Universal Answer Engine
May 16, 2009
In the gap created by Wolfram Alpha’s sort of start tonight, I poked through my files. I came across “How to Build a Universal Answer Engine: Ten Vital Principles” here. After a week at a conference and dozens of conversations about whizzy new search systems, I must admit I am a bit jaded. True Knowledge, on the other hand, is excited about the idea of a Universal Knowledge Engine. This is a Web log post about True Knowledge’s comuter system designed to answer users’ questions on any subject. I must admit that I am skeptical. The questions have to be in text. So much for equations? The questions must be in a language I speak, which may or may not make my questions intelligible. Enough of this skepticism. The write up lays out “principles”, and I am not comfortable repeating each. I can highlight two principles and offer a comment:
Principle 4 is “The only truly scalable way to learn envryitng is by allowing users to contribute.” I don’t really disagree, but I think only a small percentage of a user community contributes information. To get around this problem, True Knowledge taps into Wikipedia. I give True Knowledge credit for mentioning that some users are not to be trusted. The problem is that with only the motivated contributing, the system has to find some way to determine the likelihood that a particular contribution and item are likely to be “correct” or “trusted”. This is a pretty complicated task, and I think that it is worth noting that the Google and others are beavering away on this problem.
Principal 8 is “All fqacts need sources and these need to be available to the user.” This sounds like provenance, which is related to principle 4. I saw a demo by a Stanford professor where provenance and uncertainty were query modes supported by the system. True Knowledge seems to be in step with this line of inquiry. Calculating these “values’ will consume a chunk of computer time slices.
To wrap up, the principles are interesting. A number of companies are in the question answering business, and these organizations will need deep pockets to pull off a service that keeps me happy.
Stephen Arnold, May 16, 2009
Arnold’s Life Is Tweet Available
May 16, 2009
Short honk: one of those for-fee write ups that contain real information, not the quacks of the addled goose, is now available in the May 2009 Information World Review. You can find details about the column and the opinion piece “Life Is Tweet for Real-Time Search”. My editor, Peter Williams, has done an excellent job with the article. If you can snag a copy of this UK publication, you can get some chunks of Tweet stew served up. The information will stick to your ribs, unlike the marketing honks of the contributors to this free Web log. Click here for more information. I wrote: Twitter is a hybrid information service. Want to know more. Subscribe to IWR.
Stephen Arnold, May 16, 2009
The Pain in Spain Is Tending to the Inane
May 15, 2009
Read “Recording Industry Tries To Shut Down Search Engine In Spain Without Allowing It To Defend Itself” here. If true, the Internet she be changin’. Search requires content processing. Robots index and point. Software becomes the problem.
Stephen Arnold, May 15’ 2009
Videosurf Update
May 15, 2009
Since VideoSurf’s birth in mid-2008 (Beyond Search reviewed it at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2008/09/23/videosurf-video-metasearch/), it’s offered up a beta version (I wrote about it at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2008/10/18/videosurf-looking-for-wave-of-new-users/), and now it’s opened up the API so developers can install “visual search” on their own sites. VideoSurf promotes itself as the only video search engine that can search and “see” inside videos to index content rather than depending upon tags and descriptions that can produce spam. The API allows accress to videos that can be selected to relate to site content; site can also tailor the displays to their promotional needs. See more about the API availability at http://www.videosurf.com/blog/search-and-video-lookup-apis-1039/. This could be a smart choice for sites looking to rev up their content while keeping it relevant.
Jessica Bratcher, May 15, 2009
YAGG: Bytes of Clay
May 15, 2009
Googzilla stubbed its paw today. You can read the official explanation here. YAGG means yet another Google glitch. The once alleged online uptime champ turned chump. Millions inconvenienced. Enough said.
Stephen Arnold, May 15, 2009
CMS Warts and Wobbles
May 15, 2009
I don’t think too much about lightweight CMS systems. To be up front’ I try to duck heavyweight CMS tools as well. You may not have that luxury. If you are one of the lucky CMSters, you must read “Dump Your Self-Banning CMS” here.
