The Heat in Text Radar: Mya 03 to May 09
May 14, 2013
This week the Text Radar big data and content intelligence blog covered a set of interesting topics this week that are pertinent to anyone interested in harnessing the power of big data insights.
“Data Analytical Decisions are More Definitive at Adding Insightful and Valuable Content” explains how important raw data is to business success. The use of this data, however, can be difficult to manage without experts to advise.
The article explains:
“This view is held even more firmly in the manufacturing, energy and government sectors, and 65 percent assert that more and more management decisions are based on ‘hard analytic’ information.
The research shows that organizations are increasingly moving towards evidence-based decision making, but at the same time, face significant challenges in managing and leveraging the ever-increasing volumes of data not only from a technology perspective but also as an organization.”
Another article, “Big Data Analysis Not a Simple Data Collection Technique,” dispels some of the rumors surrounding big data. It explains that big data mining is far more than simple data collection.
The article provides this example:
“Taking an influential paper on economics and intelligence efforts around the Boston bombing suspects as background, wherein a few missing rows in Excel and a misspelling of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s name, Wise points out that ‘data management tools (i.e., the FBI’s systems and Excel) were undone by fairly simple errors,’ with terrible results. In other words, as much as we may believe Big Data is as simple as ‘Input data into Hadoop, outcome insights!’ the reality depends heavily on the people querying that data.”
Managing data without the appropriate skill set can lead to the failure of any company. One way that big data can be most helpful when used appropriately is when “Mining Data for Finding Talent for Hire”. Gild, helps companies find “diamond in the rough” or individuals that have slipped through the cracks of traditional recruiting methods by mining social media sites.
The article provides the thoughts of Gild’s chief scientist, Vivian Ming:
“Dr. Ming doesn’t suggest eliminating human judgment, but she does think that the computer should lead the way, acting as an automated vacuum and filter for talent. The company has amassed a database of seven million programmers, ranking them based on what it calls a Gild score — a measure, the company says, of what a person can do. Ultimately, Dr. Ming wants to expand the algorithm so it can search for and assess other kinds of workers, like Web site designers, financial analysts and even sales people at, say, retail outlets.”
As you can see, data can be used to find the answer’s you’ve been searching for as long as you have the right tools. A company leading the way with text analytical tools is Smartlogic. Their suite of tools has the ability to join data with content and applying content analytics to that information for the purpose of content intelligence giving integrity and reliable methods to making decisions in any environment.
Jasmine Ashton, May 14, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: April 19 to April 25
April 30, 2013
This week, the Text Radar content intelligence, compliance, and big data news service covered quite a few interesting stories.
The first that I would like to highlight is, “Smartphone Data Used to Better Serve Customers.” According to the article, thanks to smartphones, app stores can tap into a wide range of data sources about user preferences and activity.
The article states:
“This ‘big data’ available within an app store can significantly help to tailor the user experience and offerings. For example, a user who lives in NYC and just landed in London might be interested in the ‘TimeOut: London’ app or ‘Booking.com’ app for booking a hotel. A user who posted a video on Facebook of the latest Knicks game may be interested in the ‘New York Knicks Official App,’ and a user who listens to Coldplay a lot, might want to download some Coldplay wallpapers.”
Another story, explains how big data has brought the IT and marketing community together. “Creating a Customer Centric Culture with Big Data Analytics” advocates the use of big data to create a customer centric corporate culture.
A study found:
“* 40% of marketers and 51% of IT executives said it’s critical for improved decision making.
* 36% of marketers and 23% of IT execs said data drives the ability to personalize customer experiences.”
The final story that I would like to highlight for this week’s issue involves big data’s impact on the health care industry. “Turning Unstructured Data into Healthcare Improvements” explains how doctors can find value using data from your mobile phone and other devices.
The author provides this example:
“For example, she said, an app could process data from a mobile carrier to determine whether new supplements for early-stage arthritis are actually helping a patient. If the patient is checking her phone earlier in the morning and moving around more frequently, that could indicate that the medicine it’s doing its job.
