Freeze That Page before It Goes Dark
June 12, 2011
Have you ever wondered how social media websites meet the regulatory record keeping requirements put into place by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)?
Yeah…me neither.
Oh well, we’re all going to find out. In TMCnet.com’s article “PageFreezer offers FINRA-Compliant Social Media Archiving” we get to learn about the software that helps them to do that.
PageFreezer is a global provider of media archiving and offers regulations compliancy solutions as well as litigation protection. We learned:
It’s not just the large financial companies and institutions that need to consider their social networking activity from a compliance standpoint,” noted Riedyk. “The individuals in the financial sector — investment advisors and the like – must comply with their firms retention policies. PageFreezer is a solution and it gets the job done perfectly.
PageFreezer.com is the solution for preserving Web content. It is important that archives be able to be reproduced quickly and kept in a format that will allow said reproduction because the archives must be kept for up to seven years and they must be tamper proof. It can create a lot of mess and backlog if done improperly. PageFreezer creates a tamper proof system by stamping each page with a signature and a timestamp then filing it in a fault proof database.
Leslie Radcliff, June 12, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
A Sherpa Suffers Oxygen Starvation
June 11, 2011
“Is Social Media Giving You a 95 Percent ROI?” We think not but a marketing sherpa, who may be suffering from oxygen starvation, believes that this astounding ROI is on the money.
These are pretty impressive and almost unbelievable numbers. But according to a survey conducted by MarketingSherpa 2011, the average ROI number was reported at the rarified height of 95 percent.
Although the way ROI is measured can be achieved in a variety of ways, “Need to Sell Your Boss on Social Media Investment? Use This Graphic“ “caution is advised,” says Mike Ohghai, a financial advisor. He suggests using an impartial source for such important profit measuring information – not clip art graphics that can be confusing.
Our view is that crazy numbers generate some excitement among the fact starved and validation indifferent marketers. For the Beyond Search team, we think verification and common sense are necessary.
Social media is useful, but it is easy to inject noise into the system. Those who confuse noise with facts are likely to find themselves trying to explain to a CFO hired by the investors to determine whom to keep and whom to fire.
Well, there’s a need for mountain guides in Utah I have heard.
Stephen E Arnold, June 11, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Statistics for the Statistically Inclined
June 10, 2011
Due to a strong bias against everyone’s favorite search engine, it is difficult for me to become excited over new Google developments. However, having endured a number of statistics classes, I will certainly give credit where credit is due.
I was recently directed to Google Correlate and spent a solid twenty-five minutes entertaining myself with test statistical relationships. The offering consists of comparisons of an uploaded data set against a real data set courtesy of the search mogul. Google provides results based on a Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) nearest to 1.0, giving the user the most positively correlated queries. One can customize the results in a number of manners: for negative relationships, against a time series or regional location, for a normalized sine function or a scatter plot, etc.
For any glazed over eyes out there, the Web site sums up the intent this way:
“Google Correlate is like Google Trends in reverse. With Google Trends, you type in a query and get back a series of its frequency (over time, or in each US state). With Google Correlate, you enter a data series (the target) and get back queries whose frequency follows a similar pattern.”
Don’t worry, there is a tutorial.
It should also be noted that this service is tagged as “experimental”. I fear due to lack of popularity, it may dissolve in its very own time series in sad, monthly increments.
I imagine this tool is providing certain students some relief, but what of regular users? In the words of the head gander, how many Google mobile users know what correlate means? Without crunching the data, I think our r may be approaching -1.0.
Sarah Rogers, June 10, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Stormy Weather for the Eucalyptus Grove?
June 10, 2011
Still feel safe in the cloud? Have you heard from Eucalyptus lately?
According to “Critical Vulnerability in Open Source Eucalyptus Clouds”, there has been another break-in. At least a theoretical one; university researchers have found a hole in the cloud. Per the article:
“An attacker can, with access to the network traffic, intercept Eucalyptus SOAP commands and either modify them or issue their own arbitrary commands. To achieve this, the attacker needs only to copy the signature from one of the XML packets sent by Eucalyptus to the user. As Eucalyptus did not properly validate SOAP requests, the attacker could use the copy in their own commands sent to the SOAP interface and have them executed as the authenticated user.”
