Top ECM Tips of 2013
February 27, 2014
Although we are a couple of months into 2014, another “year in review” article is still not a bad idea. These provide a good overview of the best tips and tricks to emerge within a time frame. This particular article focuses on SharePoint and Search Content Management offers it up. Read more in, “The Top Enterprise Content Management System Tips of 2013.”
The article begins:
“With the release of the SharePoint 2013 platform . . . companies are considering migration to the new version for their enterprise content management system, but are also exploring SharePoint Online, the cloud-based version of SharePoint in Office 365. Many want the features available in the on-premises version but also the flexibility of SharePoint in the cloud . . . So it’s no surprise that some of the top ECM tips this year concern how to script in SharePoint 2013, new features in SharePoint 2013 and whether to migrate to on-premises SharePoint or whether to consider SharePoint Online.”
The piece then goes on to list the specific pieces of top learning content that can be found on Search Content Management. SharePoint users and managers might also be interested in the content on ArnoldIT.com. Stephen E. Arnold, the site’s mastermind, is a longtime leader in search. His frequent commentary on SharePoint highlights not only the shortcoming and flaws within the program, but more importantly how users are overcoming them.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 27, 2014
News, Optimism, and Content Marketing
February 26, 2014
I read “How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations.” Public relations may need to do some PR and damage control. The allegedly accurate information provided one more factoid to support our contention that locating and verifying “news” is a tough job.
I will be addressing some of the methods a researcher can use to unwrap the ballistic padding that online services use to keep some information away from the grubby fingers of researchers. Consumers who gobble pay-top-play content are what most online services want. And, if you had not noticed, putting video content front and center is the new trend for those who are looking for facts, data, and high-value analyses.
As Kim Kardashian allegedly said, “I’m an entrepreneur. Ambitious is my middle name.”
The blog post “The Future of the News Business: A Monumental Twitter Stream All in One Place” was more interesting to me. The write up presses some familiar controls on the baloney making machine; for example:
- Consolidation is much better than individual services. I wonder if “consolidation” is a euphemism for monopoly, a concept with which some executives are more familiar. An older-school thinker used the word “convergence” but that buzzword makes an appearance in the source article.
- The time horizon is not three years (a long time in today’s uncertain world). The time horizon is 20 years in the future. I wonder how far in the future Viktor Yanukovych’s chief of staff planned yesterday. I think the plans are on hold for a while.
- The old way of news was monopolistic. The new way is to generate money from many streams; for example, advertising (good), Bitcoin (possibly problematic), and slicing and dicing (a possible copyright quagmire).
- The beacons range from Buzzfeed (listicles) to SearchEngineLand (the logic straining search engine optimization service described as “a place for all the search news, all the time.”)
The opportunity, if I follow the argument, is to tackle the job of creating a monumental Twitter Stream all in one place” with vision, scrappiness, experimentation, adaptability, focus, deferred gratification, and an entrepreneurial mindset.
I appreciate the elegant quote from Tommy Lasorda about how difficult creating a news-oriented “monumental Twitter stream” will be. My hunch is that a fusion of PR methods, content marketing, and “bits are bits” thinking will triumph.
Log Files: Search, Short Cuts, and Low Costs
February 26, 2014
I read “Splunk Feels the Heat from Stronger, Cheaper Open Source Rivals.” InfoWorld is up to its old tricks again. Log files have been around for decades. Many organizations allow more recent entries to overwrite previous log files. I know that some people believe that this practice has gone the way of the dodo. Well, would you like to buy a bridge?
For those who keep log files and want to figure out what treasures nestle therein, an outfit has marketed an expensive “search” system. Splunk is the darling of many information technology gurus. In Washington, DC, I am surprised when laborers in the Federal vineyard do not sport a Splunk tattoo.
IDC’s view is that there is charge rolling down the road. The write up points out that Splunk is no longer limited. Like most information access systems, the company has expanded. In fact, the wizards at IDC parrot the jargon: Analytics. Here’s the passage I noted:
Splunk started strong and has only grown stronger as it’s branched out to become a wide-ranging analytics platform. But the free version of Splunk is quite limited, and the enterprise version’s pricing is based on the amount of data indexed, which adds up to prohibitive costs for some.
The important factoid is, in my opinion, cost. Most organizations want to reduce costs for some little understood information tasks. Making heads or tails out of the ever burgeoning and frequently overwritten log files may be at the top of the budget tightening list.
IDC, truly an expert in open source software, points out that “open source competition has been emerging in the background.” I suppose that’s why IDC is selling at $3,500 a whack analyses of open source such as this gem produced in part by IDC’s wizards. See Report 237410. Who wrote that? Worth a look I suppose.
