Google Apple: Assertions in Play in an Ethics-Free Context
February 19, 2012
I am not firing on all cylinders this morning. The goose is in recovery mode. Despite my weakened condition, I noted the brouhaha over Google’s getting tangled in the Apple Safari thorn bush. Allegations are zooming through the datasphere, and I noted one particularly fascinating write up, “Google Didn’t “Track” iPhones, But It Did Bypass Safari’s Privacy Settings.” The write up asserts:
Google was tracking iPhones? That suggests the location scandal that came up last year. In reality, Google’s not tracking phones. It’s tracking what some people might do within the Safari browser, both on the phone and on the desktop. In fact, I’m pretty perplexed about why the iPhone aspect is being played up so much. This seems far more likely to have impacted more people using Safari on the desktop. I’m not alone in feeling some things are being trumped up in the headline and opening paragraphs — see also John Battelle’s take, as well as MG Siegler.
These are big names. But none of these individuals are working at Google on the team responsible for the thorn bush blunder.
Several points:
- Is there a theme evident in Google’s missteps? Whether the shadow of Google on the Apple Board of Directors or the Buzz flap is affecting me, I discern a pattern of action-reaction-apology and then the Hegelian cycle repeats. I must be alone in this perception.
- Do commercial enterprises have an obligation to hold themselves to a higher standard? I find it somewhat disconcerting that financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and, yes, even online services routinely take actions that require apologies. Without consequences, are we creating a situation where alleged problems are the outcome, not value?
- Which of the pundits are sufficiently clever to keep up with the actions of programmers who are really clever? I can’t describe my work experiences in detail, but I know that clever does not equal good judgment. Once again, am I the only person who is growing tired of clever?
Fortunately I am too old, infirm, and jaded to expect that appropriate or ethical behavior will become the norm. As my old favorite boring writer said:
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.—William James, 1842-1910. Not known to be a user of Google’s services or an Apple device equipped with Safari.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
DuckDuckGo Excitement: Real or Semi Real?
February 19, 2012
I like DuckDuckGo. I like Blekko. I like Yandex. I don’t get too excited about Bing because the number of useful pages indexed in a meaningful way is an issue for me. I don’t jump up and down for Exalead’s free Web search because the span of results seems narrow and stale for some of my queries.I don’t like Google as much as I did in 2006 because relevance seems to be—ah, how shall I phrase it—situational.
So it is not surprising that DuckDuckGo is showing a rise in usage. You can get the metrics which are causing some azure chip consultants to crank up their sales efforts for a special Web search usage report. You can see some of the DuckDuckGo data in “DuckDuckGo Searches Going Waaaaay Up.” The data show DuckDuckGo enjoying an increase in usage. Assume the data in the write up are accurate. DuckDuckGo has doubled its direct queries, nosing close to one million queries. Here is the key passage:
For the first time ever since the search engine opened its doors, it received more than 1 million direct search queries. These are generated by direct user requests. Api requests sit steady at the ten million per day mark.
Last I heard, Google was in the three billion queries per day territory. Big difference. Real growth but I think more “semi real” when compared to Google’s traffic. Worth monitoring the trend, however.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Online and Medicine: Responsibility Falls on Customer
February 19, 2012
Sunday morning in Harrod’s Creek. Reasonably quiet for now. Gun fire will crackle when the sun rises. Police sirens will howl as some Commonwealth residents crash their cars after a late night run on the Bourbon Trail.
These are consequences of human choices. Guns do not fire themselves. Automobiles, at least so far, do not drive themselves.
Two stories caught my attention, and the way in which an “issue” was handled by writers and their publications make clear the odd handling of human intent.
First, navigate to “Infants’ Tylenol Recalled.” The hook is that a large company, Johnson & Johnson, manufactured or caused to be manufactured a medicine which can do harm not good. I do not know if the story is accurate, but it contains an interesting passage:
Company officials say in some cases the flow restrictor was pushed into the bottle when inserting the syringe. The recall applies to one-ounce bottles of grape flavored Infants Tylenol Oral Suspension. There have been no adverse events from the problem according to McNeil.
So no adverse effect to a child given Tylenol. Okay, the company is not chastised, nor is the article placing blame. On the surface, it seems that the company facing the allegation took action were it not for this statement: “Recall-plagued Johnson & Johnson is pulling all infant Tylenol off the U.S. Market.” So somewhere in this recall story people made decisions and people did the alleged action to put infants at risk.
