Google Health: Fatally Flawed
April 14, 2009
Jay Parkinson, MD, wrote “Google Health Will Belly Flop” here. The point of the write up is to identify some flaws in the Google Health beta service. You can read about Google Health here. Dr. Parkinson wrote:
Each and every piece of multi, multi-million dollar bloated piece of crap healthcare “electronic medical record” (sounds about as dated as electronic mail, doesn’t it?”), is simply a billing engine to communicate a medical diagnosis to insurance companies with the hopes of maximizing how much doctors are paid.
He added:
And now Google wants you to have access to this coded language that you, nor your doctors, speak. The assumption is that this will empower consumers and drive advertising revenue to Google based on these medical codes. And then you log in to Google Health and see a language that’s impossible to interpret and, most of the time, simply inaccurate. But these are your medical records found in one of the highest ranking hospitals in America.
I don’t know anything about medicine and I know even less about the exciting world of insurance billing and DRGs.
I agree that there are some interesting challenges in health information. I think there’s a field called medical informatics to tackle some of the issues.
What I learned in the Houston Wellness Association meeting earlier this month was:
- Vendors know that a pile of Obama dollars will become available to tackle some of the medical record issues, among others
- There are dozens of outfits in Houston alone angling to address the medical information mess
- It is very early days for the incumbents like Cerner and parvenus like Google and Microsoft and the entrepreneurs. Lots of demos and lots of confusion are what I perceived.
I urge you to read the doctor’s analysis. You may also want to consider that the marketing battles about medical information have yet to begin. The US in many ways reminds me of Brazil in the 1950s but without the good humor and the resources. Like other core pieces of infrastructure, the medical information system is struggling. I don’t want to count out the US government, its contractors, outfits like 3M or Siemans, and the others jockeying for position.
I know there will be a need for search because in my opinion it is tough to find documents in a small, unregulated organization like the local accounting firm. I see the belly flop as an opportunity. Yippee.
Stephen Arnold, April 14, 2009
Google: Now a Danger Asserts eCommerce Times
April 14, 2009
How times have changed since the economic collapse. Rob Enderle (TechNewsWorld, part of the ECT News Network) wrote “Could Google Be the Most Dangerous Company in the World?” You can read the story here. The gist of the story is that Google has a lot of power. Okay, good catch. A little late because the fans have left the stadium and the lights are out but the observation is on target. Mr. Enderle wrote:
Google likely should be regulated to make sure it behaves properly to protect the innocent. Or, put another way, just because Google is the leading source on how to commit suicide doesn’t mean it should become the leading cause of it. Shouldn’t the financial industry serve as an example of what can happen if power, morals and ethics aren’t kept in sync?
Ah, a call to regulate Google. I wonder if those on this bandwagon have tried to explain a technical subject to a regulatory group in the US or UK? Folks–after a decade–are just now starting to grasp that the GOOG is a different kettle of fish from your run of the mill online search vendor like Ask.com or Microsoft’s Live.com.
Mr. Enderle continued:
Any company that through omission or overt action puts people at risk is evil. It may offset that evil with lots of good works — and certainly Google does that — but its potential for evil is unprecedented in private industry. The question is whether government will respond to the threat before it becomes a reality, or wait until it’s too late to even see that the threat exists? Google has unprecedented power; we are seeing the firm slowly corrupted by it. For the Obama administration, this may be the test of whether it can do more than deal with problems it has inherited, and prevent problems from happening in the first place.
I like the “unprecedented”. I am delighted Mr. Enderle has raised this issue. I don’t think that Google is much different from the pre break up AT&T or the “old” ITT. There are some important differences, which I try to explicate in Google: The Digital Gutenberg here. The big difference is that in a lousy economy the likelihood of another firm matching Google’s investment in technology and infrastructure quickly is low. I do believe that:
- Google is a different industry construct. It is not an intermediating entity. Google rolls up multiple functions that hitherto were separate. Think of a digital River Rouge.
- Google responds to customer behavior; therefore, predicting the direction in which Google will flow is difficult.
- Google moves forward without significant push back because it is polymorphic.
