Data Fusion: A Source of Contention?
June 29, 2011
Research. is reporting that Kantar and TRA are doing battle over intellectual property. In their article, “Kantar and TRA at Loggerheads over Data Fusion Patent” they report that Kantar and Cavendish have filed a joint complaint as a pre-emptive strike against TRA who is threatening to sue them over patent right infringement.
According to Kantar and Cavendish, TRA claims that Kantar’s RapidView-Retail product encroaches on its patent. The product marries TV audience data and purchase behaviour data with a view to better targeting ad spend. The case is unusual as Kantar has been a long-time investor in TRA, and Sheila Spence, a WPP and Cavendish executive, sits on the TRA board – though she is alleged to have been excluded from a recent board meeting and may also be excluded from another upcoming meeting.
Let’s think about this. Will a patent spat about data fusion in the ad world trigger potential downstream issues in other market sectors. On the surface, a person might say, “No.” However, with the surprises the US legal system can spring, I am not so sure. My view is that patent litigation can spill over and take out the entrepreneurial Minots and Fargos. There is considerable risk in certain legal matters. Data fusion is the issue but the problem is the advertising. Some folks care a great deal about advertising. My yellow warning lights are now flashing.
Stephen E Arnold, June 29, 2011
You can read more about enterprise search and retrieval in The New Landscape of Enterprise Search, published my Pandia in Oslo, Norway, in June 2011.
Visual Search with 3D from GE
June 25, 2011
A new Google search technology could change the way people use the Internet. According to the Search Engine Watch article “Visual Health Search” Google recently launched its Google Body Browser.
Users have the ability to view a 3D layered model of the body. The article asserted:
“The body can be turned, manipulated, and literally “dissected” down to the vascular level to see how its functions work and connect. This kind of detailed information gives users access to the human body that’s never been available before and goes a long way in promoting a level of understanding that can help people make better informed decisions about their health.”
Healthline Networks in conjunction with GE Healthymagination and Visible Productions have also introduced Healthline BodyMaps. We learned:
“This new tool layers search on top of a 3D anatomical model, and allows people to navigate male and female anatomy, view systems, and organs and explore how the body works.”
Not only can patients get a more in depth look and understanding of medical conditions but physicians and other health care providers will be able to use it to help explain medical conditions, procedures and etc. to patients. Visual Search and 3D could be the new dream team.
A couple of thoughts. Google seems to have terminated its electronic medical record project. And didn’t GE design the Fukushima nuclear facility? Visual search might be less challenging and have a higher upside.
Cynthia Murrell, June 25, 2011
From the leader in next-generation analysis of search and content processing, Beyond Search.
Internet, Reading, and Comprehension: Guess What
June 17, 2011
Robert Glen Fogarty at Lockergnome asks, “Is the Internet Killing Reading Skills?” That good question is addressed by a recent University of Gothenburg study. Here’s what researchers found:
Study head Monica Rosén says: ‘Our study shows that the entry of computers into the home has contributed to changing children’s habits in such a manner that their reading does not develop to the same extent as previously. By comparing countries over time we can see a negative correlation between change in reading achievement and change in spare time computer habits which indicates that reading ability falls as leisure use of computers increases.
Sadly, these results come as no surprise and were probably inevitable. Why read when videos are clearly superior?
Fogarty compares this development to growing up with television, which could be accused of the same effect. He actually credits PBS children’s programming with learning to read early, and suggests that similar efforts on the Internet could be beneficial.
Hmm, we’ll see. Meanwhile, please, pass the Cheetos and Dr. Pepper. Oh, hand me my iPad and mobile phone.
Cynthia Murrell, June 17, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Recommind and Predictive Coding
June 15, 2011
The different winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont horse races cast some doubt on predictive analytics. But search and content processing is not a horse race. The results are going to be more reliable and accurate, or that is the assumption. One thing is 100 percent certain: A battle over the phrase “predictive coding” in the marketing of math that’s in quite a few textbooks is brewing.
First, you will want to read US 7,933,859, Systems and Methods for Predictive Coding.” You can get your copy via the outstanding online service at USPTO.gov. The patent was a zippy one, filed on May 25, 2010, and granted on April 26, 2011.
There were quite a few write ups about the patent. We noted “Recommind Patents Predictive Coding” from Recommind’s Web site. The company has a Web site focused on predictive coding with the tag line “Out predict. Out perform.” A quote from a lawyer at WilmerHale announces, “This is a game changer in eDiscovery.”
Why a game changer? The answer, according to the news release, is:
Recommind’s Predictive Coding™ technology and workflow have transformed the legal industry by accelerating the most expensive phase of eDiscovery, document review. Traditional eDiscovery software relies on linear review, a tedious, expensive and error-prone process . . . . Predictive Coding uses machine learning to categorize and prioritize any document set faster, more accurately and more defensibly than contract attorneys, no matter how much data is involved.
