More Open Source Search Excitement: Solr Flare Erupts
February 20, 2015
I read “Yonik Seeley, Creator of Apache Solr Search Engine Joins Cloudera.” Most personnel moves in the search and retrieval sector are ho hum events. Seely’s jump from Heliosearch to Cloudera may disrupt activities a world away from the former Lucid Imagination now chasing Big Data under the moniker “LucidWorks.” I write the company’s name as LucidWorks (Really?) because the company has undergone some Cirque du Soleil moves since the management revolving door was installed.
Seeley was one of the founders and top engineers at Lucid. Following his own drum beat, he formed his own company to support Solr,. In my opinion, Seeley played a key role in shaping Solr into a reasonable alternative to proprietary findability solutions like Endeca. With Seeley at Cloudera, Lucid’s vision of becoming the search solution for Hadoop-like data management systems may suffer a transmission outage. I think of this as a big Solr flare.
Cloudera will move forward and leverage Seeley’s expertise. It is possible that Lucid will move out of the Big Data orbit and find a way to generate sustainable revenues. However, Cloudera now has an opportunity to add some fuel to its solutions.
For me, the Seeley move is good news for Cloudera. For Lucid, Seeley’s joining Cloudera is yet another challenge to Lucid. I think the Lucid operation is still dazed after four or five years sharp blows to the corporate body.
The patience of Lucid’s investors may be tested again. The management issues, the loss of a key executive to Amazon, the rise of Elasticsearch, and now the Seeley shift in orbit—these are the times that may try the souls of those who expect a payoff from their investments in Lucid’s open source dream. Cloudera or Elasticsearch are now companies with a fighting chance to become the next RedHat. Really.
Stephen E Arnold, February 20, 2015
DataStax Buys Graph-Database Startup Aurelius
February 20, 2015
DataStax has purchased open-source graph-database company, Aurelius, we learn in “DataStax Grabs Aurelius in Graph Database Acqui-Hire” at TechCrunch. Aurelius’ eight engineers will reportedly be working at DataStax, delving right into a scalable graph component for the company’s Cassandra-based Enterprise database. This acquisition, DataStax declares, makes theirs the only database platform with graph, analytics, search, and in-memory in one package. Writer Ron Miller tells us:
“DataStax is the commercial face of the open source Apache Cassandra database. Aurelius was the commercial face of the Titan graph database.
“Matt Pfeil, co-founder and chief customer officer at DataStax, says customers have been asking about graph database functionality for some time. Up until now customers have been forced to build their own on top of the DataStax offering.
“‘This was something that was on our radar. As we started to ramp up, it made sense from corporate [standpoint] to buy it instead of build it.’ He added that getting the graph-database engineering expertise was a bonus. ‘There’s not a ton of graph database experts [out there],’ he said.
“This expertise is especially important as two of the five major DataStax key use cases — fraud detection and recommendation engines — involve a graph database.”
Though details of the deal have not been released, see the write-up for some words on the fit between these two companies. Founded on an open-source model, Aurelius was doing just fine in its own. Co-founder Matthias Bröcheler is excited, though, about what his team can do at DataStax. Bröcheler did note that the graph database’s open-source version, Titan, will live on. Aurelius is located in Oakland, California, and was just launched in 2014.
Headquartered in San Mateo, California, DataStax was founded in 2010. Their Cassandra-based software implementations are flexible and scalable. Clients range from young startups to Fortune 100 companies, including such notables as eBay, Netflix and HealthCare Anytime.
Cynthia Murrell, February 20, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Need to Find a Simpsons’ Quote?
February 19, 2015
I often seek the wisdom of Homer, Homer Simpson that is. To locate a specific quote from the television series, enter a string like “doh” and you get a list of hits. Give it a whirl at www.simpsonquotes.com. Findability marches on. D’oh.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2015
Math Equation Similarity Search
February 19, 2015
Have you asked, “Is this equation similar to another equation?” If yes, you will want to bookmark SearchOnMath Enter your equation via point and click and hit search. Bingo. Quite useful.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2015
You Can Be a Private Eye
February 19, 2015
These days, anyone can be a private investigator; all you need are the Internet and some know-how. CNet lays out “5 Tips for Finding Anything, About Anyone, Online.” Writer Sarah Jacobsson Purewal begins:
“I think everyone should have decent online stalking skills. Not because I condone stalking, but because knowledge is power—if you don’t know how to find people online, how do you know what people can find about you online? Googling yourself is like checking your credit report for inaccuracies: it’s only effective as a preventative measure if you do it thoroughly and routinely. Whether you’re looking for yourself or a friend (no judgment), here are five tips for finding out anything, about anyone, online.”
