Messaging Apps Encroach on Facebook Turf
April 11, 2013
Shifting communication habits strike again. Yahoo News declares, “Youth Flock to Mobile Messaging Apps, May Be Threat to Facebook.” There are now a number of apps (like Kik and Whatsapp) that facilitate messaging and sharing faster and easier than by going through Facebook on a smartphone. Not surprisingly, these have become popular with the youth demographic. How does one search in a meaningful way these types of content objects? Answer: With a great deal of effort.
Writers Gerry Shih and Alexei Oreskovic concede that most users of these apps aren’t going to close out their Facebook accounts anytime soon, and that the social giant is well-positioned to weather threats. Still, these challengers could see noteworthy success, especially as they encroach on the networking-platform territory. The article tells us:
“While established social networks move to incorporate messaging features, the new-wave messaging apps are looking to grow into social networking platforms that support a variety of features and enable innovations from outside developers.
“‘The tried and true approach for a social network is first you build a network, then you build apps on your own, then you open it up to third party developers,’ said Charles Hudson, a partner at early stage venture capital firm SoftTech VC.
“The moves mirror Facebook’s younger days, when its user growth and revenues were boosted by game publishers like Zynga Inc, which made popular games like FarmVille for the Facebook platform.”
Ah, but when Zuckerberg began, he was building something completely new. Can these contenders serve up something as unique before the giant can pivot?
See the article for more analysis of the issue. The writers conclude with their prediction: that Facebook and the other “established” players (Google+? LinkedIn?) will solve the problem by simply gobbling up the young app companies. That would indeed solve the problem.
Cynthia Murrell, April 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Augmentext Expands Social Functions
April 10, 2013
Short honk. In response to client requests, ArnoldIT’s Augmentext service has added a new line up of social media services. These range from third-party comments to posting images and original articles. For more information, navigate to Augmentext Social. To get a free price quote, write seaky2000 at yahoo.com.
Stephen E Arnold, April 10, 2013
Google Stands Down from Patents and Stands Up for Open Source
April 10, 2013
Google has been the leader for the rest of the Web’s biggest names for years. Whether or not they admit it, Google leads and Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, etc. all follow. Because of their early lead, Google holds many patents related to search infrastructure. But in a recent shift, Google has decided to back off from their enforcement. Read more in the Wired article, “Google Erects Patent Shield for the Open Source Internet.”
The article sums it up:
“The rub is that Google owns several patents related to MapReduce and other data center technologies that have spawned widely used open source projects, and though Google is typically viewed as a friend of open source software, those patents have always posed at least a small threat to the web at large . . . But on Thursday, Google formally agreed not to assert 10 patents related to MapReduce — unless it’s attacked first. The move is meant not only to ease fears over Google’s relationship to Hadoop and related technologies, but to encourage other companies to make similar pledges and build a kind of patent shield around open source software inside the data center.”
Aggressive patent tactics are becoming common even in open source. Google is taking a strong stand against such practices, no doubt hoping others will follow suit. Open source forms an important structural foundation for many emerging technologies. For instance, LucidWorks builds their enterprise search solutions on Apache Lucene/Solr. LucidWorks has developed a strong industry record for reliability and customer support, all made possible by its open source roots.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Advice for Barnes and Noble
April 10, 2013
Amid the barrage of challenges faced by today’s publishers, The Motley Fool asserts that “Barnes & Nobles Need to Quickly Change Course.” Writer Peter Pham points to Barnes & Noble’s disappointing quarterly results, revealed in January, which were pulled down in part by the Nook‘s lackluster performance. He then expresses surprise at the company’s recent announcement: They have made a series of licensing deals with some major studios, like Lionsgate, Disney, and HBO to name just a few, to supply content for the beleaguered tablet. Pham states:
“There is clearly a disconnect here. B&N is caught between being a traditional bookseller and a technology startup, and the transition is clearly not working as intended. The plan was to transition its retail customers towards Nook while posting organic growth as well, and neither of the two has happened. The company is now planning a major overhaul of Nook through a hardware redesign, trimming down expenditures and increasing e-book sales.”
If that is the wrong direction, what should the company be doing instead? Well, the article suggests, it would help if Microsoft would get around to completing their 7″-tablet-form-factor version of Windows 8. Beyond that, Barnes & Noble should work to get Bing Shopping integrated into the OS and make the Windows app store available. The key, though, may be to tap emerging markets with a focus on cloud-based education functionality. Interesting advice.
Cynthia Murrell, April 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Excellent Free Resource Introduces Bayesian Methodology
April 10, 2013
So you want to know how Bayesian methods work? We’ve found an excellent source of information in a slideshow titled simply, “Introduction to Bayesian Methods” at SlideShare. Created by Corey Chivers for a guest biostatistics lecture at McGill University, the slides illustrate the concepts clearly. The summary gives an idea of the presentation’s scope:
- The output of a Bayesian analysis is not a single estimate of ?, but rather the entire posterior distribution, which represents our degree of belief about the value of ?.
