September 9, 1996
On the Road
By Bob O'Donnell
One of the greatest challenges facing organizations charged with creating information
is figuring out how to organize all of that data. The issue is particularly troublesome
for Web-based data sources because as the amount of information available on the Internet
continues to grow, so does the need to give even easier access to the data being created.
Without good navigational systems and well-organized content, sites will lose Web surfers
trying to find information on a specific topic - those folks will simply move on to other
sites that structure their information in a more straightforward, meaningful way.
At InfoWorld Electric, we've addressed this issue by providing several different ways
to find the new stories you're interested in, including our Today's News section on Page
One, the Week in Review page, and This Week in Print, which includes all the news stories
that appeared in the print version of InfoWorld. And if you still can't find a specific
article, you can always check our Back Issue listing off the This Week in Print page or
search our archives.
But sometimes even that many options isn't enough, particularly when it comes to
coordinating all the information that's generated by and about important industry trade
shows, such as next week's Networld+Interop convention in Atlanta. To respond to that
specific reader need, I'm pleased to announce Electric on the Road, a new
electronic trade show daily that debuts today with coverage of NetWorld+Interop.
Electric on the Road is a special section linked prominently from our Page One that
will appear the week before, the week of, and the week after major trade shows, and then
disappear until the next show rolls around. The section will contain breaking news from
the show, following the same format as our Page One, as well as other important
information we think will be of interest both to show attendees and those who aren't able
to attend. Best of all, it's neatly organized in one easy-to-find place.
Of course we'll continue to cover other industry and product news on Page One, but
Electric on the Road will make it easier to find show-related news and information. And
Electric on the Road stories will appear in their own Week in Review section and will be
added to our searchable archive so that you can use familiar mechanisms to easily find
what you're looking for.
On the left side of Electric on the Road you'll find an exhibitor list, a detailed
trade show schedule, an article previewing what many of the major vendors plan to display
at the show, a feature story on networking trends, a link to a Forum on real-world uses of
ATM, and finally, a group of links to sites that have tourist information on Atlanta
attractions, hotels, restaurants, and more. Soon after the show opens, we'll add an
article from the InfoWorld Test Center, highlighting its picks for Best of Show in several
different product categories.
We hope you'll find it to be a comprehensive package that gives you the show-related
information you need to know. We plan on doing more of these in the future, so let us know
what you think.
©
Copyright 1996, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
155 Bovet Road, San Mateo, CA 94402. Further reproduction is prohibited.
