FTC Narrows Focus in Google Investigation
August 15, 2011
The US Federal Trade Commission is moving forward with its Google investigation. The Wall Street Journal announces, “FTC Sharpens Google Probe.” Sounds painful.
The agency is honing in on certain areas of the company’s operations, like the lucrative Android and Web search services. Writers Thomas Catan and Amir Efrati report that, according to their sources, FTC lawyers:
have been asking whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors’ services, these people said. They also have inquired whether Google grants preferential placement on its website to its own products. . . . And they’re looking into allegations that Google unfairly takes information collected by rivals, such as reviews of local businesses, to use on its own specialized site and then demotes the rivals’ services in its search results, the people said.
Some weighty charges, all of which Google denies. The company suggests investigations here and abroad are spurred by competitors threatened by its legitimate success. Even so, it has modified some of its behavior in response to the concerns.
It’s still early in the process. Along the way, the investigation is likely to be subject to the good old fashioned American way of sophisticated lobbying.
Some Googzilla loving pundits assert that Google will escape with little more than a slap on the claw. Our view is that whenever the wheels of justice turn, the consequences can be surprising. Consider President Obama’s health care initiative and the fun loving Atlanta judge. Quite a surprise.
For pundits with little first hand experience with a Federal inquiry, uttering reassurances is such a nifty way to coo to the Google.
Cynthia Murrell August 14, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Arnold Columns, August 2011
August 15, 2011
Another financial crisis, more executive turnover in search and content processing companies, and a definite dearth of substantive news. Nevertheless, I was able to prepare several columns for my publishers. One outfit, which I shall not name, seems to have lost its grip on its life preserver and has slipped under the water. Hopefully, the outfit will resurface.
Here’s the line up for my August columns, which have been submitted. I have no idea when these will appear in their hard copy or online form. Because this is work for hire, you won’t find the information in my free Web logs Beyond Search, SharePointSemantics, or Inteltrax, however. Such is life in the post crash world of copyright-infused publishing companies.
Enterprise Technology Management (London, England). “Google’s Enterprise Search: From Headliner to Bit Player.” In this essay, I pick up the theme that Google’s push into Android and Google Plus (Google+) has made it clear that the firm has some new priorities. In this shift, search is now becoming more a utility. I highlight what Google is doing and contrast it with what Dassault Exalead has in play. Guess which is performing more effectively? Read the ETM publication to find my answer to this question.
Information Today. Due to a brutal September travel schedule, I was a good little, but underpaid writer. I submitted my September and my October columns in August. Don’t worry the information in both is new and definitely important. The September column is “Two Search Innovations: The Snake and the Lion.” I discuss the Canadian teen who created a new approach to determining contextual relevance for short messages and the new metasearch system which uses the full width of today’s modern monitors to display search results. For the October column, I tackle European business intelligence as manifested in Spotter, a firm founded by a female manager wizard who is also a technology ace. This is definitely a must read for those who want more diversity in the male dominated world of search and content processing. This column is called “Business Intelligence: Overcoming the International Blind Spot.” Acquisitions, anyone?
For Information Today’s Newsbreaks, I wrote a longer piece which the editor edited to focus on my views of Google innovation. Cost cutting is interesting. You can find the original on the information Today Web site.
KMWorld has a stockpile of my columns. These will be running in the next issues. I have lost track of what’s in the queue.
Online Magazine. I am now a “regular” contributing longer essays for each issue of this prestigious publication. I am covering open source from the point of view of an online centric organization. This month’s feature is “Open Source Search: A Digital Technicolor Dream Coat.” The idea is that there seems to be something magical about open source. But is it for real or a theatrical convention before open source goes commercial? The answer to the question appears in my write up for Online.
There are two for fee content tests underway. These services may be killed after their alpha tests. If you want to see additional content produced by the ArnoldIT/Beyond Search team, check out www.patentpoints.com and www.thecardline.com.
