More SharePoint Myths Dispelled
September 8, 2011
If you surf the Internet, you probably have read those short snippet articles that list tips, how-to’s, myths, etc. These are quite popular are entertainment and news web sites. We found and article from Digital Landfill that rounds up “5 Myths About SharePoint.” These articles are enjoyable to read, because they are short, sweet, and get straight to the point. We’ll put out our favorites.
One myth is that “SharePoint is a user-level tool, so it won’t break the IT department.” If you have read any of our articles you are quite aware that SharePoint needs constant tweaking to make it a reliable and easy tool for users. While regular users will know more than average about SharePoint, most don’t know a thing about programming. Who do you call, then? Let me highlight one myth: SharePoint was not developed by a secret team of Microsoft experts. We learn:
Reality — Actually, I believe it was. Many companies today are discovering that SharePoint has led to a rapid and uncontrolled spawning of user-created portals, just like that cute but pesky first pair of tribbles that spawned so many offspring so quickly that they almost overwhelmed the starship Enterprise. I have heard many companies report to their astonishment that after deploying SharePoint they had thousands of SharePoint sites thrown up by employees. One company recently told me, as they tried to work through a degree of shock that suggested the need for professional therapeutic intervention, that they had determined just that morning that there were 30,000 SharePoint sites on their network. Surely a team of programming tribbles produced such an application.
And lastly, “you can find the stuff you need with SharePoint search.” Most out-of-the-box search engines stink. They only hit one keyword out of ten and users are constantly muttering that they wish the engine was more like Google. This is where third-party companies come in.
A SharePoint licensee can easily and economically augment SharePoint. We recommend that our readers take a close look at Ontolica, the search and content processing system from SurfRay.
Stephen E Arnold, September 8, 2011
Google and Its Good Enough Method for Android Fragmentation
September 7, 2011
I avoid cabbage and I dodged it at dinner tonight. To celebrate, I did some quick headline scanning and found this enticing item, crisp and tasty like cabbage: “How Android’s Fragmentation Issue Is Slowly Receding.” I found the analysis interesting, and I noted this passage:
The only way to eliminate the problem is for Google to either cease licensing the platform and build its own devices, like Apple, or for the Android-maker to be very specific in terms of hardware requirements, like Microsoft. I don’t expect either of those things to happen. And that’s OK, because the fragmentation issue is less of a problem than it was 18 months ago.
Call me old fashioned, but I don’t get it. There are multiple versions of Androids. Developers have to pick one and then figure out how to support the app on various Android platforms. I am probably wrong, but Android is growing fast and imposes some different types of friction from Apple’s in or out approach and Windows 7 “no users yet” methods.
The point I thought important was swerved around the way I dodge cabbage. Amazon, I thought I heard, was creating what I call “Bezos-Droid” or “An-Zos.” So now we have to support the Amazon variant. What happens if certain Google partners take open source Android and go a different direction? These possibilities seem to add some spin to the Google Android fragmentation management task. Will developers avoid certain Android variants the way I avoid cabbage?
I also think the notion of “less of a problem” is a facet of Google’s “good enough” approach. I am not sure “good enough” will pass muster in the present business climate. I have to keep reminding myself that South Korea’s alleged police action, the US government’s hit and miss scrutiny of Google, and the EC’s stack of legal actions involving Google could make “good enough” management show even more stress fractures.
Fragmentation may be less of an issue that forks and fractures.
Stephen E Arnold, September 8, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Is Yahoo Harbinger for AOL?
September 7, 2011
I am in a country where cabbage is the main delicacy. I took time from marzipan with sauerkraut to read “Carol Bartz Confirms Her Own Firing –From Her iPad” to learn that the “new” Yahoo was a bit like the “new” Coca Cola. Hype did not generate big bucks. Here’s the statement I noted:
The moral of the story: how do you know a company is lying about something potentially damaging, even (and perhaps especially) in an official capacity? If their mouths are moving.
Too bad for Ms. Bartz, Yahoo stakeholders, and, I think, for AOL’s Xoogler boss. Here’s why:
- AOL has Ms Huffington, who may look like a way to fix the wandering AOL
- Yahoo had a female CEO, and AOL may think that it can emulate Yahoo with better results following its lead in management selection
- With new brass at the top of these me-too companies, someone might think merging the outfits will make a winner, an idea which the Xoogler has not acted upon
My view. Time is running out for both Yahoo and AOL.
Stephen E Arnold, September 7, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
SharePoint: Embracing Social Functions and Features
September 7, 2011
The future of search is a subject that sparks a conversational camp fire. After email, search is one of the principal uses of online systems. In the last year, traditional key word search has been altered by the growing demand for “social content.” The idea is not just to index online discussions, but to use the signals these conversations emit as a way to improve the relevance of a search.
For example, when Lady Gaga sends her fans a Twitter message, the response and diffusion of that message provides useful information to a search system. A query about a fashion trend sent to Bing and Google, for example, will “respond” to the Lady Gaga message and include the retweets of her content as an indication of relevance.