- To get a posterior distribution, we need to specify our prior belief about ?.
- Complex Bayesian models can be estimated using MCMC.
- The posterior can be used to make both inference about ?, and quantitative predictions with proper accounting of uncertainty.
Chivers notes that these slides are also available here [PDF], while the script to run the examples can be found here. Even if you are already fluent in this methodology, we recommend tucking this slideshow away for reference whenever you need to help someone grasp the Bayesian basics.
Cynthia Murrell, April 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Harsh Words for Google from Culture Critic
April 10, 2013
Prominent Belarusian author and self-proclaimed Internet foe Evgeny Morozov is fond of criticizing “web culture.” The Telegraph takes a look at his point of view in, “Google is Run by Adolescents, says Evgeny Morozov.”
The writer has been making waves while promoting his recent book, To Save Everything Click Here, with his stand against what he calls “solutionism”—the tendency to delegate responsibility to technology. Specifically, he rails against Google for pushing solutions to non-existent problems, and for making tools that anticipate our needs. Reporter Christopher Williams met with the controversial thinker, and shares Morozov’s observations:
“Google’s vision is tools that will do things for you. Look at Siri [the iPhone’s voice-controlled assistant software]. What Siri tries to do is answer your questions. The way Google’s equivalent, Google Now, works is very different. It tries to pre-empt your desires before you have even recognised them as desires. It will check you into your flight without you asking, check the weather for you at your destination and all of that happens without you asking for it.”
Revenues suggest that Google has a model which works, but is it to the detriment of society at large? Morozov seems to think a reliance on such “internet-centric” solutions will somehow erode our status as higher-thinking organisms, that having tools to do the work for us will dumb us down. However, similar objections have been leveled at new ways of doing things since inventors started tinkering. I think the human mind and spirit are more resilient than he gives us credit for.
Cynthia Murrell, April 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Information: Dark Sides and Bright Sides
April 9, 2013
I find the information revolution semi-bright or semi-dark. I read “Are We Paying Enough Attention to Information Technology’s Dark Side?” My first reaction was, “Nah.” Most outfits are worrying about revenues. Google has to deal with the shift from the money Gold Rush of the desktop era to the lower revenue per click of the mobile world. Microsoft has to worry about the economic impact of its initiatives to nowhere. Smaller outfits in search have either been crushed like Convera or squished like Dieselpoint, mired in controversy like Autonomy and Fast Search, or just unable to make ends meet, deliver a product which works, or get their act together long enough to close a deal.
Paradise Lost may help illuminate the dark sides and bright sides of information. A happy quack to Lapidary Apothegms for reminding me of this phrase.
The concern of the “Dark Side” write up is broader. The big issue is Big Ideas. With references to high profile information luminaries like James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, and governmental issues. Here’s the quote I find interesting:
While the idea of lumbering bureaucracies adapting quickly may seem unlikely; it’s entirely possible they’ll adapt just fast enough to remain in place for awhile yet. And instead of quick change, the classic definition of the state will twist and wither. Whether its successor proves good or ill remains to be seen—but if history (and Marc Goodman) is any guide, it’ll be some of each.
The future is the semi-bright and semi-dark situation.
With regard to information, flows of information, data, and knowledge can erode certain structures. In an organization, as information moves more freely, the old chokepoints are bypassed. The notion which has gripped managers and bureaucrats is that flowing information has more of luminescence than cutting off that flow thus casting shadows.
In my experience, information is not neutral. Digitization has its own motive power. In one talk I gave years ago, I pointed out that information breeds more of itself. The image I used in my lecture was a sci-fi decision maker surrounded by Tribbles. Tribbles just kept on making more Tribbles. Bad news were Tribbles in the confines of a starship.
Even though I have worked in information centric businesses and government agencies for decades, I am not sure I understand information. I do not have a clear grasp of its behaviors. Over the years, I have formulated some “laws”, which I describe in some of my writings and talks. A recent example is Arnold’s Law of Vulnerability. In a nutshell, the “law” reports data from our research that says, “As the volume of information increases attack surfaces expand.”
The implication of this “law” is that digital information disconnects from the factual and becomes the propaganda described by Jacques Ellul. A software program which crashes a system or more importantly modifies it in a manner unknown to the system developers is a growing problem.
Conflating political movements, digital data, and next generation systems increases complexity. In short, as informationizing operates, clear thinking becomes more and more difficult. Thus, we now have to navigate in a datascape in which:
- Facts are not facts, even the results of a scientific experiment can be falsified or, more troubling, placed in an “objective journal” as an advertorial
- Systems have minimal ability to detect falsified data from sensors, SMS messages, or data streams which contain signals to which the smart software responds in a Pavlovian way
- Humans accept outputs of systems as though those outputs were a reality which corresponds to the actuality of a single individual.
