Science Organizations Level Up Their Research
May 5, 2020
Unstructured and structured information generated by scientific organizations requires specialized software for organization, analytics, and delivering results. The standard business intelligence solution will not work, which is where experts like ResoluteAI come to the rescue. WFMZ News shares how, “ResoluteAI Unveils Research Tool For Science-Drive Enterprises.”
The Connect to Discover company ResoluteAI recently launched the enterprise search solution Nebula specially designed for scientific organizations. When Nebula is fed scientific information, it is categorized then the proprietary information is connected to ResoluteAI’s scientific databases. Nebula uses domain specific AI built for institutional knowledge that allows organizations to visualize, discover, and analyze unstructured data stored in knowledge management systems. Nebula is compatible with any file format, storage system and uses Precision Metadata to apply tags for content organization.
ResoluteAI also developed the Foundation, a discovery engine for scientific content that allows uses to access information about companies, grants, patents, publications, clinical trials, and more within one database. Usually information of this nature is guarded behind pay walls or would takes hours to track down on Google. Nebula connects users to the external information through Foundation.
Nebula offers the benefits of academic databases and powerful AI software in one platform:
“Early customers like Unilever are using Nebula to uncover information trapped in hard-to-search formats, and have been setting alerts to stay informed of new research their colleagues are contributing to team projects. Only ResoluteAI is focused on science-driven enterprises with first class bio/cheminformatics support and developer free-implementation.”
Nebula and Foundation are amazing proprietary software! If only there were resources like this at universities and public libraries.
Whitney Grace, May 5, 2020
Zoom Along: Virtual Meetings Are a Thing
May 5, 2020
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom. Apocryphal story: Google Meet session with WFH Googlers. Team leader’s child walks into view of the video cam. Child talks about Zoom and how much her friends like the service.
Well, maybe it’s not true?
But Zoom is a thing. You can get a list of Captain Obvious’ suggestions from Fox News, yes, THE Fox News. Navigate to “11 Best Zoom Tricks You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner.” Here’s a sampler: Change your background.
Another? Okay, here’s a secret: React with emojis.
Helpful indeed.
With COVID-19 running rampant around the globe, people need new ways to get their giggles. Reddit and the vast array of social media platforms have run the gambit, so people are now Zoom bombing. Zoom is a popular online meeting platform and now serves as classrooms and the work place. ZDNet shares how Zoom bombing works I the article, “The Internet Is Now Rife With Places Where You Can Organize Zoom-bombing Raids.”
Since people are bored and want entertainment other than Tiger King, there are now online communities where people post their Zoom conference code to request for Zoom raids or Zoom bombing (think digital flash mobs or photo bombers): random insults, play pornography, or even make death threats.
It started on a Discord prank channel (Tiktok’s baby with Facebook Messenger), then quarantined teenagers picked up on the joke. It did not take long for the Internet body to embrace the new trend, causing the FBI to warn organizations to secure their Zoom code. While classrooms and the standard office meeting become livelier with a random Zoom bomber shouting, “Butt” then disappearing, it does become a security risk for more sensitive situations…like Hollywood pitch meetings.
Zoom and its users have doubled up on security, but the Zoom bombers are now targeting: public sessions and posting the results to YouTube. YouTube does not care:
“The video-sharing platform doesn’t appear to have an issue with hosting the videos, as long as they don’t include pornographic content, racist remarks, or death threats — content that’s against the site’s policy. Other than that, you can scream your lungs out during a Zoom raid, and YouTube will have no problem hosting it.”
If you do not want to be Zoom bombed, Fossbytes offers a list of “8 Best Zoom Alternatives For Video Conferencing In 2020.” These include:
- BlueJeans
- Cisco Webex Meetings
- Discord
- Google Hangouts
- GoToMeeting
- Microsoft Teams
- Uber Conference
- Zoho Meeting
But write up forgot about Amazon Chime and Google Meet. Oh, well, good enough.
