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> instruction on using the Web for research includes admonitions to
> examine sites critically in order to determine which ones will be
> credible or useful.
Amen. As a former librarian, I cringe when folks say they did extensive
research on the internet, but didn't go to a library. Maybe I'm just old,
but a person is uninformed if they think that all the information in the
world is at their fingertips on the internet.
In part, I think that we as technical writers fail to understand the
business side of selling information. For many of us, our writing, be it
online or printed manuals, is a supplement to a product. Without our
material, there would still be a product. The exact value of our
contribution to that product is often debated (value in the pure
monetary/profit sense).
For other writers, their output is the product. Why in the world would they
post it on the web for free when they have spent valuable time to create
that product? The answer is, they usually don't, unless they offer it as a
subscription.
One day a friend of mine asked me how she could find a business directory on
the internet to let her research marketing leads. I told her she wouldn't
find it. Business information is very expensive to purchase. Libraries
purchase it as large volumes (VERY expensive) or pay by the minute to search
large online databases. The companies that sell that information aren't
going to post it on the web for free. It took them a lot of time and money
to gather that information, and by gum, they're going to charge for it.
Of course, there are a few exceptions, such as newspapers, government
agencies, such as the Patent and Trademark Office, and not-for-profit
organizations such as the American Cancer Society. But those are the tip of
the iceberg in terms of "online" (digital) information.
And that's the other thing. Don't forget all the knowledge that isn't
digitized yet. Thousands of books, magazine and journal articles, theses and
dissertations, not to mention artwork, photographs, movies, and music, have
not been digitized. Then there are primary sources such as writers' papers,
letters, and journals.
There's a wealth of information out there, folks. Please don't limit
yourselves to just the internet when you're looking for knowledge. It's just
not all in there yet.
Lydia ; )
__________________
Lydia Wong
Technical Writer
FarPoint Technologies, Inc.
www.fpoint.com
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