A. Consult your local yellow pages 
B. Have a friend recommend someone 
C. Use the Web effectively to track a desired expert 

All of the choices stated above are viable options; however, your local yellow pages will limit your search for obvious reasons. Utilizing a friend's recommendation may not pan out since your friend might not have a clear idea of your needs. As a result of the process of elimination, using the Web is a most effective tool to obtain recent information regarding experts. 

This article will direct you to the appropriate sources to locate and track experts of your choice. The following sources will allow you to familiarize with the various experts in the leading industries: 

• Associations 
• Books 
• Conferences 
• Online communities 
• Newspaper / magazine articles 
• Expert sites

Industry and profession-specific associations are the central home of the leading top experts in the world. Associations often attract the best people to represent the organization; however, keep in mind they do not screen every member. Well-established associations have a Web presence where they disseminate information to their members. In addition, they will make it easier for members to contact other members via online directory. Access to directories is usually restricted to full association members. Given this circumstance, you may: 

• Become a member of the association 
• Make inquiries at the head office of association 

Becoming a member of the association might be costly and may not warrant the investment to get access to the directory. A cost-effective strategy is to attend a local chapter meeting of the association. The cost to attend is minimal and provides you with an excellent opportunity to scout the experts in the local area and cross-reference their names on the Web. 

Relying on a recommendation by the head office may seem excellent; however, associations may have a tendency to play favorites and refer a "select few" of the top experts. If this is the case, you may want to search the Web for biographies of the individuals. 

Example: If you are in need of an online research specialist, you may want to turn to The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) Website. The AIIP provides free access to their database of members which allows you to find information professionals by: 

• Location 
• Subject or industry 
• Services (i.e., news clipping, archiving, etc.) 
• Company description

Experts utilize books to showcase their knowledge on their subject. Given the amount of online books stores and publishing houses with a home on the Web, individuals are furnished with search tools to finding experts on very specific subjects. Here are some tools that you may have not thought about using: 

Amazon.com - The world famous bookstore can provide the following leads on any published expert: 

• Scope of knowledge on a particular topic 
• A brief bio 
• A record of the past book published 
• Past and present co-authors 
• Other experts in the same field 

Barns and Nobles 

Barns and Nobles provide a resource to search for current e-books in .PDF. A .PDF friendly book allows people to take an in-depth look at the expert's views and opinions on their specialty without waiting for the book to be delivered. 

Example: If you are in a bind to find a person who is in tune with the current practices of knowledge management, conduct a search on Amazon. As you browse through the results, pay careful attention to the year the books were published. You may want to track authors with books published in late 2000 and 2001. When you have made your choice of which expert you wish to contact, conduct a search on Google and cross your fingers. Chances are you will able to find a valid e-mail address for the individual. Try it with the authors of the book, "Working Knowledge".

Events such as conferences and symposiums are one of the key places to find and track experts. For marketing purposes, organizers are prompted to design a Website to inform their target audience regarding the individuals scheduled to present. If the site is well planned out, it will offer: 

• A current bio of the expert 
• A detail description of the expert's presentation 
• A list of past conferences where the expert has presented 

After gathering all the information stated above, individuals can create a profile of experts that they would like to approach in the future. Here are a few sources that can be consulted to find present and future business conference around the world. 

• Trade Show Central - A comprehensive guide to seminars and conferences listing over 200,000 seminars and conferences for businesses and individuals. 
• ScheduleEarth.com - A resource for conference schedules, personal and professional development events, continuing education courses and trade shows. 
• Business 2.0- Conferences & Events: By Industry - A directory of conferences filed by industry. 

While conducting a search on the Web with Google, using the expert's name and title of a conference, lucky individuals may stumble upon old pages from past conferences with old biographies and past presentations. 

Also, in a conference, do not forget that not only the speakers are experts: check also the organizer (who had to call several experts to invite the right ones and probably still has all the contacts), the conference chair and sometimes the exhibitors. 

Example: Finding an expert within information industry is pretty easy given the number of annual conferences which are held around the world. The Google Directory offers a list of past knowledge management events with some of events' site still intact. The KM World 2000 conference site is still complete with the full program, list of presenters, and exhibitors.

Online communities such as Competia are havens for industry experts. Experts are usually accessible via articles, discussion groups, and the "brains behind the community." 

• Articles - Some authors who contribute articles to publications that are read by community members may allow their contact information to be published. 
  
