COMMPOST™
Internet Databases and Networking Portals


COMMPOST™ is an acronym for "Communications Management with Pooled Object Server Technology". Its essential meaning is similar to its biological counterpart -- the backyard composter. Simply put, many organizations find or generate millions of page-size and even byte-size pieces of potentially useful information annually, but these information tid-bits need to be collected, properly digested and combined before they make good nourishment for human beings.

For example, one of the essential tasks of Technology and Health Foundation, a charitable organization, is to deliver new knowledge about technology, health and sustainable development to people who need it. However, in trying to do this, the Foundation has been inundated with so much information, and in such chaotic and diverse forms, that it could easily suffocate under the pile before being able to get it out to others effectively. Many other organizations find themselves in a similar position, in which they are the established sources for certain specialized kinds of information, but they are reeling under the task of managing and disseminating this ever-growing mountain of potentially useful knowledge.

COMMPOST™ is a customized Internet database management and communication system, designed to solve this problem by helping organizations deliver well-managed information directly to their constituencies through direct computer connections to the Internet or indirectly through librarians. A COMMPOST™ system is like a large information bin designed to be filled continually with useful chunks of information, and to be turned regularly to combine its ingredients into useable forms. The bin can be accessed at will by designated users in a variety of ways, to answer questions of interest and to connect with others in the same network.

The COMMPOST™ structure is relatively simple. Information is formatted to be accessible through SQL database software resident on a web server. Front-end software provides an easy-to-use web page interface to users, who sign on to the database through local Internet connections. The front-end programming tailors the user interface to the needs of the particular organization and end user, and provides easy-to-use forms so that users can not only search and acquire existing data, but can become contributors to the database as well.

The need for COMMPOST™-like systems is virtually universal, given the vast proliferation of information in our society. Such dynamic computerized libraries can provide powerful support for both formal and informal action networks and project teams, which are becoming the hall-mark of successful and flexible corporations and organizations in the 21st century. On a larger scale, COMMPOST™ technology can enable fast and efficient technology transfer from those who develop ideas to those who are in a position to implement them in diverse circumstances around the globe.

COMMPOST™ is a trademark of Small & Rubin Ltd. and was developed by the principals under contract to Technology and Health Foundation. The initial application has been HealthySchools.com, an Internet database networking project initiated by Pollution Probe to enable Ontario school boards to develop indoor environment management plans for their schools. The core search engine and initial database structure were developed by CMAC Web Design in early 2000, and the system has since been extended and enhanced by Small & Rubin Ltd..

The most recent application of COMMPOST™ is IAQ Pages, a yellow pages directory for accessing the best products and services for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The site allows full search capability and drill-down to company and contact information, as well as a jump-off to company web pages.

For further information about the COMMPOST™ system and an assessment of its applicability in your organization, contact Bruce M. Small, P.Eng., at the address shown on the contact page.