Service providers may balk at the prospect of releasing their troves of user activity data – and Estrin acknowledged that they would likely worry about PR headaches and privacy issues.”
It is important to understand the various outlets that you can use big data to be beneficial to your company’s success. Smartlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform runs on semantic technology giving your organization’s information rich value and a better experience for your users.
Jasmine Ashton, April 30, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: April 5 to April 11
April 16, 2013
This week the Text Radar big data, content intelligence, and compliance blog covered some interesting articles covering the impact that big data has on our industry.
“Putting Big Data in the Human Context” explores the lack of objectivity in some analytics initiatives. The author explains how massive data sets are closely linked to physical place and human culture:
“Data and data sets are not objective; they are creations of human design. We give numbers their voice, draw inferences from them, and define their meaning through our interpretations. Hidden biases in both the collection and analysis stages present considerable risks, and are as important to the big-data equation as the numbers themselves.”
This is a unique way of looking at big data. Another post that focuses on the human experience of big data is, “Big Data Needs Human Input and the Right Technology.” The article explains that it is problematic to completely rely on big data systems.
The article states:
“However, the author points out that a complete reliance on systems over human strategy would be a mistake for businesses. The human element adds ingenuity and analytic prowess to number-crunching. Schwartz adds that relying simply on data leads many people to mistake correlation for causation.”
The third article that I would like to highlight explains how small businesses are beginning to get on board the big data bandwagon. “Small Businesses are Tapping Into Big Data” explains how big data offers big opportunities for small business marketing.
The article explains:
“Many small companies want to improve their marketing by pinpointing the best sales prospects through social media. Peter Bordes, founder and chief executive officer of 10-employee, New York City-based Internet Media Labs, says small businesses can analyze what their customers are saying online ‘to engage in much more meaningful conversations with potential or existing customers, because that big data allows them to understand [those customers] better.’”
For those small and large businesses that are a little late to the big data game, using a third party solution to can help remove some of the subjectivity in business decision making. In order to turn your big data into smart content, consider Smartlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform.
Jasmine Ashton, April 16, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: March 29 to April 04
April 9, 2013
The Text Radar big data analytics and content intelligence blog continually provides readers with informative resources on how big data is impacting modern workplaces. This week, I will highlight several articles that were particularly informative.
We all know the impact that big data has on marketers. But what about other industries? According to, “Big Data Analytics Reveals Vision Giving Major Disaster Responders Advance Notice” provides an example of how big data is helping the development of American bridges.
The article lays out a frightening scenario:
“The American Society of Civil Engineers says that one quarter of all American bridges is ‘deficient’. 17,000 bridges didn’t meet inspection criteria, including 3% of all freeway bridges.
Want a scary statistic? The average age of America’s bridges is 43 years. The average lifespan of America’s bridges: 50 years. This means, unless something changes, we should all avoid pretty much all river crossings after the year 2020.”
Another story, “Growing Big Data and Information Access Bring New IT Challenges” explains how big data is transforming the new world of computing.
When explaining some new challenges, the article states:
“The big change now is not that everyone is an I.T. manager – there are still plenty of ways companies will control devices, access to computers, and data – but that everyone is a consumer of a lot of data. Making that easy on them will most likely be a winning strategy.
‘There has been a revolution in design theory,’ says Phil Libin, chief executive of Evernote, a storage site for consumers and businesses. ‘We’ve all had to learn how to have taste.’ He credits the change toward a design focus, in both consumer electronics and enterprise software, to Apple.”
Another innovative way that big data is being utilized is in major league baseball. According to “MLB Uses Big Data for Uncovering Player Insight”, this data allows the performance of players to be predicted.
The article explains:
“‘We’re trying to predict the future performance of human beings, oftentimes in situations that those people themselves haven’t even encountered,’ he said. ‘One of the things we really need to do is the skill from the luck.’