Whitney Grace, May 5, 2020
Search Engine Optimization: Content Misinformation Is the New Norm
May 5, 2020
Jacque Ellul wrote Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes in the early 1960s. Ellul was a theologian and a close observer of social behavior. Propaganda remains an important book, and it is more important than ever in our era of fake news. I am not sure that the Global Disinformation Index will be sufficient to deal with today’s content realities.
Ellul did not live to experience the wonders of free Web search engines, funded by advertisers. However, his insights provide a number of useful touchstones for anyone trying to determine if there are ways to remediate the present situation in the era of technology monopolies.
He observed:
When there is propaganda, we are no longer able to evaluate certain questions or even to discuss them.
Today content engines generate massive amounts of information. The volume of Facebook posts, Tweets, live streams, and other digital emissions are so massive, that the numbers used to convey the scale of the content flows are meaningless. Are you able to convert the estimate for the the World Economic Forum explains the data in terms of zettabytes and 2020 will output 44 zettabytes of information. Here’s a zettabyte in plain old numbers:
1000000000000000000000
Yottabytes are next.
The options for publishing and disseminating digital content continue to expand. Unhappy with Facebook, there’s Mastodon. Don’t like Google Blogger. There’s WordPress. Don’t like Twitch. There’s Periscope.
Not surprisingly search engine optimization experts have seized upon these rich, real time digital distribution systems to create “content marketing.”
The idea is simple. Write, podcast, or video a statement, fictional tale, or “news” program and distribute the information. The single story can be diffused with Tweets, Instagram posts, updates to a Facebook page, and maybe a 30 second TikTok video.
In the world of SEO, there are some individuals who operate with a moral compass aimed at verifiable information, facts, and what might be called “old fashioned ethical behavior.” With the tools plentiful and almost no editorial control, other individuals find a way to use content to deliver “shaped” information. This “shaping” has long been a part of public relations and marketing.
DarkCyber has been exploring the world of digital propaganda, and there are numerous examples. These range from Covid19 information to less high profile manipulations; for example, a member of Nextdoor, a local information service, pitching used dining room chairs; for example, “perfect, no scratches.” Of course, perfect.
One interesting explanation of content marketing appears in the YouTube video called “How to Generate Leads Through Content Marketing – How We Get 300+ Leads Every Month.” The video appeared as part of a YouTube channel called “Hustle.” Content was discontinued one year ago. The reasons are not clear, but it appears that the content marketing expert lost interest or the methods set forth in the programs failed.
Let’s take a look at the content marketing information conveyed by a person (Christian Arriola), a self-professed SEO expert (SEO is the acronym search engine optimization experts created for the propaganda mechanism.
The video begins with the question, “How does one get leads from content marketing?” The idea is that if one generates one’s own leads, the leads are not shared with anyone else. Control is a strong idea in sales. At about the 45 second mark, the “content” of the YouTube video is information about Mr. Arriola’s consulting business. Thus, the initial message is: “This is an infomercial.” After the commercial the video states, “I am not trying to get anything out of this video…. I am not looking to do anything in particular with you. I am just trying to help you.” At the 90 second mark, Mr. Arriola defines content as “all this information you create that provides value to someone.” The content captures attention and builds a relationship when someone needs the content. Content marketing means a person does not have to buy advertising. Content marketing can give you a strategy, asserts Mr. Arriloa. At the 2.42 mark, Mr. Arriola hopes his video has helped.
This is an example of content marketing, and I think it reveals several characteristics of content marketing:
- It is propaganda. Talking about content marketing becomes difficult as Ellul pointed out decades ago.
- The “content” of content marketing does not have to have substance. Writing something is what’s important and then writing more. Quantity equals quantity seems to be the message.
- The free Web indexing systems ingest “content marketing” and match ads to key words. Clicks are what matter.
To sum up, content marketing is public relations, marketing, sales, and messages. Hustle is an excellent way to describe Mr. Arriola’s approach to faux information value.
SEO is a unregulated discipline. Fraud is highly likely. The quest for clicks is now essential to the survival of a business. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Content marketing is tailor made for today’s business climate. For more on this subject, see “SEO: Let Us Hustle Everyone.”