The platform has already provided a newer, downloadable version that corrects the issue. Eucalyptus has warned their services may be a little spotty while the rest of the system recognizes the fix.
Go ahead and tally another tick mark against the cloud. What’s worse, besides the discovered threat, users must contend with the hassle of outages related to the fix. I could be wrong, but it seems it is only a matter of time before some serious consequences arise from lax attitudes concerning data storage.
How about putting enterprise data in the cloud with a search interface? Or maybe a bank of social security numbers? Now what about a security lapse?
Sarah Rogers, June 10, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Libraries: Another Plea
June 4, 2011
In his “The Future of the Library” essay, Seth Godin highlights the roots of public libraries and librarians and their future.
He aptly points out that
the librarian isn’t a clerk who happens to work at a library. A librarian is a data hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher. The librarian is the interface between reams of data and the untrained but motivated user.
I am not too keen on the sherpa thing. But the point is one with which the Beyond Search team agrees.
With the rise of services like Netflix and technologies like ebooks, libraries are no longer just about lending books and movies. They need to re-imagine their mission to stay relevant. He notes:
Just in time for the information economy, the library ought to be the local nerve center for information.
The library of the future features ”a librarian who can bring domain knowledge and people knowledge and access to information to bear.” Information overload is real. Microsoft tapped into the frustration to market its Bing search engine. Godin presents exciting future for both libraries and librarians if both are willing to change.
Rita Safranek, June 4, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Disinformation: A Useful Factoid
June 3, 2011
When can too much information be bad? When it comes to a group, so says Wired Science in “Sharing Information Corrupts Wisdom of Crowds.”
Newly-released research on crowd wisdom finds that “when test participants were told about their peers’ guesses,” test results when awry. It appears that “knowledge about estimates of others narrows the diversity of opinions to such an extent that it undermines collective wisdom.”
The results confirm one of James Surowiecki’s tenets behind crowd analytics from his 2004 book “The Wisdom of Crowds.” In it, he discusses four conditions necessary to promote the phenomenon, one of which is that each individual in the group should have private information.
The news that the information people receive influences their decision making is no revelation to advertisers and educators, who have relied on it for years. In theory, members of the group would come to valid conclusions based on good data. However, the crowd can just as easily be influenced by bad information, giving a new meaning to garbage in, garbage out.
Disinformation has another tool methinks.
Stephen E Arnold, June 3, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Ahoy, Some Pirates Wear Dresses
June 2, 2011
ReadWriteWeb reports, “Survey Finds E-Book Piracy Occurs Among a Surprising Demographic.” The Digital Entertainment Survey is conducted annually by Wiggin, a British law firm. According to it, one in eight female e-reader owners over 35 admits to downloading at least one illegal e-book copy. Quite a surprise from the older female demo!
The article observes,
“If copyright infringement is indeed becoming more popular among an age group that’s never really participated in digital piracy, that’s certainly bad news for publishers. . . . After all, it isn’t just women over 35 that are putting unlicensed content on their e-readers. Across all ages and both genders, some 29% of e-reader owners admitted that they pirate books. And for tablet owners, that number is even higher – 36%. It doesn’t stop there: 25% of these people said they planned to continue to download pirated material.
So women aren’t the only ones, but now we know many of them are indeed crooks. At least women crooks are nicer. And they read. In general, women pirates may be better dressed, more polite, and more skilled at negotiating than the average cut throat.
Cynthia Murrell, June 2, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Consultant Benchmarks Business Intelligence
May 27, 2011
Business intelligence has seen tremendous growth and with so many different companies on the market all vying for clients it can become difficult for business owners to know exactly which one will adequately fit their needs.
We learned that InetSoft is a sponsor of the Aberdeen’s Group Agile BI Benchmark Study, which provides a detailed survey and analysis of how companies are currently using their business intelligence products and how they improve.