Work needs to be done in the space between the bright and dark of information. Much remains to be done and not by failed webmasters, azure chip consultants, search engine optimization experts, and unemployed journalists. Perhaps Google’s smart software can just take on the job
IBM Big Data Improving but Not Perfect
April 9, 2013
IBM has been gaining good ground in the last few years regarding its integration with open source technology. One reason for the move is its foray into Big Data. What we know of Big Data is that open source is really helpful in solving the problem of all sorts of unstructured data. IBM deserves some credit for their work. Read details of their progress in the article, “IBM Big Data Announcements Move in Right Direction but More Must be Done.”
The story begins:
“IBM has a tremendous portfolio of Big Data products and services, including both acquisitions and technologies developed in house like Watson, writes Jeff Kelly in his Alert “IBM Accelerates Its Big Data Portfolio”. And it has embraced the Open Source Big Data community, at least at the foundational level, particularly with its BigInsights Hadoop platform. But IBM has problems as well. That huge portfolio is fragmented and sometimes confusing, and IBM’s approach, which is heavily dependent on its services arm, is expensive, geared to large enterprises, and too costly for most mid-sized companies.”
For those small to mid-sized companies, an open source based solution might be preferred. For instance, LucidWorks is built on open source Lucene/Solr. It is not just added in; the open source infrastructure is the foundation. This brings not only scalability and flexibility, but affordability, which is essential for a smaller business.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 9, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Gartner Updates Forecast for Global IT Spending in 2013
April 9, 2013
What happened to the effects of the sequestration? Apparently the tech sector will be just fine. Gartner has upped its forecast for global IT spending this year by $100 billion over October’s prediction, we learn from “Global IT Spending—Biggest Winners and Losers” at the Silicon Valley Business Journal. We notice though, that they predict no big paydays for search vendors in this list. Reporter Preeti Upadhyaya tells us:
“The top category of spending is on devices —smartphones, tablets and printers —and is expected to reach $718 billion this year, up 8 percent from last year. The winners in this category are obvious. Samsung and Apple are the runaway leaders in the smartphone and tablet categories, while Android tablets are making headway in the business market. Other winners will probably come from those managing the BYOD market, like Good Technology, for example.
“Enterprise software was the second largest category, with Gartner expecting spending to jump over 6 percent in 2013 to $297 billion. The winners here? Pretty much any startup in Silicon Valley right now. PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree report shows that software dominated VC dollars in Q4 2012, bringing in nearly a billion dollars just from Silicon Valley.”
The report expects IT services and data center systems to grow, too, but modestly. Telecoms should also grow more slowly because money is shifting toward mobile data from voice. On the other hand, companies that stake their hopes on proprietary products, like Oracle and Microsoft, seem poised to lose ground. Those companies have been late to the cloud and mobile scene. I suspect, however, that each of these behemoths have the resources to make up that ground in the years to come.
Cynthia Murrell, April 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Is It Time to Jettison the Jargon Intuitive?
April 9, 2013
Search vendors, who have embraced facets and visualization, are no strangers to the concept of the “intuitive” user interface. Now, that idea is getting some push-back in a piece at the MIT Technology Review, “I’m Boycotting ‘Intuitive’ Interfaces.” It isn’t the slick and/or easy-to-use UIs themselves that writer John Pavlus has a problem with, but the impression that these designs just somehow “feel natural.” He writes:
“[Jef] Raskin points out (and any HCI expert or UI designer worth her salt will already know this) that ‘intuitive’ is just a sloppy quasi-synonym for ‘familiar.’ If you don’t feel like you have to learn how to use a tool–that you ‘just get it,’ that you ‘already know,’ or ‘it just works’–then it feels like it’s magically tapping into your ineffable ‘intuition.’ It ain’t. You still have to learn how to use it. It’s just that the more familiar it is (or seems), the less you notice the effort of that learning (or the less effort there will be to begin with). A pen is ‘intuitive’ because you’ve used a zillion pens, pencils, crayons, markers, and stick-shaped inscriptor-tools in your life. A computer mouse is ‘intuitive’ for the same reason (if you were born in or after my generation). If you grew up 500 years ago in an agrarian society, you might think a plow or a scythe was pretty [darned] intuitive. Would you know what the $#*& to do with a plow if I put it in your hands right now?”
The man has a point. So what, one might ask, why not let UI designers (and marketers) continue to throw around the word “intuitive” willy-nilly? Because, Pavlus insists, it sets up unrealistic expectations for users. Besides, he asserts, trying to minimize the learning curve distracts designers from what should be their top priority—facilitating connections between people. I’m not sure I’m on board with his boycott of the term, but I expect I will now hear the word “familiar” in my head whenever I hear or read “intuitive.”
Cynthia Murrell, April 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