Stephen E Arnold, May 5, 2020
The Bulldozer and Bray: Amazon and Its People Policies in Action
May 4, 2020
I read “Bye, Amazon.” The author is Tim Bray. Some may remember him as one of the spark plugs of Open Text. He did some nifty visualization work. He did the Google thing until 2014. From 2014 until a couple of days ago he worked at Amazon, the Bezos bulldozer, the online bookstore, and all-around economic engine of Covid America.
The write up states:
I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19.
When Amazon terminated with prejudice the Amazonians protesting.
Mr. Bray’s reaction was
Snap!
Mr. Bray was upset, went through Amazon channels, and resigned.
He states about the warehouse worker action:
It’s not just workers who are upset. Here are Attorneys-general from 14 states speaking out. Here’s the New York State Attorney-general with more detailed complaints. Here’s Amazon losing in French courts, twice.
On the other hand, he points out:
Amazon Web Services (the “Cloud Computing” arm of the company), where I worked, is a different story. It treats its workers humanely, strives for work/life balance, struggles to move the diversity needle (and mostly fails, but so does everyone else), and is by and large an ethical organization. I genuinely admire its leadership.
In his penultimate paragraph he offers:
At the end of the day, it’s all about power balances. The warehouse workers are weak and getting weaker, what with mass unemployment and (in the US) job-linked health insurance. So they’re gonna get treated like crap, because capitalism. Any plausible solution has to start with increasing their collective strength.
Several observations:
- Mr. Bray has a moral compass. DarkCyber finds that of value.
- Amazon’s “power” has been largely unchecked since the mid 1990s, and only now are actions building like storm clouds on the horizon.
- Mr. Bray was able to continue working for the Google but he could not continue working at Amazon. That’s interesting in itself.
Net net: Will Amazon take steps to deal with what seems to be the Tim Bray situation? Do Prime customers get orders delivered on time? Not if warehouse employees put sand in the Bezos bulldozer’s differential.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
SEO: Let Us Hustle, Everyone
May 4, 2020
I was horrified in 2013 when I read “Google Semantic Search: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques That Get Your Company More Traffic, Increase Brand Impact, and Amplify Your Online Presence.” I assume Ramanathan Guha, one of the semantic sparkplugs, may have to breathe deeply and do Zen things when he ponders how his semantic inventions have been applied.
One idea for “semantic” was to deal with ambiguity and provide improved recall for Web content. I am not to thrash around in the Semantic Web kiddy pool with over inflated natural language processing methods, the sprites of SPARQL, and Watson-esque methods that can figure out “meaning” in human utterances. No, no.
I want to point out that crazy suggestions for fooling Google’s bastardized relevance methods into presenting a user with increasingly less and less relevant information. Here’s an example: A query for “Peruvian Machu Picchu stone masonry.” Pretty specific. Here’s what the GOOG delivers:
The top hit is from a travel agency. Number two is a Wikipedia article. Number three is a collection of pictures.
I don’t know about you, but I am not confident in a travel agency’s take on Mesolithic quarrying. The Wikipedia entry raises the question, “Says who?” And the pictures. I don’t need pictures, I need data about quarrying: Where, chemical composition of stone, tools, etc.
But that’s the search engine optimization world at work. Travel agencies are experts because they put a word in their sales material. Notice that the wondrous Google ad matching algorithm did NOT generate explicit travel advertisements. This begs the question, “What’s the problem, Google smart software ad matching thing?”
The goal of search engine optimization is to outfox an increasingly mixed up Google and the clueless user who wants information on a specific topic; for example, Peruvian Machu Picchu stone masonry,” NOT a pitch for a tours. The sacred valley gateway to Machu Picchu becomes under ham fisted SEO manipulations, the Valley of Tricked Customers, populated with users wondering, “I meant masonry information, not a tour.”
