New Endeavors On The Semantic Web
March 25, 2013
Pop the Lecons de Choses post, “Ceci N’est Pas Le Web Sémantique” into Google translate and it transformed into “This Is Not The Semantic Web,” an article that explores Google’s Knowledge Graph. Google announced the Knowledge Graph project almost a year ago and while it is important, we have learned that algorithms are not everything. It does present a pretty picture and seamless facts construed with other information, but Google has not embraced semantic Web principles. The blog compares a Knowledge Graph page and a Data.Bnf.fr page after searching for the famous Magritte painting, “The Treachery Of Images.”
At first, everything checks out, Google has more pretty pictures, but there are differences:
“The basic difference is in the semantics formally declared (or not) behind these pages. The URI of the thing described by the form of the BNF is declared explicitly in the RDF which is accessible either via the link at the bottom of the html page, or by content negotiation in HTTP protocol. The data are also BnF distinction, which would undoubtedly pleased the painter between the array itself as an object in the real world, its representation as a concept (authority) in the catalog of the BNF and different formats of these descriptions.”
Google does not have any URI in its open source code. It is somewhere on a Google database, but the user is not identified and it cannot be shared with the rest of the Web. Knowledge Graph is pretty, but it mostly draws on Wikipedia structured descriptions. Google has taken a baby step with its knowledge graph service. In the opinion of the Mondeca analyst, there is a lot of work to do.
Whitney Grace, March 25, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Search and Retrieval News Feed
March 24, 2013
Dear, dear Twitter was not able to reclaim my newsfeed. The lads and lasses did try. I think that in grade school that would earn a high mark. In the real world, well, no comment. But everyone was really, really nice. We have many, many assurances that action was underway. We really, really think this makes clear the risks of using a free service. Super experience. I assume a couple thousand people know more about pop stars than they ever thought possible.
If you want to sign up for the feed of headlines for ArnoldIT’s Beyond Search Blog, the new handle is BeyondSearchNow. The RSS link has been updated. Wow, I love Twitter. Wow, I never knew how fascinating a pop star’s secret life could be.
Anyway, the dull, old Beyond Search news stream is at BeyondSearchNow. Here you go: http://twitter.com/beyondsearchnow
Stephen E Arnold, March 24, 2013
More on the Google Is Less Than Good
March 24, 2013
I am surprised by the number of “real” journalists who have hopped on the Google is less than good bandwagon. How Google became saddled with the Don’t Be Evil catchphrase is of little interest to most folks. I knew, but I dismissed the story as typical corporate history making. Booz, Allen & Hamilton (before it devolved into two azure chip outfits) was into corporate story telling. Interesting stuff but not in sync with the reality of 60 hour weeks and a desire to be validated as the smartest consulting firm in the world. Impossible, right?
I read with some surprise “The Economics of Evil Google.” As of March 24, 2013, at 11 40 am Eastern, the story was publicly accessible. Your mileage may vary, which is an indication of the “evil economics” of the struggling New York Times’ shotgun marriage of print and online content distribution.
The jumping off point is “Google’s decision to shut down Google Reader.” Yep, but a number of options became available. There is a nod to Google being more like the regulated AT&T than a 21st century vision of the fathers’ of capitalism.
The write up then dives into a rah rah for Avent, which is an outfit involved in “network externalities.” I am not sure what this means, but I couldn’t figure out first year economics either. I was paid to go to college and I got very high grades without much effort. The economics stuff baffled me as did my getting paid to index sermons in Latin. Go figure.
The update does not help me out too much either. I was looking for more information about the Google is evil thing. Here’s what I learned:
You can see from the way that this is drawn is that there is no price at which a monopolist can cover its costs here; yet the losses from providing the service at a price that draws in the low-intensity users would be much less than the gains to high-intensity users from having the service available.
Ah. I get it. Google was not able to make money with yet another of its free services. I sort of knew that Google was making most of its money from advertising, so I suppose that losing money is bad. Making money is good. Therefore, Google is not really evil at all. I am delighted I am not an economist, naked, peripatetic, or freaky.
Is Google evil or good? Neither. The semantic hook is little more than a way to call attention to a company with which I am unfamiliar and to remind me that economics may deserve the moniker “dismal science.” I am okay with dismal. The science part confuses me as do the economics of traditional journalism, socio-economic analyses, and the present financial situation in which companies, the government, and I find myself swimming.
Maybe economists are evil? Companies are just companies. Will Avent become another Google? Will the New York Times acquire Avent? Will those looking for ways to track the gems of the Internet pony up big bucks for a superior service? I have no answers but “no” keeps echoing through my mind.
Stephen E Arnold
Search Technology at Funnelback Morphs Into Compliance Auditor
March 24, 2013
According to the new post on Funnelback’s Web page, the search engine technology and services system is morphing into a compliance auditor. The article, “Funnelback WCAG Compliance Auditor Version 2 Is Out Now,” shares that the newest release of the auditor technology includes the ability to configure checking runs, on-demand checking of HTML, and comprehensive reporting abilities.