Purewal begins with the logical first step—Google. She helpfully links to a video on advanced Google search techniques. She also advises do-it-yourself sleuths to “type in everything you know about the person in keyword format.” Next is Facebook’s People Search tool. Here, the write-up reminds us we can go through friends and family to find someone who’s using a fake Facebook name. Under the heading “Make connections,” Purewal advises searchers they will have to do some thinking:
“Once you have several facts about your subject, you’ll need to use your brain to make connections and fill in the blanks. For example, if you know your subject’s name, job title, and location, you can probably find their LinkedIn profile. On their LinkedIn profile, they’ve probably listed their undergraduate degree and when they graduated from college, which means you can work backward to figure out approximately how old they are.”
The list goes on to note, “Remember people are not very creative;” many unwisely use the same username and even password at many websites. One can use that clue to hunt someone down in social networks and community forums. Finally, we’re reminded that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Purewal recommends snagging a Facebook or Twitter profile picture and taking it over to TinEye or Google Images for a reverse lookup. Isn’t technology wonderful?
Cynthia Murrell, February 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Dominates Despite Users Struggles
February 19, 2015
SharePoint’s usage continues to soar, despite its well-documented difficulty. Some companies may simply feel that they have no other option when it comes to such a broad platform, but they do struggle with bridging the usability gap for their employees. Search Content Management also dives into the topic in their article, “Companies Wrestle with the SharePoint Usability Gap.”
The article begins:
“’But Microsoft’s lock on the business productivity applications in Microsoft Office extends to SharePoint as well. Many enterprises make their peace with SharePoint, despite the fact that it ‘doesn’t’ excel in any particular area when compared with best-of-breed, single-purpose products,’ as Jeffrey Mann, a Gartner, Inc. research vice president, noted at the 2013 Gartner Symposium/ITxpo.”
For these reasons, organizations must work harder to help users fight frustration and make the most of their workdays. Outside resources can be very helpful. One resource of note is ArnoldIT.com, a Web service run by a longtime search expert, Stephen E. Arnold. His SharePoint feed features the best of the Internet’s tips, tricks, and news regarding all things SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 19, 2015
China Questionable. Is Russia the Next Down Market for Google?
February 18, 2015
I read “Google Faces Russia Android Probe after Yandex Protest.” The main idea is that the quite good Yandex search engine perceives itself to be disadvantaged due to Google policies for Android search. Who knows if the hurdle is real or imagined. Perception is everything. Think about the idea of Mr. Putin endorsing certain types of nation state interaction. Perception.
The write up opines:
Google may try to defend itself by noting that manufacturers are free to install rival services if they choose not to pre-load its other software. It is also likely to argue that customers can carry out searches via other software – including Yandex’s search app – after buying an Android handset or tablet.
Seems reasonable. The problem is that Google is not exactly an insider in Russia. Mr. Brin was to ride a Russian space ship. That seemed to fizzle.
If Yandex gets a decision that pegs Google as a bad boy, Russia like China may become a market that becomes difficult for Google to dominate.
Stephen E Arnold, February 18, 2015
Teaching Information Literacy
February 18, 2015
A big push for universities is teaching undergraduate students how to conduct research. Most of them simply go to Google or Wikipedia and think their work is done. Wrong! Research involves more than a few spins around the search engine and most students find themselves deficient in that area. LearnU wrote an article, “Get Your Search On: 40 Of The Best Search Engines For Students And How To Use Them.”
The article includes a brief spiel about information literacy and its importance. What is nice is it explains how search engines work:
1. “Internet user enters desired inquiry into the search engine’s search bar.
2. The search engine’s software gets to work and starts sorting through the millions of pages residing within its database in an attempt to find the best fit for the original inquiry.
3. Once all the action takes place behind the scenes, all relevant results are generated for the searcher and presented. Results are listed in order with the most relevant first.”