Stephen E Arnold, August 15, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Inteltrax: Top Stories, August 8 to August 12, 2011
August 15, 2011
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically how the legal world is impacted by data analytics.
One of our most popular entries this week was “Legal Marketplace Filled with Analytic Options.” This was a quick look at all the data mining tools available to lawyers.
Another hot topic was our article, “Zettaset and Others Cashing in on Forensics.” Proving forensic science has been aided undoubtedly by predictive analytics in ways CSI could only dream of.
In addition, our story, “Facial Recognition a Boon for Facebook and a Threat for SSNs” detailed how legal tools, like facial recognition software, can backfire, causing a serious breach in security.
For the most part, we feel the legal world is aided in amazing ways by big data management systems. From the courtroom to the police station, people are utilizing these tools. But with any strong advance in technology, there is always a risk of misuse. We’ll be following these trends and others to watch this fascinating corner of the industry unfold.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax, August 15, 2011
Sponsored by Digital Reasoning, developers of the next-generation analytics platform, Synthesys.
Autonomy and Drupal
August 15, 2011
Short honk: Thanks to the reader who alerted me to Akaoni’s Sandbox for Autonomy IDOL search. You can find the Drupal resources at http://goo.gl/qyHsD.
The code offers an implementation of the Search API that uses an Autonomy IDOL server for Drupal installations.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Protected: Why IT People Should Care about SharePoint
August 15, 2011
Google Plus Demographics
August 14, 2011
Here at the Beyond Search goose pond, we pay more attention to the less zippy aspects of search. The notion of asking someone and getting an answer is a method we learned at our orientation class at Halliburton NUS 40 years ago. The training went something like this.
When you need to know where the diagrams for the ECCS are, you need to ask the duty officer?
Not too fancy, but the method worked despite government and plant operator bureaucratic “efficiency.” Moving questions to another communication medium seems pretty understandable to us. Searching the digital artifacts is an obvious step. We can even get our tiny minds around the notion of knowing who asked whom, what, and when.
When we think about Google Plus, we see a new service which is changing. We think that the changes are coming less quickly than we anticipated. Google seems to be putting considerable effort into the new service. Once a person provides the who, what, why and when for routine communications one has a very interesting commercialization opportunity.
“Study Google+ Winning over Suburban Parents, Losing College Kids and Cafe Dwellers” caught our attention on august 13, 2011. The write up provides some early data about the demographics of the 20 million plus Google Plus users. (Am I the only one who eschews using the plus sign because of its role as an operator in some search systems?)
Here’s the passage we noted:
Google+ seems to be falling out of favor among the “colleges and cafes” crowd, generally younger people without children. However, it’s seeing an increase in interest from the “kids and cabernet” segment — defined as “prosperous, middle-aged married couples living child-focused lives in affluent suburbs.” That’s a group that hasn’t embraced Facebook as much as the rest of the population, according to the Experian Hitwise data.
My hunch is that Google is going to want hundreds of millions of users of all demographic stripes and hues. The inclusion of games is a first obvious step of what is a consumerizing move. The video stuff also points down market to me, but I am 67 and not too keen on the boob tube whether implemented on a big screen TV, a mobile device, or some intermediate gizmo like an iPad. A wasteland is a wasteland to me.
The more consumerized a service, the less utility that service has to me. Facebook is the ultimate consumer “space”, and I don’t spend much time in that service. (A couple of the goslings are working on a Facebook implementation for Augmentext.com, but I just watch and learn. I don’t “do.”) Google Plus seems more appropriate to me, but if it goes down-market, then I will drift away. LinkedIn has already become a crazy “hire me” and “I am an expert” place, and I am not too keen on that digital watering hole either. I am willing to be semi flexible, but since I can’t touch my toes, I don’t know how far I can go in this down-market type environment.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2011
Booz Allen Downplays Hack
August 14, 2011
Booz Allen Hamilton, a self-proclaimed leader in management and technology consulting services to the US government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, is evading discussion of the severity of their recent hacking. ComputerWorld gives details in, “Booz Allen CEO Downplays Effect of Anonymous Hack.”
