Quote to Note: Publisher Strips the Internet Bare
March 15, 2012
Quote to Note. Interesting write up by a poobah fearful of losing his elephants. Point your vile browser thing at “John R. MacArthur: Internet Con Men Ravage Publishing.” Here is the quote I noted:
As far as I know, there isn’t a single profitable online-only magazine or newspaper in the United States and there isn’t a single profitable newspaper or magazine with an online edition that is seriously considering dropping its print edition.
The write up was free when I located the essay. I don’t have much of an opinion on the arguments in the poobah’s write up. Too late.
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Has Bing Caught Up to Rival Google?
March 15, 2012
Radical idea, right?
A Bing insider claims that Microsoft’s search engine has finally caught up to Google, technology-wise at least. Wired Enterprise reports, “Microsoft Says Decaffeinated Bing Tastes as Good as Google.” The Caffeine alluded to in the title refers to Google’s 2010 platform of that name, the purpose of which is to produce fresher search results. Microsoft’s Harry Shum, in charge of Bing’s research and development, says his team’s product is at least as good. Writer Cade Metz reports:
Harry Shum joined the Bing team in 2007, after eleven years with Microsoft’s research arm. The task at hand was enormous: catch up to Google. Five years on, Google is still the world’s dominant search engine — some estimates put its market share as high as 85 or 90 percent — but Shum believes that Bing has finally reached a point where it can compete with Google on a technical level.
The difference between Caffeine and its predecessor MapRequest are significant: the new platform allows sections of the search index to be updated continuously, rather than indexing the entire thing is huge batches. Shum hints that the current Bing approach is similar, but is guarded with the details. That’s understandable.
If Shum is right, this is a surprising development. We still believe that Blekko and Yandex are better than other Web search systems, however. Google has bet on social. We think Google should have put more money on search. Hedging bets is often a good idea.
Cynthia Murrell, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google and Semantic Search
March 15, 2012
The Wall Street Journal certainly has a scoop if one has been ignoring Google’s actions over the last five or six years. For a traditional “real” news publication owned by News Corp., the newspaper knows how to generate what I call “faux excitement.” The for fee version of the Wall Street Journal story is at http://goo.gl/DnRrP although the link may go dead in a New York minute.
You will want to snag a copy of the dead tree edition of the March 15, 2012, newspaper. Turn to Section B1 and read “Google Gives Search a Refresh.” If you have don’t have an online subscription to Mr. Murdoch’s favorite newspaper, click here.
I found the write up bittersweet. An era has ended at the Google. Google is moving into the choppy waters of “smart” search. Others have been in the kayaks trying to navigate meaning for a long time. Perhaps the best known player is Autonomy, which is now the “baby tiger” at Hewlett Packard. Google wants to skip the baby tiger metaphor and jump to the semantic shark.
My research suggests that Google has been grinding away at semantic search for a while, at least a decade. There were signals about Google wanting to get beyond the “clever” linking method and the semantic techniques of Oingo (Applied Semantics) a decade ago. (Notice the word “semantics” in the company name?)
Then Google took a couple of steps forward when it landed the Transformics technologies and hired Dr. Ramanathan Guha. You can get the run down on Dr. Guha’s semantic leanings when you work through the hits for this query on Google: Ramanathan Guha semantic Web. No quotes required. Dr. Guha is the wizard behind the Programmable Search Engine, which I described in some length in Google Version 2.0: The Calculating Predator, published by the UK outfit Infonortics five years ago. The monograph may still be in print, and if you can snag a copy, you will see how Google’s wizard explains a system and method to populate “fact tables” and perform other feats of semantic legerdemain. The Wall Street Journal focuses on Google’s acquisition of Metaweb Technologies which is more along the lines of a a complementary content or fact generating system. Google has a tendency to “glue” technologies together, not toss the shark technologies out with the bathwater.
The write up is one of those fear-uncertainty-doubt maneuvers which technology companies enjoy. “Real” journalists are too savvy to fall for the shiny lures. The persistent reader will learn that there is no release date for the new Google search. This surprised me because I was sure I read and later heard that Google version 2.0 was Google Plus, not plain old search with some WolframAlpha.com like touches and Blekko nuances stirred in for enhanced flavor. I must admit I was confused about a news story written in the present tense which is really about some search advances which will arrive at an indeterminate time in the future, maybe tomorrow, maybe in September when the leaves turn.
