More on the Yahoo Effort to Regain Supremacy
October 8, 2010
Having tasted the fruits of success, Yahoo wants to come back in the game. Thrusting this premier web brand forward isn’t easy even with some 281 million global users, and about 600 million monthly visitors, as Yahoo still needs to adjust its sails to the changing winds. The eCommerce-Guide.com article “Yahoo Plans New Search, Email as It Speeds Release Cycle,” discloses the company’s plans and strategies to be the number one choice of users.
Yahoo uses Microsoft’s technology for its search engine’s underlying infrastructure, but it plans to change, innovate, and improve the user-facing layer by rolling out new features. It is also introducing a new email having, “streamlined inbox, boasting a faster response time and new integrations with social services Facebook and Twitter.” Yahoo is making all attempts “to impress its advertisers and retain customer loyalty with a swifter pace of innovation and more relevant, personalized content.” With a vision to bring personal meaning to the web, this is Yahoo’s fight back crusade. Will it work? With the unsettling information about staff change and alleged usage data that shows a decline in traffic, Yahoo may need an even greater commitment.
Harleena Singh, October 8, 2010
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Flexi-Search from Lucene
October 8, 2010
We have seen and experienced all types of searches, but here’s one simple yet smart search that uses Lucene.NET, a direct port of the popular open source Java Lucene project. It has all the features that you wanted your search to handle; synonyms, misspellings, prefixes, suffixes, result rankings, weighting, and others. John Sprunger discourses on his blog JSprunger.com about, “Getting started with Lucene.NET,” describing Lucene-based search as capable of indexing all types of content, “including files, database records, and web pages.” It can be tweaked as required and used for, “searching on ASP.NET web site, searching within a desktop app, as a web service search, or Windows service, etc.”
Embraced by biggies like EMC and Cisco, Lucene.NET has a highly abstracted class structure that allows ultimate flexibility, making it possible to change the way search works, to satisfy your clients. The article describes the procedure to create a simple search, illustrated with explanatory examples.
Harleena Singh, October 8, 2010
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Autonomy Spins Another Rich Media Deal
October 8, 2010
Searching radio content based on its meaning alone is indeed unique. That’s how semantics is rapidly transforming the traditional search. The Wallstreet Online.de press release “Radioplayer Selects Autonomy,” informs about the important task attributed to Autonomy’s core infrastructure software, the Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), to power the Radioplayer’s search box. Equipped with “unrivalled meaning-based search capabilities, unmatched scalability, and easy maintenance,” as the press release states, “Radioplayer listeners will be able to search every station, identifying news programs, sports highlights, musical genres or even individual songs, and potentially also find a specific place within the program that mentions the topic they are searching for.”
Not only does Radioplayer encourage radio listening, but puts the audience in control and make radio listening easy and accessible. The IDOL search platform will make available rich content across the radio industry through meaningful, relevant search results, and retrieve audio content based on the meaning of key concepts in the live stream. That’s really quick and effortless.
Harleena Singh, Octobr 8, 2010
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A Tagged Future
October 7, 2010
“The Myth of the Universal Tag and the Future of Digital Data Collection” provides an interesting view of the challenges of tag-based deployment. The point of the write up by Ensighten is to use a tag management system. Ensighten offers such a system. There are other vendors in this market as well; for example, Access Innovations.
The white paper explains how a tag management system can create technologically strong and financially wise benefits for end users. This will be especially interesting to those who invest in digital measurement advertising, and marketing solutions. Another sharp focus is clarifying the need for tag management systems and tag management solutions.
For your own copy of the white paper, click here for the Ensighten write up. You will have to fill out the form for a free copy. Sounds interesting, and may be worth your time to look.
Our view is that tags are now proliferating. In the traditional database world, too many tags can create problems. Users can get confused when a tag generates false drops. The management of tags becomes more complicated. Without control from the git-go, tags have a tendency to become muddled.
Search is tough and indiscriminate tagging makes the job harder for the user. Uncontrolled tags are often one consequence of carelessness. Whether a manual system or automated system is used to generate tags, getting the tagging method under control is Job #1. Getting the tags wrong means significant costs down the road, assuming the organization has the appetite to fix a problem on the right level in an appropriate manner. Cosmetics applied by azurini and former journalists won’t do the job in our experience.
Stephen E Arnold, October 7, 2010
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EasyAsk Embraces the NetSuite Cloud Platform
October 7, 2010
EasyAsk is looking to cloud computing to expand services to their clients according to RedOrbit. “EasyAsk Integrates EasyAsk Business Edition With NetSuite’s Cloud Computing Platform” reports that EasyAsk is combing its EasyAsk Business Edition with the NetSuite cloud computing platform. EasyAsk Business Edition can be thought of as a search engine for the corporate world. This program allows users to search and explore corporate data on a user friendly Google like interface. EasyAsk Business Edition changes business questions into back-end queries, retrieves the data and then delivers answers to the user. The application also employs semantic intelligence which allows it to analyze user searches and provide helpful inquiries and suggestions in order to guide users. NetSuite’s SuiteCloud offers a variety of products, development tools and other services to help companies be more productive while also taking advantage of economical benefits. “EasyAsk Business Edition for NetSuite features rapid implementation and a superior user experience.” The dynamic duo EasyAsk Business Edition and NetSuite’s SuiteCloud development platform gives corporate users access to valuable information that can provide additional information to help them serve customers better and increase overall productivity.
