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I have no doubt we have all heard of the schoolboy who received full marks for an essay that consisted of one single word. The point is, he scored full marks for accuracy as well as for brevity. The subject of the essay was ‘Snakes in Ireland’, and the essay consisted of the one word—‘None’.

Before I describe the work of the Business Archives Council I may perhaps be allowed to refer to my personal approach to the matters we are discussing here today, since my personal attitude is bound to colour all I have to say. I start from the position that whether we like it or not, and whatever we say here today, and whatever the business men of today do about it, the people of future generations will study history and write history. It is a study that satisfies something in our human nature—hosts of people, far outside the ordinary circles of scholarship, have a taste for history and will make some effort to satisfy that taste. And history has some educative value: it helps us to maintain a reasonable perspective when facing apparently novel situations. History will therefore continue to be written whether we do anything about business archives or not. The practical question is not between history and no history, but between history based on well‐assorted materials and history based on lop‐sided materials. For some materials will be preserved, in one way or another, particularly those relating to government and to legal questions, which have to be preserved for highly practical reasons. If business records are by‐and‐large destroyed, the picture drawn by future historians will be lop‐sided.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate executives of companies are using blogging as a new communications channel.

The paper presents an overview of the blogging phenomenon, placing it in context of the larger growth of Web 2.0 and user‐generated content. The paper provides the reader with a primer on blogs and how they can be used effectively by executives, as well as looking at the importance of monitoring the blogosphere for what is being said by and about a company.

Over 50 corporate CEOs were found who are presently engaged in blogging. The research also identifies companies where employees have been fired for blogging and presents best practices in blogging and blog policies.

The principal limitation of the research is that as blogging is a rapidly growing and evolving area, the present results on executive blogging are accurate only for the moment. The implications of this research are that it provides the foundation for surveying not only the status of blogging by managers but also an agenda for blogging research, which might examine blogging behaviours, develop blog metrics and look toward the return on investment of blogging.

The paper reveals the benefits of managerial blogging for both the company and the individual. It also examines issues concerned with human resources, financial disclosure and policy development that have arisen because of the rise of blogging within companies.

The paper represents a timely review of a rapidly evolving social network and its associated communications technology, providing both management practitioners and academicians with insights into managing in a new age.

EVERY librarian in his inmost heart dislikes newspapers. He regards them as bad literature; attractors of undesirable readers; a drain upon the limited resources of the library; and a target against which the detractors of public libraries are constantly battering. From the standpoint of the librarian, newspapers are the most expensive and least productive articles stocked by a library, and their lavish provision is, perhaps, the most costly method of purchasing waste‐paper ever devised. Pressure of circumstances and local conditions combine, however, to muzzle the average librarian, and the consequence is that a perfectly honest and outspoken discussion of the newspaper question is very rarely seen. In these circumstances, an attempt to marshal the arguments for and against the newspaper, together with some account of a successful practical experiment at limitation, may prove interesting to readers of this magazine.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

WHILE there is no doubt that the system of issuing books at “net” prices is of great benefit to booksellers, there is also no doubt that, unless care is taken, it is a serious drain upon a limited book‐purchasing income. A few years ago the position had become so serious that conferences were held with a view to securing the exemption of Public Libraries from the “net” price. The attempt, as was perhaps to be expected, failed. Since that time, the system has been growing until, at the present time, practically every non‐fictional book worth buying is issued at a “net price.”

The article examines four strategies for creating competitive advantage in markets enabled by digital platforms.

The four strategies are assessed: 10; Strategy 1: The Digital Industrialist - hardware-data-experience. 10;Strategy 2: The Digital Consumer - experience-data-platform-hardware. 10;Strategy 3: The Data Acquirer - buy data (D). 10;Strategy 4: The Platform over Platform (PoP).

By offering their customers even more compelling and unique cross-platform experiences, platform over platform entrants can create new mega-platform environments, overarching existing, otherwise successful platform environments.

By expanding and deepening their customers’ engagement, platform over platform businesses might ultimately relegate some existing platforms to digital infrastructure – providing the pipes and plumbing for customers empowered to jump seamlessly across and between platforms with the support and encouragement of their platform over platform orchestrators.