COMPANY RESEARCH

BUSINESS.COM - THE RESEARCH PARADISE

News and information about all major industries in one massive directory. Fabulous for salespeople researching prospects and jobseekers researching employers. Business.com clearly shows the benefits of its $61 million war chest and 50 information specialists on staff. Hundreds of thousands of business-related Web sites have been organized into 58 industries and 25,000 categories. Links to resources and recent news accompany each industry. Brief descriptions are given for each site, with full profiles available for 10,000 US companies. All information is free of charge. Comment: The size of the resource lists is daunting. Some editorial comment about which sites are superior would be welcome.

(February 2001)

IAB CREDIT REPORTS ON ONLINE ADVERTISERS

http://iab.net/industryproducts/index.asp

The Interactive Advertising Bureau announces its new Media Credit System. For $250 per month, publishers can measure the risk associated with selling ads to agencies and direct advertisers. Publishers provide confidential aging reports to IAB which aggregates it quarterly. Check if your accounts are paying more or less promptly than they do on average. Charter Members and publishers who donate aging reports are eligible for a 25% discount.

(November 2003)

MAGAZINE PRICE SEARCH

http://www.magazinepricesearch.com/index.html

Scan 15 online magazine stores for the best prices on over 1,600 titles. Get 56 issues of Time for $4.67, 12 issues of Architectural Digest for $2.99 and 12 issues of Popular Science for $2.96. Grid format makes price comparisons easy. Merchants are a mix of well-known stores like Amazon and more obscure ones like MagazineWorm. Site is a good place for circulators to monitor subscription agent offers.

(July 2003)

MEDIAMERGERS.COM

http://www.mediamergers.com/

Mediamergers.com is the online home of W.B. Grimes & Company, investment bankers serving the media industry. They'll give you a quickie free appraisal of your publication when you supply some basic facts online.

(December 2003)

VAULT - RESEARCH EMPLOYERS IN A FLASH

"The Job Seeker's Secret Weapon." Vault offers free capsule and snapshot reports on major companies. Access to extended profiles is available for $2.50-$4.95 per month. The free research is invaluable, especially for new entrants to the job market. The snapshot for glossy magazine publisher Conde Nast, for example, describes its recent history, significant products, major competitors and hiring style.

     Punches aren't pulled. "Condé Nast's brutal hiring techniques are legendary," says Vault, and quotes a Conde Nast HR staffer admitting that "We often keep you hanging. If we like you, we might call you in for several interviews in the course of a year - but you might not get any of the jobs." Vault tells jobseekers to expect:

• Travel opportunities

• High prestige

• Lots of freebies and chichi party invites

• Excellent company for women

• Long hours

• Nasty office politics

(March 1999, revised November 2002)

YAHOO! FINANCE

http://finance.yahoo.com

Our favorite site for a quick evaluation of a public company's finances. Yahoo! Finance profiles the company, reports the latest company news, tells you if it's making money, how much debt it has and if insiders are buying or selling. Spend some time here before accepting a job, forming a partnership or taking on a client. If you need help interpreting financial data, read Ben Graham's highly accessible classic The Intelligent Investor.

(November 2002)

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