Now point your browser thing at “Google’s Privacy Invasion: It’s Your Fault.” The story addresses the allegation that either Apple or Google took competitive actions. The online customer, in my opinion, is a clueless about the risk of certain online actions as is an infant taking medicine. Note what the “real” journalists at InfoWorld offer:
No, let’s put the blame where it belongs, on us, the users of the Internet. We rely on free services like Gmail while insisting on “privacy,” a term that we probably can’t even define to our collective satisfaction. We accept terms of service contracts and privacy policies that explain in excessive detail how we will not get privacy, how our information will be used, and then we object.
So instead of privacy, let’s talk about control. You do have some of that, still. Make some choices about how your information will be used–because it will be used–instead of accepting default settings.
Okay, online customers are at fault. Why are both stories giving the entities facing these allegations such gentle treatment. Humans make decisions at companies which have an impact on consumers who assume, trust, or expect products to work without a problem.
I find this interesting because as products and services become more complex, those using the problems are making decisions which deliver customer satisfaction. Maybe customer satisfaction is not a priority? Maybe journalists are finding it easier to ignore or shift the blame?
Fascinating. When one tries to search for information about these matters, the content which surfaces is not about the deeper problems. When content is removed or shaped, the “facts” of an issue become secondary to the spin. “Consumers, it is your fault” becomes the reality. I don’t believe this assertion for one New York minute. And pharma companies? Yikes.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Faking Out the Panda: Crazy Notions
February 19, 2012
More baloney from the desperate world of tricking Google. Search Engine Journal offers an “Easy Way to Understand Google’s Panda.” Writer Melissa Fach reproduces here an infographic with this introduction:
There are so many myths out there about Panda and what it means. This infographic from Single Grain makes it very easy for you to understand what Panda is, what can hurt your site, link building tips and offers suggestions on what to do if your website was affected.
This graphic actually seems to do what it claims, and the pandas in it are quite cute. However, we maintain that trying to outsmart the Panda is a waste of time and energy, and adds no value to the Web community. Better to focus on providing original, quality content that actually brings value to your site’s visitors.
Nothing tricky about that. Why not just write interesting and useful articles? We just do our thing at Beyond Search. Geese, not pandas too.
Cynthia Murrell, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
SLI Systems: Search of Facebook Content Creeps Forward
February 19, 2012
Facebook information is a gold mine for retailers, and now retailers are honing in on the content produced by consumers on the social networking site.
SLI Systems is now providing a way for allowing Facebook and other social media content to be discovered in a site’s search results. The idea is to let content shared by consumers to reach a larger audience than just those in their network that are reading in real-time. By “pausing” the flow of content and allowing it to be used later, the value of this content is supposedly increased. SLI Blog’s article, “Get More Mileage from your Facebook Content with Site Search,” elaborates on the idea with some case examples. The article asserts:
With the ability to include content from your Facebook wall and other social media sites in site search results, retailers can get much more mileage from their social media content. And, more importantly, they will be better able to harness the power of their customers for creating content. One way to do this is to look through your sites search phrases for questions customers are asking. Then, turn these questions into Facebook posts and let your community provide the answers.
This is quite an interesting twist. With Facebook users creating content, I’m not sure what sort of “content” retailers are banking on. This concept might just allow for negative or uninformed publicity, (see the #McDStories and #McFail hashtags that swarmed Twitter recently.) We will see.
Andrea Hayden, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Social Media Analytics: Relationships with End User Consumers
February 18, 2012
Text Analytics News recently partnered with Useful Social Media to publish a series of interviews with experts in the field of Social Media Analytics. The second installment focuses on the relationships between vendors and their end user consumers.
“Social Media Analytics Expert Interview Series: Part 2” is conducted by the Chief Editor of Text Analytics news, Ezra Steinberg. The interview panel includes: Meta Brown, General Manager of Analytics at LinguaSys; Christine Campbell, Director of Marketing at Socialware; and Pirouz Nilforoush, President & Co-Founder of NetShelter Technology Media. All three interviewees will be speaking at the Social Media Analytics Summit in San Francisco in April. The interview sheds some light on customer interaction; some helpful questions and responses from the interview follow:
“USM: What do you believe the average consumer thinks about companies’ social media listening initiatives?
Nilforoush (Netshelter): I think the average consumer is confused as to why different brands are initiating conversations with them online that can resemble advertising or spam. Brands need to focus their efforts around engaging their top influencers, rather than trying to engage with every single person that has something to say about their brand. It is not a scalable model for the brands and can be annoying for the end user. Instead, brands should focus their efforts on the people that have the biggest impact on their brand. These influencers will do the work for brands on their own and impact the masses.
USM: What would you tell someone who is thinking about employing social media analytics for their company?