DePodesta cited ‘The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing,’ a book by Michael Mauboussin of Credit Suisse in the idea that ‘skill is more repeatable than the luck.”
This is just a small sampling of the creative ways that big data can be utilized to make the biggest industry impact. Smartlogic offers a suite of solutions that will help any organization transition into analytics.
Jasmine Ashton, April 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar March 22 to March 28
April 2, 2013
This week, the Text Radar big data and advanced intelligence blog covered a variety of stories that were pertinent to the realm of big data and advanced intelligence systems.
One of the advantages of big data analytics technology is that it allows marketers to take a more targeted advertising approach to their customers. “Advertising Gets More Personalized and Customized with Big Data” explains how technology and analytics are providing more personalized and customized ads.
The article states:
“Checking out one’s Facebook page provides lots of information about a person in such ways as their likes and where they travel, etc. And, by customers registering with a company site, codes can be placed in a customer’s computer to follow other sites that person visits, and when. In addition, companies are targeting prospective customers with ads that are meaningful and more targeted and will pay-off in the end. The internet and metrics on search engines have changed the way ad agencies are doing business. Companies can now learn from ‘clicks’ how to advertise and valuable details that lead to more targeted successful ads.”
Microtargeting can have a similar impact, according to “Microtargeting the Way of the Future of Business.” The article explains the impact of the technical and political masterminds behind the 2012 Obama/Biden presidential campaign.
Text Radar writer Alice Wilson comments:
“Team Obama changed the way political campaigns will compete in the future. And, you can be sure microtargeting tools with accompanying skills will be in the mix. This same method will be incorporated in all levels of business plans as well.”
The final article that I would like to highlight explains the impact that big data is having on health care. “Crunching Medical Big Data Helps to Find Correct Therapy” provides a story about a baby that was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes but did not respond well to the typical regimen of treatment.
The takeaway is this:
“We’ll discover a lot about ourselves and our diseases from big data — assessing the outcomes of different therapies and finding out in retrospect what works best for who. We will then match that against our gene sequences, which may be stored confidentially at birth. If Cameron Lundfelt had been born a few years later, his parents and doctors would perhaps have known before his symptoms had even appeared that he had monogenic diabetes type KCNJ11. And they would have known immediately what to do.”
It does not matter what industry your company falls into. Big data analytics solutions are going to benefit you not matter what. Smartlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform has been recognized as an industry leader and it is useful when helping companies make smarter business decisions.
Jasmine Ashton, April 2, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Learn the Possibilities of Content Enrichment with OpenCalais
March 27, 2013
For a simple explanation of content enrichment, there is Web CMS Content Enrichment with OpenCalais, Crafter Rivet and Alfresco, on Rivet Logic Blogs. Content enrichment, the art of mining data and adding value to it, has now been organized by such services as OpenCalais, a free resource of semantic data mining from Thomson Reuters. For use on your blog, website or application, OpenCalais’s mission is to make “the worlds content more accessible.” The article explains,
“A few examples of content enrichment include: entity extraction, topic detection, SEO (Search Engine Optimization,) and sentiment analysis. Entity extraction is the process of identifying unique entities like people and places and tagging the content with it. Topic detection looks at the content and determines to some probabilistic measure what the content is about. SEO enrichment will look at the content and suggest edits and keywords that will boost the content’s search engine performance. Sentiment analysis can determine the tone or polarity (negative or positive) of the content.”
The tutorial on using OpenCalais with Crafter Rivet’s operating platform offered in this article is short and straightforward. Without tools like OpenCalais, the huge advantages of content enrichment for author and content managers would take countless hours. The resources available can save time while improving the effectiveness of content.
Chelsea Kerwin, March 27, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Heat in Text Radar: March 15 to March 21
March 26, 2013
This week, the Text Radar news service covered a variety of topics that are pertinent to big data’s takeover of our advanced intelligence systems.
