Demographics and an Another Daunting Challenge for Search
May 22, 2013
I read “Pew: 94% Of Teenagers Use Facebook, Have 425 Facebook Friends, But Twitter & Instagram Adoption Way Up.” The main point is that Facebook has what I would call a monopolistic position when it comes to teens and their friends. I am not sure Facebook is the home run play in places like rural Chile, but where there is money, infrastructure, and gizmos, Facebook is on top.
The point which struck me is, “What happens when an outfit is on top?” Revenue accrues and so does attention.
The research which the write up summarizes contains an interesting factoid or two. For example, teens are, if the data are correct, are shifting from online services which use words to online services which use pictures. (Will video be far behind?) Here’s the passage I noted:
Twitter and Instagram are far behind Facebook, but both have made impressive gains. Twitter was used by only 12% of teens in 2011 but more than doubled that to 26% in 2012. with usage of 26% and 11%. Instagram doesn’t appear to have been measured in 2011, so surveyed growth can’t be determined. But it comes in with an impressive third place at 11%.
Several observations are warranted.
First, search is somewhat of a disappointment when one tries to locate specific information in text form. Last night at dinner, a prominent New York attorney said, “It may just be me but I am having more difficulty finding exactly what I am looking for.” The comment bedevils quite a few people. I suggested that the prominent attorney hire a legal researcher. The prominent attorney replied, “I suppose I will have to.” Lesson: Finding information is getting more difficult, not easier. Keep in mind that the problem exists for words. Search is a challenge for some folks, and vendors have been trying to crack the code for 40, maybe 50 years.
Second, what information is embedded in digital images? What “metamessages” are teens sending when a snapshot is launched into the Twitter or Instagram world? More important, what search system is needed to locate and figure out the information in an image? My view is that geocoding and personal information may offer some important clues. But do we have a search system for these content repositories which works for the hapless attorney, a marketer, or a person looking for information about a runaway teen? In my view, not yet, and not by a long shot.
Third, is the shift from text to images by the teen demographic in the study sample a signal that text is losing its usefulness or relevance? The notion that those entering the workforce in a few years wedded to Tweets and snapshots may be an important cultural shift in some parts of the developed world.
The big question remains, “How will one find information to answer a question?” Text search is a problem. The brave new world hinted at in the Pew study poses more findability challenges. I am not sure the current crop of search and content processing challenges can resolve the problem to my satisfaction. The marketers will assert the opposite. The reality is that findability will remain a central problem for the foreseeable future.
Search is most easily resolved by ignoring its problems or reducing the problem to predictive algorithms in a “mother knows best” approach to information. That may work for some, but not everyone.
Stephen E Arnold, May 21, 2013
Sponsored by Augmentext
Demographics and an Another Daunting Challenge for Search
May 22, 2013
I read “Pew: 94% Of Teenagers Use Facebook, Have 425 Facebook Friends, But Twitter & Instagram Adoption Way Up.” The main point is that Facebook has what I would call a monopolistic position when it comes to teens and their friends. I am not sure Facebook is the home run play in places like rural Chile, but where there is money, infrastructure, and gizmos, Facebook is on top.
The point which struck me is, “What happens when an outfit is on top?” Revenue accrues and so does attention.
The research which the write up summarizes contains an interesting factoid or two. For example, teens are, if the data are correct, are shifting from online services which use words to online services which use pictures. (Will video be far behind?) Here’s the passage I noted:
Twitter and Instagram are far behind Facebook, but both have made impressive gains. Twitter was used by only 12% of teens in 2011 but more than doubled that to 26% in 2012. with usage of 26% and 11%. Instagram doesn’t appear to have been measured in 2011, so surveyed growth can’t be determined. But it comes in with an impressive third place at 11%.
Several observations are warranted.
First, search is somewhat of a disappointment when one tries to locate specific information in text form. Last night at dinner, a prominent New York attorney said, “It may just be me but I am having more difficulty finding exactly what I am looking for.” The comment bedevils quite a few people. I suggested that the prominent attorney hire a legal researcher. The prominent attorney replied, “I suppose I will have to.” Lesson: Finding information is getting more difficult, not easier. Keep in mind that the problem exists for words. Search is a challenge for some folks, and vendors have been trying to crack the code for 40, maybe 50 years.
Second, what information is embedded in digital images? What “metamessages” are teens sending when a snapshot is launched into the Twitter or Instagram world? More important, what search system is needed to locate and figure out the information in an image? My view is that geocoding and personal information may offer some important clues. But do we have a search system for these content repositories which works for the hapless attorney, a marketer, or a person looking for information about a runaway teen? In my view, not yet, and not by a long shot.
Third, is the shift from text to images by the teen demographic in the study sample a signal that text is losing its usefulness or relevance? The notion that those entering the workforce in a few years wedded to Tweets and snapshots may be an important cultural shift in some parts of the developed world.
