Facebook Still Tops Google Plus
November 23, 2011
Tech Crunch reported on social media news this week in the article “Report: 61 Percent of Top Brands Have Created Google+ Pages, But No One is Following.”
It appears that in the competition between Facebook and Google+, Facebook is staying in the lead. The SEO firm BrightEdge found that since the release of Google+ pages last week 61 percent of the world’s top 100 brands have signed up for pages, however, few people seem to be following them.
Despite the fact that Google+ pages on average appeared in the top 12 Google search results for the corresponding brand, while the brand’s Facebook pages on average appeared in the top 13 or 14 listed results, the article states:
Ninety four percent of the Top 100 brands have a presence on Facebook. BrightEdge says that only 12 percent of the brands that created these pages displayed a link to them on their home page. About 53 percent of the Top 100 brands display a link on their home page to their Facebook page. And brands appear to be having mixed success at building social networks around their Google+ presence. In fact, Google had the largest fan contingent of any brand on Google+, having attracted more than 65,000 fans.
If Google+ doesn’t gain a significant following soon, and Google+ becomes the “new” Google, we can most likely expect a big shift coming in usage patterns. Maybe the “old” Google should not have been thrown under the bus.
Jasmine Ashton, November 23, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Overcoming SharePoint Infrastructure Woes
November 22, 2011
The IT blogosphere has no lack of discussion of SharePoint and its implementation. What is SharePoint and how is it best used? One thing is certain – SharePoint is no out-of-the-box solution. Without careful planning, implementation, and customization, a company will fail to reap any benefit from SharePoint, and may even suffer confusion and frustration in the process. Symon Garfield defines SharePoint as an infrastructure, expounding on its strengths and weaknesses in, “The Art of SharePoint Success: Strategy – What Is SharePoint?”
“The benefits are derived from the services that are implemented on the infrastructure rather than from the infrastructure itself and so it is with SharePoint. This is one contributing factor to the difficulties that many organizations face in creating a business case for SharePoint . . . Often the first SharePoint project in an organization has to bear the costs of implementing the infrastructure, even though the benefits are spread across the multiple solutions it enables.”
This initial report does not sound promising. With the furious and indiscriminate adoption of SharePoint since its 2010 update, one has to wonder if most people are making the most of their enterprise search infrastructure. Probably not. So what is to be done? How do we optimize the “benefits derived from the services that are implemented on the infrastructure?”
One solution that we have found is Fabasoft Mindbreeze, a substantive suite of information management solutions. Where SharePoint offers only an empty infrastructure, Mindbreeze provides meaning and context.
“Highly efficient enterprise search and specific connectors link together data sources in companies and organizations. They integrate the knowledge of different sections of a company into a uniform, linked whole. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise finds every scrap of information within a very short time, whether document, contract, note, e-mail or calendar entry, in intranet or internet, person- or text-related. The software solution finds all required information, regardless of source, for its users.”
Enterprise search, when done well, is an essential business tool for managing the information storage and retrieval needs of the modern day. But finding a solution that makes sense, and produces benefits without the hassle of tricky implementation, is paramount. We think Mindbreeze is worth a second look.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 22, 2011
Concept Searching: The Webinar King
November 22, 2011
Attivio relies on white paper marketing. Concept Searching historically markets via webinars. Now here’s a different approach: a press release.
PRLog posts, “Concept Searching’s conceptClassifier for SharePoint Improving Search Outcomes.” There’s no new study to cite or startling development to report; the company is simply issuing a proclamation on the benefits if its services:
Relying on end users to accurately and consistently determine the metadata to be applied has been unsuccessful and directly impacts the ability to retrieve relevant information during the search process. Metadata generation, classification, and taxonomies go hand-in-hand with improving search and this more comprehensive approach is rapidly being understood and adopted. conceptClassifier for SharePoint effectively addresses the problem and delivers relevant and precise results based on concepts within the content.
Founded in 2002,Concept Searching has been around for nearly a decade now. It partners with Microsoft to integrate its products with the SharePoint suite and Office applications. The company is proud to have grown rapidly without debt or outside investment.
Search and content processing vendors are looking for creative ways to generate sales in 2012.