• Discussion Groups - Depending upon the traffic of the community's discussion forum, call for an expert might be noticed and be followed up by an interested individual. Once again, consider doing a quick search on the individual to check the person's credibility. Check the archives for the relevant conversations authors, go to the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and check who wrote them. Look for people who challenge others, those who consistently help others, those who bring new facts to a discussion. 
  
• Brains Behind The Community - The organization behind the community is an excellent source to find leads for experts. Through formal or informal networks, the people such as community coordinators and editors are willing to put individuals together as a value-added service to community members and clear sign of goodwill by the organization. 

Example: Danny Sullivan, author of the excellent monthly newsletter Search Engine Watch knows more than anybody in the world about Search Engines.

Newspaper and magazine articles are the most popular sources to find and track experts. On a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, individuals can discover a vast amount of people through local, national, and international publications. 

• To find individuals who are knowledgeable about local issues, daily newspapers are the best sources for leads. Special features written by columnists are a good indication of expertise. 
  
• Articles in national and international publications are authored by individuals who are screened by editors - who are always concerned with the credibility of the contributing authors. 

Given the power of the Web to place newspapers and magazines online, archives are easily accessible to read past articles. Past articles can provide a sense of how knowledgeable the authors are on specific aspects in the industry. 

Example: National newspapers such as USA Today, The Globe and Mail in Canada, The Times in the United Kingdom and The Australian in Australia provide a fairly extensive list of their regular contributors along with their e-mails addresses. It is important to follow up an e-mail with a telephone call. Due to deadlines and breaking news stories, these contributors do not have much time to reply to e-mails. 

If you do not have access to the large databases, use Northern Light to identify the author of the articles: · Search for a term · Click on special collection · Click on the article you want, usually the author will be given to you

You will have to be very careful when you go to so-called "expert sites" on the Internet. Many are very commercial and it is sometimes difficult to find the right ones. Here are some examples: 

• Yahoo launched six months ago its Yahoo! Experts service. Experts have to provide credentials (CV, background etc...) so we find the site quite good. 
  
• The Virtual Library is by far the best site for experts. Built by academics and governments to share best resources, it is not commercial. We particularly like the fact that the author of each page is identified at the bottom of each section, and that you can contact him/her by email. The search capability of the site is really confusing, so use it as a directory and surf to your selected subject. Not all subject is represented, but if you find your industry, it is a great starting point. 
  
• Guru offers over 120,000 experts, and Freelance is very similar. 
  
• Use Google and type experts associated with the keyword you are looking for, the result can be quite useful. 
  
• Journalist.net also provides you with additional sources and references. 
  
• Looksmart Live offers you the ability to have your question answered by an expert. For your Friday afternoon fun, check out the real time box which gives you the questions people are asking at the time... 
  
• Business Wire: ExpertSource enables the news media to quickly and easily secure authoritative analysis, insights and commentary for news and feature stories from leading academic and industry experts.
  
• ProfNet is a collaborative of information officers linked by Internet to give journalists free, convenient access to expert sources. This is a PR Newswire service. 
  
• Year Book.com is a search tool to find experts, authorities and spokespersons. 
  
• ProSavvy is a tool to begin scouting for consultants. 
  
• Beware of sites such as askanexpert.com or asktheexpert.com, they are rarely validated.

Thumbing through yellow pages, referrals from friends and a two-minute search of the Web should not limit a search to find a quality expert for your needs. This article has presented a number of resources that you can utilize to expand the possibility of finding and tracking the best possible individuals based on a predefined criteria. The resources will provide sufficient information to evaluate the individuals' qualifications that should be the number one criteria in your selection process. In fact, searching for the experts if the best way to lower your frustration level with the Internet. If you understand you have to find the experts first, and not the information, you solves 80% of Internet complexity.

Want to know more? The following books are available at Amazon.com: 

• Learning Journeys: Top Management Experts Share Hard-Earned Lessons on Becoming Great Mentors and Leaders by Marshall Goldsmith 
• Secrets of the Executive Search Experts by Christian Schoyen, Nils Rasmussen 
• The Complete Small-Business Sourcebook : Information, Services, and Experts Every Small and Home-Based Business Needs by Carl Hausman, Wilbur Cross

Online Articles: 

• Prospecting for Experts by Bruce Cuthbertson 
• Finding Experts and Sources Online by Paul Grabowicz 
• Asking an Expert on the Web by ResearchBuz

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