Maxxcat: A Replacement for Google Mini?
July 9, 2012
In a giant spring-cleaning move, Google announced that five services will be permanently shutting down, including the search giant’s product Google Mini.
Google Mini was a small in-site search appliance provided by the company. As it was a popular service, previous users may wonder where to turn to get a search box for their site. We suggest MaxxCAT, an enterprise search engine that is easy-to-use and offers two types of hardware that are geared for small or large businesses. The company’s website asserts:
“If you are in need of a solution for you company’s data storage needs that is nimble, responsive, and easy to use, MaxxCAT can help by collecting all of your files, documents, and data into one highly sophisticated enterprise search engine system. MaxxCAT Corporation specializes in creating supremely optimized hardware devices that offer plug-and-play capability and user-friendly interfaces to boost your enterprise search needs. Currently, MaxxCAT offers two types of enterprise search hardware that outperform the competition in terms of performance, storage and even price.”
MaxxCAT’s website also provides a speed test between its product and Google Mini, as well as a comparison chart involving costs and performance among other factors. These demonstrations are sure to have anyone convinced after a little browsing.
Andrea Hayden, July 9, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
JackBe Quick Stratagem
July 8, 2012
Some professionals make spur of the moment decisions so easily it appears an invisible adviser is whispering solutions. Others may struggle with indecision when put on the spot both in and out of business. Those awkward moments of confusion may be getting easier with some new tools, according to Fast Company’s article, “2 Tools To Help You Make Smarter, Faster Decisions On The Fly.”
Now if you are caught off guard by a sudden concern, fear not… JackBe will swiftly do comparisons and find a solution. To put it simply:
“JackBe allows your people to assemble a set of iPhone-like apps that mash together information from disparate sources in real-time. Think of a highly customized mobile Bloomberg terminal that might show on one screen sales figures pulled from SAP, customer complaints on Twitter, and shipment statuses from UPS. By assembling all of these into one screen, you can more easily and quickly spot trouble and opportunity.”
The second tool highlighted in the article seemed more like a ploy to draw attention to the author’s book. Stratagem does not respond quickly but instead offers a time consuming process. The user asks a question, to which the app responds with 4 more questions. Depending on user response, the app than calculates 10 strategic patterns to apply to your original question.
Overall JackBe provides a useful tool that could actually be beneficial in a crunch. The Stratagem is a good concept, but the process is lengthy and could prove to be a time consumer.
Jennifer Shockley, July 8, 2012
World Wide Web Not Quite World Wide Yet
July 8, 2012
I was just pointed to an article in which a current Google Exec warns us that many of the world’s population are missing out on the advantages brought by the Internet.
Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that less than a third of the world’s population has Internet access and believes that the benefits of connectivity that are brought on by technology is lost on far too many global citizens. In an article on Phys.org, “Google Exec: Technology Wave Leaving Many Behind,” we learn about Schmidt’s recent conference in Israel, his thoughts on the current limitations of the Internet, and his optimistic views on the spread of technology. The article states:
“‘All of us are blessed with a capacity for innovation [and] connectivity will help unlock that potential,’ [Schmidt] said. He pointed to the Internet’s ever-widening reach and its educational potential, citing the Khan Academy’s 3,000 video lessons on YouTube. The Khan Academy, which receives funding from Google, is a nonprofit organization that offers free online lectures in subjects ranging from physics to American history and algebra.”
Perhaps this means Google realizes that its market is not “Googley” and, therefore, is more easily shaped with filtering, predictive outputs, and selective relevance?
Andrea Hayden, July 8, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Shocking Internet Marketing Statistics
July 8, 2012
For those interested in finding current data on the state of the Internet marketing world, HubSpot blog recently published a listing of “21 Internet Marketing Stats That Will Blow Your Mind.”
The article is presented in a list format and the majority of the statistics back up the notion that we live in a world where the majority of online adults utilize social media sites on a regular basis. Despite that fact, no one wants a brand to blast them with meaningless Facebook and Twitter statuses multiple times a day.
This leads me to the first surprising factoid:
“The more posts per day, the less engagement — when a brand posts twice a day, those posts only receive 57% of the likes and 78% of the comments per post. (Source: Track Social) Be mindful of your publishing frequency on Facebook, and start testing with your own page to see what frequency is right for your community.”