One article, “Company Challenges with Maximizing Big Data Usage,” explores some common reasons why companies are not making the most of their big data analytics tools.
The article states:
“When asked to report the percentage of projects in which their companies use marketing analytics that are available and/or requested, CMOs report a dismal 30% usage rate. This number has decreased from 37% a year ago. So while companies are spending more on Big Data, less of it is being used.”
Another interesting story, “True Potential Reached With Data Analytics and Help from Industry Experts,” explains how a large number of companies are gaining a competitive edge through data analytics. A survey of 2500 business executive found that data is believed to be a fundamental asset to their marketing efforts.
The article states:
“This is a significant finding, in that power shifts can be disruptive. They often call into question experience and intuition that managers and employees have built up over years. Now, those who know how to marshal the data and put analytics behind their decision making are in a position of advantage.”
The third story that I would like to highlight is “Big Bucks Involved with Big Data Lobbying Efforts in Washington,” It discusses the amount of money that goes into social media lobbying. The article states:
“According to Ad Age’s analysis of U.S. lobbying disclosure reports, Facebook, whose efforts are heavily focused on data privacy and security, multiplied its spending 2.5 times in 2012 on outside lobbying firms and on in-house efforts. The company dropped nearly $4.6 million on lobbying last year — $4 million of which went toward its in-house staff’s lobbying — up from $1.8 million in 2011, the reports show. In 2012, the company tacked on an additional three outside firms to its data-related lobbying roster, using a total of seven in 2012 that dealt with data issues.”
All of these articles examine the impact that big data, and the technology used to harness it, has on our society. While there are many solutions to choose from, businesses should engage with tools that are built by industry experts like Smartlogic.
Jasmine Ashton, March 26, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: March 8 to March 14
March 19, 2013
This week, the Text Radar advanced intelligence blog covered some interesting articles on the subject of big data and content intelligence related problems and solutions.
According to “Cyber Attacks on the Rise Related to Big Data Activities Prompting Intelligent Security Strategy” explains the threat that cyber attacks can have on industries that use big data.
The article states:
“‘We need to begin preparing for the likelihood that with the move to IPv6 that will enable billions of devices to be connected, we will see more automated attacks that are destructive.’ Coviello said.
For this reason, he said, businesses need to move to intelligence-based security systems that will detect and respond to emerging attacks more quickly.
‘There is no shame in being breached. The shame is in not evolving security infrastructures to detect and respond to new types of attack.’”
Another article, “Manufacturers Must Use Data Analysis for Smart Predictions” explains new opportunities that are emerging in this industry to create a more nuanced approach to low cost labor challenges.
The post says:
“It is all about Big Data and manufacturers must use data analysis to determine crucial factors so that smart predictions can be made to offset the unknown as with struggling and/or growing economies and how it affects price fluctuations, availability of materials, etc. Having this insight will enable decisive actionable responses to variables so that concise on-the-money decisions can be made.”
The final article that I would like to highlight is, “New York City Uses Big Data to Improve Building Inspections”. It explains how cities and governments are using big data more and more to streamline their processes.
The author explained how the inspection team used dealt with the challenge before them:
“Flowers and his team embraced the messiness and developed a system that identified buildings by using a small area in the front of the property based on Cartesian coordinates and then drew in geo-loco data from the other agencies’ databases. While the system was inherently inexact, the vast amounts of data available compensated for slight imperfections. The team continued to improve upon the system to revolutionize the city’s building inspections and added much efficiency to the process.”
Data analytics and content management software like the Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform from Smartlogic can take the headache out of trying to organize data that has been fragmented throughout different company departments.
Jasmine Ashton, March 19, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: March 01 to March 07
March 12, 2013
This week, the Text Radar data analytics blog shared some innovative ways that companies are using big data to solve some of industries’ most difficult challenges.
The first article that I will highlight is “Using Analytics to Improve Cities and Governments,” shares how the Smarter Cities Technology Centre in Dublin is working to improve over 2000 cities around the world.
