An Overview of the Changes and Advances in Facebook Entity Graph
July 4, 2013
The article on TNW titled How Facebook’s Entity Graph Evolved From Plain Text to the Structured Data That Powers Graph Search explores the timeline of Facebook’s ability to understand and make connections between billions of pieces of information about its billions of users. Eric Sun, Facebook’s software engineer, recently posted about the evolution of the Entity Graph on the Facebook Blog. Entity graph led to Social Graph, which eventually enabled the Graph Search. The article explains,
“In order to take advantage of all of those juicy details in your profile, Sun said his team had to find a data set to represent a seemingly unlimited number of interests. Their solution was to tap into Wikipedia, which powered Facebook’s creation of “millions of ‘fallback’ pages.” Facebook heavily relies on Wikipedia to this day. These fallback pages were matched to interests that couldn’t be connected to pre-existing pages. Afterwards, they were manually vetted for duplicates; ones which didn’t receive any connections were deleted.”
Today, Sun claims the Entity Graph is growing even faster than Facebook can keep up with. The focus of his team is now to improve the graph further. We have all witnessed the changes made to Facebook over the last ten years, but most of the reactions have been to the aesthetic qualities of the pages we think of as our own. The reason behind many of the changes was to incorporate the mapping of our interests and our lives, to allow Facebook to know more.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 04, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Big Data Gets Bigger
June 28, 2013
Organizations are looking for Big Data solutions anywhere they can find them. And there are lots of options on the market. However, open source varieties are garnering the most attention for their affordability and flexibility. An Information Week article discusses some pros and cons in their article, “Big Data Pioneers Get Big For Their Britches.”
It begins:
“DataStax, the commercial support provider behind the Cassandra open-source NoSQL database, announced this week that is has seen ‘dozens’ of companies migrate from Oracle Database and Oracle MySQL to Cassandra over the last few quarters. The reason it’s happening, according to DataStax CEO Billy Bosworth, is that these organizations are seeking scalability, disaster avoidance and cost savings. I’ll buy in on scalability and cost savings. Cassandra can handle immense scale with replication and redundancy across multiple, global data centers.”
The author then goes on to say that while there are many compelling arguments for Cassandra, he doubts that this harkens the end of relational databases. And yet, we do not see people returning to Oracle or relational databases anytime soon. Solr 4 is also being used as a NoSQL option and benefits from its analytics capability. Apache Lucene Solr is the base of the industry leading LucidWorks solutions, which are also making headlines. We think this is good news for the enterprise, even if it may be bad news for Oracle.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 28, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Attensity Lauded With FiReStarter Honor at Future in Review Conference for 2013
June 26, 2013
The article FiRe Conference Names Attensity a FiRe 2013 FiReStarter on Mexico Tecnologia refers to the 11th annual Future in Review (FiRe) tech conference. It features roundtable conversations that often involve audience participation and an excellent opportunity to network. The honor of being named a FiReStarter company is based on Attensity’s innovation in customer analytics. The President and CEO Kirsten Bay stated,
“By leveraging our deep understanding of real-time information and data flow, Attensity is creating the next generation of corporate intelligence that will transform the vast sea of data into knowledge,” said Kirsten Bay, President and CEO. Future in Review is an annual gathering of world-class thought leaders in technology and economics, convened each year with the goals of providing the best look forward in these fields, and of using technology to solve major world challenges.”
Keeping technology current and able to meet the difficulties posed by today’s problems (at home and abroad) are the goals of FiRe, as well as functioning as a platform for new ideas. The 2013 theme, Digitizing the Planet includes National Medal of Science recipient Leroy Hood as an opening night speaker, Patrick Hogan, head of NASA World Wind, breakthrough stem cell researcher Tony Blau and Oracle President Mark Hurd.
Chelsea Kerwin, June 26, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SAP to Set All Cloud Products on HANA Foundation
June 20, 2013
Data firm SAP is rightly proud if its in-memory platform HANA. Things are going so well that ComputerWorldUK now reports, “HANA to Fully Underpin SAP Cloud Products Within ‘One or Two Years’.” The company is using the platform as the basis for all of its cloud solutions, including recent acquisitions like SuccessFactors and Ariba. Writer Derek du Preez tells us:
“Enterprise software giant SAP has unveiled a ‘unified’ cloud strategy this week, which will see its cloud products supported by its in-memory database technology, HANA, within one or two years.