We found the notion of agile business intelligence interesting. Traditionally business intelligence required trained specialists and programmers with the ability to convert an end user’s dreams into the cold, hard reality of a report. Today end users want to do their own report building and data analysis. In our experience, this sounds great in a pitch focused on reducing headcount. However, in some situations, flawed data leads to even more suspect business decisions.
We learned from the announcement about the study that:
Agile BI is business intelligence that can rapidly adapt to meet changing business needs.
Okay.
Many of those surveyed admitted they were not delivering their business intelligence products on time and found it difficult to make timely decisions. Those companies that earned “Best In Class” were those that were able to provide fully interactive BI to their users. The write up asserted:
Managers need to get “hands-on” to interact with and manipulate data if they are to meet the shrinking timeframe for business decisions that they face.
Without building a solid foundation and taking control BI cannot be fully effective and is like a bird with no wings.
You can obtain a free complimentary copy of the report please visit http://goo.gl/3WujV. We have no idea how long the free report will be available. Act quickly.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2011
Freebie
Will Office 365 Cloud Issues be 24/7?
May 26, 2011
As I write this, I heard about Amazon’s super reliable, scalable, elastic, whiz bang cloud service struggling to deliver a pop icon’s album to fans. I have concluded that Amazon’s service can fail and not scale. But Amazon is just one cloud marketer struggling to make the dreams of the marketing department into the reality of cloud services as ultra reliable.
Consider Microsoft, please.
If there is one rule left in the business environment, it is that you do not mess with a worker’s email. Perhaps Microsoft did not get that memo? Last week MS’s latest incarnation of its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), Office 365, had some serious cloud issues. According to “Microsoft’s Handling of BPOS Outage an Ill Omen for Office 365”, users saw delays totaling up to fifteen hours spread across a three-day span.
The author himself admits that it isn’t so much the outages that are the cause for concern but the manner of handling the issue by Microsoft. Not that the inhabitants of your average cube farm won’t automatically freak out over any interruption in email services, but they could rest easier if they at least had an idea of what was happening behind the scenes.
To calm the harried nerves of its customers, Microsoft created the Online Service Health Dashboard, with an intention to provide up to the minute status of cloud services and tools. If you think you can rest easy now, not so fast. The article said:
The first detailed Dashboard notification I can find on the Tech Center forum is time stamped 9:40 a.m. on Thursday. That’s two full days after the original notice. Dave Thompson notified the world about the problems, via his blog, at 6 p.m. But there were two full days of widespread intermittent email outages without any explanation from Microsoft. Yes, there were service degradation icons on the Dashboard earlier, but no explanations or ETA for a fix.
Call me naive, but what’s the point in having a notification board when it takes two days to post notifications?”
And Google? Well, its vaunted technology failed during its I/O conference when executives were chatting up the reliability of the Google cloud. Blogger.com, however, must have been on break. That service went down for 20 hours.
Welcome to the cloud, a sometimes gray area where you are not privy to the same information on controls and status you would find within an average business enterprise.
That, my friends, can be the trade-off for convenience. Besides, if your company is anything like mine, you wouldn’t be getting much more support from your in-house IT anyway.
But when I can save $11 on a hot new album, I am flexible. For work, I am not so flexible. My hunch is that others may have a similar view. What happens when cloud based search fails? I won’t be able to find my documents. Not good.
Sarah Rogers, May 26, 2011
Freebie
Holy *$@#, Facebook
May 25, 2011
Short honk: I am not a Facebookoid. I am neither surprised nor disappointed. Navigate to “47% of Facebook Walls Contain Profanity.” Here’s the factoid I found interesting:
Users are twice as likely to use profanity in a post on their Facebook Wall, versus a comment. Whereas friends are twice as likely to use profanity in a comment on a user’s Facebook Wall, versus a post.
What are friends for? Parse that.
Stephen E Arnold, May 25, 2011
Freebie, *$@# it
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