The big question remains, “How will one find information to answer a question?” Text search is a problem. The brave new world hinted at in the Pew study poses more findability challenges. I am not sure the current crop of search and content processing challenges can resolve the problem to my satisfaction. The marketers will assert the opposite. The reality is that findability will remain a central problem for the foreseeable future.
Search is most easily resolved by ignoring its problems or reducing the problem to predictive algorithms in a “mother knows best” approach to information. That may work for some, but not everyone.
Stephen E Arnold, May 21, 2013
Sponsored by Augmentext
LucidWorks to Participate in OSCON
May 22, 2013
OSCON, the Open Source Convention, will take place in Portland, Oregon in July. Themes of the conference include not just innovation and the exchange of ideas, but also how open source can give back to the community and support upcoming developers. This year, LucidWorks will support the conference. Read more on the LucidWorks Events page.
The event overview begins:
“OSCON is the best place on the planet to prepare for what comes next, from learning new skills to understanding how new and emerging open source technologies are going to impact how we live, work, and do business. In keeping with its O’Reilly heritage, OSCON is a unique gathering of all things open source, where participants find inspiration, confront new challenges, share their expertise, renew bonds to community, make significant connections, and find ways to give back to the open source movement. Erik Hatcher from LucidWorks will be presenting at the event.”
Stay tuned for more details about what Hatcher will present in his Solr Quick Start session. Attendees can expect information regarding installing and running Solr, indexing data, configuring schema, tuning and scaling, and more. LucidWorks offers some of the best value-added open source software with its LucidWorks Search and LucidWorks Big Data offerings. Perhaps more importantly, LucidWorks has a long track record of investing in open source development, training, and support, including employing one-quarter of the committers on the Apache Lucene/Solr project.
Emily Rae Aldridge, May 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Yahoo Bids Goodbye To Microsoft
May 22, 2013
When Marissa Mayer took charge of Yahoo, she flipped the failing company upside down with strategic changes and she is about to make another one, says CNet in the article, “Yahoo Reportedly Looking To Dump Microsoft Search Pact.” Mayer has been unhappy with Yahoo’s partnership with Microsoft and has been searching for a way to end the arrangement.
Both companies made the deal in good faith:
“The two companies entered into a 10-year search partnership in 2010 in which Microsoft would power Yahoo search and Yahoo would become the sales force for Microsoft’s premium properties. However, the relationship hasn’t yielded the revenue-per-search guaranteed by the partnership, prompting Microsoft to extend the RPS guarantee for another year, Yahoo disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday.”
Microsoft failed to hit the RPS targets and Microsoft keeps seeking extensions in hopes to generate some profits. Mayer wants to grow Yahoo, she does not want to remain stagnant which is what the deal is bringing. Yahoo still considers Microsoft an important partner, but back in 2008 Google courted Yahoo with an ad-search deal and they may come back. Yahoo will probably find a way out of the deal and if the purpose is to make money, which Google is good at, Yahoo just might join the Google family. Is it time to drink the Kool-Aid?
Whitney Grace, May 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Potentially New Web Page Data Mining Tool
May 22, 2013
Extracting content from a Web page can be a maddening process, requiring specialized scripts and time spent coding them. Taking a look at available tools, Softpedia touts “FMiner Pro 7.05.” FMiner Pro is advertised as a reliable application that allows users to easily handle Web content without scripts. The software can pull data from any page type, including https, plugins, JavaScript, and even complete data structures.
After the data is extracted much can be done with it:
“Extracted results can be saved to csv, Excel(xls), SQLite, Access, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and can specify the database fields’ types and attributes(eg, UNIQUE can avoid duplication of the extracted data). According to the setting, program can build, rebuild or load the database structure, and save the data to an existing database. Professional edition support incremental extraction, clear extraction and schedule extraction.”
FMiner Pro is available for a free fifteen-day trial to see how well it can perform. After viewing the specs, FMiner Pro is worth a shot. It can probably save coders hours by not having to write scripts and organizing Web content is a tedious job no one likes to do. Having a program to do it is much more preferable.
Whitney Grace, May 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Google Yourself to Learn About Your Digital Footprint and Avoid Security Breaches
May 22, 2013
The aptly titled article, Do a Google Search on Yourself Every Few Months to Find Out What Others Can Learn About You on SecurityFAQs, reminds us yet again of the time before the Google revolution, when encyclopedia’s were still a great gift and students knew and used the Dewey Decimal System. Today, if you aren’t careful, you can leave invaluable information about yourself for all to see and in some cases to use against you. The article explains,
“Some of the information that Google offers may be able to harm you. Google indexes other websites around the web including some of the websites that you might have visited at some point. If you left information about yourself on one of these websites then there is a good chance that Google might have indexed that information and it is available to the public. If someone was able to type in the right search they would be able to access that information.”