Oh, one more thing: Google has been chugging away for a decade. The train has left the station, and it may or may not return. The traditional media and telecommunications industries are discovering that they have to follow, not wait. Life would be wonderful if woulda, coulda, shoulda actually operated reliably.
Stephen Arnold, April 14, 2009
Viewzi: Visual Results with Display Options
April 14, 2009
There’s a new way to see search results, as presented by search engine Viewzi at http://www.viewzi.com. Instead of getting long white pages of links ala Google, you can choose from a variety of graphic displays for your search results. I searched Karl Urban, an actor in the new Star Trek movie. In Viewzi, I chose the web screenshot display. The links returned as actual screenshots from imdb.com and Wikipedia as well as media and fan sites. I don’t have to actually click to that page to see what it looks like – I saw it right there.
Frankly, it’s cool to look at and not as hard on the eyes as the links list. Now, it took me more time to look through the links, but I sure enjoyed it as I went. There are other result sets (eighteen total), for example, there’s an Amazon books view. For my actor, it returned Karl Imhoff’s Handbook of Urban Drainage and Wastewater Disposal. Useful and relevant? Not at all. Pretty darn cool? Yes. It can also set up results grouped into music, video and photos as well as topics including news, weather, shopping, and gadgets.
If you’re in a hurry for quick links to exact information, Viewzi may not be for you (although it does have a links list view). But if you’re just browsing or doing research, you may want to give the site a shot.
Jessica Bratcher, April 14, 2009
Picollator: Graphical Query System
April 14, 2009
Now’s here’s a really neat idea: a search engine that finds pictures based upon a graphical query–not a text query. The Picollator universal search engine, http://www.recogmission.com/products/picollator, scans the Internet collecting digital images and matches visual objects within the images using pattern recognition technology. The system accepts both text queries and sample images simultaneously to find relevant resources in the Web. You can do a search right now at http://www.picollator.com/. I tried a celebrity actor and didn’t get anything with just the picture; I also had to a text element to the search. I can do that in Google Images. So I’m not so sure this program works all that well with just the digital image. Perhaps it would function better in a closed database. Definitely a worthwhile project though.
Jessica Bratcher, April 14, 2009
Microsoft Search Strategy Explained — Sort of
April 14, 2009
Ina Fried, CNet, does a very good job of adding some coherence to Microsoft’s Web search strategy. You can read her article “Microsoft’s Search Must Begin in Redmond” here. She has worked hard to take a number of somewhat unrelated Microsoft actions and organizing them so I could see a strategy emerging. The hook for the story struck me as an interview she had with Microsoft’s latest “search trail boss”, a chap named Yusuf Mehdi. I have never met the fellow and his photo looked quite a bit like the Googlers’ photos I have seen–smiling, confident, and ready to try out for America’s Next Top Model.
Ms. Fried pulls out some useful factoids; including:
- There is internal support at Microsoft for paying people to use its Web search system
- Microsoft’s year on year market share in search grew less than one percent
- Microsoft will integrate Powerset, Farecast, and Medstory into its search services
- A rebranding effort may take place. (I see Kumo in my usage logs for this newsletter
- Microsoft may spend $100 million on an ad campaign for search.
I came away from this well written story with one thought: “I don’t think Microsoft has a clue about specific tactics that will narrow the gap between its Web search system’s market share (10 percent) and Google’s (about 65 percent). These are still random acts that have done zero to close the gap. Remember, Microsoft has been working at closing the gap with Google for about seven years.
Let’s assume Microsoft does a search deal with Yahoo. Combined the two companies will have a 25 percent share compared to Google 65 percent share. Google has an existing infrastructure, a performance advantage, an index advantage, a cost advantage, and a brand advantage. Sure, Google can muff the bunny. Microsoft might have more luck sitting back and waiting for Google to make a mistake and then attack a specific weakness. Shotgun shells filled with tapioca balls won’t don’t the job. Sipping a bubble tea and waiting might be cheaper and probably won’t cost as much.
