A Global Tragedy.

This paper presents an update on the information industry as of February 2005.. Although normally a time for reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the next year, this new year, like no other, is dominated by one catastrophic event: the devastation around the coast of the Indian Ocean caused by the tsunamis generated by the December 26, 2004 earthquake. Post-disaster blogs and other news sources proliferate, but no information channel was capable of preparing communities for the approaching calamity. In the aftermath, however, online services and information providers are finding new ways to help. Google quickly changed a strict policy and added a link to relief aid sources on its otherwise minimalist search page. Perhaps one of the most comprehensive site is provided by Wikipedia. Five new laws came into effect on January 1, 2005 in Great Britain, providing the British public with rights to access official information. Members of the public can now apply for any information held by public authorities on any topic and on any medium. VNU Exhibitions Europe has released the final data on attendance at the London Online meeting: more than 10,600 attendees, approximately 900 conference delegates and 230 exhibitor stands.