Let’s put David Amerland and his ilk aside. At least, the almost respectable SEO bilkadoodles (a cross between a street savvy fox and pink miniature poodle) write books and contribute to Search Engine Journal, one of the advocates of helping Google display unrelated content.
No, let’s take a quick look at an outfit which is a breed of interest to SEO veterinarians: Woobound.com.
Woobound.com came across my lidar when I received this email on Friday, May 1, 2020. Note that the text is unedited:
Hi ,
My name is Christian from Woobound, Helping you get through remote work challenges!I’ve been looking up content related to Seo, Digital Marketing & Lead Generation for Finance topic and noticed that you published one on your site http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2016/04/06/nasdaq-joins-the-party-for-investing-in-intelligence/
I liked what I have read so far, and I think we can agree on all your points. In fact, we have written and published similar content on the same topic which also touches on some of the Seo, Digital Marketing & Lead Generation for Finance tips/topics featured in your article.
We thought your readers might find it as a useful resource, and you can find it here: https://woobound.com/seo-financial-advisor/
Think it would make a nice addition to your page? I’m also keen to know your feedback or thoughts on our writing as well.We also have a blog manukakitchen.com and we’re happy to give you a link in return.
Keep up the great work at arnoldit.com and stay safe
Best
Christian
I noted several issues which this spam email poked in my face:
- The email is signed Christian, but the email address is for jeffrey@woobound.com. A fake name is a flashing yellow light.
The warning light is now pulsing. - The Christian Arriola / Jeffrey entity is following what is a trend in getting useless content in order to pump up a loser blog. (I receive these “please, take my content and link to me” requests frequently. As I was assembling this post, an entity called andreea.sauciuc@cognitiveseo.com begged me to respond to her earlier requests for me to talk to her. No, doesn’t work with these thoughtless, clueless individuals.) The Christian Jeffrey entity called my attention to a story from 2016 about finance, and it seems to Christian Jeffrey that a story related to “seo-financial-advisor” and Manuka Kitchen. The entities are either stupid humans or stupid software bots. The common denominator is “stupid.”
- The Christian Arriola / Jeffrey entity is confident that the entity and I agree. Wrong. The fake praise is even more obtuse than the links to subjects of zero interest to me and the DarkCyber team. What’s most inept? Assuming that I am going to agree with this Christian Arriola / Jeffrey or that I will craft a five star review of the Amerland SEO book?
What’s up with this Christian Arriola / Jeffrey entity, please?
Curious I did some checking of open source content. What do you know? The Christian Arriola / Jeffrey reinvented himself in 2018. Here’s a before behavioral modification in the food aisle and the fashion forward Christian Arriola / Jeffrey of the here and now. The image comes from Facebook. Of course, this Christian possibly named Arriola is a Facebooker and an Instagramer to boot:
`
The “less pizza” diet seems to have had zero impact on the fashion sense of the entity Christian Jeffrey. You can check out the girl friends (numerous), the dog, the favorite cities, and the entity’s most loved pizza restaurants at this link.
A little more exploration revealed a cornucopia of search engine optimization rubbish presented in a series of YouTube videos. You can experience these discharges (effluent, not prison) by clicking on this image:
The Christian Jeffrey program does not present the name of the top hustler who operates the program.
Compared to the Poland China output in the Amerland book, the content in these videos might challenge a trippe of hungry pygmy goats.
Let’s look at an example:
The image is similar to those my team has reviewed as part of our work for a tribunal focused on human trafficking and child sex crime.
The program is part of the “show” — now mercifully discontinued — called The Hustle. This particular video features images of hot flames, a visage with what seems to be a Hustle smirk, a VW sedan, footage in a bar, and includes the statement “My life is proving my mom and dad wrong.”
With some trepidation, I asked some of my team to “watch” videos prepared by the Christian Arriola / Jeffrey entity.
Here’s the scorecard I received for three of the eight videos my team viewed. Please, note that each person watched two videos because as one of the DarkCyber team said, “I can’t stand this vlogger and the content. Two’s the limit for me.” I listen, so I said, “Okay, team two shows.”