Stephen Arnold, April 14, 2009
Twazzup: Twitter Search Alternative
April 14, 2009
A happy quack to the reader who sent me a link to Twazzup.com, the most recent Twitter search alternative. You can try the system here. Keep in mind that if you are new to Twitter, you won’t make much sense of Twitter results. I’m convinced that Twitter content needs some smart software to provide context for the posts that appear to have meaningful information. Twazzup does some value adding to the Twitter hits, and when compared to Twitter’s approach, Twazzup is heading in the right direction. Take a look at Louis Gray’s analysis here.
I ran my standard suite of queries and was a bit dismayed to see that my search for “beyond search” returned zero results. I put quotes around the phrase and the relevancy jumped. The other queries were useful, but I have been fiddling with Twitter content for a while, and I don’t think I am a good “out of the box” judge.
What I liked about Twazzup.com was:
- The system was snappy. I perceived zero latency even when I was using my lousy Verizon “high speed” wireless service
- I liked the listing of popular Tweets. I am not sure that I am ready to abandon Tweetmeme.com or the other services I use to see what’s hot and what’s not, but I liked their inclusion
- The gray hot spots that open up relevant information could be useful, but in general I don’t use those service. I focus more on results lists. So “facets” don’t “facet-nate” me. Other folks love them which is okay with me.
On the downside, I find the presentation a bit busy, but compared with some of the Chinese interfaces I’ve examined recently, Twazzup.com is downright sedate. The multiplicity of buttons may be better suited to the young at heart. I am an old and addled goose, not a spring chicken.
Here’s the result screen for one of my test queries:
Give it a look.
Stephen Arnold, April 14, 2009
World Bank Search
April 14, 2009
A happy quack to the reader (a law librarian) who sent me a link to “Wikipedia, The Anti Cholesterol Medication for Knowledge Management”. You can read this article from “Private Sector Development Blog” here. The url points to the World Bank and a logo identifies the source as the International Finance Corporation. Frankly, I am not sure who wrote this post within this organization. What I found interesting was this passage:
Trying to find a document through the World Bank search engine (either externally or internally)? Good luck! You might want to pencil in an afternoon… Instead, you could turn to Wikipedia, which has an excellent search engine.
What I found interesting is that on a public forum a person makes two points: First, the search system available to this user seems sluggish. The clue? “Pencil in an afternoon.” Second, Wikipedia is the search system this person prefers. What about for fee online services? What about Google?
In short, could this be another example of a large organization with search challenges and disgruntled users?
Stephen Arnold, April 14, 2009
Beyond Search: Saying Again – Marketing Blog
April 14, 2009
One of my three or four readers sent me a link to a Tweet that reveals–gasp–the shocking truth that this Web log is a marketing vehicle. Oh, my what an insightful comment. I explain what the purpose of Beyond Search is in my editorial policy which you may read here if you wish.I haven’t changed it much since I started this blog in January 2008. I started the Web log to recycle information. I learned quickly that I am not a news goose and I don’t want to be one. If a company wants to hire me to describe their products and services, I will talk. I also promote aggressively my reports and studies. The reason is that this Web log now reaches more than 35,000 readers per month, so it has become a better marketing vehicle that some of my four publishers possess. I don’t include the for fee content in this Web log. I rather shamelessly point you to Information World Review, KMWorld, and the Smart Business Network where my published columns appear. I even cover search engine optimization. If you read this Web log you know that I am critical of those who are self appointed SEO experts. I am no expert, but I can describe functions that the GOOG explains are important to appearing at a reasonable point in a results list.
Summing up:
- I am not a journalist. I sell my opinion, and I pay people to write articles about companies and products. Some of these outfits pay for my writers’ time. Others dazzle us with their scintillating personalities. Don’t confuse what appears in Beyond Search with “journalism”, which seems to be in a bit of a pickle in my opinion. Whining, going out of business, and losing jobs I think applies in some cases.
- I write about my interests in an often futile attempt to generate inquiries about my patent analysis, expert witness, and management consulting business. The Web log “sort of” works, but it is a marketing vehicle. Let me repeat: marketing vehicle. Do you think? Doh?
