Crowdfunded Library Unconference in UK
July 17, 2012
Is this bad news for traditional library-oriented conferences? BoingBoing announces, “Library Camp: Crowdfunded UK Unconference for Libraries.” If the initiative to fund this “unconference” succeeds, Library Camp 2012 will draw library workers from across the UK to (that country’s) Birmingham. The group successfully pulled off Library Camp 2011. The write up informs us:
“Library Camp brings together people who are interested in modernising and transforming libraries for one day of intensive debate, knowledge sharing and ideas. It’s an unconference so anyone can lead a workshop or facilitate a session and it’s free to attend. You don’t have to be a librarian or even work in a library, you just need to be passionate about the future of libraries. This year the unconference will be back in Birmingham in October and we want to invite 200 people so we need to raise £1000 to pay for a venue and feed the campers!”
Good luck to them; I enjoy seeing folks create their own realities. As of this writing, the Camp’s site states that they have raised half their target. They also emphatically promise cake—I wonder if that has anything to do with the fundraisers’ success?
Cynthia Murrell, July 17, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
A Googler Becomes a Yahooligan: Marissa Mayer to Yahoo
July 16, 2012
I wanted to document the event. “Yahoo Appoints Marissa Mayer Chief Executive Officer” appeared on July 16, 2012. Lots of praise in the Yahoo announcement. No argument from Harrods Creek. Here’s a snippet:
Yahoo! Co-Founder David Filo said, “Marissa is a well-known, visionary leader in user experience and product design and one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting strategists in technology development. I look forward to working with her to enhance Yahoo’s product offerings for our over 700 million unique monthly visitors.” “The Board of Directors unanimously agreed that Marissa’s unparalleled track record in technology, design, and product execution makes her the right leader for Yahoo! at this time of enormous opportunity,” said Fred Amoroso, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Several thoughts:
- Our view is that Yahoo has its work cut out for it. A high profile, really rich female may help, but Yahoo has to make some revenue progress.
- Yahoo is quite a bit like AOL. I am not sure this is exactly the type of outfit which can respond to new opportunities. Good ideas are widely available. Doing something that makes a difference may be easier to talk about than do.
- Why did Ms. Mayer leave Google? Money, visibility, power? These are great reasons, but I worry that the softening at Google and the shift under Mr. Page may have been factors. Hopefully more details will emerge.
In the meantime, I would reflect on one of Terry Semel’s Yahoo quotes. This one is from “Yahoo’s Mission Quest.”
“I don’t know that we have a motto. Well, the mission of the company is, Deliver great value to our consumers and, basically, value them.”
Perhaps Ms. Mayer can update this statement?
Stephen E Arnold, July 16, 2012
Sponsored by Polyspot
Inteltrax: Top Stories, July 16 to July 20
July 16, 2012
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically, some breaking news in the industry.
Our story: “Data Mining and Other Issues on Slate at 2012 Joint Statistical Meetings” showed that analytics is rightly on statistic experts’ radar.
“Mike Miller Joins Digital Reasoning as VP of Sales” provided a glimpse into the wisest hiring minds in the business.
“Florida Community Benefits Medically and Financially from Analytics” gives a glimpse at the immediate impact analytics is making on the community level.
News crops up in all areas of analytics, so it’s helpful to have stories wrangled up that might slip through the cracks. We’re here everyday, monitoring just such stories so you don’t have to.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax.
July 16, 2012
CCFinder Offers Flexibility but How Far Do They Stretch
July 16, 2012
Creative commons offers a lot of versatility, but up until now the available finders have been limited. Flexibility was needed and AbelsSoft’s new creative commons image finder provides just that. Lifehacker’s article “CCFinder Simplifies Creative Commons Image Searches” talks about the pluses and minuses of this new program.
AbelsSoft offers a few perks when it comes to defining search, such as:
“You can filter your search to omit or include various types of CC restrictions such as non-commercial use only, references required to the original author, etc. Once you perform a search you can select a single or multiple images and either download to your preferred folder, visit the source image web site, or set the image as your desktop wallpaper.”
One taut aspect of CCFinder’s search engine is that it only utilizes Flickr, which ironically has the largest selection of CC licensed images available. Creative Commons offers users several sites to choose from, like Google Images, Open Clip Art Library, and Fotopedia, however users are still limited to one site per search.