The article comments on the additional features:
“Matthew Sheppard, Manager of Research and Development at Funnelback said, ‘Customers have been making amazing progress on their website accessibility with version 1.5, but we wanted version 2 of the tool to make the process easier than ever. WCAG Compliance Auditor version 2 is flexible, highly configurable and accommodates the last minute changes that web content editors often face whilst maintaining their website’s content accessibility at the same time.’”
I think the new capabilities are intriguing, but there is no information available on the Web page on which countries the auditor works for. However, the global company has a demo available at http://www.funnelback.com/our-products/demo. Definitely worth a look.
One question: “How can a single consulting firm know so much about so many search and retrieval systems?” Hyperbole, exceptional intelligence, or marketing?
Andrea Hayden, March 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
ZDNet Analyzes Google and Its Crushing of the RSS Industry
March 23, 2013
Quite a story this one: “Embrace, Extend, Extinguish: How Google Crushed and Abandoned the RSS Industry.” Disclaimer. I used to work at the “old and original Ziff Communications.” I recall fond discussions of the editorial focus of the empire, now crumbled like Ozymandius’ statue. The point was that money came from product reviews and a number of other hot buttons which worked with advertisers and readers.
I don’t recall too many of the old school Psychology Today type write ups which embraced the lofty intellectual approach of that publication.
ZDNet has not exactly set the world on fire with financial success. I am not sure who owns the news service but I do recall this story in Venture Beat: “ZDNet Cuts US Bloggers As It Refocuses on Global Coverage.” I suppose Venture Beat could have written “ZDNet Destroys US Bloggers,” but to its credit, Venture Beat explained that a unit of CNet which is in turn owned by CBS Interactive which is owned by CBS Corporation which is struggling to boost its revenue and margins.
The good news is that CBS is alive and kicking. The less good news is that ZDNet is venturing into to interesting territory with its MBA like analysis of Google’s actions.
Here’s the passage I noted as one of the more recycled notions floating around:
It’s not unlike the widely criticized model that Microsoft pursued in its pre-Millennium days as a monopolist: Embrace, extend, extinguish. Except in this example it doesn’t appear to be part of a grand plan to destroy an industry. Google was Godzilla, sweeping through the landscape and crushing anything in its path, because few startups can compete with a free product from Google.
Yep, that’s the point of trying to become a monopoly. Mono. One. Pretty slick, eh?
What’s the ZDNet conceptual bottom line? Here you go. Google are you ready?
And now, with Google abandoning that service, any business that uses RSS gets to go back to the glory days of 2006. Ugh. Back in 2009, when NewsGator surrendered to Google, I wrote this:
“[S]elfishly, I’m glad Google has won. It’s the default online RSS reader, and I think they’ve done a fine job with it. I can still use FeedDemon and NetNewsWire on Windows PCs and Macs respectively.
[…]
In the bigger picture, I hate being beholden to Google for yet another service where they can watch what I do and who I watch. But I’m willing to trust them, just as I’m willing to trust Microsoft on many issues.”
Fool me once…
Somehow ZDNet has lost the notion that revenue has to grow and costs go down. To achieve this, commercial enterprises have to make decisions. Some are bad, which creates the financial problems for some outfits. Some are good which allow out organizations to prosper. Is Google UNESCO or United Way? Google sells ads. Google reduces costs. Google—to its credit—is trying to shift from controlled chaos to a somewhat more orderly approach to its former product profligacy.
Seems simple. No one has to be fooled. If one wants consistent service, find a vendor and pay for the service. Using free stuff brings along risk. The question is, “Is this a complex idea?” There may be a reason some folks get fooled. It has less to do with Google and more to do with the person’s own equipment for living.
Stephen E Arnold, March 23, 2013
Datameer Helps App Developers Build and Get Paid
March 23, 2013
A recent article from Datameer shared an interesting idea with developers: build an app and actually get paid for it. The article, “Strata 2013: Get Paid For Building Big Data Apps!,” discusses the concept behind Datameer Analytics App Market, the first real marketplace to buy and sell pre-built big data analytic applications.
The app market allows developers to get paid for apps they have built, while providing the tools needed to build and sell the apps. The article shares the capabilities:
“*Get any data in yourself (really, we have 50+ built-in connections to Twitter, Salesforce, Oracle, DB2, Google… etc.)
*Build your analysis with simple point-and-clicks (we’ve included more than 240 pre-built analytic functions, and you see the results instantly in our spreadsheet UI before running it against your full dataset)
*Create custom data visualizations (no more box-after-box dashboards, our Business Infographic designer lets you drag-and-drop different charts and graphs onto a blank canvas, so you can annotate and design as you see fit)
*Package your final product into an analytic app with a single click. It’s just a right-click ‘save as’.”
We think this is an interesting angle for recruiting and marketing. Giving business users the tools and the market they need to thrive is sure to breed some great insights and developments.