The angle is that Graylog2 and Elasticsearch are chasing after Splunk. I am not sure if this is old news, good news, or silly news. What’s clear is that InfoWorld is covering open source and not emphasizing its deep research.
Cost control is a subtle point. I am delighted that the write up creeps up on one of the central attributes of open source software: No license fees. But what of the costs of installing, tuning, and maintaining the open source solution? Ah, not included in the write up. If you pony up $3,500 for an IDC open source report, I assume more substance is provided. Who wrote those IDC open source reports like 237410? Was it an IDC analyst, marketer, or reporter? Did the information come from another source?
Anyway, good PR for Elasticsearch. Bad PR for Splunk.
Stephen E Arnold, February 26, 2014
Watson Goes to Africa
February 26, 2014
Is big data the key to boosting Africa’s economic prowess? IBM seems to think so, and it is sending in its AI ambassador Watson to help with the continent’s development challenges. Watson is IBM’s natural language processing system that famously won Jeopardy in 2011. Now, Phys,org announces that “IBM Brings Watson to Africa.” The $100 million initiative is known as Project Lucy, named after the skeleton widely considered the earliest known human ancestor (Australopithecus, to be specific), discovered in Africa in 1974. (I would be remiss if I did not mention that an older skeleton, Ardipithecus, was found in 1994; there is still no consensus on whether this skeleton is really a “human ancestor,” though many scientists believe it is. But I digress.)
The write-up tells us:
“Watson technologies will be deployed from IBM’s new Africa Research laboratory providing researchers with a powerful set of resources to help develop commercially-viable solutions in key areas such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation, human mobility and agriculture.
“To help fuel the cognitive computing market and build an ecosystem around Watson, IBM will also establish a new pan-African Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Development (CEDD) and is recruiting research partners such as universities, development agencies, start-ups and clients in Africa and around the world. By joining the initiative, IBM’s partners will be able to tap into cloud-delivered cognitive intelligence that will be invaluable for solving the continent’s most pressing challenges and creating new business opportunities.”
IBM expects that with the help of its CEDD, Watson will be able to facilitate data collection and analysis on social and economic conditions in Africa, identifying correlations across multiple domains. The first two areas on Watson’s list are healthcare and education, both realms where improvement is sorely needed. The Center will coordinate with IBM’s 12 laboratories around the world and its new Watson business unit. (Wait, Watson now has its own business unit?) See the article for more on this hopeful initiative.
Cynthia Murrell, February 26, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Travel Search Site Skyscanner Celebrates Rapid Growth
February 26, 2014
Their name certainly fits their goal: “Skyscanner aims to be World’s Top Search Site,” announces the Scotsman. According to the piece, Skyscanner has just doubled its revenue and is adding 100 new employees to its already 500-strong workforce. They are nipping at the heels of the Priceline-owned Kayak and the China-focused Qunar. Will Expedia and Orbitz be next? Writer Terry Murden informs us:
“[Skyscanner] broadened from a flight comparison site into a general travel search engine by acquiring Barcelona-based hotel search company Fogg. This, together with Skyscanner’s car rental services, helped move it into the wider search engine sector.
“Secondary investment by US-based Sequoia Capital in October, which valued Skyscanner at $800 (£500m), gives the company access to a deeper pool of expertise. The firm has made a rapid entry into the Americas, including the Canadian, Latin American and US markets. Last year saw a 119 per cent year-on-year increase in unique monthly visitors in the region.
“Skyscanner opened a Miami hub for the Americas, established new offices in Glasgow and Barcelona and expanded in Edinburgh, Beijing and Singapore.”
The company attributes its most successful year so far to two things: its mobile push and market growth, especially in the Far East. CFO Shane Corstorphine is confident that the platform his company has built will support continued growth. Founded in 2003, Skyscanner is based in Edinburgh.
Cynthia Murrell, February 26, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Silobreaker Profiled
February 26, 2014
One of our favorite data outfits has been profiled at the British legal news site The Lawyer in, “The London Startup Giving Meaning to Big Data.” Our own Stephen E. Arnold did an extensive interview with the firm’s director Mats Bjore last November for his excellent Search Wizards Speak series. Though much more brief than his piece, the Lawyer write-up emphasizes one of this company’s key advantages—its commitment to connecting the dots between data sources. That focus has led clients to seek out Silobreaker for data-related security work. We’re told:
“Silobreaker did not specialise in cyber security from the start. Rather, cyber security came to it in the form of some of the largest US hardware and software companies looking to gain insight into threat intelligence data they had gathered.
“The company believes that because many organisations operate in siloed environments there is a disconnect between data sources – customer or financial information, social media data, market analyses and so on. Companies and governments need to inject some sense into their information by bringing all those sources together.
