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November 17, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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November 17, 2006
 
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By Stan Elias It's out there ... but where? Unless you are re- lated to a mollusk, you are aware of the impact that computers in general and the Internet in particular have had on our basic thinking regard- ing information storage and retrieval. In addition to the obvi- ous boon of making your business financial data more accurate and ac- cessible, you now have a way to search out other vital business intelligence quickly and conveniently. All you need is a computer of recent vintage and an Internet connection, preferably high-speed for a business. You can compare the performance of your busi- ness to that of others in the same locality, state or region. You can snoop legally on competitors ' web sites to see how their approach differs from yours, and if you spot a good idea, you can steal it shamelessly. You can also look for suppliers, contrac- tors, even employees, all from your keyboard. The burning question becomes how you find this informa- tion. - When Al Gore invented the Internet he had the foresight to allow for the development of search en- gines - software that does essentially what the name says. Give it a word or a phrase to look for and it will comb the Internet and come up with more refer- ences than you could pos- sibly use, some of which were actually pertinent to what you were looking for. That was then. This is now. Search engines have become much more sophisticated in how and what they search, and the user has the opportunity, through Boolean opera- tors, to be very specific about the kind of infor- mation needed. Search engines can search their own databases or they can search the Internet in general. Each has a ranking sys- tem that assigns a numeric value to the relevance of a particular URL to your search criteria and dis- plays the results in order of decreasing perceived relevance. This is the broad-brush overview of how search engines work. Specific engines have their own characteristics that make them more or less suitable for your particular search. Google was not the first search engine, but it has become by far the largest and most popular. When the company went public a few years ago, the IPO was for $85 per share. The IPO sold out quickly and for a few dizzying weeks, Google stock was trading for twice and three times that price. Sanity even- tually prevailed and the price of Google eventually became synchronous with other high-tech stocks. Over the years, the trademarked name has be- come almost generic, like Kleenex, Frigidaire, Xerox and Coke. It has also en- tered our lexicon as a verb, as in: "I never heard of that guy Joe Schmedlapp. I'm going to Google him and see where he's been." This refers to belief in the power of the search engine to find any and all arcana about a particular subject. Often the trust is misplaced , but that's a subject for another CONTINUED ON PAGE A:9 TIT II Files Bizindifference tojobs lossstunsworkers But town officials offer some hope By Paul Gauvin pgauvin@bamstablepatriot.com PAUL GAUVIN PHOTO LAST CALL? - The Verizon call center building at 46 North St. could be empty come June if the corporation pushes ahead with a plan to move the operation to Taunton, creating travel and family hardships for many of the workers. Employees of the Verizon call center at 46 North St. have gone public with their views of the company's plan to relocate their good paying jobs from Hyannisto Taunton, more than 50 miles away. Some of the 51workers say they were staggered by the apparent indifference of local people charged with promot- ing and maintainingbusiness and jobs. For Donna Torres of Yarmouth, who is single and candidly admits her situation wouldnot engender sympathy, nonetheless said she found the reactions of local jobs and business agency officials quoted inthe Cape Cod Times as "callous." She referred to David Au- gustinho, C&I Workforce In- vestment Board,who told the Cape Cod Times hewasn't par- ticularly concerned about the jobs loss and that callcenters are "not on our radar screen," and Cynthia Cole, director of the Hyannis Business Invest- ment District, who told the Times she did not think the move would have a lasting negativeimpact on downtown Hyannis."Wewould definit ely see this as an opportunity for redevelopment." Cole said. "The Hyannis office 's com- bined salariesrepresents over $3.5million.How can $3.5mil- lion not be a significant loss not onlyto Hyannis,but to all of Cape Cod? Does the Cape really need another 50 homes for sale?" asks Torres. Cole andAugustinho,asked about their published com- ments, said Wednesday they certainly didn't mean to ap- pear cavalier or uncaring in their remarks. Cole said she would discuss making an ap- peal to Verizon to keep the jobs in Hyannis, if her board approves. "Certainly we don't want to losethose goodjobs,"shesaid. "But when I was asked about it by a reporter, I assumed it was a done deal so answered the question that way." Augustinho said he would be "much more clear" if such asituation arisesagain."I did sayIhate to loseanyjobs. Idid not meanto sound callous,but Verizonhas been adecreasing presence for some time and I certainly have sympathy for the individuals involved. "But I would not seek an- other call-center type busi- ness because most of them, unlike Verizon, are minimum wage jobs." Augustinho said he hadn'tthought ofinterced- ing, but probably would send a letter to Verizon "if I was asked to." Verizonemployeesspeaking out saythey love the company andthejob and are goingpub- he, without rancor, to appeal for reconsideration. It would avoid family hardships some ofthe workersface ifthe move occurs. Verizonspokesman Richard Colon said the relocation will increase company efficiency. MariaE.Radzik ofMashpee, a mortgage-paying single mother of two school-aged children, said this week there isnowayshecanleavethejob. She said there willbe aheavy price to pay emotionally, eco- nomically and in time spent withfamily,despite base earn- ings of $56,000 that approach $70,000 annually with perks, overtime and bonuses. The average Cape pay is around $34,000. "I used to pay about $20 a week for gasoline to go from Mashpee to Hyannis. Now it's $40 a week. Imagine what it will cost to travel to Taunton." She wrote to Town Council president Hank Farnhamwho left the door open to possible intercession by the town: "Our economy is still driven by the free enterprise system so there is little the town can dotokeepVerizonhere,"Farn- ham replied. "However, I will forward your note to some of mycolleaguesintown govern- ment and alsosome friends so they can consider any options that might exist. The good news -there is six months to work on your problem." Ruth Weil, director of the Growth Management Depart- ment, said the town is very concerned about losing those jobs and that meetings are in the works to discuss it. Gail Behrik, 57, of Provinc- C0NTINUED 0N PAGE A:12 Greenery sold to developer It took less green to buy The Greenery than the as- sessed value of the Hyannis property. The former nursing facility on Lewis Bay Road was sold recently to Greenery Devel- opment LLC for $3,975,000, accordingtoBanker &Trades- man. The assessed value is $6.44 million. 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Dennis, Next to Mid Cape Home Center 4-U ^ l^ ^ I . ^ ^ ^ ®fce Parnatable iatrtot tllC i Vl 1 C^ lt^.£^C?C? NOVEMBER 17,2006 UUu I lCoo section