What is even more interesting, considering the intensity at which companies seem to want to blast their customers, is this statistic:
“On average, companies respond to only 30% of social media fans’ feedback. (Source: Factbrowser) Engagement is rare. Stand out from your competition by caring and engaging with your social media community.”
Which may be the reason why our third datum is so prevalent:
“In any given week, less than 0.5% of Facebook fans engage with the brand they are fans of. (Source: Marketing Science) Brands aren’t providing the right kind of content and experience to engage their fans. Ask your Facebook fans what type of content they want to see, and then give it to them!”
Businesses that are interested in actually making an impact with their social media marketing plan need to focus on targeted statuses that inform their customers.
Jasmine Ashton, July 8, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Oracle Positions RightNow Technology
July 7, 2012
Since Oracle bought RightNow Technologies last October, we’ve been wondering how their customer-service-cloud technology will be positioned under new management. Oracle’s blog gives us some insight in the post, “Oracle RightNow CX for Good Customer Experiences.” Besides detailing the uses of RightNow as they fit within the larger Oracle universe, the article lists Oracle University classes that can get users up to speed on the software.
Blogger Andreea Vaduva describes four tools available in the customer relations suite: the Knowledge Authoring tool; the Oracle RightNow Customer Portal; the Contact Centre Experience Designer; and Oracle RightNow access points. See the write up for details on each. She notes that marketing, survey creation and tracking, and sales tools are also included. Regarding the analytics tool, Vaduva enthuses:
“Cue Oracle RightNow Analytics – fully integrated across the entire platform – Service, Marketing and Sales – there are in excess of 800 standard reports. If this were not enough, a large proportion of the database has been made available via the administration console, allowing users without any prior database experience to write their own reports, format them and schedule them for e-mail delivery to a distribution list. It handles the complexities of table joins, and allows for the manipulation of data with ease.”
It sounds like Oracle is making good use of its purchase. RightNow Technologies was founded in 1997 in Bozeman, Montana. No stranger to the acquisition game, the smaller company snapped up HiveLive in 2009, and Q-go in 2011.
Cynthia Murrell, July 7, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Capturing an IBM OmniFind Factoid
July 7, 2012
We just finished an analysis of IBM’s search technology. We wanted to capture this product withdrawal factoid. In case you missed this announcement from IBM, you may find it interesting to note that OmniFind has been withdrawn from the company’s marketing, as well as IBM Content Analytics.
The IBM United States Withdrawal Announcement, “Software Withdrawal: IBM Content Analytics and IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition Standalone Part Numbers—Some Replacements Available,” was posted on the company’s website in April. IBM OmniFind is no longer available directly from IBM, and Content Analytics will not be available after July 19.
The announcement offers a list of replacement products:
“*IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition v9.1 and IBM Content Analytics v2.2 are now packaged into a single bundled offering, called IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search.
*The product standalone part numbers will be withdrawn, with replacements available.
*The part number for the new bundle, IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search, will be available under the IBM Content Analytics v2.2 Program Number: 5724-Z21.
*For more information on IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search, refer to Software Announcement 211-133, dated April 19, 2011.”
However, the announcement is lacking in insight as to why the cancellations. We cannot help but wonder what spurred the changes within the company. Technical difficulties? Not popular enough? Or just enterprise search fatigue from IBM? Maybe a shift from search to analytics?
Sponsored by Ikanow
Google Filters: Fire Arms
July 7, 2012
No big deal, but I wanted to capture this news item. Outdoor Hub reports “Google Censors Firearms Products in Shopping Search Results.” I am not a person who searches for weapons. I am also not a person who turns to Google Shopping for products. I wonder if anyone has prepared a master list of the works and phrases which Google filters. If one of my two or three readers knows of such a list, please, post a link in the comments section of this blog. Here at the goose pond, we don’t want to undertake this task. We have added a new category to this blog; it is “infoshaping.” Stories which touch on disinformation or management of indexes will receive this category assignment. We practice infoshaping, and we think it is a wonderful method for presenting curated content. Infoshaping used to be called an “editorial policy” but that term is not popular among infoshaped millennials.