What is even better is that the article does not ban Google entirely from the approved academic search engine list. Google used to be a no-no in academic research, but now it is a useful tool with different features specifically geared towards academics. There are even nods to video and social media search engines. The article does forget to mention Blekko and Yandex as major search engines and they also forget to mention Google Video as a media search system.
Oh well, nothing is perfect and at least most of these are free compared to scholarly databases.
Whitney Grace, February 18, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
In Google We Trust
February 18, 2015
According to a recent report, it appears that people trust the aggregator more than the sources it aggregates. Wait, what? Search Engine Journal (SEJ) informs us that “Google Is a More Trusted Source of News than Traditional Media [Report].” Of the 27,000 people surveyed for the report (published by Quartz), 72% trust “online search engines,” 64% trust traditional media, and 59% trust social media. (Personally, I find that last figure most troubling; but I digress.) Writer Matt Southern tells us:
“Where the trust stems from is a search engine’s ability to give users an at-a-glance look at news and information from a variety of sources. That is, apparently, more dependable for most people than getting news and/or information from a single source.
“What this really means is getting news from more than one source is preferable compared to putting sole trust in the reporting of one publication….
“On the other hand, you must also consider that Google’s algorithm takes into account your search history when serving up search results. So, for example, if you often come to SEJ for your SEO news then you’ll see more results from SEJ when conducting a search.”
We seem to be choosing ease-of-use over being well-informed from a wide range of viewpoints. Some people make that trade-off knowingly. Others, apparently, believe their personalized “variety” of sources actually give them the full picture. Let us not mistake convenience for trustworthiness; being well-informed sometimes takes a little effort.
Cynthia Murrell, February 18, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Watson and Toys: The Next Pet Rock?
February 17, 2015
If I were working, I would try to hit my goals. One of the takeaways from my years at Halliburton Nuclear Services was that selling big deals was generally preferable to selling little deals.
IBM seems to have a deal scale problem with Watson. Here’s a possible illustration of what I call “spreadsheet fever.”
Navigate to “Elemental Path Debuts The First Toys Powered By IBM Watson.” The article explains that an IBM partner is using Watson make toys smarter. I recall the toys I had as a child: a wooden car, a ball, and eventually a cheapo chemistry set. (I was able to use the chemistry set to create some wonderful, persistent odors until my mother nudged me toward physics and math.)
The write up points out that “none of the co-founders have kids themselves, they believed in this idea of “connected” toys to both entertain and educate children.”
Okay, no problem.
My reaction to this effort is that it is a good PR generator. A spreadsheet jockey can set up a model that makes clear how much money will flow from a pet rock or beanie baby type hit.
For me, I fear that Watson is unlikely to generate sufficient revenue to sustain the financial hopes and dreams of IBM.
Here’s a statement from an Alliance@IBM contributor:
I’ve decided to RA IBM! Yes, you read that right. Henceforth, in every case and every way, I’m going to RA IBM. That means whenever there’s an opportunity to weigh in on whether products and/or services should be from IBM or anyone else, I will vote for the anyone else. And when IBM products and/or services are already entrenched in my environment, I will do everything in my power to convince any powers that be that they could – and should – be doing better with solutions other than IBM’s. In other words, I will be rating IBM a 3 or less everywhere I go, and RA’ing their backside. Why? Well, first off, their products and/or services *are* 3-(or worse)-worthy. As a former IBMer, I have inside information on how poorly they treat their employees, and there’s just no way that people being treated thusly could produce goods and/or services of the quality and commitment to every customer’s success that happy employees elsewhere could. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t blame IBM employees for intentionally sabotaging IBMs plans, albeit in subtle ways that slowly ground their operation to a halt. Surely, hell hath no fury like the employee scorned. But there’s another reason: IBM is *old*. Yes, I’ve decided to discriminate against IBM based on age. “What’s good for the goose..”, right?
That may be a question for Watson. Just access Watson via the Cognitoy product of your choice. I quite like the green ones. That’s “green” for the oodles of revenue Watson will generate from toys, tamarind barbeque sauce, and, of course, curing cancer.
Isn’t Lucene, home grown scripts, and some IBM magic a rocket fuel for revenue? Watson, would you answer?
Stephen E Arnold, February 17, 2015
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