Programs were rated on a scale of one to 10. One is an F or failure; 10 is a great program with solid content. Here we go:
Show 1: How to Be a Podcaster. Score: 2. Comment: Mostly correct but geared to a person who cannot read. On the Hustle Web site, the link to this program and the free series of which it is allegedly a part does not resolve. Dead links are not what SEO experts report as helpful.
Show 2: Best Keywords for Massage Therapist. Score 1. Comment: Distasteful subject. Seems like a way to build traffic for in call and outcall prostitution services.
Show 3: Make Money with SEMrush. Score 1. Comment: Superficial. Seems to suggest that anyone — even a person with zero education and a questionable reputation — can become a search engine optimization expert.
DarkCyber provided the Christian Arriola / Jeffrey entity with some questions, a routine part of our data collection process. Here are the questions Christian Jeffrey declined to answer:
Would you be kind enough to explain the use of dual names?
One of the team took a gander at the LinkedIn profile associated with one of the names the “Hustle” expert used in his communications to me. Here’s what one of the DarkCyber team learned:
- One job at the present time: “Associate Director of SEO” for Nexstar Digital. This is a full time position. Engaged for one year.
- Another job at the present time: “Search Engine Optimization SEO Consultant”. Engaged for nine years.
- A third job at the present time: Podcast Host and content marketing strategy. Engaged for three years. Note that the video podcast went into what seems to be permanent hiatus “one year ago.”
- Education: Five years to get a BA degree in “business administration, marketing, and computer information systems.”
- An entity named Carlos Rosado said, “One of the most complete SEO managers I have ever worked with.”
- Christian Jeffrey is interested in AT&T and the Hotel Group, among others.
The DarkCyber team member’s opinion based on viewing the Hustle programs and the LinkedIn profile:
The fact that the person Christian Arriola / Jeffrey uses one name for LinkedIn and omits his name from the “Hustle” podcast raises red flags. Also, the information presented in the LinkedIn biography makes clear that this individual presents three “jobs” of which two are his own endeavors. This is another warning light. Multiple gigs are understandable today, but to list one’s own projects as full time jobs leads me to believe that this individual is one with a bit of professional fluidity or “stretch.”
Net Net: SEO is a discipline which plays a cat-and-mouse game with Google. Making a Web page appear when the content of that Web page is not germane to the user’s query is in some ways beyond marketing. The practice edges into intellectual dishonesty. Maybe the behavior is not in the same class as illegal weapons dealing, contraband, human trafficking, and child sex crime? But the facts presented in open source support these conclusions:
- SEO practitioners do shade or shape what Google displays.
- Individual practitioners may embrace methods associated with criminal behavior; that is, the use of aliases in a professional setting like LinkedIn and email to entities like ArnoldIT.
- The expertise required to deliver for fee SEO services may depend on the use of questionable software tools developed by other SEO “experts” and may not work. (Alexa Ranking reports that the Woobound.com site ranks at 7,313,183. DarkCyber finds it peculiar that an SEO expert cannot generate traffic or YouTube views for that matter.)
If you have to decide between the Amerland book’s advice and the “expertise” peddled by Christian Arriola / Jeffrey, look further. You’ll probably save time and money and avoid the “hustle.”
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
Sensors and Surveillance: A Marriage Made in Sci Fi
May 4, 2020
We can expect the volume of data available for analyses, tracking, and monitoring to skyrocket. EurekaAlert!, a site operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, reports, “Tiny Sensors Fit 30,000 to a Penny, Transmit Data from Living Tissue.” The project out of the Cornell Center for Materials Research was described in the team’s paper, published in PNAS on April 16. The optical wireless integrated circuits (OWICs) are a mere 100 microns in size. The news release explains:
“[The sensors] are equipped with an integrated circuit, solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that enable them to harness light for power and communication. And because they are mass fabricated, with up to 1 million sitting on an 8-inch wafer, each device costs a fraction of that same penny. The sensors can be used to measure inputs like voltage and temperature in hard-to-reach environments, such as inside living tissue and micro fluidic systems. For example, when rigged with a neural sensor, they would be able to noninvasively record nerve signals in the body and transmit findings by blinking a coded signal via the LED. … The OWICS are essentially paramecium-size smartphones that can be specialized with apps. But rather than rely on cumbersome radio frequency technology, as cell phones do, the researchers looked to light as a potential power source and communication medium.”
