Intelligenx Heats Up Chile
January 22, 2011
Chili’s State Bank has campaigned its way into success during the 2010 Christmas season by utilizing Facebook and Twitter as a way to get its message out there. This only reaffirms what we know about better business practices…..they are changing.
By using Intelligenx to change the way people found information about their Christmas campaign the Chilean State Bank was able to see a 700 percent increase in the number of people that viewed their message and requested information about their services.
“Insight Analytics™ is a specialized analysis and reporting tool that harvests value out of complicated and cumbersome search logs, where the detail activities of users are recorded. Log files contain a wealth of marketing information, including the terms and phrases that are being searched…”
Intelligenx uses industrial grade search engines and analytics to help organizations like the Chilean State Bank get the most value out of the informational promotions and assets. It allows users to search quickly without worrying about the IT infrastructure that is often so cumbersome.
Stephen E Arnold, January 23, 2011
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A New CRM? Search Vendors Scramble
January 22, 2011
“The New CRM Will Drive Revenue” is a posting from one of the new type of consulting firms. Individuals sign up as experts. Then the 20 somethings beat the bushes for clients who can’t pay or don’t want to pay the fees for a McKinsey, Bain, or Booz grade firm’s services. I enjoy these write ups. I also subscribe to Funny Times.
If there ever was such a thing as a “duh” statement, this would be it. Companies with better customer relationship management systems (CRM systems) will do better and attract more revenue as the economy begins to improve. Okay.
It comes as no surprise that IT professionals are going to be needed more and more as companies begin to rely more heavily on the internet in order to attract business. Basic CRM and knowledge management skills are still going to be needed but now it’s on a whole new level.
Not only are systems going to be forced into automation they will also have to create full-time mobile support because of the new age of smart phones; applications for iPhone, Droid, and Blackberry will have to be created and supported. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Linkedin will have to be created and maintained as well in order to maximize consumer consumption.
What would have made the write up more on point for Beyond Search was a comment about the mad scramble some search and content processing vendors are now undertaking. Companies like Vivisimo are now in the customer support game, and there are others. Why?
I am not sure “customer support” is the point of the exercise. The goal is reduce costs and keep the pesky customers away. What better way to achieve this than replace humans with software created by folks who are mostly into code.
The new CRM will drive revenue? No, the new CRM reduces costs and does little to help some “customers.” Great idea.
Stephen E. Arnold and Leslie Radcliffe, January 23, 2011
Freebie unlike the repackaged search systems that improve customer support.
Inexpensive Oracle Utility
January 22, 2011
We actually found an inexpensive Oracle export utility. You can download a free trial version here at Downseeker. The full version costs $49. This program might be worth a look if you need to export database query results to text files. Proceed with caution, though: the site prompts a strong Warning from Google’s Web of Trust, despite its guarantee of a “100% Clean” application. Down-loader beware.
Here is the description:
“Export Query to Text for Oracle Standard 1.06.42 is regarded as a convenient as well as simple to use tool which lets you export database query results to text files. This tool supports all modern versions of Oracle Server. Oracle Client and ODBC driver required.”
The utility runs on Windows 2000 and above.
Cynthia Murrell January 22, 2011
Recommind Expands in the UK
January 22, 2011
Recommind doubles London presence and expands European operations by 30% paints an optimistic future for the producer of end-to-end eDiscovery, enterprise search and automated categorization software. With the help of some recent appointments of expert personnel in several areas of the business, Recommind plans to “increase its footprint in key European countries as well as pave the way for further penetration into both the information access and eDiscovery markets.”
Among the new hires is Karen Hogan, a former employee of both Vivisimo and PC Docs/Hummingbird who has learned a thing or two about information management. Ms. Hogan has been placed in the London office’s regional sales manager position, and is only the tip of the new-hire iceberg for the London team. There is also a new eDiscovery regional manager and accompanying Project Management staff, plus a slew of fresh staff for the sales engineering and technical support teams. Even the German sector is seeing expansion. Per Simon Price, Recommind’s European director, “As a leader in information management, we are not only attracting staff with a high level of expertise but also new customers that are looking for strong solutions to help manage what is quickly becoming their most important asset – digital information – across the entire organization.”
Recommind works to be considered one of the “leader[s] in predictive information management software”, having developed best practices in the arenas of eDiscovery, regulatory compliance, records management and data retention. Check out their website for more information.
Sarah Rogers, January 22, 2011
Freebie. An outfit with lawyers. No surprise,eh?
The Facebook User-Centered Model Pays Off
January 21, 2011
Allowing individuals to friend barely recognizable high school classmates and give scintillating updates on fetching lattes has garnered Facebook over 650 million global users and $1.86 billion in advertising revenue for 2010 says the recent Advertising Age article “Facebook Books $1.86B in Advertising; Muscles In on Google’s Turf”. eMarketer estimates that a majority of sales come from small- and medium-size companies making use of Facebook’s self-service system—territory that earned Google more than $200 billion in the last decade.
