pieces will be free.  Some teasers, yes.  But sometimes the most current / detailed / searchable / reportable info will require some $$$$.

Maybe I'm a bibliographer at heart...  But really, what  really comes to mind is that old perfume commercial.  My version would go something like this....

I can find all the info...
Synthesize it concise ....
Add analysis & insights so nice...


'Cause I rock research -- hire me!

Teaching some virtual classes

Last year, I taught two modules of SLA's Click University's CI Certification program. I have been asked to do so again. Both relate to Published Source Collection -- Parts 1 and 2.

Part 1 covers "key techniques and resources, as well as trends in intelligence, content and technology that affect intelligence research. Topics covered include: devising research strategies, research to support human intelligence gathering and intelligence analysis, traditional and non-traditional resources types and selection, Web monitoring tools and more. This course includes an exercise and discussions involving intelligence research to support analysis."
 

Part 2 "builds on Part 1 by examining advanced topics that include 1) international intelligence research for business, industry, and people 2) intellectual property research 3) conducting research for common analytical frameworks 4) designing and managing effective monitoring efforts 5) intelligence research software. Topics will build from general business research by focusing on and highlighting creative techniques and sources used in intelligence collection. This online course includes an exercise and discussions involving an intelligence monitoring effort."

It's an excellent program. Other offerings include:
•    Knowledge Management for CI [October 4-22, 2010]
•    Introduction to Financial Intelligence (Analysis Elective) [November 4, 2010]
•    Scenarios Analysis and Futures Techniques [November 5, 2010]
•    Introduction to CI [typically January]
•    CI Project Cycles and Project Management [typically February]
•    CI Published Source Collection: Managing the Function [typically March]
•    CI Analysis: Fundamental Frameworks [typically April]
•    Establishing and Managing the Intelligence Program [typically May]
•    Human Source Collection [typically June]
•    CI Analysis: Intermediate Frameworks [typically June]
•    Management Analysis [typically June]