Some push back was evident in “Predictive Coding War Breaks Out in US eDiscovery Sector.” The point in this write up is that other vendors have been offering predictive functions in the legal market.
Our recollection is that a number of other outfits dabble in this technological farm yard as well. You can read the interview with Google-funded Recorded Future and Digital Reasoning in my Search Wizards Speak series. I have noted in my talks that there seems to be some similarity between Recommind’s systems and methods and Autonomy’s, a company that is arguably one of the progenitors of probabilistic methods in the commercial search sector. Predecessors to Autonomy’s Integrated Data Operating Layer exist all the way back to math-crazed church men in ye merrie old England before steam engines really caught on. So, new? Well, that’s a matter for lawyers I surmise.
With the legal dust up between i2 Ltd. and Palantir, two laborers on the margins of the predictive farm yard, legal fires can consume forests of money in a flash. You can learn more about data fusion and predictive analytics in my Inteltrax information service. Navigate to www.inteltrax.com.
Stephen E Arnold, June 15, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
The SoLoMo Angle for Google
June 15, 2011
We wanted to highlight a great Google acronym. Google’s Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, was interviewed recently at the D9 conference and answered some tough questions as reported in SEW’s ” Eric Schmidt on Search Result Answers, Social Failures & Google Offers Launch.”
Opining on topics that “…ranged from a new approach to answering questions in search results, to Google’s social media failures, and the launch of Google Offers,” Schmidt openly admitted responsibility for his flubs, particularly in the social venue. He indicated that Google searches would be evolving from link-based answers to algorithmically-based answers. Mr. Schmidt allegedly said:
The future of Google is “SoLoMo — social, local, and mobile;”
This is a wonderful buzzword and it meshes nicely with the assertion that that Google counts itself among the four top brands of the post-PC era excluding Microsoft.
Google is moving down the me-to lane at the innovation supermarket. The company rolled out Google Offers. This is an online deal service which reminds me of the Groupon and LivingSocial service, the Yellow Pages service, the Courier-Journal’s service, and a number of other online deal plays.
Yep, “SoLoMo”.
Stephen E Arnold, June 15, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
The Hoof Beats of Net Censorship
June 14, 2011
“Iran Has Had Enough of the Internet,” writes TechEYE.net, while ComputerWorld reports “China Censors Web to Curb Inner Mongolia Protests.” Control seems inevitable in certain countries.
It’s tough to search when someone has stacked the deck. In China, the government has been blocking search terms and Facebook posts on subjects it wishes to keep quiet. Regarding the most recent actions, TechEYE,net explains:
The censorship comes after protests erupted in the region when an ethnic Mongolian shepherd was run over by an ethnic Han truck driver, according to human rights groups. Ethnic Mongolians in the region have taken to the streets, prompting authorities to declare martial law in some of the cities.
Meanwhile, Iran has decided to shut down the Internet altogether and replace it with its own system. Here’s snippet we noted:
The plan is being drawn up by the country’s communications ministry. The idea seems to have the backing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei and will help further encourage a certain flavor of Islamic moral values on Iran’s people. It will take two years for Iran’s government departments to be taken off the grid but about 60 percent of the country’s homes and businesses will be connected to [the government’s] new net in much less time.”
Will such censorship come to the US with a vengeance? I doubt it, but certain types of rational thinking yields some surprising outcomes. For examples, read Voltaire’s Bastards.
Cynthia Murrell June 14, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
AT&T Shifts into Genghis Kahn Mode
June 13, 2011
I remember learning about warriors riding horses 24 hours a day. Instead of hitting the Mongolian equivalent of a convenience store, the rider open a vein on his horse’s neck and took a swig. Efficient.
Now AT&T wants to break in to the online coupon market according to Bloomberg’s article ” AT&T Takes on Groupon with $10 Promotion for Daily Deal Site.”
The new-old Ma Bell has revealed her plans to open a “Grouponesque” type of Web site for consumers through YellowPages.com.
Daily deals are the latest consumer shopping trend and have taken off in the wake of the slowing economy. Why pay full price when you can pay one half or one third of the full price?
AT&T will have to compete with veterans like Groupon, Facebook, and the such newspapers as the New York Times. AT&T believes it can be competitive by using larger discounts and making their site more amenable to the mobile deal hunter.
Pundits and assorted consulting firms anticipate that sales at restaurants, clothing stores and hair and nail salons will reach $6.1 billion by 2015 making the internet discount business potentially, extremely lucrative. The article said:
Market leader Groupon, based in Chicago, is planning an initial public offering later this year that would value the company at between $15 billion and $25 billion, two people familiar with the plans said last month.
I’m not entirely sure what my colleagues believe, but if ATT can truly capitalize on its “no search” couponing idea, may have an edge on their competitors. Could AT&T have a consumer market winner? With more than 90 million users AT&T is going to have a running start in this hot new segment.
Leslie Radcliff, June 13, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
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
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