Google and Short Cuts
March 23, 2011
Even in this economic climate, it certainly isn’t everyday a company is compared to Julius Caesar. In “My Message to Google: Stop Cheating” the author examines the shadiness engulfing the search giant’s artificial algorithm and the effects ushered to the online community. The European Commission (EC) as well as varied members of academia are arming themselves with facts and finally mounting a case against the “omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent” Google.
This article states the company controls 70% of the global online search market. As one could imagine, with a reach so extensive manipulation is nearly inevitable. The research points to Google’s ability and seeming penchant to run competitors out of business by burying them in search results and making compatibility with popular Google products impossible. At the same time, Google props up its own products, consistently endorsing links from Google Maps, Google Finance and YouTube (to name a few).
The author’s message to Google is clear: “Stop cheating. Transform your search engine from a murky algorithm that sometimes benefits your own corporate interests into a transparently neutral guide that benefits both the consumers and the all the companies in our knowledge economy.”
Is the old adage titling these words true? What happens when the offender in question is a multi-billion dollar, international conglomerate? Luckily there is hope in a growing hole in Google’s power structure: the lack of social media. One rival in particular, namely the unattainable Facebook, is threatening the company’s online reign. So between the Facebook battle and the numerous offensives by disgruntled companies and suspicious industry professionals, Google may have to straighten out in order to not lose the entire kingdom. The Ides of March approach. We’ll see what happens.
Sarah Rogers, March 23, 2011
Freebie
Quote to Note: Google on Gmail and the Middletown
March 22, 2011
I am sitting in Hong Kong. The city has a bit more energy than Harrod’s Creek. I read “Google Accurses Beijing of Secret Gmail Blockade.” The source is the South China Morning Post, March 22, 2011. I think you can find a version of the story at this link. Here’s the alleged statement that caught my attention:
There is no issue on our side. We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail.
I don’t have a blindingly brilliant insight. Looks like a company is trying to object to the behavior of a country. I don’t have much experience changing the behavior of those who govern a nation statement. I think I can go out on a bit of a limb and suggest that countries can be interesting antagonists. Just a reminder that police, taxes, regulations, and information can be used in interesting ways.
Stephen E Arnold, March 22, 2011
Freebie
Linguamatics Takes to the Cloud
March 22, 2011
One of the leaders in enterprise text mining, Linguamatics, recently announced its newest software creation in “I2E OnDemand – Cloud (Online) Text Mining”. The company’s flagship product, I2E, is an enterprise version of NLP-based text mining software, largely implemented in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Now Linguamatics adds I2E OnDemand to its offerings menu, matching the popular I2E capabilities with cloud computing for those companies with fewer resources stacked in their corners.
The write-up boasts:
“I2E OnDemand provides a cost-effective, accessible, high performance text mining capability to rapidly extract facts and relationships from the MEDLINE biomedical literature database, supporting business-critical decision making within your projects. MEDLINE is one of the most commonly accessed resources for research by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.”
Of course in the event that search of additional data sources is required, it is possible to move to the enterprise version of I2E. There is a trial version for evaluation, available by request from the website. Linguamatics has been diversifying in the last 12 months. In 2009, I characterized Linguamatics as a vendor with a product tailored to the needs of the pharma and medical sectors. Now Linguamatics appears to be making moves outside of these vertical sectors.
Sarah Rogers, March 22, 2011
Freebie
IBM and Oracle: Another Corporate Scuffle
March 22, 2011
I just caught up with some in box info and read “IBM Fires Back at Oracle in Middleware Fray.” I had pigeon holed Oracle as an outfit preoccupied with legal spats with SAP and Google. Wrong. Oracle has time to needle IBM and other enterprise vendors about middleware performance. Now I think “middleware performance” like search is pretty much a fuzzy wuzzy notion. Proving speed or anything else when middleware or search is involved is little more than an exercise in sophistry.