Brown (LinguaSys): Start with just one narrow project tied to a specific business problem. Choose something where you feel confident that quick improvement is possible. Plan carefully – what’s the path from data collection to analytics to action to returns? Give yourself the best opportunity to succeed – don’t begin until you have made a plan that gives you a way to demonstrate measurable value for your investment in social analytics!
The interview focuses on planning for implementation of social media analytics and consumer’s thoughts on the topic. Many organizations would benefit by considering the opinions and thoughts provided by these leaders in social media. The full interview can be found here and can give insight on building relationships via social media and what to anticipate during the process.
Andrea Hayden, February 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Social Networks No Substitute for Reliable Real-Life Friends
February 18, 2012
From out “is this a surprise” department:
There are friends and then there are Friends. You’d have to be a bit naïve to be surprised that “Facebook Friends Can’t Be Relied on in a Crisis,” as The Telegraph affirms. Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK has released a poll which found that, though the average young adult has 237 Facebook “friends,” only a couple of them could be counted on for support in a time of crisis.
The problem is not just a dearth of virtual friends, though. Writer Stephen Adams reports,
The survey, of 1,000 people aged 18 to 35, found two-thirds of respondents said they had two or fewer really close friends. It also found that one in eight (13 per cent) admitted they did not have even a single person they considered to be a good enough friend to rely on, if life got very hard. Men (16 per cent) were more likely than women (12 per cent) to have no one to turn to.
Does this mean technology is robbing us of our real-world support networks? Perhaps, but a lot more study would need to be done before we draw that conclusion. Will these data throw some water on the notion of a search anchored in asking “friends”? I prefer an objective content processing system and key word search.
Cynthia Murrell, February 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Plus Functionality X Rayed
February 18, 2012
Why hasn’t Google+ taken off more than it has? ZDNet asserts, “Google+ Numbers Would Be Higher. . . if It Worked.” Writer Tom Foremski has been having trouble with his Google+ and, while he’s at it, Gmail and Google Contacts, too. What’s worse, Google’s famously inadequate support has failed him time and again.
Google’s problem is the company’s lack of participation in social networks, maintains Foremski. Google should be using social media to engage users and to provide some sort of organized support system. The article asserts:
I know that Google wants desperately to have a large social network but it clearly doesn’t get it, because it doesn’t use social networks in providing customer support!. . . . Google will fail at G+ and other social network ventures if it doesn’t fully engage in those networks, and others, with its customers and users. You have to be in it to get it. That’s how things work and there’s no short cuts.
Foremski suspects he is not the only one with Googley problems. He also suspects the company has little interest in fixing his or other users’ issues. The man may just be right.
I noted that Google itself used Facebook to publicize during the week of February 12, 2012, its “major” Google TV and YouTube announcement this week. Interesting. I guess marketers go where the eye balls are, not where the bonus plan suggests.
Cynthia Murrell, February 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Autonomy: Ready to Disrupt Again
February 17, 2012
When Hewlett-Packard (HP) purchased the enterprise software company Autonomy for a hefty 10.3 billion last August, the world was left wondering what would come of this new partnership. While HP has the hardware, Autonomy’s unique software allows enterprises to provide insight and structure to electronic data, including unstructured information, such as text, email, web pages, voice, or video.
Now, six months after the acquisition, word has broken and Business Insider’s Julie Bort has written “HP Finally Explains Its Big Plans for its $10 Billion Purchase, Autonomy” which shares some of the new products that HP has planned for Autonomy.
According to the article, HP is working on several hardware appliances that will power enterprise search and ideally out compete Google’s Search Appliance. HP also unveiled a new Autonomy video application.
In addition to this, Bort writes:
“HP is working on mobile Autonomy applications that will let you view images of physical world objects such as a movie poster and interact with them online. That’s nothing special, as lots of companies are working on similar technology, known as “augmented reality.” But this type of thing hasn’t gone mainstream yet, so there’s plenty of room for a big player like HP to own it if it ever does.”
While HP many not be using Autonomy to create the most innovative products right off the bat, HP’s extensive resources and purchasing power paired with Autonomy’s software make a duo that will be difficult to compete with.
Jasmine Ashton, February 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Gets Publicity
February 17, 2012
Most Hollywood folks know that any publicity is good publicity. Well, there might be an exception for Heaven’s Gate. I thought about Heaven’s Gate. Publicity did not put a rocket under that team. I noted the story “Google’s iPhone Tracking.” I am not sure how accurate the story is. There is the shadow of News Corp. clouding my intake of the organization’s content. I don’t have much to add. I do have a question. Is this Google’s Heaven’s Gate moment? I will have to run a search for that sequence of proper nouns.
Stephen E Arnold, February 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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