Data2know: Online & Internet Intelligence

The Insider brings you new websites for research, examination and review. It also offers a fresh view into well utilized search tools for new context and content.

Trulia.com
This unique real estate search engine offers nationwide searching, with more advanced search options than you will find elsewhere.  You can specify unique items like “house boat” and “search near an address.” 

Trulia also offers Heat Maps demonstrating the pricing range for a particular area, compared to its neighboring counties.
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Patent Searching

Uspto.gov/patents
- The ultimate source.  If you can spend some time learning to search correctly within the USPTO, then you will get the best results.  Keep in mind when you are searching for companies, they are “Assignee.”  Search separately the assignee, the town (if small or unique, skip New York and Los Angeles) and search for inventor by last name. 

The following four sites come in close, but are eliminating a good deal of data from their results.  They are easier to search, but you should always go back and check against USPTO.gov for completeness of information.  Also, be sure to look for foreign patents using professional tools like Derwent (http://www.derwent.com/).

Freepatentsonline.com
- Indexing the full page, but not returning full results.

Patentgenius.com
- Excellent search capabilities, unfortunately results were limited

Google.com/patents
- Not indexing the full page

Wikipatents.com
- appears to be connected to Freepatentsonline.com

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NEWS: 'Whosarat’ creator on way to jail in DEA case

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=185423

A federal jury yesterday convicted the mastermind behind an online database of alleged informants, whosarat.com, on marijuana and money-laundering charges while clearing his mother's name in connection with a money-laundering scheme.

Sean Bucci, 34, of North Reading, a former DJ who created the Web rat listing in 2004, faces anywhere from 10 years to life behind bars after he is sentenced on 17 counts of marijuana trafficking and money laundering, prosecutors said. He was ordered to surrender to authorities on March 9.

"We're pleased with the jury's decision. Now someone who tried to interfere with justice will face justice," said Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Anthony Pettigrew.

Earlier in the day, the same jury acquitted Bucci's mother, Catherine, 55, a Danvers grandmother, on one count of money laundering.  Her attorney said Bucci's mother wishes her son never started the site.

"I do think that the federal government over-indicted this case in part because of whosarat.com," attorney Robert Sinsheimer said.

Chris Brown, a project manager for whosarat.com, said Bucci currently acts as an unpaid consultant. He vowed the Web site will stay put.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Sean Bucci trafficked in at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana through his home. A third man involved in the case, Darren J. Martin, 39, of Everett, pleaded guilty to marijuana charges two week ago, prosecutors said.

March 13, 2007

BEYOND GOOGLE  
Union, New Jersey

http://njsecurity.org

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March 14, 2007

INVESTIGATIONS USING PUBLIC SOURCES 
Anaheim, California
http://www.cdaa.org

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March 21, 2007

PUBLIC DATABASES
San Francisco, California
http://www.cdaa.org

*** 

March 23, 2007

New York, New York

http://www.dssaf.org

*** 

March 29, 2007

ASIS Central New Jersey

South Plainfield, New Jersey

http://www.asiscnj.org

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April 11, 2007

New Jersey Institute of Technology

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April 18, 2007

Retail Industry Leader’s Association

ADVANCED INTERNET INVESTIGATIONS FOR LOSS PREVENTION SPECIALISTS

Dallas, Texas

http://www.retail-leaders.org

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April 27, 2007

Society of Investigators of Greater Newark

Paterson, New Jersey

http://www.sign-organization.com

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May 16, 2007

Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association

ADVANCED INTERNET INVESTIGATIONS FOR LOSS PREVENTION SPECIALISTS  

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

http://www.pfma.org

by Cynthia_Hetherington at Aon.com

If information anxiety is something you have self diagnosed yourself with, and “overload” is an understatement.  Then avoid anything “wiki” on the web.

In technology “Open Source” means something very different from “Open Source” in intelligence.  For intelligence analysts open source is the information you can readily retrieve such as public records, news print and media, ramblings on blogs.

Whereas open source in technology is the sharing of computer code, for the betterment of that code.  The thought is that the more programmers and challengers who work on the code will improve it overall, and be able to tailor it to their needs.  Linux is open source, Microsoft Windows is not.  Napster is open source, and iTunes is not.

Now information is open source like code was.  Community driven definitions, as you would see in Wikipedia.com is a perfect example. 

An example:

During a lunch conundrum when trying to decide the difference between a Stromboli and a calzone we checked Wikipedia for a definition.  Turns out that Stromboli is an island off the coast of Italy that currently has an active volcano threatening the population of 500.

We didn’t see anything about a stuffed pizza.  My ultimate question being “is there sauce inside or is it all cheese like a calzone.” 

Wikipedia failed us on this mission.  But brought to light that the idea Stromboli was influenced by several other web surfer contributors.  In other words contribution from un-vetted sources could result in popular opinion results.  Whether the editors of Oxford English Dictionary or your neighbor Bob Oxford, the information is going to appear on the web.

As a librarian, I cringe that individuals, especially unbiased children will retrieve information from such an inauthentic source.  However easy it is to pick on children, adults are equally sublime in their verification of information.  Hence, garbage in garbage out. 

Leave that argument aside for publishers who are losing book sales on such web services, and librarians who are left lonely at the reference desk.

Our point is to let you know that as investigators, you will see information that appears authoritative.  The websites are intelligently laid out, the information appears encyclopedic, and what you are reading may seem reasonable.  However you must check the root of the source you are reading online.  Are they quoting a text book?  Does your information go back to Wikimedia or GNU project?

Wikimedia Foundation by its own definition, “Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.”

I’ve met a lot of people on the subways of New York, in first class suites at airports, and through various professional lives I’ve traversed.  There is NO WAY I want to wallow in the sum of all knowledge with just anyone.  Call me an information snob, or call me an investigator, but I need to vet out each detail before culling a report together and charging a client for my findings.

Yet Wikimedia Foundation not only gathers these pearls of wisdom and writes them up in Wikipedia, they are retooling, in  open source style, and regenerating the same details in other services.  Hence, a lie, or mistruth, or error, not only shows up in Wikipedia, it appears in other sources like answers.com. 

In closing, it’s the same old song, verify your facts!