This could apply to enterprise search. It could be possible to configure a mainstream solution such as Microsoft Fast Search Server to respond to social content.
A solid overview of what is possible is available in the InfoWorld article, “If You Must Have In-House Social Tools, Go With SharePoint.” Examples of SharePoint’s social tools are support for Weblogs, the “I Like It” tags, notes, and profiles pages. InfoWorld explains how these tools will contribute to user satisfaction and help enhance the findability of content within an enterprise SharePoint installation. The implementation of social functions falls upon SharePoint administrators. Coincident with the release of the social tools, InfoWorld points out that user training is helpful. The article makes this important point:
I’m not a fan of social networking tools at work. I believe it distracts people more than it provides value. Call me a dinosaur, but when I want to say something important to the entire company, I use this ancient system called email. Maybe I’m not a team player because I don’t like collaborating on documents; if I need your help on a document, I’ll email it to you and you can look it over.
My view is that social networking has a time and a place, is beneficial, and should be taken in small quantities.
“Enjoy Maximum Collaboration with the Help of SharePoint” is especially thought provoking. The author said:
What SharePoint applications do is the customization, configuration and the development of Intranet, Extranet and the portals of information that are present on SharePoint.
My thought is that SharePoint does not perform customization. SharePoint must be configured and tuned to deliver certain types of functions. In our experience, SharePoint requires additional scripts. The default services deliver access to document libraries to manage content, generate reports, locate services, and share content across a wide network. However, social features may warrant changes to the SharePoint infrastructure to ensure that content throughout performance is not compromised and make certain indexing processes receive additional tuning to handle the social content if needed. Due to the abbreviated form of some social content, additional metadata may be required to enhance the findability of a short message.
Search Technologies has implemented social functions into Microsoft SharePoint. The Search Technologies’ team has the experience to derive the maximum benefit from the services which Microsoft includes with SharePoint. In addition, our engineers can implement special features as well as install, configure, and tune third party add-ins from Microsoft certified software developers.
Social has arrived and SharePoint is the ideal platform to use to take advantage of this fast growing content type.
Iain Fletcher, September 7, 2011
More Search Ranking Advice
September 7, 2011
As you may know, the publisher of Beyond Search takes a dim view of search engine optimization and the “satraps” who sell their alleged expertise to hapless Webmasters. ZDNet rides the trailing edge with yet another SEO checklist in “10 tips to boost search rankings.” Writer Jamie Yap does acknowledge the presence of the Panda, but asserts that most companies need not be concerned about it.
“Adam Bunn, director of SEO at London-based search marketing agency Greenlight, said Google’s Panda update does impact the SEO landscape but is ‘not something that most business need to worry about specifically. Panda only targets and affects a small minority of poor quality sites, and the things businesses need to do to avoid being hit by Panda are the things that any good business should be doing anyway,” Bunn told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview.
That’s the way to look at it, alright. But the recommendations compiled here from Bunn and John Ng of Mezmedia keep a foot in the past. Alongside such truly useful gems as “create useful content” and “be unique,” we find “keyword everything” and “get help from an [SEO] expert.” Humph.
We think key word search is over. If you want traffic, buy it. The SEO sector is fighting mad Pandas and we think the Pandas will win. If you want to be findable, check out the system and method available from Augmentext, an ArnoldIT company.
Cynthia Murrell, September 7, 2011
A Browser Phase Change Underway
September 7, 2011
“Google Chrome Share Hits 13.5%, Apple Safari Tops 8%” through July, announces eWeek.com. The figures represent growth for both Chrome and Safari. In relation, of course, both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox decreased in market share; both are still ahead of those newer browsers from Google and Apple.
Writer Clint Boulton points to some factors for the shift. In the case of Chrome, for example, Google has been aggressively marketing the product. Safari’s success seems to have much to do with the rise of the iPad. Boulton summarizes:
No one is claiming users will overthrow IE or Firefox en masse, but Chrome and Safari’s gains at the expense of the market incumbents make for an interesting story line provided they can continue to ascend.
We have some questions about this story line, regarding Chrome in particular: How will Google monetize this customer base? What will happen when telecommunications companies whip up their own versions of Android? What if the Google-Oracle legal battle goes against Google?
Another point is that Microsoft and Firefox have fallen into the “opera” orchestra pit. Getting out may be difficult.
We have no answers, unfortunately. Not yet.
Cynthia Murrell, September 7, 2011
The Google Does the Tablet Me Too Dance
September 7, 2011
Google’s blog announces a “New Google Search Experience for Tablets.” The search giant is accommodating the increasingly popular hardware with a specialized design. The write up specifies:
We’ve simplified the layout of search results pages and increased the size of page contents like text, buttons and other touch targets to make it faster and easier to browse and interact with search results in portrait or landscape view. The search button located below the search box provides quick access to specific types of results like Images, Videos, Places, Shopping and more. Just tap to open the search menu and select an option to see results in one category.