Now the language is salty and some of the illustrations might offend. Nevertheless I found the information first rate’ One example:
Since every database access is expensive, the login procedure creates a persistent cookie (today + 365 * 30) for each user property. Dynamic and user specific external CSS files as well as style-sheets served in the HEAD section could fail to apply, so all CMS scripts use a routine that converts the user settings into inline style directives like
style="color:red; text-align:bolder; text-decoration:none; ...". The developer consults the W3C CSS guidelines to make sure that not a single CSS property is left out.
If this passage spe3aks to you, you will like this CMS write up.
Stephen Arnold, May 13, 2009
Brands as Gravity
May 14, 2009
In the online world, there are Jupiters, suns, and asteroids. Traffic sorts itself out in ways that are gravitational. A big brand gets lots of traffic. The asteroids generate less customer pull. Why’s this important? Online sites without pull are not likely to pull the traffic. Sad but true. Quality may be defined as lots of clicks. IT Pro here reported data that underscores the gravitational pull of 10 brands in the UK. The headline told the tale: “Top 10 Web Brands Get Half of UK Traffic.” The top three online brands were Facebook, Microsoft, and Google. The most interesting comment in the report was this remark:
Second-ranked MSN/Windows Live slid nearly a percentage point to 9.2 per cent, but added over a billion minutes in the past year. Third-ranked Google gained 0.4 per cent market share to 5.3 per cent, adding 950 million minutes.
Facebook appears to be the winner, which may have implications for the host of social challengers now available. In the UK, social seems to be the pull.
Stephen Arnold, May 14, 2009
Web Wide API: The Battleground
May 14, 2009
If you wondered what was the driver for the API snowstorm, read “Can Amazon Be the Default Payment API for the Web?” here. The author aaronchua did a good job of explaining the logic behind a single Web API for online payments. The issue is not multiple payment systems. The call is for a single payment system. Assume this happens. Monopoly, right? The APIs are important to Amazon, Google, and others. Winner takes all is logical, right?
Stephen Arnold’ May 14, 2009
SAP Data Warehouse Search
May 14, 2009
Application Development Trends reported here that SAP has rolled out a new datawarehouse search tool. the product is called Business Objects Explorer, and it seems to allow simplified queries so that end users can get reports without having to involve a Business Objects programming wizard. The story “SAP Launches Data Warehouse Search Tool” said:
Explorer evolved from a Business Objects-developed tool called Polestar, released in late 2007, which lets individuals conduct searches against data in the SAP Business Objects XI 3.1 BI platform. Using a Web-based interface, SAP officials said Explorer will now let any user, regardless of their knowledge of BI, query SAP’s NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator (BWA), the company’s tooling for creating data warehouses.
Nary a word about Inxight, the content processing company Business Objects acquired, nor about any other SAP search initiatives. Poor TREX. Is he orphaned? Endeca and its business intelligence capability? Silence. Will Flash plug ins deliver what Business Objects’ users want? User experience seems to be the way to deliver industrial strength search.
Stephen Arnold, May 14, 2009
Ask.com President Zooms Off
May 14, 2009
At a meeting this afternoon, I learned that Ask.com’s CEO has resigned. You can read the story here. Jim Safka’s duties will be assumed by Scott Garrell, Ask.com’s president. The question that raced through my mind was, “Did the NASCAR promotion contribute to this executive change?” Ask.com is apparently undertaking another revamp. Ask.com has not made significant progress in my opinion. Two years ago a consultant for a well known consulting firm told me that Ask.com was his favorite search engine. I was baffled at the time. Ask.com has tried a number of innovations, and I don’t think any of them have changed my search behavior. I wish Ask.com success as the company works to build its online traffic and increase its impact on Web search.
Stephen Arnold, May 15, 2009
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