background

The Guides and Profiles on this site highlight some of the more useful (or merely more entertaining) sites and publications on areas of interest to our clients. We hope that they will be of use to you.  

They also serve as a point of reference - a way of getting a second opinion - and getting a feel for how we operate. We aspire to provide insightful, forward-looking analysis rather than to parrot the latest 'ism' or fad from overseas.

You'll see that we praise expertise (and efforts by government or business bodies grappling with particular challenges) but rarely take the digital gurus at face value. You'll also see an interest in different perspectives.  Much of the dot com or new media writing we've encountered strikes us as seriously out of kilter with reality. However it's useful in making people think about business models, copyright, privacy, notions of community and other issues.  

The Guides and Profiles are not definitive. They are publicly available pointers, rather than an academic exercise attempting to provide comprehensive coverage of all reports, articles and monographs. 

They do not offer detailed analysis of particular issues and developments: that research and practical advice is available separately. Don't hesitate to contact us: depending on your query we can provide advice over the phone, by email or through a special report.

     basis of selection

In developing this site our emphasis has been on accessibility. We've pointed to documents - online and in print - that are readily available but may not be widely known.  

That means we highlight publicly-accessible sites. The Guides and Profiles generally don't point to sites where access involves a one-off or subscription payment. 

It also means we point to books, particularly recent publications, rather articles in journals that are only available in academic libraries. And most citations are to material written in English, although we conduct limited tracking of publications in other languages.

     citations

References to books are to the editions we have used, usually those in our corporate library. Many are currently in print, although you will sometimes need a special order if acquiring your own copy.

References to sites were correct at the time of publication of the individual guide. 'Link rot' is an unfortunate fact of life online: documents are removed from the web, sites are restructured (or disappear), URLs change.

If you're having trouble tracking down a particular document please let us know: we will often be able to point you in the right direction.

We encourage feedback: your thoughts on the text, suggestions about documents that we may have overlooked, brickbats, even the odd bouquet. 

     copyright

This site is protected under Australian and international copyright law. Information about your rights and responsibilities is available on our site copyright page. 



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