Stephen E Arnold, July 7, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
The Well Is Not Too Deep
July 6, 2012
When I lived in the San Francisco area (Berkeley, Calif. as a matter of fact), I was a user of The Well. This was an in crowd of online sophisticates. The system was the Facebook and Google Plus of the early 1980s. One of the features was a user’s ability to send a message to another logged in user. The terminal style interface happily obliterated whatever one was working on when the incoming message arrived, but the overall experience was okay for me, thrilling for others.
I noted “The Well, a Pioneering Online Community, Is for Sale Again.” The “real” news story pointed out that The Well was pretty much a goner. Here’s the passage I noted:
The Well is now a subscribers-only discussion community, with membership plans that run between $100 and $150 for an annual subscription, according to its Web site. That’s a steep price to pay on today’s Internet, no matter how literate the online discussion is. Or as Salon summed up The Well’s situation in its filing: “As other online communities and social networks emerged over the years, The Well’s subscriber base dwindled to 2,693, which did not bear financial promise.”
My thought is that I should put this paragraph in my template file. I could substitute a few words and have a ready-to-roll “real” news story for what may be the demise of other online pioneers. Candidates could include Yahoo, America Online, Microsoft Network, and a few others.
Online is not forever it seems.
Stephen E Arnold, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Honk and Infoshaping
July 6, 2012
We issued another test issue of Honk, the opt in newsletter about search and content processing. The lead story this week is “Infoshaping: The New Approach to Search.” The feature story in Honk each week tackles a subject and takes a more direct, blunt approach to the topic. The stories in Beyond Search, OpenSearchNews, Inteltrax, TheTrendPoint, and SharePoint Semantics are useful. We do, however, write around some sensitive issues. In fact, we don’t do “real news.” We prefer to leave that to “real” journalists. The goslings and I are more along the lines of reference librarians with feathers.
This button will appear on our information services as we move toward the formal roll out of our opt in weekly newsletter.
In the infoshaping article, I tackle the touchy subject of disinformation and weaponized information. We think the subject is important because as education becomes less able to produce individuals who can think critically, the opportunity to manipulate or frame a subject increases. How does this impact search? Well, people use online search systems and analytics systems without understanding what choices are made to control the information in the index. If information is not in the index or in the database, that information is tough to find. When the information is shaped, most users don’t know what is what.
Over the years, I have produced a number of for fee articles. Information about most of my monographs is readily available, but the for fee articles are more difficult for inexperienced researchers to locate. We have just posted on LinkedIn under my public profile, a list with links to about 100 of my columns and features. You can locate the list at Stephen E Arnold on LinkedIn. If the link on the “new and improved” LinkedIn does not work, navigate to the LinkedIn.com Web site and search for “Stephen E Arnold.” There are two with that name, but I am the shifty, wrinkled and stupid looking one.
A number of the for fee write ups tackle the subject of infoshaping, but not as directly as I do in this week’s Honk feature. We are in test mode. You can opt in by writing to one of the goslings at thehonk@yandex.com or click this link.
Stephen E Arnold, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT
Considerations for an Existing Farm with SharePoint 2013 on the Horizon
July 6, 2012
In “SharePoint 2013 Upgrade or Not: 5 Strategies to Help You Decide,” Bjorn Furuknap gives some tips on preparing for the next version of SharePoint. The author first suggests fixing any of your existing problems now because they will remain largely the same from version to version.
But if you don’t have any major problems, Furuknap offers this:
SharePoint will be here next year, and the year after. And yes, there will be a SharePoint 2016, which will be so much better, and you should probably wait for that to arrive because it’s going to truly outshine SharePoint 2013. If, right now, you don’t have a problem that SharePoint can help you solve, then most likely, you won’t get those problems in November either. In other words, Microsoft releasing a new version will not give you new problems.
The author also suggests that if you have the extra money, consider upgrading now, but if you have many custom apps, consider waiting as they may not jive with SharePoint 2013. Furuknap brings some good points to the discussion by pointing out the decision should be unique to your situation. Asking the right questions will help ensure that your project resources are spent on the key aspects rather than unnecessary functionalities that will only complicate the system.
A third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, can also help you connect the dots in your SharePoint system. The Fabasoft Folio Connector integrates all your business information from the intranet, Cloud, internet, and knowledge portals in the corporate-wide search, while maintaining your strict access rights. With Mindbreeze, users can easily search and reuse information from documents, contacts, projects, Wiki articles, conference agendas, and more.
Phillip West, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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