Cynthia Murrell, November 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Recommind Wins Raves from Consultant
November 22, 2011
After being highlighted in IDC’s “MarketScape: The Worldwide Standalone Early Case Assessment Applications Report” in September, Recommind, the leader in predictive information management software, is hitting early case assessment hard by working to make eDiscovery more speedy and cost effective.
Recommind has created a new eDiscovery document review solution called Axcelerate Review & Analysis . Axcelerate Review & Analysis uses predictive analytics to pinpoint key documents quickly while automatically assessing document responsiveness, privilege and issue relation before the review process begins.
The Above The Law blog post “Recommind: The Leader In Fast, Accurate Early Case Assessment” states:
Axcelerate ECA & Collection is the first half of Recommind’s fully integrated, end-to-end Axcelerate eDiscovery platform. The patented search-and-categorization platform can identify and analyze data faster and more accurately than any appliance or point solution. And since Axcelerate ECA & Collection works seamlessly with Recommind’s review product, it’s a natural choice for enterprises that want control over eDiscovery costs.
We wonder if this new solution represents the company going back to its roots or if it’s simply complementing its enterprise search initiative. We have noticed a number of white papers, “objective reports”, and analyses running under the banner of some consulting firms. Interesting.
Jasmine Ashton, November 21, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
SharePoint Taxonomy Management Myths
November 22, 2011
Taxodiary reported this week on taxonomy management in the first article of the series “Five Myths About Taxonomy and SharePoint.”
Each myth will be reported on separately but the first one that the article tackles is a big one. Myth: SharePoint now has taxonomy management capabilities. The article states:
“SharePoint has certainly made a major step up by embedding the taxonomy capability within SharePoint however it is missing most of the critical features which make taxonomies so useful. No related terms, management within the term store is so painful even Microsoft employees use an outside tool. The set of taxonomy attributes allowed is very meager, tracking of term changes is nearly no existent, synonyms are not allowed, display space is limited to ten lines of the taxonomy at a time, etc.”
In order to avoid SharePoint’s taxonomy limitations, the article recommends that end users utilize a third party tool to help fill in the gaps as well as get feedback from user groups like the SLA Taxonomy Division.
We think that Taxodiary hit the nail on the head with this post. The bottom line is that too much jabber about taxonomies and controlled vocabularies are uninformed. You should attend to the experts, not the self appointed poobahs.
Jasmine Ashton, November 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Search Realities: No Fun for Sure
November 22, 2011
Our Overflight service pointed us to a write up called “Enterprise Search Explained. What about Next Steps?” We agree in principle with the article because enterprise search is convoluted. We don’t think the write up goes far enough. In fact, we think that the approach is part of the “search problem,” not part of the solution. There is a sharp distinction about the use of clicks, links, and popularity via user scoring with thumbs up, like buttons, and happy faces and the enterprise.
First, most enterprise content gets one or two clicks. Once in a while a document will generate a large number of clicks, usually for the World Cup pool or a change in the benefits program. The routine enterprise content is of interest to a small number of users. Popularity is zilch. There are few inbound and outbound links in most enterprise content. Finally, the notion that “big data” will unfailingly point the user to a hot trend is silly.
Second, in an organization the notion that “all” content is indexed is also wrong and, in many cases, illegal. It would be great to peer into the employment applications to find the colleague with the exact experience one needs for a proposal. The challenge is to lever out that information without dragging salary, employment reviews, and other “personal” data along for the ride. In some firms with government contracts, colleagues are not permitted to know about the existence of a project. I have worked at one firm where the president was not cleared to review the details of a major government contract.
Third, the marketing baloney that says, “Our system can index enterprise content” is an invitation to a cost overrun. How does a “free”, “low cost”, or over-hyped search system handle drawings from an AutoCAD system, pluck data from a legacy Ironside application running on “frozen” AS/400s, and tap into price changes in a traditional database system. The fact is that transforming and processing content is an expensive task. The phrase “you don’t know what you don’t know” applies to much in the enterprise search sector.
