Technology and Dark Matter: Confusion an Undesirable Force for Some
October 7, 2015
By chance, my Overflight system spit out two articles which I read one after the other.
The first was “Technological Dark Matter.” The second was “The Tyranny of Choice: Why Enterprise Tech Buyers Are Confused.” Information access mavens seem to be drifting into a philosophical mode. Deeper thinking is probably needed. Superficial thinking is not doing a very good job of dealing with issues such as the difficulty of looking for an image in the British Library collection, the dazzling irrelevance of Web search results, and trivial matters such as the online security glitches experienced by outfits which like to think they are the best and brightest around.
The Dark Matter write up confuses me. The notion of Dark Matter is that “something” is there, but it cannot be located. I don’t want to call it a physicist cheat, but darn it, if one can’t find it, maybe the notion is flawed in some way.
The write up informed me that I come into contact with “internal tools.” Well, no. I think internal tools like the other points in the write up are business processes manifested in interactions with other systems and people. These processes, if not worked out correctly, add friction to a system. Who wants to change a mainframe based system into a cloud service for free or for fun? I don’t, and I don’t know too many people who would or could. Pain, gentle reader, pain is migrating an undocumented mainframe system to a cloud hybrid confection. Nope.
The write up’s points — monetization, security, localization (which I don’t understand), long tail features (but I don’t understand the word “bajillion” either), and micro optimizations (again, baffled).
Nevertheless, the write up sparked my thoughts about the invisible, yet cost adding, functions that are not on the users’, customers’, competitors’, or consultants’ radar. Big outfits have big friction. Inefficiency is the name of the game. Now that’s Dark Matter I find interesting.
The second article struck a chord because it focuses on the relationship between complexity and confusion. The write up is more coherent than the first article. I highlighted this passage:
Brazier [a wizard from Canalys] said “rising levels of complexity” were marking it “harder for customers to keep up with everything.” This in turn made it harder for customers to make decisions, he concluded. “Prices are going up. That has clearly restricted demand.”
The complexity thing linked with confusion and prices.
The magic of juxtaposition. Technology outfits, particularly those engaged in information access, have a tough time explaining what their products do, what the products’ value is, and why the information access systems anger half or more of their users.
Consultants explain the problem in terms of governance, a term a bit like bajillions. Sounds good, means nothing. Consultants (often failed webmasters trying to get “real” work or art history majors with a knack for Photoshop) guide the helpless procurement team to a decision.
Based on my brush againsts with these groups, the choices are narrowed to established companies which are pitching software which may not work. Often a deal will be made because someone knows someone. A personal endorsement is better than an Instagram factoid.
I have three notions floating around in my mental mine drainage pond:
- Technology centric companies are faced with rising technology costs and may have fewer and fewer ways to generate more cash. Not good for investors, employees, and customers. Googlers call this the rising cost of technology’s credit card debt.
- The problems which seem to crop up with outfits like Amazon, Facebook, Google really gum up the lives of users, partners, and others involved with the company. Whether know how based like Google’s Belgium glitch or legal like the European Commission’s pursuit of monopolists, costs will be driven up.
- The notion of guidance is becoming buck passing and derrière shielding. Those long, inefficient, circular procurement processes defer a decision and accountability.
Net net: Process friction, confusion, complexity, and cost increases. The new hot buttons for information access and other technology centric companies.
Stephen E Arnold, October 7, 2015
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