The story suggests that Google is making changes because of Microsoft Bing, Apple’s voice search, or Facebook, which has no search service of much consequence. My hunch is that Google is making changes to search for one reason: ad revenue via traditional browser based search is softening. This is bad news for anyone dependent on online advertising revenue to pay for airplanes, Davos visits, and massive television and print advertising. Forget the competitors, Google has to do something that works to pump up margins and generate massive revenue. After more than a decade of trying to diversify its revenue, Google is under the gun. If Google’s magic touch were actually working, then the company should be rolling in dough from multiple revenue streams. Where is the payoff from appliances, enterprise sales, and me-too services which have essentially zero impact on companies like Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Google’s PR thrust to focus attention on how it will improve search comes too quickly after Google got “real” journalists to believe that Google 2.0 was the “social” services. Well, how has that worked out for Google? I wrote about James Whittaker’s explanation of “Why I Left Google”. If you haven’t read the Whittaker write up, click here. The passage I noted was:
I couldn’t even get my own teenage daughter to look at Google+ twice, “social isn’t a product,” she told me after I gave her a demo, “social is people and the people are on Facebook.” Google was the rich kid who, after having discovered he wasn’t invited to the party, built his own party in retaliation. The fact that no one came to Google’s party became the elephant in the room.
Net net: Google has been in the semantic game a long time. Semantic technology is now in operation at Google, just as plumbing. Now Google wants to expose the pipes and drains.
The reason?
Semantic are hoped to give Google more hooks on which to hang advertising messages. Without something new, revenue growth at Google may degrade at a time when Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft continue to grow. The unthinkable? Nope, the reality.
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Get the Metadata You Need for Office 365
March 15, 2012
Business Intelligence in Tweets?
March 15, 2012
Six-year old Twitter has lot of credibility when it comes to knowing what people want. The social-networking site is serving up around 350 million tweets a day and that number is constantly growing. For businesses, that number means real-time analytics and activity from potential and current customers.
Mike Brown, current director of corporate development at Twitter, recently spoke at the CITE Conference and commented that the company is “the ultimate business intelligence tool.” This is because of Twitter’s ability to give a peak into what customers and competitors are saying, and the company plans to get more innovative on tracking activity and providing data analytics—with plans for advanced GPS sensors and targeted proactive advertisements for users.
A recent Computer World article, “Twitter Exec Calls Tweets the ‘Ultimate Business Intelligence Tool,” provides more insight from Brown on the importance of using Twitter in the business environment. The article states:
‘One of my favorite Twitter accounts, …because he just joined recently, is Rupert Murdoch,’ Brown said. ‘Whether you subscribe to his politics or not, the guy tells it like he thinks it and you really get that sense when you read his tweets. ‘I think whether you’re a brand or a marketer or a small business owner, [you need] to talk with an authentic voice that feels like your own, [one] your customers know,’ he said. ‘Your customer’s BS meter is pretty good. Don’t hand off your Twitter to your PR agency or even an intern who’s going to be with your business for a short while.’
Interesting advice. So, is the “ultimate business intelligence tool” statement by Brown self-serving? Nah, we think not. The assumption is a simple, fair, and par for the course. Note that raw tweet data can now be bought from companies like DataSift and Gnip. Everyone is starting to recognize the impact of tweets.
Andrea Hayden, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
CIMdata Offers Training in PLM Management and Use
March 15, 2012
As Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) soars in popularity in various industries across the globe the need for proper training increases. Leaders within the industry have tapped into the growing need for well-trained administrators and have answered with specialized programs much like CIMdata’s PLM Certificate Program. Not only does such training programs provide much needed education and training to department heads outside of IT, it is an excellent way to get one’s product deeply embedded within a company or organization.
The article, CIMdata Brings PLM Certificate Program to Norway, on MCAD Café, announced CIMdata’s recent announcement of yet another certificate program being offered in Oslo, Norway.
“The CIMdata PLM Certificate Program prepares PLM professionals at several levels to successfully address the challenges inherent in PLM implementations. This assessment-based certificate program includes a personalized classroom experience, individual and team-based exercises, and individual evaluations of achievement. Additionally, the program provides intensive and extensive exposure to a team of CIMdata experts.”
While this type of training is impressive and CIMdata definitely is on the right track in pushing education of PLM software there are many lesser known companies excelling in PLM software and platforms without the budgets for such immense marketing campaigns. One such company is Inforbix who specializes in open source PLM solutions that enable employees throughout companies to find, share and reuse data with ease.
Catherine Lamsfuss, March 15, 2012
Musings: If Apple Designed SharePoint
March 15, 2012
As an avid Apple user, I can appreciate the simplicity of design and ease of use that is the center of their product line. However, Apple designs products for consumers and Microsoft designs products for the corporate world, for producers. This makes Chris Poteet’s article, “What if Apple Designed SharePoint?” quite interesting, musing about the potential to combine the two perspectives.
Poteet outlines his objective:
This post contrasts the design philosophies and approaches that underpin both Apple and Microsoft. It is meant to be a conversation starter and not a way to flame either side. If it weren’t for SharePoint, I couldn’t afford all my (admittedly) over-priced Apple products. Let’s now consider the question of what SharePoint might look like if Apple designed the product.
Poteet’s article leaves the reader with the impression that SharePoint’s current focus on functionality could do with a bit of tempering toward the end of usability. But until SharePoint starts making those adjustments, the addition of a third-party solution to an existing infrastructure can improve the usability and efficiency of the SharePoint beast. Fabasoft Mindbreeze is one highly competitive solution worth a second look.