The article states:
“Each project develops practical solutions to specific urban management areas, such as traffic management. One that Dublin hosts is the development of the IBM Intelligent Operations Centre for Cities. No one envisages a total solution but the vision is that incrementally and over time, the development of smart systems for key areas will enable a city to integrate more and more of its operations into an overall ‘smart city’.
Due to the fact that so many different companies from different industries are gaining valuable insights from big data, many major corporations are beginning to invest in big data solutions. According to “IBM Makes More Investments in Big Data and Mobile” big data, business analytics, social business, and mobile represent a new era and much sought after ecosystems that IBM is going all out after.
The article summarizes:
“IBM continues to transform itself by going after higher value opportunities and Big Blue is moving into these new spaces with its ecosystem of business partners in tow.
At the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference 2013 in Las Vegas, Bruno Di Leo, senior vice president of sales and distribution at IBM, said the company is looking at three primary imperatives: to lead in the new era of computing, to reach new kinds of clients and to demonstrate new types of expertise.”
Another article “Netflix Uses Big Data to Deliver an Original Series Success” explains the movie giant’s tactic of releases all of the episodes at once for their original series, House of Cards.
The article explains its Netflix’s strategy:
“Big bets are now being informed by Big Data, and no one knows more about audiences than Netflix. A third of the downloads on the Internet during peak periods on any given day are devoted to streamed movies from the service, according to Sandvine, a networking provider. And last year, by some estimates, more people watched movies streamed online than on physical DVDs.”
As you can see, big data has a variety of interesting and innovative uses. Those companies looking to spearhead their own big data initiative should seek out a third party solution like Smartlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform.
Jasmine Ashton, March 12, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Heat in Text Radar: February 22 to February 28
March 5, 2013
The Text Radar information service is continually surprising readers with its well timed, intelligent summaries of articles discussing the topic of big data and content intelligence. Last week was no different.
One post, “Analyzed Big Data Providing Insights Even in Design and Engineering Applications” further proves the value of big data in areas such as 3D design and engineering applications. The technology allows engineers to turn raw data into intelligence that can help them better design buildings.
The article provides readers with an example of how engineers used big data to address an air flow problem in a hospital.
The author writes:
“‘I visited a hospital site before Christmas, and the people who were doing the design were modeling every joint they’re putting into the hospital. For instance, the airflow system is a big deal because of infections.’ That means designers on the project are creating detailed models that make sure air flows efficiently and safely through door openings and throughout the building.”
Another, titled “Major Business Intelligence Trends Expected for 2013” says that the trends to expect in 2013 are fairly similar to what was predicted for 2012.
The author shares this about big data trends:
“Big Data – The amount of data in our world has been growing exponentially, and the uses of big data will allow companies to put data to work more efficiently. They could really turn into data-driven enterprises. The interest in Big Data has grown enormously in recent years, with the most BI vendors launching Big Data Analytics solutions and also appearing several companies specializing in Big Data.”
The final article that I would like to highlight this week is “Metadata Enter the Limelight as Big Data Trends Continue”. The author explains that traditionally, businesses have relied on relational databases to neatly organize data and goes on to explain the opportunities of metadata:
“Metadata not only helps provide a data legacy for businesses, said David Marco, president of consultancy EWSolutions, a systems integrator headquartered in Chicago. Metadata can also help companies establish data consistency. Take companies’ classic struggle to define the term ‘customer,’ he said. Depending on the business department, the term can be interpreted — and therefore measured — differently. But by using metadata, companies can craft a definition or business rule for that metric…and affix it to enterprise-wide data used for analytics.”
After reading these segments, many companies may feel overwhelmed by the multitude of opportunities out there to harness big data. We recommend investing in a third party solution like Smarlogic’s Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform to manage business information in a way that maximizes information assets while minimizing information risks.
Jasmine Ashton, March 05, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
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