IBM, now that its PR run with Jeopardy is history has time to take umbrage at Oracle’s hints that IBM software is like an ageing sprinter or a chubby marathoner. According to the write up:
Big Blue released new SPECjEnterprise 2010 benchmarking statistics on Friday that it said “demonstrate how businesses using IBM WebSphere middleware on Power 7 hardware can get the lowest cost for performance in the industry.” IBM also claimed that it “has proven 76 percent higher performance than Oracle overall.” In addition, IBM has launched a new website that lays into Oracle on a number of fronts. “Are you overpaying for Oracle Database? Hint. You’re overpaying for Oracle Database,” one barb reads.
Why the response? I am not sure any of the Fortune 1000 get too excited about claims from either company. Once a decision is made to go Oracle or IBM, the likelihood of a sudden shift drops off. If an option is required, I think younger information technology professionals will angle to fiddle with open source, maybe cloud solutions. Others will want to tire kick different options from start ups, but at the end of the day, dislodging either Oracle or IBM is easier said than done.
My view is that Oracle and IBM are at a point where the next customer has to come from the other company’s customer list. Will the strategy work? In my view, there will be some shifting, the financial and business pressures are such that the thrashings of these giants will be good theater, not great generators of new business.
Entertaining for me. Perhaps I am wrong, but I see in this dust up more posturing than meaningful marketing. Just my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, March 22, 2011
Freebie
Caveat Software
March 22, 2011
“Time to Rethink the Analyst Firm?” puts it to IT analysts and their clients, straight-up: Firms need to make changes in how they do business, and their clients should hold them accountable.
Author Dennis Howlett cites and expounds upon five recommendations from Zia Yusof :
Get industry-specific. Instead of developing horizontal software for the masses, analysts should develop more individualized solutions for specific industries. Yet few analysts have the courage to champion the smaller, lesser-known vendors that are filling these niches.
Rate the analysts/firms. A mechanism should be developed by which software buyers rate analysts and firms and share these ratings with other potential software buyers within a given industry.
Keep it transparent. Analysts should be upfront about how they make money, and disclose the vendors they are doing business with. If they don’t the client should ask.
Ditch the IT lingo. Analysts and vendors need to make information clear and understandable.
Go Indy. Some of the smaller, independent analyst firms are doing things the big guys can’t (or won’t). Some mentioned in the article were Constellation Research, Panorama, Computer Economics and Redmonk.
For software buyers, here are the important take-aways:
There was some useful advice tool The write up emphasizes that everyone should be aware that analysts work for vendors first and you second. What you’re hearing from the analyst may be PR from the vendor rather than objective information. We recommend that you ask questions and expect full transparency. Not everyone has an About page that explains what’s what.
We have one other tip as well: Verify whatever information you get from your analyst.
Robin Broyles, March 22, 2011
Freebie
Protected: Do You Need SharePoint Therapy?
March 22, 2011
ISYS Search Tags the Equivio Account
March 21, 2011
Equivio, a highly-rated software firm whose focus is redundant data management, has chosen ISYS Search’s’ document connectors to move information from one file form to another. Equivio will paid the ISYS Search filters with Equivio’s own series of eDiscovery tools. The full release can be viewed on the ISYS site.
The arrangement is projected to reinforce ISYS’ commanding rank as a pioneer in rooted search technologies, which offer customers the capacity to mine text from a diverse array of formats. The multinational company continues to collect both accolades and associates.
In the announcement, Equivio CEO Amir Milo states that expeditious retrieval and review of information is a primary component in the success of any business utilizing eDiscovery software.
Micheal Cory, March 21, 2011
Freebie
Quote to Note: IBM, Financial Allegations, and the SEC
March 21, 2011
I read “SEC Sues IBM for Alleged Bribery in Korea, China.” I duly note the “alleged.” I also note the countries: Korea and China. The SEC after napping through the Madoff years is now tracking what appears to be a decade long fancy dance. No problem on my side of the goose pond. My few dealings with IBM have been interesting. These range from IBM’s inability in 1981 to get STAIRS III to work thus necessitating some help from my team to get ITIRC search system to search and retrieval to a more recent IBM email saying, in effect, “Hey, thanks for including us in your Search Wizards Speak series. Then a funeral, a wedding, a new dog, a small fire, and some over spiced food caused that assurance to vaporize. Standard operating procedure for the goose.