“The move indicates SAP’s dedication to the HANA platform and complements its announcement last week that HANA will now be offered as a third-party managed cloud service. In recent years SAP’s focus on HANA has been the ability to run analytics in real-time, but has since revealed capabilities to run full ERP, CRM and SCM apps in-memory.”
At the top of our minds: How will SAP search stuff in HANA? Which of the second-tier search vendors will the company embrace now that Autonomy, Brainware, Exalead, Fast, Isys, and Vivisimo are off the table? Hmm. . .Trex, perhaps?
SAP supplies enterprise software to over 238,000 customers. Founded 1972 by five former IBM workers, the company is headquartered in Walldorf Germany and maintains locations in over 130 countries.
Cynthia Murrell, June 20, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Data Ownership in the Cloud
June 20, 2013
Another voice cautions us about oversharing in the cloud. Will we listen? SC Magazine ponders “Online Ownership.” Writer Verity Sleeman laments that users of social sites from Facebook to Soundcloud continue to upload more and more personal information to the servers of others without considering who, exactly, retains legal rights to that data. In fact, for many the sharing begins long, long before they can have anything to say about it. The article charges:
“This is happening right now; devoted mothers are posting pictures of their children on social media sites. What rights will the children have to remove these pictures later in life? The law is very unclear on this point; for example Facebook ‘owns’ everything posted to it.”
It does not help that the pace of modern technology far, far outstrips the plodding of legislation and bureaucracy. Sleeman observes:
“Unfortunately for them, the people that make the rules are basing them on old paradigms, when the risks were different or non-existent. Pity the child who’s entire life is in the public domain and who was never made aware of the consequences.”
Of course, kids are not the only ones for whom personal data strewn through the cloud can be a problem. Sleeman is wise, and practical, enough to know there is no escaping the cloud now. She wouldn’t want to, she says, for she finds the technology useful. We just have to put some thought into the ways we use it. And the ways we let it use us.
Cynthia Murrell, June 20, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Enterprises Move Away from Oracle
June 19, 2013
Recent news tells us that Netflix, Openwave Messaging, and Ooyala have moved away from Oracle and into the DataStax fold. DataStax is an Apache Cassandra based enterprise and Big Data solution centered on NoSQL database architecture. The latest news by ZDNet is offered in their article, “DataStax CEO: Open source databases onslaught for Oracle.”
The article begins:
“Enterprises are increasingly moving to open source database to cut their dependence on Oracle, Apache Cassandra has a strong community resistant to fracturing and business leaders are calling the tech shots at first over CIOs. Those are some of the key takeaways from my chat with DataStax CEO Billy Bosworth. Bosworth, a former Oracle database admin and executive at Quest Software, has been pushing an enterprise version of the Apache Cassandra NoSQL database platform.”
While NoSQL databases are making a strong showing, there are other open source search architectures to choose from as well. For instance, LucidWorks builds its value-added open source search and Big Data solutions on top of the trusted power of Apache Lucene Solr. But LucidWorks sets itself apart by offering an industry-leading support and services package, which sets enterprise developers and users at ease.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 19, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
DataStax and Data Driven Clouds
June 18, 2013
DataStax uses an Apache Cassandra based NoSQL platform, which is widely gaining an advantage over relational database competitors. Silicon Angle covers the latest DataStax news in its article, “DataStax and The New Rules Of Data-Driven Clouds – Breaking the Oracle Chains.”
The article begins:
“Big Data is accessible for any organization – whether big or small, reaching across the spectrum of data demands, in clouds throughout the world – and your best possible data infrastructure can be achieved quickly, easily and with cost-effectiveness with DataStax and Apache Cassandra. In a recent conversation with DataStax CEO Billy Bosworth, we talked about the growing market and infrastructure opportunities that are steadily being realized with their enterprise-ready big data platform.”
Enterprise-ready Big Data is indeed a big market. Others are successfully competing. LucidWorks focuses on Apache Lucene Solr as its architecture, as opposed to a NoSQL platform. In addition to a customizable out-of-the-box solution, LucidWorks also boasts industry leading support and services, which sets it apart from the pack. LucidWorks Big Data is indeed an enterprise-ready Big Data platform, ready to go toe-to-toe with the best that DataStax has to offer.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 18, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Predictive Apps Continue to Evolve
June 10, 2013
Algorithms that mine our data to predict what we want or need are getting more sophisticated. The MIT Technology Review reports, “With Personal Data, Predictive Apps Stay a Step Ahead.” Recently, Google Now (part of the latest Android version and now included in the Google search app for the iPhone) has captured some attention. That app pulls information from a user’s Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Web searches to spontaneously present timely, relevant (ideally) information, like traffic conditions between office and home as one is wrapping up the workday.