“[…]Co-founder and CEO Kristofer Månsson says, ‘Governments and companies need us to give the information they have some context. The services we provide – geopolitical analysis, monitoring of global events or situational awareness through social media, for example – are not part of a cyber security company’s traditional offering. But we’re still a cyber company by association because of what we do.'”
Besides Silobreaker’s skilled and effective data integration, we also like them for their constant innovation and their ability to see things from the end-user’s perspective. Even greater praise: The ArnoldIT team uses Silobreaker for our intelligence-related work. Launched in 2005, Silobreaker is headquartered in London. They serve clients in corporate, government, military, and financial services realms.
Cynthia Murrell, February 26, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Hashtag Help for SharePoint 2013
February 26, 2014
The latest integration of Yammer and other social aspects into SharePoint 2013 has gotten a lot of attention. However, users are still murky on how to integrate the features in a way that improves productivity. Read some good tips in Network World article, “Hashtag Helper: 7 Tips to get More Value from Hashtags in SharePoint 2013.”
The article says:
“The organizations I’m currently working with are seeing some tremendous value leveraging the social capabilities of SharePoint and Yammer . . . However, explaining and getting value from the use of hashtags has been a little more complicated because they don’t work as expected in some scenarios and the concept of a hashtag is just not universally understood by all of our users. With that in mind, here are a few tips for a recipe I’m calling ‘Hashtag Helper’ based on the practical lessons we’ve learned.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and keeps a close eye on SharePoint on his Web site, ArnoldIT.com. His research finds that while users are interested in social integration, many are lost when it comes to how to integrate these features. For that reason, many will find this article timely.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 26, 2014
Online Accuracy: Not What It Seems
February 25, 2014
I read “Publishers Withdraw More than 120 Gibberish Papers.” The article reports that Springer and IEEE have begun the process of removing “computer generated nonsense.” The article explains how to create a fake paper in case you are curious. What about the papers in online services and commercial databases that contain bogus data? Do researchers discern false information?
PLOS, an open access scientific publisher, said that it would ask authors to make their data more available. You can read about this long overdue action in “PLOS’ New Data Policy: Public Access to Data.”
I wonder why the much vaunted text analysis software does not flag suspect information. Perhaps marketing is more important than accuracy?
Stephen E Arnold, February 25, 2014
News: Try and Find It
February 25, 2014
There are dozens of news sites. These range from the little known among “experts” like Big Project to almost anonymous services like WN.com. The hurried Web user can consume headlines at https://news.google.com/news or http://news.yahoo.com/. My local newspaper offers news but begs for dollars. News appears to be everywhere.
I read “Local Newspapers and TV Stations Are building Their Own Private Ad Exchange with Google.” Ah, how times have changed according to the article. Here’s a passage I noted:
Today, the Consortium is taking a step towards fulfilling its promise of increased revenue through a new partnership with Google. The deal is supposed to strengthen Google’s relationship with local publishers by “turbo charging” the online news business via “growing budgets” for programmatic buying, according to a company blog post by Laurent Cordier.
Google is a force to channeled. Most of the news professionals I know tell me that they are good researchers and that they use Google. That’s good for Google.
But what about the flow of news? Newspapers and magazines need ad revenues, and in my research, I found that Google can deliver traffic. With traffic comes money. With the money comes dependence.
For Google that’s very good. For those who become dependent on Google, the consequences are cash. If there are other issues, will the dependent executives assert, “We understand the situation. We can deal with whatever comes down the road.”
These folks believe these words. I am suspicious of deals that refer to turbocharging.
And what about coverage of events? Our work continues to reveal that it is more difficult to:
- Locate timely news online
- Verify stories propagated by certain sources
- Find backfiles
- Figure out what’s filtered in and out, when, and why
- Access information on certain topics
- Get timely updates online from certain governmental organizations
- Keep track of content that disappears.
Perhaps those Google bucks will improve coverage of local activities, expand backfiles, and increase the flow of verified, original reporting?
I will have to wait and see. But is information the purpose of those in the deal with Google or is the goal cash. As George Bush once said about support for those affected by the crisis in Haiti, “Just send cash.”
Stephen E Arnold, February 25, 2014
Free Math and Statistical Computing eBooks
February 25, 2014
More free stuff! Here’s a useful link for those in the programming trenches. EFYTimes.com tells us about “11 Free eBooks on Mathematical and Statistical Software.” The post introduces the list:
“Here are 11 free ebooks on different aspects of mathematical and statistical software including [computer algebra system] Maple, mathematica programming, octave programming, LAPACK and much more. Hopefully these books will be of help! Happy reading!”
The “much more” includes a few entries that caught my eye. There’s the book that delves into determining the best methods to model with any given large data set; there’s one on using SPSS for data analysis; and an introduction to the free, general-purpose computer algebra system Axiom. Check out the post to peruse these free resources for yourself.
Cynthia Murrell, February 25, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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