A July cyberattack on Booz Allen Hamilton will not materially harm the company’s bottom line, its CEO said Tuesday. The Anonymous hacking collective stole source code, e-mail addresses and other data from Booz Allen and published it online on July 11. Still, the company does not expect ‘the cost of remediation and other activities directly associated with the attack’ to ‘have a material affect on our financial results,’ said Ralph Shrader, Booz Allen’s Chairman and CEO on a conference call with analysts.
Although Anonymous is posing an increasing threat to corporate and government online records, this attack should not have happened. This company bids out quite a lot of national security work, and the information released was military email addresses and accompanying personal information. Is it a case of the shoemaker’s children not having their own shoes? It’s hard to sell security to the world at large, and not have a tight rein on your own.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 14, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
The Continuing Google Saga
August 14, 2011
We just can’t get away from news of Google’s legal imbroglios. ZDNet announces, “Google Faces Nine Antitrust Complaints in the EU.” That’s five more European entanglements than had previously been revealed. Writer Matt Weinberger notes:
It’s certainly not good news for Google, which faces an FTC probe here in the US in addition to these complaints in the EU. But it’s not necessarily any worse for Google either – several of these cases will likely cover the same issues, so one European Commission investigation can potentially shed light on all nine.
The cases revolve around the claim that Google suppressed smaller businesses’ pages in search results in order to quash competition. A ruling against the company could call for a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover. That’s a lot of Euros. We have to wonder: in the present economic climate, could getting money from a giant US company might be considered a possible factor? Just saying.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt must be feeling the pressure. He’s scheduled to appear on September 21 before a US Senate subcommittee, where his words are sure to be scrutinized by the parties involved in this mess across the pond.
Distraction? We think even Google will have to pay attention as the legal tasks pile up.
Cynthia Murrell August 14, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Billion Dollar Bing Banging Away at Google Search
August 13, 2011
Bing appears to be gaining slowly on Google’s share of online search. Business Insider reports on the latest search engine market shares in, “Microsoft Keeps Chipping Away At Google’s Search Market Share.”
Bing did not gain any market share between June and July, according to the latest numbers but Yahoo was up a notch, which amounts for a gain for Microsoft — and a slight loss for Google. These month to month fluctuations don’t mean much, but the trend is clear: Microsoft is chipping a few tenths of a percentage point from Google’s search market share every couple of months.
Keep in mind that while Microsoft might be making slow progress in the search market, financially their revenues are slipping due to the Yahoo deal. And is such a small gain really a gain at all? Will it take more drastic steps to unseat the search giant Google? We think so. Bing has some likable features, including their travel search, but they have yet to really set themselves apart and drive the market.
Bang, bang, bing. Bang, bang, bind. Sounds rhythmic we think.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 16, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Google TV Experiences Consumer Dimming
August 13, 2011
Who would have thought a search engine company would have more success with their social networking platform as opposed to TV service? Technology Review reports “Google’s Vision for TV Proves a Turnoff.”
Despite public perception that it would be impossible for any social networking site to rival the giant Facebook, it seems that it is fact harder to reinvent the wheel when people have been enjoying it comfortably and complacently for half a century.
Distributors and stores selling single flagship Google TVs actually returned more than they sold. We learned from Technology Review that Google’s search features couldn’t cut it for consumers:
Google TV devices have gained little traction. They launched to poor reviews citing them as difficult to use, and met opposition from broadcast and cable networks wary of the Web content might undermine their hold on viewers.
Without a user following, Google TV is proving that search is not the killer app for rich media. Assuming demand will remain low, what does this mean for Google’s advertising efforts?
If they can add value to the largest social media site and convert users, they must be able to rethink how to add value to something as archaic as a television set.
Logitech has cut prices. We learned that Sony is also rethinking its pricing tactics for Google TV. Interesting. WalMart failed in online music. Could Google suffer a similar fate?
Megan Feil, August 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
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