The download is free for CCFinder, but registration does sign users up to receive an occasional newsletter. In itself, that is not a lot to ask for the convenience of well-defined search. AbelsSoft also offers a professional version of CCFinder that further defines how users search by implementing color filters. At first glance, CCFinder seems a user friendly program with search flexibility. We will have to see how far they stretch.
Jennifer Shockley, July 16, 2012
Do the Math Before You Purchase
July 16, 2012
Time’s Moneyland cautions us to pay more attention when shopping in “Consumers Prefer to Get More Rather than Pay Less—Because They’re Bad at Math.” Though the article focuses on retail shoppers, the lesson can certainly be applied to search and content processing “offers.”
Writer Brad Tuttle reports on a recent study from the Journal of Marketing which found that, given a choice between getting a 33% discount and getting 33% more product free, the vast majority of shoppers perceived the options as equal. They are not, as a few simple calculations reveal. The article explains:
“But let’s do the math, using some easy round numbers for the sake of simplicity. Say the initial price is $10 for 10 oz. of coffee beans. Hopefully, it’s obvious that the unit price is therefore $1 per oz. An extra 33% more ‘free’ beans would bring the total up to 13.3 oz. for $10. That $10 divided by 13.3 oz. give us a unit price of $0.75 per oz. With a 33% discount off the initial offer, though, the proposition becomes $6.67 for 10 oz., for a unit price of $0.67 per oz.”
The joy of getting something extra for free probably has a lot to do with this consumer blind spot. The mistake of paying little or no attention to unit price even has a name: base-value neglect. So be mindful, and do the math.
We wonder, though. With open source search providing “free” or “low cost” options, will discounts on search or content processing software prove to be an exception to this rule? Hmm. You’d have to run some calculations to be sure. How much does that free search system cost?
Cynthia Murrell, July 16, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Using InfoPath 2010 to Develop File Planning Solutions
July 16, 2012
John Holliday breaks down the process of configuring a SharePoint 2010 records center site in his post, “Building SharePoint-Friendly File Plans using InfoPath 2010.” Holliday explains the challenge,
As an example, most records management solutions use content organizer rules to route incoming records to a particular document library or folder so they can be associated with specific information policies and retention schedules. But configuring the content organizer requires that the site columns, content types, document libraries, folders and other components are constructed beforehand. The situation is even more challenging when working with target locations external to the site collection being configured.
In the included slide presentation, the author demonstrates how to use InfoPath 2010 to simplify the records center configuration by capturing all of the required elements in one place and pushing them out accordingly given your overall information architecture strategy. The presentation covers basic file plan definitions, goals and retention considerations for file planning, and tools available to you for file planning, along with pros and cons of each. A link is also provided to download the code for the solution.
The slide show may be worth checking out if you’re looking for some basic info on file planning or if you are considering the InfoPath method. It may be worth a try to save some time.
One other way to save time is by employing a third party solution to extend your SharePoint system. To boost your ROI, consider adding Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Here is a highlight:
The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Appliance is the optimal basis for highly efficient enterprise-wide search and easy configuration. To utilize the full potential of a software solution it is essential that hard- and software are fully aligned. Even more, the required time for deployment to the user is critical for gaining the highest ROI. The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Appliance components have been optimally synchronized in numerous tests. The Fabasoft Search Appliance cuts down the time-to-user dramatically.
A strong ROI is imperative for the sustainability of your enterprise search investments. Learn more about the Fabasoft Mindbreeze solution at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, July 16, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Study Purports to Show Google Knowledge Graph Results Often Outdated
July 16, 2012
Google Analytics may need some spiffing up if this write up is accurate. Search Engine Watch declares, “Google Knowledge Graph Shows Outdated Search Results for Trending Topics [Study].” Writer Miranda Miller cites a recent study from SEO firm Conductor, which found many of Google’s search engine results pages (SERP’s) to be behind the curve, especially on trending topics. Twenty percent of those were found to be out of date, while only four percent of the more static subjects were dusty. The report specifies Conductor’s methods:
“For each query we compared the Knowledge Graph result on the SERP to its Wikipedia entry and noted whether it was or was not an exact match. When they did not match, we measured the lag distribution of the mismatched queries by using WikiBlame to determine when the change occurred and, subsequently, the number of days the Knowledge Graph was behind.”