The researchers have already formed a company, OWiC Technologies, to market the sensors and have applied for a patent. The first planned application is a line of e-tags for product identification. The write-up predicts many different uses will follow for these micro sensors that can track more complicated data with less power for fewer dollars. Stay tuned.
Cynthia Murrell, May 4, 2020
The Crazy Search Market Report: May 4, 2020 Edition
May 4, 2020
DarkCyber is pondering a new feature called “Crazy Search Report.” The “search” refers to enterprise search. The “crazy” refers to the assertions and marketing hoo-hah in news releases about the steady stream of in depth analysis of the market for enterprise search.
Yeah, I know that sounds crazy. Well, that’s why the crazy search report will be useful. We will identify the producer of the report and include some content from the news releases issued to cheerlead for these five figure “believe it or not” compilations.
Let’s look at the first report in the series.
This is called “Global Coronavirus Impact and Implications on Enterprise Search Market Research Report 2019 Analysis and Forecast To 2029.” The publicity was generated by something called factmr.com on May 1, 2020.
Here’s the hook paragraph, that’s the one that will make you buy the report from Research Moz. Is this outfit in the same league as Bain, Booz, Allen, and McKinsey? You decide:
Companies in the Enterprise Search market are vying suggestive steps to tackle the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Exhaustive research about COVID-19 is providing present-day techniques and alternative methods to mitigate the impact on Coronavirus on the revenue of the Enterprise Search market.
The news release also talks about the enterprise search landscape. I remember writing a book, published by Pandia Press, called “The Landscape of Enterprise Search.” Happy coincidence maybe?
Are these some factoids to make you want to buy this report? Sure, for example:
…The report ponders over the various factors that are likely to impact the overall dynamics of the Enterprise Search market over the forecast period (20XX-20XX) including the current trends, business expansion opportunities and restraining factors amongst others. As per the market report suggested by ResearchMoz.us, the global Enterprise Search market is expected to register a CAGR growth of ~XX% during the forecast period and attain a value of ~US$XX by the end of 20XX.
Okay, the numbers are left out. You have to pay before you get the alleged factoids. That definitely makes me lust after a copy not.
What’s interesting is the list of companies allegedly profiled and X-rayed in the document. Note: I alphabetized the company names, but the Moz outfit does not bother with this convention. My comments are in parentheses.
Attivio Inc (business intelligence maybe?)
Concept Searching Limited (Microsoft add in from far, far way from the US)
Coveo Corp (customer support and assorted buzzwords)
Dassault Systemes (product engineering search)
Expert System Inc (semantic utility, focus on mobile)
Google (not in the search business)
Hyland (ISYS Search which dates from the 1980s)
IBM Corp (Lucene plus Vivisimo plus home grown code and Watson. I can’t forget Watson.)
Lucid Work (Typo. The company’s name is Lucidworks.)
Micro Focus (Autonomy)
Oracle (Secure Enterprise Search, RightNow, Endeca, and others)
Marklogic Inc (XML database company with proprietary extensions)
Microsoft (Fast Search & Transfer plus assorted acquisitions and home grown tomfoolery)
SAP AG (Who knew?)
X1 Technologies (desktop search and eDiscovery originally from Idealab year ago)
How much is the report? The news release does not say, but we held our breath and clicked the Research Moz link and learned that the document costs $3,900.
That’s it. Crazy stuff for a crazy market sector.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
Adulting: Will It Persist?