We are okay with systems from such firms as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Polyspot when there are sufficient resources available. We know that established vendors like IBM can make “anything” work. IBM is a consulting firm as you may know. Even promising vendors like Polyspot can work wonders in an organization unable to locate information in a timely manner.
The trick is to keep ones feet on the ground and the realities firmly in mind. We know that’s not as much fun as making up crazy assertions. But a system which works is the objective in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, November 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: CRM Integration Finally Arrives for SharePoint
November 22, 2011
A New Angle on Personalization
November 21, 2011
Web site personalization is a broad category with a variety of facets. Should you personalize? How? CMS Wire tackles this issue in “CXM Practices: Beneficial Personalization.”
Pete Iuvara weighs in:
I have seen this firsthand, the tremendous amount of benefits to personalizing content for your website’s audience. I am a firm believer in embracing a customer-centric implementation. It adds time-saving and relevant-first value for your website’s visitors . . . The key here is being transparent. Your visitors should know that personalization has been implemented in the hopes to benefit their experience first and foremost.
We have found that a user’s web site experience is greatly improved by the implementation of effective search. No matter how attractive a web site, if the search function does not allow the user to quickly remedy a query, the web site is essentially worthless. But personalization options, especially for search, can be costly and clunky. One option that we like is Fabasoft Mindbreeze and their InSite solution.
An attractive website is a company’s digital business card; its shop window. Surprise your website visitors with an intuitive search. Fabasoft Mindbreeze InSite is instantly ready for use as a Cloud service. It turns your website into a user-friendly knowledge portal for your customers. Fabasoft Mindbreeze InSite recognizes correlations and links through semantic and dynamic search processes. This delivers pinpoint accurate and precise ‘finding experiences.’
It’s hard to imagine an organization’s web site being any more essential to their overall image. It is often the first “stop” a potential customer makes when learning more about a company. Personalize your web space in a smart way, and take advantage of smart solutions like Fabasoft Mindbreeze to improve the overall user experience for your patrons.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 21, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Michael Lynch of Autonomy Lauded
November 21, 2011
Another honor for Hewlett Packard‘s Dr. Michael Lynch: Autonomy announces “Dr. Mike Lynch Awarded Outstanding Contribution to UK IT Award.” States the press release:
The UK IT Industry Awards, presented by the British Computer Society (BCS), the Chartered Institute for IT, in association with Computing magazine, represent the benchmark for excellence for the entire IT profession, showcasing best practice and innovation. Dr Mike Lynch is recognized for founding a number of technology companies, including Autonomy in 1996, one of the fastest-growing, highest-margin software companies in the business.
This award joins several others in Lynch’s august collection, including the Confederation of British Industry‘s Entrepreneur of the Year; the European Business Leaders Awards‘ Innovator of the Year; Management Today‘s Entrepreneur of the Year 2009; and an IEE Award for Outstanding Achievement. The man is on a roll!
Autonomy, a subsidiary of HP, is a leader in the field of unstructured data management. Customers worldwide, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on the company’s tools to bring efficiency and meaning to a broad range of amorphous information. We will await the “real” consultants’ assessment of Autonomy. There are 10 billion reasons that support Autonomy as a successful search vendor in our view.
Cynthia Murrell November 21, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
ZyLAB Offers Guidance about eDiscovery
November 21, 2011
ZyLAB goes back to the content lore about records management in “eDiscovery and Information Management: Factors that drive solid records management.” The piece emphasizes the importance of meeting legal obligations and points to several sources for guidance: the UK National Archives, the National Archives of Australia, and the US Department of Defense. However, it also acknowledges that crafting a records management program is a highly individual effort:
Although regulatory guidelines exist, every organization is different. . . . There are basic tenants and principles to good records management—not just in terms of ‘managing records’ but also in terms of creating a positive impact on the organization’s overriding knowledge management goals—but this construct doesn’t mean that there is a ‘one size fits all’ solution to every situation.
The article helpfully suggests ZyLAB’s 8-Point Inspection tool for assessing an organization’s data management needs. Clients from corporations to government agencies use this industry leader’s robust tools to cover their backsides.
This is an interesting write up, and a reminder that the content management systems for Web sites are destined to be a hassle.
Cynthia Murrell, November 21, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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