Cleaning Up Aisle Five

Cutting the cost of finding business information on the web

A lot of people seem to compare the Internet (specifically search engines like Google and Yahoo) to 'virtual high streets' in which companies jostle for prime positions in the same way as they compete for listing in a search result. But is there life beyond search engines for those of us wanting to glean the commercial value lurking in the millions of web pages we know are out there?

My partner likes analogies so here is an easy one. Let's say for arguments sake you've gone into town looking to spice up the wardrobe with a couple of new shirts. In reality you'd have to spend the day hunting round all the fashion outlets scattered at random throughout the shopping centre. In Google reality, no sooner had you stepped out of the car, all the relevant shops would be right in front of your parking space.

No traipsing around, just hundreds of shirt selling shops conveniently laid out right in front of your very eyes waiting for you to head inside and search around.

As ideal as that image appears it's by no means the perfect scenario because although you'd be surrounded by hundreds of fashion stores waiting to sell you a shirt, you'd still have to potentially spend hours looking for the right one and the search could be very lengthy.

But with automated surveillance technology the virtual world is now the equivalent of a personal shopper, able to quickly search through the clutter and locate exactly what you really want. It is now possible to find the product, not just the source. Without having to even put one foot in front of the other your shopping trip is over, the new shirts are in the bag and you've got more time to focus on other issues, perhaps a new pair of trousers to add to the repertoire.

For more on the subject please download a free copy of 'Taking a Sip From the Firehose'