The next stage of this predictive ability is on its way. Reporter Tom Simonite tells us:
“Engineers at Google, Osito, and elsewhere seek to wring more insights from the data they collect about their users. Osito’s engineers are working to learn more from a person’s past location traces to refine predictions of future activity, says [Osito’s Bill]Ferrell. Google Now recently began showing the weather in places it believes you’re headed to soon. It can also notify you of nearby properties for sale if you have recently done a Web search suggesting you’re looking for a new home.
“Machine learning experts at Grokr, a predictive app for the iPhone, have found they can divine the ethnicity, gender, and age of their users to a high degree of accuracy, says CEO Srivats Sampath. ‘That can help us predict places you might like to go better,’ he says. The information will be used to fine-tune the recommendations Grokr offers for restaurants and music events.”
Is the trend creepy or helpful? A bit of both, perhaps. See the article for more on the current state of this “predictive intelligence.”
My apprehension goes beyond privacy and past any discomfort with increasingly sophisticated AI. I am concerned that we are giving more fuel to the already raging confirmation-bias fire. If our devices serve up only information and entertainment we are predisposed to, how likely are we learn anything new? More broadly, the chances of conversing intelligently with someone on the other side of any professional, cultural, or political divide will continue to dwindle, since each party is relying on a different set of “facts.”
Ah, well, there is no going backward. Perhaps someone could design an app that deliberately suggests bits of content we would otherwise avoid as a way to combat our own prejudices. I would use it, and I suspect other independent thinkers would, too. Any developers out there feel like taking on a socially beneficial project?
Cynthia Murrell, June 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft Misusing Their Own Mountain of Searchable Data
June 7, 2013
Microsoft is sitting on a search goldmine and people are just starting to see it. Whenever you Skype, have you thought about the data you are releasing into the world? Probably not. But Skype’s owners have, as we discovered in a fascinating The H Security article, “Skype With Care—Microsoft is Reading Everything you Write.”
According to the story:
A spokesman for the company confirmed that it scans messages to filter out spam and phishing websites. This explanation does not appear to fit the facts, however. Spam and phishing sites are not usually found on HTTPS pages. By contrast, Skype leaves the more commonly affected HTTP URLs, containing no information on ownership, untouched. Skype also sends head requests which merely fetches administrative information relating to the server. To check a site for spam or phishing, Skype would need to examine its content.
Honestly, this should not come as a shock to anyone. Frankly, those interested in search should be paying close attention. They should be asking: will Microsoft’s search system be able to index the content and provide relevant results in a timely, accurate manner? We don’t know, but if Yahoo!’s recent collapsed partnership with Microsoft is any indication, the company probably isn’t putting that Skype data to good use.
Patrick Roland, June 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Dataversity Interviews TopQuadrant
June 3, 2013
After a quiet period, TopQuadrant is back in the news. A representative of the semantic technology firm spoke with Dataversity, which shares the interview in its “Sponsor Spotlight Column: TopQuadrant on Information Solutions.” The discussion focuses on TopQuadrant’s place in the industry and their current endeavors.
Of particular interest to Dataversity were solutions highlighted at the recent Enterprise Data World Conference (EDW), of which TopQuadrant was a Silver Sponsor. The interview is a good read for anyone interested in TopQuadrant, including discussion of the company’s strengths and perspectives as well as its products. When asked to predict the “next big thing,” the company answered:
“In the context of Data Management, it means much easier unified access to data. Workers today are not only more technology savvy, but they also have high expectations about what they should easily be able to do with data. These expectations are brought on by the prevalence of search engines like Google, collaborative information sharing applications such as Facebook and Flickr, easy-to-use mashup and visualization applications. Workers no longer accept that access to another enterprise data source will require months of development. They want faster access, more intimacy with the data and better ability to collaborate with colleagues on analyzing the data and on defining its meaning.”
So they do. Established in 2001, TopQuadrant recognizes the need to stay ahead by keeping on top of emerging technologies. The company serves clients in Europe and the U.S. from offices in Virginia, North Carolina, and the U.K.
Cynthia Murrell, June 03, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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