“Those advertisers are really juicing Facebook’s growth,” said Debra Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer. “They buy advertising in bulk. They’ve done it for years on Google, and now they’re taking that expertise to Facebook.”
More surprising is Facebook isn’t pandering to big brand advertisers to rack up revenue but continuing to focus on developing consumer-centric products that attract users. This makes us question whether this type of advertising opportunity is better than Google’s options. If Facebook remains attractive to advertisers and can up their response rate, they will pass Google’s benchmark.
Christina Sheley, January 21, 2011
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Attention OmniFind Sys Admins
January 21, 2011
Here are a couple of links worth tucking away in a bookmark if you are an OmniFind system administrator.
We noticed a tech tip about a bug in OmniFind Discovery Edition here. According to the IBM Technote:
“I have OmniFind Discovery Edition integrated with WebSphere Commerce but the build is failing during the calculatePopularity step in popularity.py”
The page details the problem and suggests a solution.
We also found a valuable link to an IBM overview page with links to some documentation on the IBM Web site.
Enjoy. IBM may win at Jeopardy, but finding some information on its Web site is a more difficult challenge.
Cynthia Murrell January 21, 2011
Spend $15,000. Get Smart about Search? No So Much
January 21, 2011
ReportLinker declares that it’s Decision Manager: Enterprise Search will help you decide on the best search product for your organization. It has you specify your priorities and compares them to the features of the many search products on the market. The sales description claims the report:
“Provides insight into the comparative features of enterprise search solutions [and] enables you to create an evaluation of search products tailored for your own organization”
At first blush, this looks like it might be a good software deal from a mid-tier consulting firm.
However, is it worth the $15,000 price tag? Really, isn’t this just someone’s chief Excel officer to plug in values and “weights”?
For insight into search development, check out the interviews with the search companies’ innovators at www.arnoldit.com/search-wizards-speak. No credit card required. We don’t promise “smart”; we deliver useful information without a fee via the ArnoldIT.com Web site and our blogs.
Cynthia Murrell January 21, 2011
Exalead Clicks with Olympus
January 21, 2011
Olympus, respected manufacturer of equipment such as cameras, audio devices, and microscopes, is embarking on a relaunch of it’s 47 subsidiary websites around the world. It has chosen to serve it’s customers using the e-Spirit Enterprise Search Module, which is based on Exalead’s technology.
Integrating with the FirstSpirit content management system, also from e-Spirit, EnterpriseSearch promises to:
“. . .allow for much more efficient searching of relevant information than is possible with standard full-text searching. Among the benefits for Olympus are a convenient search interface with fast filter options, personalized search results for protected documents, and integrated search via linked ‘non FirstSpirit sources’ such as the shop system.”
Among Olympus’ challenges are managing content in 30 languages and simplifying editing and administration processes. The company also hopes to represent it’s innovative nature and appeal to their customers’ emotions. We’ll see whether FirstSpirit and e-Spirit are up to the challenge.
Cynthia Murrell January 21, 2011
The New Google Dance: No More Three Amigos
January 20, 2011
I ignored the leadership shift at Google. Trouble was evident in 2006. Since that year, Google has made lots of dough from online advertising and generated even more money for attorneys. I did get a call from a “real journalist” and I offered three observations. Nothing too spectacular:
- Litigation. Lots of it.
- Staff defections. Lots of them.
- Management. Wow. Case studies galore. Day care to alienating most of the TV and film crowd.
I did not mention:
- Product flops. Everyone knows about the Google goofs.
- Opaque financial details for AdSense. Just ask a frantic Web master, not me.
- Fighting with lots of people.
If you have a copy of my 2004 – 2005 study, The Google Legacy, check out the “weaknesses” section. The goose nailed it. Lots of excitement ahead for the Google. Not too much for the addled goose.
Adios, three amigos.
Stephen E Arnold, January 21, 2011
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Implications for Smarter Search?
January 20, 2011
Facebook is taking over your brain! Okay, that’s a lie, but the researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that our brains work like a highly sophisticated social network.
Our brains are made up of neurons within the neocortex of the brain scientists have discovered a kind of “subnetwork” of very active neurons that process more information than “regular” neurons. It is the culmination of 40 years of research which has opened the door to another 40 years of research. Locker Gnome says:
“It’s (the neuron network) like Facebook. Most of your friends don’t post much — if at all. But, there is a small percentage of your friends on Facebook who update their status and page often. Those people are more likely to be connected to more friends…” Barth said.
It is precisely these connections that make it possible for the sharing of mass amounts of information between connections. While the neurons are sending out this information they are also receiving information from their extended networks that include other “highly” active neurons.
In the end it seems to work like the six degrees of separation. Every sixth neuron is going to know someone in your network! Pretty nifty stuff. So what happens if Facebook launches a search system based on urls its members provide and CMU’s insights?
Leslie Radcliff, January 20, 2011
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