Graphic of Online Communities Reveals Big Social Media Shifts
August 18, 2010
Since the introduction of the first online social media sites the industry has grown immensely. XKCD using a map illustrated the relative size of the various online communities in 2007 but just a mere three years later Flowtown released an updated version of the map as shown in “Map of Online Communities Reveals Staggering Social Media Shifts (Pictures).” According to the 2007 map MySpace was the dominant social media site with Facebook pictured as one of the smaller ones. Flowtown created a network map “that reflects current trends in 2010.” The results were substantially different and show Facebook, which boasts about 500 million members, as the dominant social site. The old giant MySpace experienced a decrease in membership as well as social media power. With so many options and members it can make searching through the sites an endless task. In just a few years the social media world has done a 360.
April Holmes, August 18, 2010
New Blog with ArnoldIT.com Content
August 18, 2010
A new Web log and information services débuts today (August 18, 2010). Redefining Monitoring, owned by IGear Corporation, provides news, information, and commentary about cloud-centric monitoring. IGear’s technology embraces numerically-controlled machines and production systems as well as other business processes. IGear’s cloud technology makes it possible to “take the pulse” of smart machines, systems, and complete production operations 24×7. The IGear dashboard provides an intuitive, graphical display. Access from mobile devices, netbook computers, or desktop systems is supported. You can access the Web log at www.redefiningmonitoring.com.
In a statement released by IGear today, the company said:
IGear, a leader in the monitoring industry, has launched Redefining Monitoring at www.redefiningmonitoring.com, a blog that covers news and information about monitoring and the latest in cloud computing technologies.
“We decided to launch the blog after much discussion with clients, colleagues and staff. There are many exciting issues and options which come across my desk every day, and this is a great way to share them as well as our thoughts about their impact with a broader group of people. We can add some ‘color and shading’ to the disciplines involved in monitoring a range of production equipment and manufacturing systems, among others,” explained Don Korfhage, president of IGear.
One of IGear’s principal backers said, “we are experiencing a new era in monitoring driven by advances in cloud and wireless technologies along with the desire of people to have information at their fingertips, 24×7”.
Redefining Monitoring has several standard sections, including news, features and recent posts. Anyone interested in updates can subscribe to the blog through Feedburner and comments are welcome.
IGear serves as the foundation of numerous OEM equipment builder private label offerings. Since 1986, IGear software has been the foundation of reliably collecting critical data from thousands of machines globally.
IGear provides valuable information and alerts to OEMs and their customers enabling them to make better decisions and operate in a lights-out capacity. With IGear, OEMs more proactively service equipment, isolate problems, and optimize their service technicians – the result – a quicker resolution and more satisfied end-user customer.
“I/Gear – Always On” – ushering in a new era in monitoring.
For more information, navigate to the IGear Web site at www.igearonline.com.
ArnoldIT.com provides content for this news and information service. If you are interested in focused, professional content with high impact, write seaky2000 at yahoo dot com. The ArnoldIT.com Overflight system generates content for www.taxodiary.com, www.theseed2020.com, and the Beyond Search blog. Beyond Search’s content pushes beyond SEO.
Kenneth Toth, August 18, 2010
Sponsored post
Facebook Pages Become Customer Support Centers
August 17, 2010
Consumers are the driving force behind any successful business. Many companies are behind when it comes to their CRM (customer relationship management) and though they may have excellent products customers are unable to get the quality support they need and deserve. Issues with customer service can lead to customers jumping ship and taking their money elsewhere. Many businesses have Facebook pages aimed at consumers. Facebook is improving by “brining customer service software to businesses living inside the world’s biggest social network.” “Facebook Pages Become Customer Support Centers” provides a little insight on the new support system designed by Parature. Customers will be able to choose from several different options and find the answers they need quickly. Users will no longer be a victim of the dreaded phone tree Hades. A language processing vendor will become one of the first to use the new service. Time will tell if this customer service software is effective but sometimes talking to a real person is the best fix. We think this repurposing of Facebook has significant implications for the hapless customer support search sector.
April Holmes, August 17, 2010
2010 Trends in Open Source Systems Management
August 17, 2010
Zenoss wanted to examine the system management trend among IT professionals in attendance at the USENIX Large Installation System Administration (LISA) conference so they conducted a system management survey in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. They were especially interested in the utilization of open source software to handle the IT management needs of large groups. Survey results were compared to data obtained from the Zenoss user community. Out of 974 survey participants over 98% of them acknowledged they use open source in their enterprises. More than 66% of the Zenoss community survey participants preferred to use open source if available. Quality of support was the main reason enterprises liked open source. In addition 50% of those surveyed were using cloud technology. Read the Zenoss blog “2010 Trends in open Source Systems Management” to find a few of the results obtained as well as view the complete results of the 2010 Open Source Systems Management Survey.
Our view is that open source is going to put search and content processing into a martini shaker and deliver James Bond’s potent cocktail to some unwitting tipplers.
April Holmes, August 17, 2010
Quote to Note: No Anonymity
August 14, 2010
Google had a rough Friday the 13th. From the land that gestated, “There is no privacy. Get over it.” comes a Mozart DuPont variation. Point your browser thingy at “Google CEO Schmidt: No Anonymity Is the Future of Web.” Here’s the quote I noted:
Privacy is incredibly important,” Schmidt stated. “Privacy is not the same thing as anonymity. It’s very important that Google and everyone else respects people’s privacy. People have a right to privacy; it’s natural; it’s normal. It’s the right way to do things. But if you are trying to commit a terrible, evil crime, it’s not obvious that you should be able to do so with complete anonymity. There are no systems in our society which allow you to do that. Judges insist on unmasking who the perpetrator was. So absolute anonymity could lead to some very difficult decisions for our governments and our society as a whole.”