May 4, 2020
The lure of leasing a flashy vehicle is strong. Will start ups acquire a reputation for financial probity? DarkCyber is not confident that adulting will endure. The Financial Times (remember its Endeca-based search system?) published “Hottest Silicon Valley Start Ups Begin to Sell Themselves at a Discount.” [Note: this is a link generated by the Financial Times’ security system. You may have to do some experimenting to get the write up to render. You will know you are on the right track when the wonky flesh colored background appears.] Furthermore, the write up asserts, “Balance of power shifts back to investors as founders look to bolster balance sheets.”
The write up includes a Captain Obvious quote attributed to a partner at the upscale law firm Fenwick & West:
“It’s bold and risky to be giving a company a term sheet in this really uncertain environment, and to give that investor downside protection does not seem unfair.”
We love the “does not seem unfair.” Too bad the lawyer did not include a “but for.”
DarkCyber concluded, after pondering the write up on a screen tinted the color of some humanoids’ skin:
- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice phrase : “pound of flesh”
- Handwaving and virtue signaling are popular
- Bros will be bros
- Lawyers win regardless of the “risk” investors face.
Net net: The bubble is losing its heady mix of methane, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
Looking for the story about SEO fraud? If so, click here.
Schmidt Versus Thiel May Be a Proxy for Google Trying Catch Up with Palantir
May 3, 2020
You will need to read the very, very long PR fest in the New York Times. I won’t do much with this story, so you will have to find the dead tree edition or pay to play to read “I Could Solve Most of Your Problems: Eric Schmidt’s Pentagon Offensive.” Yeah, hubris.
The headline does the job. But what’s with the PR push from the former CEO of Novell and then a similar job at Google.
But Google fired the Department of Defense. The current administration left Mr. Schmidt in his committee roles as the administration of Mr. Trump raced forward. Who accompanied him on his technology sprint? The Google, nope. The driver of the Bezos bulldozer? Not a chance.
Who then? Peter Thiel, the high profile Silicon Valley whiz, investor in Palantir Technologies and, probably as interesting, Anduril, a forward-leaning outfit engaged in primary data capture and action-oriented outputs for operators. Anduril, you say? Yes, I say.
Several items to keep in mind as this story wends its way through the pundit-verse:
- Mr. Trump is president, and he seems comfortable with the Palantir Technologies’ solutions
- Mr. Trump seems okay with Mr. Thiel
- Google dumped Maven and has been Googley in numerous US government endeavors. (This is nothing new because the behavior surfaced in the early days of the Mountain View tornado. Remember the objection regarding the FirstGov.gov contract award? Remember Mr. Brin’s wearing sparkly sneakers and a sporty T shirt to meetings with elected officials?)
Net net: Big PR coup and “real news” from the New York Times. The reality is that the the “real news” story is about Googler and the Google appear to be trying to regain traction—Traction lost with certain interesting behaviors. The problem is that the road to the White House has been subjected to abuse by the dozer tracks of other companies trying to reach the Valhalla of big money, multi year contracts. Googzilla my struggle for purchase where it counts. The NYT’s “real news” story may not be what Mr. Schmidt needs.
Stephen E Arnold, May 3, 2020
Google Feature Will Identify Failure
May 3, 2020
Google Search can admit its search results are not always perfect. The Verge reports on the platform’s new feature in, “Google Will Tell You When it Thinks its Search Results Aren’t Good.” Writer Chaim Gartenberg explains:
“‘It looks like there aren’t any great matches for your search,’ the message reads, before prompting users with suggestions that may help get better results, along with other related searches to try. … Sometimes, the company admits, the results that Google comes up with just aren’t particularly helpful. Even in the nearly infinite chasms of the internet, some searches just don’t have good results. Google says that the feature shouldn’t show up too often — after all, the idea is that Google search will produce good results that help you with what you’re looking for. But the feature should be a useful addition. Sometimes, knowing that an answer isn’t out there can be almost as helpful as finding the answer in the first place.”
It is hard to imagine a query that would turn up no relevant results these days. I tried to produce one to test out this feature and failed. I shall take them at their word. Perhaps you, dear reader, can find a phrase to trigger the message.
Cynthia Murrell, May 3, 2020
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