The redesign also focuses on making the most of image results. They have enlarged image previews and sped up the loading of thumbnails. The also put previews on a continuous scroll, but I think whether that is an improvement is a matter of personal preference.
If you have an iPad or Android 3.1+ tablet, give it a try. Do the changes significantly improve the experience? Is this recognition of Apple’s dominance in this market or just a me too play? You decide.
Cynthia Murrell September 7, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
SharePoint and the Future of Technology
September 7, 2011
Personal computers have taken deep root into our everyday lives. Barely anyone these days is far from the Internet, office tools, videos, pictures, and, of course, social networking web sites. It is a trend to sport the latest technology which is always getting smaller, more portable, and sleeker in design. The Cloud IT Pro, Dan Holme, evaluated his current technology repository and how it relates to SharePoint in, “Confessions of a Microsoft Purist.”
Holme uses a Microsoft Air personal computer which uses a third party software component to run the Windows 7 operating system. He also has an iPad with a variety of apps that allow him to do work and plenty of social networking. He has a Windows 7 phone (one of the few people in the world) and hates data plans.
What does all this tell us about the future of Microsoft, of Windows, and of SharePoint? That we all are becoming device agnostic–which doesn’t necessarily matter to Microsoft since it doesn’t make such devices (yet)–and increasingly, OS agnostic–which does hurt Microsoft if it doesn’t respond. We’re becoming increasingly dependent on cloud services and Internet connectivity–both of which we’ve seen recently are not rock solid. And we need to be able to work offline.
He sums everything up by saying Microsoft needs to develop more cloud applications. The article is pretty much a list of Holme’s toys and his commitment to the newest technology. Microsoft is keen that SharePoint will be available through everything: phones, computers, tablet, or whatever is invented next. However you access SharePoint, use SurfRay Ontolica for an accurate and enhanced search.
Stephen E Arnold, September 7, 2011
SurfRay
DollarDays Seeing Success With EasyAsk
September 6, 2011
An Expert System Flash Report
Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about EasyAsk’s innovative natural language analysis-commerce search software. In June, EasyAsk partnered with the social networking giant Facebook to allow users to search and purchase products without having to ever leave the confines of Facebook’s familiar interface. Now, EasyAsk customer DollarDays International, one of the premier online wholesaler and closeout companies, is talking about the success they are having with the EasyAsk eCommerce Edition solution.
DollarDays selected the EasyAsk eCommerce Edition, the industry’s leading e-commerce search and merchandising solution to help increase conversion rates, deliver a better customer experience and give its marketing team a more agile merchandising capability. The EasyAsk natural language technology (NLP) provided a more powerful, yet easier to use search and merchandising for their e-commerce site which distributes over 140,000 products with over 5,000 categories and sub-categories.
DollarDays President and CEO Marc Joseph stated in a September news release entitled, Dollar Days Rings Up E-Commerce Dollars Using EasyAsk Natural Language Search and Merchandising:
The most successful e-commerce sites get the customer to the right products the fastest, speeding the buying process. EasyAsk natural language search allows our customers to find the exact product in a single click, increasing our customer conversion rates. EasyAsk also makes our merchandising more agile, which is essential in our business where product offerings are continuously changing.
Online retailers like DollarDays are recognizing the fact that in order to stay ahead of their competition their products must be as accessible to their customer base as possible. EasyAsk software products go far beyond traditional keyword search, allowing users to express searches in a highly descriptive way; for example:
blue mens polo shirts under $50
The EasyAsk system then delivers on point results. Our research suggests that the more quickly the customer gets to the products he/she wants, the more likely the customer is to purchase. Improving customer conversion is one of the key benefits of the EasyAsk approach in my opinion.
My take is that EasyAsk appears to be gaining momentum as they continue to adapt its e-commerce search and merchandising software to meet the needs of the various companies they serve. EasyAsk offers versions of its patented system which both in a SaaS (software as a service or hosted) environment and as an on premises installation. The architecture of the EasyAsk NLP and e-commerce system allows an EasyAsk customer to to switch easily between the two implementations if the client’s needs change.
EasyAsk works with virtually all of the leading e-commerce platform software. EasyAsk’s system now supports all three commerce channels: the Web, mobile and Facebook. At this time, EasyAsk may be one of the few if not the only e-commerce vendor able to support each of these three options. The result? EasyAsk gives its licensees a powerful solution and options which help enhance return on investment.
Stephen E Arnold, September 6, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
InQuira: Customer Support Not So Hot
September 6, 2011
I read “InQuira Says Self Service Web Unsatisfying.”
The news item reported that InQuira, which seems destined to follow the Triple Hop jump into Oracle, conducted a survey. Well, sort of a survey, but the findings, if I understood the write up, revealed that
More than 90% who use online sites had to compose multiple queries to get an answer to their question, and about half were satisfied with their answer before abandoning the Web and calling an 800 number for support.
Okay, search and customer support are unsatisfying. One hopes companies like InQuira will address this problem, not tell me that customer support is not exactly like a cool drink on a hot day.
Stephen E Arnold, September 5, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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