I seem to recall a bit of a snit with Cnet when that outfit published information about a certain Google executive.
I like the medieval approach. The kings and queens at the top operating in one way, and then the surfs digging potatoes and watching lords and ladies do pretty much what each wants. Seems fair to me.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2010
Freebie.
Twitter: New Monetizing Play?
August 14, 2010
Data and text mining boffins like to crunch “big data.” The idea is that the more data one has, the less slop in the wonky “scores” that fancy math slaps on certain “objects.” Individuals think that his / her actions are unique. Not exactly. The more data one has about people, the easier it is to create some conceptual pig pens and push individuals in them. If you don’t know the name and address of the people, no matter. Once a pig pen has enough piggies in it (50 is a minimum I like to use as a lower boundary), I can push anonymous “users” into those pig pens. Once in a pig pen, the piggies do some predictable things. Since I am from farm country, piggies will move toward chow. You get the idea.
When I read “Twitter Search History Dwindling, Now at Four Days”, I said to myself, “Twitter can charge for more data.” Who knows if I am right, but if I worked at Twitter, I can think of some interesting outfits who might be interested in paying for deep Twitter history. Who would want “deep Twitter history?” Good question. I have written about some outfits, and I have done some interviews in Search Wizards Speak and the Beyond Search interviews that shed some light on these folks.
What can a data or text miner do with four days’ data? Learn that he / she needs a heck of a lot more to do some not-so-fuzzy mathy stuff.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2010
Freebie.
Quote to Note: Murdoch on Paywall
August 12, 2010
Quote to note: The memorable passage comes from “iPad ‘Perfect Platform’ for News, Murdoch Says.” Here’s the segment:
Murdoch added that subscriber levels for The Times website has also been very positive: “It’s going to be a success. Subscriber levels are strong. We are witnessing the start of a new business model for the internet. The argument that information wants to be free is only said by those who want it for free.”
Paywalls are not new. SDC had them 40 years ago. Paywalls are great for must have content and for defensive plays. Paywalls allows publishers to keep existing subscribers. Paywalls are wonderful filters. Traffic drops are significant, maybe 90 percent or more.
Poison antidote data is a must have information resource. News, for me, not so much.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2010
Google and Little Remote Controlled Flying Gizmos
August 11, 2010
Short honk: Navigate to Wirtschaftswoche. Learn about Google’s interest in wireless camera equipped flying aircraft. Ask yourself, “What would these devices add to StreetView?” Oh, come on now. Wireless, cameras, remote control, small, relatively quiet. Time’s up.
Stephen E Arnold, August 11, 2010
Freebie
Bezos Math, Google Numbers, and Symbian Statistics
August 8, 2010
I have noticed some puffery in the normally conservative world of marketing wackies. First, there was the announcement that Google is outgunning Apple in the mobile phone business. Okay, but I do see lots of bodies in the local Apple store. Then Symbian reported that it was installing 300,000 somethings every day, week, or month. I am not sure what difference that makes because there are lots of people in the Apple store.
Finally, I noted Amazon’s bold assertion. It’s the king of eBooks.
It’s safe to say everyone from John D. Rockefeller to Rich Uncle Pennybags have denied being involved in a monopoly. So it’s no shock that Amazon, with its assertion that it is devouring of the e-book market, is doing business behind a curtain of fog and smoke.
This was illustrated well in a recent Cnet interview: “Amazon: We Have 70 to 80 Percent of the E-book Market”. In an interview with the Kindle’s vice president, the Baby Bezos referred to competition like the iPad as a “gadget”. True to Bezos math, the Kindler failed to present hard market numbers. Claiming instead, “we’re pretty sure we’re 70 to 80 percent of the market. So, something, somewhere isn’t quite working right. I encourage you to do some more research,” when asked about hazy market share figures between Kindle, iPad and Nook. This type of secrecy reeks of monopolistic deeds and until we see hard numbers, we’ll continue to think so. I wonder what the search share of A-9 on Amazon is? Wait, I know. Five million objects.
Amazon math, Google numbers, and Symbian statistics. What happened to objective search?
Stephen E Arnold, August 8, 2010
Freebie
Leak or Plant: The New Ecology of Information
August 6, 2010
Where is the line between freedom of online speech and national security? One Web site is testing this border and creating quite a storm. The Washington Post recently ran a scathing editorial, “WikiLeaks Must be Stopped,” discussing the legality of the aforementioned WikiLeaks (www.wikileaks.org), which claims to have leaked over 70,000 classified documents. The article pulls no punches, beginning with: “Let’s be clear: WikiLeaks is not a news organization; it is a criminal enterprise.” The article basically calls the site terroristic, though it is not affiliated with terror organizations. The Post actually encourages the United States to use military force, if necessary, to close down the site. Now, there’s no question this is a concerning site, but the internet is a place where voices can be heard, maybe the government should work harder on preventing leaks instead of crushing Web sites.
Beyond Search has some different thoughts. First, much of the information is recycled from open sources. Convenient. Second, is the information disinformation? The “value” of the content may not be the information itself but the notional impact of having these data floating around. Who loses? Who wins? Is this a new form of publishing?
Pat Roland, August 6, 2010
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