Be well informed – quickly and accurately. The data often lies distributed across numerous sources. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise gains each employee two weeks per through focused finding of data (IDC Studie). An invaluable competitive advantage in business as well as providing employee satisfaction.
Explore the features of Fabasoft Mindbreeze and see if it can bridge the gap between usability and functionality for your organization.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Library Association Flexes Its Muscles
March 15, 2012
The American Library Association had plenty to say to publishers about the recent inflation of ebook prices. In “Libraries Protest Random house Price Hike” we get a more in depth look at the problem.
The Random House publishing company recently informed libraries that the wholesale price for ebooks would be on the rise by more than 20 percent. That’s a huge hike increase for something with no tangible, physical, product attached to it. The increase would affect new adult releases and children’s ebooks would double.
This new protocol stems from the publishers believe that ebooks can be “repeatedly circulated” without wearing out. Barring file destruction, they can be circulated indefinitely.
This comes as a shock to most libraries around the country. Many local branches are going through a tough year as finances that were already spread thin are stretched to the limit due to stiff budget cuts across the board. The publishers actions have caused the American Library Association to stand up and defend its right to fairly priced goods and the patrons rights to indefinite circulation.
While I appreciate Random House’s engagement with libraries and its commitment to perpetual access,” ALA president Molly Raphael said in the statement, “I am deeply disappointed in the severe escalation in e-book pricing reported today. Calling on our history together and our hope to satisfy mutual goals moving forward, the American Library Association strongly urges Random House to reconsider its decision. In a time of extreme financial constraint, a major price increase effectively curtails access for many libraries, and especially our communities that are hardest hit economically.
But while the move comes at a bad time for libraries in a financial bind, and is certainly not in good taste, it’s hard to blame a company that is worried about its own future both physically and financially for trying to cover all of its bases and make a buck or two where it can. In an age where technology is taking over, books and other forms of leisure have been relegated to the back burner as the latest and greatest craze takes over. We’ve seen companies like Sony and Kodak go bankrupt or nearly so and discontinue the production of their most trusted moneymakers. Is it too farfetched to think that novels have become a novelty?
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Is Copyright Shifting Direction?
March 15, 2012
It is tough to search when content is not there. We have been alerted to the threat of censorship from lawmakers by conflicts over legislation such as SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and TPP. We must not ignore a more insidious threat: that of direct dealings between copyright industries and Internet service providers at the behest of government; so warns TechDirt in “UK Government Pressuring Search Engines to Censor Results in Favor of Copyright Industries.”
Rather than laws that would have to be enforced through legal channels, the back-door “notification” system described in the article would submit blacklists to search engines. These lists would name sites accused of infringement, which would then be barred from search results. Any accusation could doom an entire site to obscurity, possibly without recourse. Whitelists of approved media services would also be provided and those sites artificially promoted within search results. Writer Glyn Moody asserts:
Absolute power over search engines’ results in these areas would be handed to industries that hardly have a good track record for adopting a proportionate approach to tackling unauthorized downloads. In particular, they are unlikely to lose much sleep over all the legitimate content that will become invisible when sites of borderline legality are removed from search engines’ results ‘just to be on the safe side.’ And there are no indications that there would be any oversight as to who goes on the lists, or any right of appeal — making it a purely extra-judicial punishment.
It seems that most search engines are balking at the proposed arrangement, for now at least. Moody notes that complying with white lists could be considered anti-competitive and get sites in trouble with the European Commission. Yes, that would be important. Perhaps it is a sign that the whole scheme is a bad idea? How will the legal spat between India, Google, and Facebook work out? Our view: not well.
Cynthia Murrell, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Linguamatics Releases New Cloud Based Text Mining Solution
March 15, 2012
Search appears to be a transparent technology but in reality it is not. With the mass amounts of unstructured information being released into cyberspace there is a growing need for solutions to sort it. Enter text mining.Text mining allows users to extract value from vast amounts of unstructured textual data.
Business Wire recently reported on the release of a new text mining platform by Linguamatics in the news release “Linguamatics Puts Big Data Mining on the Cloud.”
According to the release, in response to the industry trend to move software applications on to the cloud, Linguamatics has launched the first NLP-based, scalable text mining platform on the cloud.
The article states:
The new service builds on the successful launch by Linguamatics last year of I2E OnDemand, the Software-as-a-Service version of Linguamatics’ I2E text mining software. I2E OnDemand proved to be so popular with both small and large organizations, that I2E is now fully available as a managed services offering, with the same flexibility in choice of data resources as with the in-house, Enterprise version of I2E. Customers are thus able to benefit from best-of-breed text mining with minimum setup and maintenance costs.”
We are very excited about the possibilities of text mining on the cloud as well as Linguamatics’ ability to get its software up and running quickly.
Our view is that Linguamatics is an outfit worth monitoring.
Jasmine Ashton, March 15, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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