Andrea Hayden, March 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Big Data Headlines Roundup
March 22, 2013
Data Knowledge Center rounds up some of the Big Data headlines from the last week in its article, “HP, Dell Announce New Big Data Analytics Solutions.” The article covers major players from Datastax to Dell but opens with a discussion of HP’s ArcSight.
The article begins:
“HP (HPQ) announced new offerings to help organizations to gain security intelligence from large data sets to better detect and prevent threats. The security information and event management (SIEM) capabilities of HP ArcSight with the HP Autonomy IDOL content analytics engine automatically recognizes the context, concepts, sentiments and usage patterns related to how users interact with all forms of data. Art Gilliland, Enterprise Security Products, HP, said, ‘With the integration of cloud monitoring, content analytics and Big Data processing, HP provides clients with the context needed to effectively stop potential breaches.’”
There are definite up and comers in the Big Data realm, but many new customers to the market will want to go with a trusted solution. LucidWorks offers LucidWorks Search and LucidWorks Big Data, both of which are standards in the field, based on the open source power of Apache Lucene and Solr. Open source also brings the benefits of flexibility and affordability in addition to security.
Emily Rae Aldridge, March 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Try Before You Buy
March 22, 2013
The old saying that there is a hidden meaning in words means even more in the analytics world. The Semantria API system helps to turn unstructured data into data that makes sense. Semantria even offers a free demo so that customers can see how their system works. According to the website:
“Semantria’s API helps organizations to extract meaning from large amounts of unstructured text. The value of the content can only be accessed if you see the trends and sentiments that are hidden within. Add sophisticated text analytics and sentiment analysis to your application: turn your unstructured content into actionable data.”
Semantria provides users with a fully customizable and user friendly system. The system is also very user-friendly and users can gain valuable insight from their unstructured content with just the simple click of a button. The Semantria API uses the latest techniques for extraction of data so clients can be confident that they are using the latest technology and getting the best information possible. The convenient and attractive Pay-As-You-Go service makes sure that regardless of budget users can get the services they need. More importantly Semantria offers unlimited support and maintenance so users always know where to go to get the answers they need. One of the best benefits is the online demo that Semantria provides for anyone interested to take a peak at how their service works. The try before you buy approach makes it hard to stay away.
April Holmes, March 22, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Roadmap to the Future
March 22, 2013
The Oracle E-Business Suite has seen a lot of changes since its emergence in 2004 and the new 12.1 version promises to give users more of what they need. The YouTube video “Oracle E-Business Suite: Strategy and Roadmap” narrated by Cliff Godwin the Senior Vice President of Applications and Development for Oracle talks about the new features of the Oracle E-Business Suite. According to the You Tube website
“Oracle E-Business Suite is the most comprehensive suite of integrated, global business applications that enable organizations to make better decisions, reduce costs, and increase performance.”
With the new version the Oracle brand promises to continue improving the E-business suite and enhance and build new applications. In the video Godwin pointed out the list of applications that are currently available. The E-business Suite provides an extensive list of applications and 12.1 users will have access to all of these applications. The new 12.1 version also promises better service support and information driven navigation.
The updated technology also includes new features for the Oracle Endeca platform. Oracle Endeca allows companies to make sure their clients get a personalized and consistent customer buying experience across a variety of channels including online, mobile and in-store. Oracle E-business Suite extensions for Oracle Endeca is a solution that gives users the ability to quickly find all of the information they need to be able to respond to real-time opportunities. Though this video is probably designed to be a marketing technique to get older users to update to the new 12.1 version Godwin definitely highlights the attractive features that the new version has to offer and they are quite impressive. Seems like 12.1 might be the roadmap to the future for Oracle E-Business Suite users.
April Holmes, March 22, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
New Zealand Post Continues with RightNow Adoption
March 22, 2013
New Zealand (NZ) Post has been using the RightNow platform and according to the ZDnet “NZ Post looks to Bolster Oracle RightNow Adoption” plans to expand the usage of the Oracle cloud-based RightNow customer management service. Oracle purchased the CRM software company in 2011. New Zealand postal service began using the RightNow platform as a sales customer relationship management (CRM) tool. They then expanded the product suite so that it covered a variety of different channels such as email and social media. New Zealand Post had a joint venture with DHL but they ended it and bought back the shares of Express Courier. According to the New Zealand Post head of customer channels Russell Stephens, with this new addition New Zealand Post now wants to combine the customer care process for the courier unit with its main business.
“We are currently looking to deploy RightNow across the CourierPost business, and that will give us great benefit in both contact centres that work across our parcel and courier business.”
Stephens has been using the RightNow technology for several years and one of its most notable feats is the ability to give a single view of customer interactions with New Zealand Post across multiple channels.
“There have been instances where a customer was complaining about NZ Post’s services on Twitter, but the company could see that the person was already on a live chat with a staff member and was able to respond to the customer accordingly on Twitter. I think that is a really cool example of when those channels come together. In the old world, that wouldn’t have happened and the customer would just be on the phone with us.”
Seems like NZ Post is already a fan of RightNow technologies and its new relationship with Oracle simply means business as usual.
April Holmes, March 22, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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