- I write about my son’s business even though he is closely aligned with the GOOG, an outfit that wishes my goose were cooked. I take umbrage if someone criticizes my son, so if you get frisky with my progeny, expect to see some sparks from the senior Arnold in the clan.
- I am not interested in whether some of the companies and products survive, are wonderful, or are just me too products in a lousy financial climate.
- I tell PR people that I am not a journalist. I don’t respect their “leaks”. I don’t want to be briefed unless someone pays for my time. One jejune lass almost cried when I told her I wanted money to sit through a Webinar. Sensitive plant, she is.
I think that there are some folks who confuse Web logs (free) with confidential, for fee work. I opine that there are quite a few consulting firms trying to sell advice without having solid technical foundations and trying to create the impression that their Web logs are the equivalent of the Harvard Business Review or the output of second and third tier consulting firms.
Let me set the record straight. There are a handful of blue chip consulting firms and advisory services in the world. I worked for many years at Halliburton Nuclear (get it right or literally die), Booz Allen & Hamilton (before the disastrous break up), and a number of high profile outfits from intelligence agencies to the government of England. I been involved in successes and failures. I have learned from the best (Dr. William P. Sommers) and from the worst (a gambler in LA).
Working at blue chip firms where information is the key to success and writing a Web log are at different ends of the content spectrum. I don’t get confused. Some folks can’t figure out that Beyond Search is a marketing vehicle. Others can’t get the drift that when I argue against SEO, I am generating buzz.
I hope that’s clear. I am 65 years old and getting pretty tired of callow youth who find this Web log somehow offensive to their gentle spirits. Suck it up. Life gets worse and it will for the foreseeable future. When the chips are down, clients don’t want those who learn on the job. Clients want results. An MBA or a bit of work at a third tier firm won’t do the job in my opinion.
Stephen Arnold. April 14, 2009
Google Updater: Bugs but Benign
April 13, 2009
I loved this statement in Google Operating System: Unofficial News and Tips about Google here, “Unfortunately, the service has many bugs, it can’t be disabled unless you uninstall all the applications that use it and there are some privacy issues…” Who wrote this? The Google. You can read “Google Update, Open Sourced” here. To make clear the intent of the Google Update service, Google has released the code to the public domain. (I doubled checked and this does not seem to be a tardy April Fool.) The other interesting statement in the article was:
Since Google Update is always running on your system, there’s no simple way to stop it, and since it’s a fundamental part of the Google software that needs it, it’s not explicitly installed.
A question: do you think this sounds somewhat similar to Microsoft’s protestations that Internet Explorer could not be disable or removed from Windows, a fact which may have been subject to revisionism in Windows 7? Google has some clever engineers. It’s a pity that this installer is such a baffler. The comments to the post go in a surprising direction; namely, legal issues. Post any additional info you may have, please. I will update this item but not automatically as I learn more. I love categoricals. Just like mom in a way.
Stephen Arnold, April 13, 2009
Newspapers Can Assist Google
April 13, 2009
Steve Outing’s “How Can Newspapers Help Google?” here struck me as an old goose trick–just flip the argument 180 degrees. I read the essay and noticed this passage:
So here’s an idea for newspapers, the AP, et al: Think through how you can help Google make more money! Figure out how to spread your content much more widely instead of focusing on how to restrict its flow.
I know this is an idea that will go nowhere. I gave a talk to some of the Associated Press management and made the point a couple of years ago to “surf on Google”. I recommended that four of the “owners” or stakeholders of the AP contribute one young, Googley type person to serve on a joint task force. The goal would be to come up with demos of products that would make money from various Google programs.
What happened?
No one talked with me. One senior executive insisted that he would get in touch with me and never did. I did get paid for my talk and left wondering it seemed difficult to look at a popular service as a source of revenue. My impression based on the chill response my talk received was that Google was not something that most of those in my audience knew much about nor cared to figure out how to exploit.
Now it’s too late. Newspapers are, like other traditional media companies, on the downward side of a tilting business model. Mr. Outing’s idea is a couple of years behind mine. I can tell you that it won’t happen if my addled goose fortune telling machinery is working.
Stephen Arnold, April 13, 2009
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