Googling yourself may seem like a vanity exercise but in fact it can help you understand your digital footprint and what information is out there for all the world to see. The article mentions black hat hackers several times, those who breach your computer security for no other reason than malice. ArnoldIT offers more information on digital footprints and the risks you might be exposing yourself to without being aware.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 22, 2013
If you are interested in gourmet food and spirits, read Gourmet De Ville.
Ingersoll Brings Crowd Sourced Intelligence to Berlin Buzzwords
May 21, 2013
Berlin Buzzwords is an upcoming conference for developers and users of open source software devoted to the themes of search, store, and scale. Keep a close eye on this exciting conference in the emerging European market. Grant Ingersoll, co-founder of LucidWorks will deliver a presentation on June 4th entitled, “Crowd-sourced Intelligence Built into Search over Hadoop.”
The presentation overview states:
“This session will provide details on how search engines can be abused to use not text, but mathematically derived tokens to build models that implement reflected intelligence . . . The session will describe how to integrate Apache Solr/Lucene with Hadoop. Then we will show how crowd-sourced search behavior can be looped back into analysis and how constantly self-correcting models can be created and deployed. Finally, we will show how these models can respond with intelligent behavior in realtime.”
LucidWorks has been getting a lot of press lately for its integration with Hadoop in the newest MapR venture. The partnership makes sense, bringing LucidWorks’ track record in enterprise together with the scalability and processing capabilities of Hadoop. Everyone wins. If you are in the area, do not miss Berlin Buzzwords.
Emily Rae Aldridge, May 21, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Social Media Marketing for Beginners, the Risks and Rewards
May 21, 2013
To learn how to attract the targeted clientele, read the article Engaging and Entertaining With Social Media Marketing on Marketing Promotion. The article cautions against hiring expensive (and often fraudulent) social media marketing firms. Many of these companies use tricks to appear to be creating lots of ads and yet they are not generating any interest, or even being seen. The article also urges those new to social media to copy (or be inspired by) other company’s use of Facebook, Twitter and the like. The article goes on,
“The information gathered from your social networking strategy will allow you develop more appealing, user-friendly approaches. Additionally to your website, you can make a Facebook store that will be accessible from any posts you make. Those who use Facebook often wander around the site and can look through your product selection and make purchases without leaving Facebook. This way, Facebook users you want to turn into customers will be able to stay on Facebook and still make purchases for you.”
Additionally, on Twitter there are tools like Tweepi and Twellow which enable you to discover the audience you want to target, and make sure that they see you too. The article also reminds that social media marketing is meant to generate revenue, not “reaction.” At ArnoldIT we promote the best methods of utilizing social media marketing and caution against unnecessary risks.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 21, 2013
If you are interested in gourmet food and spirits, read Gourmet De Ville.
How to Plan and Implement a Social Media Marketing Strategy
May 21, 2013
For tips on implementing a social media marketing plan, read the article Become the Social Media Marketing Expert on YahSuccess Blog. Touting the importance of a timeline and an idea of what you want before you create it, the article also encourages entrepreneurs to interact with users on various sites. This will not only open up a dialogue with potential clients, but can even attract more attention. The article explains how,
“For example, you could develop an article that celebrates your company reaching one thousand Twitter followers. Publicly thank people for their interest, comments and other interactions and discuss the positive aspects of social media. Many people will share this kind of article… When a user comments on any posts, it will show on their page and their followers will see it. In order to generate greater exposure, facilitate reader interaction with you as well as with each other.”
Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are all excellent resources, if you know how to use them. The article recommends posting videos on Youtube so that users will get an idea of your store’s offering before ever visiting. Additionally, be sure to link to your Twitter and Facebook, so that Youtube followers will be more likely to repost your videos. These beginner steps are helpful, and at ArnoldIT we provide even more resources and information on professional social media marketing.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 21, 2013
If you are interested in gourmet food and spirits, read Gourmet De Ville.
Generational Generation of Digital Information–a Breakdown
May 21, 2013
In the article Digital Footprints Broken Down by Generation on Bit Rebels, there are some very interesting facts laid out about the amount of data generated everyday by humans. According to the article, citing “science”, the internet in all its encompassing hugeness weighs no more than the average strawberry, but the data printed out could cross the US and China fifteen times. To discover your data footprint and get a label (such as super-user) you can visit Cisco’s website What is Your Digital Footprint. The article also states,
“What I found to be the most staggering stat is that from the beginning of time until 2003, humans generated 5 billion gigabytes worth of data. Today, we generate that much data every two days. In a year from now, we will generate that much data every ten minutes. What will it be like in 10 years from now? Doesn’t it seem like at some point it would get full? Science is full of mystery and wonder.”
For a breakdown of generational usage of everything from tv to smart phones to desktop computers, examine this handy infographic by Wikibon. It predicts that soon we will generate 5 billion gigabytes of data every ten minutes. Some of this data is private, and at ArnoldIT you can learn from a team of professionals about how to avoid leaving a digital footprint that will open you up to risk and embarrassment.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 21, 2013
If you are interested in gourmet food and spirits, read Gourmet De Ville.
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