Ready Reference
on Newsgroup and Mailing List
In last two issues, we discussed basics
of Newsgroups and Mailing Lists and how to use them
for effective business promotion. This week, we look
at various resources for locating right newsgroup/mailing
list for your requirement.
For Newsgroups, the mother of all resource
sites is the Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/deja_announcement.html
It follows traditional hierarchical
order of Newsgroups in following categories. You can
browse or search the categories
alt. : (alternative) True anarchy where
any conceivable topic may appear. You will be better
off using the search function than browse. However,
this category contains some of the best newsgroups
in export import business like:
alt.business.import-export.* (9 groups)
alt.business.import.export alt.business.* (25 groups)
alt.internet.commerce
biz. : (business) Business products,
services, reviews...
comp. : (computers) : Hardware, software,
consumer info...
humanities. : (humanities) Fine art,
literature, philosophy...
misc. : (miscellaneous) Group addressing
themes not easily classified into any of the other
headings or which incorporate themes from multiple
categories. Subjects include fitness, job-hunting,
law, investments, employment, health etc.
news. : (news) Info about Usenet news...
rec. : (recreation) Groups oriented
towards hobbies and recreational activities.
sci. : (science) Applied science, social
science...
soc. : (society) Groups primarily addressing
social issues and socializing. Included are discussions
related to many different world cultures. A few newsgroups
on India are:
soc.culture.indian.* (8 groups) soc.culture.pakistan.*
(6 groups) soc.culture.usa soc.culture.china
talk. : (talk) Groups largely debate-oriented
and tending to feature long discussions without resolution
and without appreciable amounts of generally useful
information.
Mailing Lists
Unlike Newsgroups, there is no single
source for all mailing lists. Following are some of
the well known sites that host comprehensive directories
of mailing lists:
http://ezine-universe.com/
Hosts information about hundreds of
Mailing Lists on various categories. Provides Browse
and search functions. Provides information on : Description,
Frequency, How to subscribe and URL of the site.
http://www.topica.com
Topica is a well-known Free Mailing
List service. The site contains directory of all mailing
lists hosted by topica. Topica has very rich content,
examples of a few mailing lists on India are:
focus northeast discussion: This is
a mail list for the members of FOCUS(Forum for Construction,
Understanding and Study) North east, a group involved
in the northeastern part of India
Our India: To discuss
the problems faced by Indians in India mainly in public
services and suggest remedies.
India Finance :
Herbalife Mailing List:
etc.
http://groups.yahoo.com/
Yahoo eGroups:
Like Topica, eGroups offers free Mailing
List services. Following its acquisition by Yahoo,
eGroups has grown rapidly and contains hundreds of
popular mailing lists on technology, entrepreneurship,
society, culture etc.