April Holmes, October 7, 2010
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Microsoft Suggests Google Instant Is No Big Deal
October 7, 2010
Microsoft and Google have never hidden their competiveness when it comes to trying to outdo one another. In the PC World article “Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi Pooh-Poohs Google Instant”, one of Microsoft’s VP’s discusses Google’s new instant feature. The new feature is designed to refresh users search results while they are typing their queries and describes the program as “search before you type”. Microsoft’s response to the new system is “Google Instant is technologically “impressive” but misses the mark in what search engines should do.” Microsoft contends that the service, though fast, misses the mark because it does not help users to narrow down the information they are looking for. Microsoft promises its Bing service will continue to focus more on providing users with more of the information that they want. It is convenient to get quick results but if the results are not helpful then the speed factor is really of little importance. Our view is that most users won’t know how to turn it off, so for casual consumers, Google Instant is the new Google.
April Holmes, October 7, 2010
Facebook Shuns Google, Not too Social
October 7, 2010
The questions surrounding Google and the release of a new social “Facebook Killer” network continues to keep the world buzzing. Google’s Vice President Marissa Mayer in Venture Beat’s “Google’s Mayer Criticizes Content “Locked” Inside Facebook” expresses her feelings about the social leader Facebook. In her question and answer segment the VP expresses concerns about Facebook. Mayer states “her concern about social networks, particularly Facebook, was the fact that so much of their content is hidden from Google and other search engines.” Google wants individuals conducting searches to have access to relevant non sensitive information on Facebook. Google does currently pull information from some social sites, but Facebook gives them access to very little information. With the popularity of Facebook it is clear, if granted access, the available content would add to the overall quality of Google’s search results. With the Facebook and Microsoft partnership still taking shape perhaps that means Google is the odd man out. Facebook is not behaving in what one might describe a “social” manner.
April Holmes, October 7, 2010
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Google TV: I Deplaned and
October 6, 2010
I had to hunt for information about the Google TV. My trusty sources about 6 pm Eastern touted Facebook’s announcement of a Facebook user now being able to download his/her information. I had to navigate to Google News and run a query for Logitech to find out about the $300 gizmo and its pricey accessories. I am not a TV goose, so the key point for me was that Facebook was the big news. Set aside the price difference between the $100 Apple TV Version 2.0 gizmo and the soon-to-ship Logitech device. For me the big news was that Facebook stole the headlines. That’s the take away from my post flight news check. Does that represent a one time twitch or is the focus on Facebook the new normal?
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2010
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Black Duck Flaps into Open Source Reference
October 6, 2010
Late last year or early this year, I explained to a giant publishing and information company about some of the important trends building in electronic information. I must admit that the audience wished it were someplace else, probably at the golf course or at a sales meeting where smiles and promises worked better than innovation.
I mentioned in passing that the world of open source was gaining momentum. I have documented one facet of open source in this blog. My two or three readers have been as indifferent as the big publishing and information company was.
One outfit, however, either by virtue of executive acumen or simply looking at what’s happening in open source has jumped on the open source information opportunity. That company is Black Duck Software. You can read an interview with one of the firm’s top mallards at “Bill McQuaide, Black Duck Software.”
I learned on October 5, 2010, that Black Duck is on the path of becoming the “Google of open source.” Yep, the Google of open source. Now that moniker is a tough one to shake, so my view is that Black Duck has made a play that seems to me to be pretty darned savvy.
The firm acquired Ohloh.net. Navigate to the Ohloh Web site. You will be able to search a directory of open source software and a directory of developers. Now anyone who has fiddled with open source knows that the PL/1 dudes down the hall are not exactly ready to compile open source and hook it into software with unfamiliar names, often with obscure references to the Tolkien, Star Trek, and a high school Latin class.
I did some advice-from-the-pond work on a couple of open source search start ups. I panned these. Google, at the time, had an open source search service, which the 20 somethings who called me after a couple of failed journalists, mid tier consultants, and unemployed CMS consultants struck out in the knowledge department. The open source search is available as Code Search at http://www.google.com/codesearch. Black Duck and Ohloh went further.
Several observations:
- Traditional publishing companies are probably going to have to buy, license, or stroke the features of Black Duck. The company has an opportunity to build a robust information service and the big boys who prefer to play golf and head out for an early lunch have missed the boat.
- Open source software is operating a bit like one of those minor earth tremors in Turkey or one of the “stans.” One day the building is just crumbling. When change occurs, folks look around for information and my hunch is that Black Duck may come up Number One on the Dancing with the Coding Stars.
- Open source, unlike indexing business information, is pretty much an insiders’ game at this time. The “community”, which is tough to define, can be a really major pain in the bursa scattered in various parts of one’s anatomy.
I suppose I should feel bad that the big information companies missed an opportunity. But, if my memory is correct, less agile outfits just pay lots of money to buy a company with a great opportunity. That is good for the black ducks out there. Geese? Now that’s another story.
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2010
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The Yahoo Revolving Door
October 6, 2010
Yahoo has been struggling to rise back to the top of the Internet world but the company has made little headway in its fight to the top. Internal problems could be one of the reasons why the company has experienced little growth in the past few years. The Digital Journal article “Yahoo Loses Top Executives, CEO Carol Bartz Could Be Next” gives readers a glimpse into the problems the Yahoo family is experiencing. Several Yahoo executives have already stepped down and it seems that several more could be handing in their Yahoo membership. Media and advertising head Hilary Schneider, “has wanted to leave Yahoo for some time,” is expected to offer her resignation to CEO Carol Bartz, who has not won many fans of her own. Yahoo could be in store for even more rank changes, including the unpopular CEO Carol Bartz, as they attempt to turn their image around and get back on track. As the saying goes a team is only as strong as its leader.
April Holmes, October 6, 2010
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