In the referenced article, here’s the quote I liked which was in the context of the allegations of financial tangos:
IBM insists on the highest ethical standards in the conduct of its business and requires all employees to follow its policies and procedures for conducting business.
Got it. Noted. Memorized. Good to know after a “disgorgement”, which I think means “fine” or “payment”, of about $5.3 million. Life is simpler here in Harrod’s Creek. And to think that I thought was all IBM all the time. I heard a rumor that Watson sits on OmniFind which is open source and free Lucene. Fascinating collision of Jeopardy PR and this eWeek story of alleged disgorgements. I like that word, disgorgements.
Stephen E Arnold, March 21, 2011
Freebie and no a single crust of bread for the goose or the goslings.
InQuira 2010 Growth
March 21, 2011
Marketwire brings to our attention that “InQuira Shows Exceptional 2010 Growth, Shatters All Prior Sales Records.” InQuira is one of the long time players in natural language processing. The company made the decision to focus on customer support and self-help applications years ago. Today the company offers knowledge applications for multi-channel customer service, sales enablement, and social CRM. For 2010, the company says that its has shown exceptional customer and revenue growth. Its partnerships include SAP and Oracle. According the write up:
“Investments in established technologies like CRM and new social channels add transactional capabilities, but create new challenges for organizations to drive a consistent knowledge experience across multiple customer touch points. Our growth is being fueled by leading brands that realize the critical need to consistently knowledge-enable their service and sales processes to deliver a world-class customer experience. Only InQuira uniquely ensures that these technologies result in worthwhile investments and deliver the business value intended.”
Taking the critical approach, has InQuira, a privately held company, really shattered “all” prior sales records? The financial data isn’t disclosed, so where is the proof? The story is still interesting. Maybe Natural Language Processing is gaining momentum but we would like some hard financial data, not assurances.
Whitney Grace, March 21, 2011
Freebie
Does a Viral Video about Data Management Require a Paid Bitpipe Promotion?
March 21, 2011
The answer is, “Military intelligence.” A viral video, to me, is a YouTube link that some person calls to my attention. The viral videos are oddities, and I see comments about American Idol flub, angst ridden teens, or exploding diet cola containers. But Bitpipe? Back up. Read the Bitpipe page here. You see a plug for Netezza, recently acquired by IBM. You see the IBM logo. You see a register and log in screen to learn about a “viral video” that criticizes Oracle.
Bitpipe charges to post and promote white papers. I did a test for a client years ago. My recollection is that the service, founded by some former Thomson Reuters engineers, charged big money for Bitpipe’s marketing service. My test generated quite a number of inquiries, but after filtering them, I found that few were substantive. Information about Bitpipe’s business is here.
I am not concerned with Bitpipe. What interests me is that IBM, which is having engineers comment on Reddit just like college students, is now paying big bucks to inform people Netezza has a viral video. I just looked at my iPad. Yep. A link to popular YouTube videos. I just looked at Daily Rotation. Yep, an option to see a list of hot user generated videos. Guess what? No Netezza. Ergo. IBM and Netezza are trying to market and sound really cool at the same time.
Next will be a print ad in the Wall Street Journal with execs in zoot suits explaining the benefits of Netezza’s system and its somewhat confused options for search and content processing. First, the game show and Watson. Then Reddit posts about inventing the computer. And now a viral video promoted on a service that only an information technology student in an engineering school can love at term paper time. I there a viral video news release winging its way to me now? I hope not. For fun, run a query for “viral video” on Bitpipe.
Stephen E Arnold, March 21, 2011
Freebie
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