Why Wikipedia? Conductor has found that high-activity queries are very likely to have their Wikipedia entries updated promptly. By comparison, Google’s much-anticipated Knowledge Graph seems to be falling short. The report commented:
“While a real time Wikipedia update may ultimately not be practical, if Google is indeed positioning Knowledge Graph as the future of search, we have to believe that they can do better than the 2-4 day lag many of their mismatched keywords currently reflect.”
We’d all like to believe that, I think. Miller cautions that users are ultimately responsible for verifying anything they find online. Wise words, considering how influential Web search results, through Google and other engines, have become.
Cynthia Murrell, July 16, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Autodesk Helps Morgan Cars Reach New Success
July 16, 2012
The automobile industry is perhaps one of the most effected by product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions. The latest company to bask in the glow of accomplishments due to PLM is Morgan Cars. According to Enhanced Online News in the article, “Autodesk Helps Morgan Cars Produce One of Its Most Successful Designs Yet”, the British car company is seeing large profits thanks to Autodesk’s 3D PLM solutions.
As the article describes the current circumstances,
“Before Autodesk products were introduced, 2D sketches were interpreted by eye into panel-beaten aluminum bodies; a time consuming process requiring high skill, while providing little margin for in-process evolution. Now Autodesk Alias software helps to rapidly transform concept ideas into 3D digital prototypes and then into actual concept cars. Visualised using Autodesk Showcase and Autodesk 3ds Max software, designs can be evaluated and refined until the design is well-established. The surface data is then 5-axis machined directly from the Alias data. Once painted and scanned, this model enables further evaluation and adjustment to be made in Alias software.”
PLM has not only enabled the automobile industry through such advances as 3D visualizations; these solutions are reinventing many industries. One of the most exciting aspects of modern PLM solutions is that thanks largely to the cloud it is now affordable to small and midsized businesses. Historically, only the largest, most successful enterprises could afford and utilize PLM but now PLM is transforming businesses of all sizes around the globe in all industries. New data management solutions are changing the way business is done and eliminating waste and duplication of processes.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 16, 2012
Companies Still Trying to Slay the Big Data Dragon
July 16, 2012
Rapid explosions of large volumes of data in near real-time have been posing challenges for companies worldwide. These same datasets have been creating fodder for global news outlets. A recent article from CIO UK discusses everyone’s favorite topic: big data. The article is entitled, “Business Intelligence and Analytics: Conquering Big Data.”
A research report from Aberdeen Group called Business Analytics in the UK: Transforming Data into Business Insight is discussed in the referenced article. One interesting tidbit we learned is that 93 percent of organizations surveyed reported that structured data is integral to their big data initiative. It is curious that the amount of structured data pales in comparison to unstructured, yet structured is what companies are utilizing.
The article states:
“The strategies and tools being used paint a picture of the current data management requirements and emerging solutions in the market. Interestingly, the most popular data source used in the Big Data initiatives has the smallest data footprint. Structured data in relational database, such as transactional information, while growing at over 36 percent year-over-year, shows nowhere near the growth of other, internet-based data sources.”
Companies are now employing business intelligence solutions to slay the big data dragon. In our perspective, it seems as if this should have been conquered already. Perhaps this is just another case of the media chasing a hobby horse.
Megan Feil, July 16, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
New eDiscovery Platform Is kCura Contender
July 16, 2012
When a judge recently ruled in favor of predictive coding, it gave many litigation support technology IVPs the change to display their wares on a bigger scale. Law.com reports that “FTI Consulting Unveils Ringtail 8.2 with Attenex Document Mapper.” FTI Consulting is a global business advisory firm and they have caught onto the eDiscovery trend with their Ringtail 8.2 software that has integrated graphical views to facilitate document analysis and review. The newest version of Ringtail makes them a contender for LexisNexis Concordance and Content Analyst partner KCura’s Relativity platform.
FTI Consulting’s director of product marketing, JR Jenkins believes in predictive coding’s power:
“ ‘Asked where’s the “predictive coding,” he said “it’s built in.” The Document Mapper provides a high-level view of a collection, which results from machine learning processes that combine both “supervised and unsupervised” learning. Jenkins believes that the “workflow around predictive coding is more important than the technology.’ The ‘people, processes, and technology from FTI,’ said Jenkins, that results in a Document Mapper view of a collection aims to open the black box covering predictive coding.”
FTI Consulting is on the right track, but what they lack is the smaller, more personal solutions the legal community needs.
Whitney Grace, July 16, 2012
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