Exogenous Complexity 3: Being Clever
February 24, 2012
I just submitted my March 2012 column to Enterprise Technology Management, published in London by IMI Publishing. In that column I explored the impact of Google’s privacy stance on the firm’s enterprise software business. I am not letting any tiny cat out of a big bag when I suggested that the blow back might be a thorn in Googzilla’s extra large foot.
In this essay, I want to consider exogenous complexity in the context of the consumerization of information technology and, by extension, on information access in an organization. The spark for my thinking was the write up “Google, Safari and Our Final Privacy Wake-Up Call.”
Here’s a clever action. MIT students put a red truck on top of the dome. For more see http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/04/06/mit-hacks.
If you do not have an iPad or an iPhone or an Android device, you will want to stop reading. Consumerization of information technology boils down to employees and contract workers who show up with mobile devices (yes, including laptops) at work. In the brave new world, the nanny instincts of traditional information technology managers are little more than annoying nags from a corporate mom.
The reality is that when consumer devices enter the workplace, three externalality happen in my experience.
First, security is mostly ineffective. Clever folks then exploit vulnerable systems. I think this is why clever people say that the customer is to blame. So clever exploits cluelessness. Clever is exogenous for the non clever. There are some actions an employer can take; for example, confiscating personal devices before the employee enters the work area. This works in certain law enforcement, intelligence, and a handful of other environments; for example, fabrication facilities in electronics or pharmaceuticals. Mobile devices have cameras and can “do” video. “Secret” processes can become un-secret in a nonce. In the free flowing, disorganized craziness of most organizations, personal devices are ignored or overlooked. In short, in a monitored financial trading environment, a professional can send messages outside the firm and the bank’s security and monitoring systems are happily ignorant. The cost of dropping a truly secure box around a work place is expensive and beyond the core competency of most information technology professionals.
Second, employees blur information which is “for work” with information which is “for friends, lovers, or acquaintances.” The exogenous factor is political. To fix the problem, rules are framed. The more rule applied to a flawed system, the greater the likelihood is that clever people will exploit systems which ignore the rules. Clever actions, therefore, increase. In short, this is a variation of the Facebook phenomena when a posting can reach many people quickly or lie dormant until the data load explodes like long forgotten Fourth of July fire cracker. As people chase the fire, clever folks exploit the fire. Information time bombs are not thought about by most senior managers, but they are on the radar of those involved in a legal matter and in the minds of some disgruntled programmers. The half life of information is less well understood by most professionals than the difference between a uranium based reactor and a thorium based reactor. Work and life information are blended, and in my opinion, the compound is a dangerous one.
Third, vendors focusing on consumerizing information technology spur adoption of devices and practices which cannot be easily controlled. The data-Hoovering processes, therefore, can suck up information which is proprietary, of high value, and potentially damaging to the information owner. Information is not “like sand grains.” Some information is valueless; other information commands a high price. In fact, modern content processing and data analytic systems can take fragments of information and “fuse” them. To most people these amalgams are of little interest. But to someone with specialized knowledge, the fused data are not god nuggets, the fused data are a chunky rosy diamond, maybe a Pink Panther. As a result, an exogenous factor increases the flow of high value data through uncontrolled channels.
A happy quack to Gunaxin. You can see how clever, computer situations, and real life blend in this “pranking” poster. I would have described the wrapping of equipment in plastic “clever.” But I am the fume hood guy, Woodruff High School, 1958 to 1962. Image source: http://humor.gunaxin.com/five-funny-prank-fails/48387
Now, let’s think about being clever. When I was in high school, I was one of a group of 25 students who were placed in an “advanced” program. Part of the program included attending universities for additional course work. I ended up at the University of Illinois at age 15. I went back to regular high school, did some other Fancy Dan learning programs, and eventually graduated. My specialty was tricking students in “regular” chemistry into modifying their experiments to produce interesting results. One of these suggestions resulted in a fume hood catching fire. Another dispersed carbon strands through the school’s ventilation system. I thought I was clever, but eventually Mr. Shepherd, the chemistry teach, found out that I was the “clever” one. I sat in the hall for the balance of the semester. I adapted quickly, got an A, and became semi-famous. I was already sitting in the hall for writing essays filled with double entendres. Sigh. Clever has its burdens. Some clever folks just retreat into a private world. The Internet is ideal for providing an environment in which isolated clever people can find a “friend.” Once a couple of clever folks hook up, the result is lots of clever activity. Most of the clever activity is not appreciated by the non clever. There is the social angle and the understanding angle. In order to explain a clever action, one has to be somewhat clever. The non clever have no clue what has been done, why, when, or how. There is a general annoyance factor associated with any clever action. So, clever usually gets masked or shrouded in something along the lines, “Gee, I am sorry” or “Goodness gracious, I did not think you would be annoyed.” Apologies usually work because the non clever believe the person saying “I’m sorry” really means it. Nah. I never meant it. I did not pay for the fume hood or the air filter replacement. Clever, right?
What happens when folks from the type of academic experience I had go to work in big companies. Well, it is sink or swim. I have been fortunate because my “real” work experiences began at Halliburton Nuclear Services and continued at Booz, Allen & Hamilton when it was a solid blue chip firm, not the azure chip outfit it is today. The fact that I was surrounded by nuclear engineers whose idea of socializing was arguing about Monte Carlo code and nuclear fuel degradation at the local exercise club. At Booz, Allen the environment was not as erudite as the nuclear outfit, but there were lots of bright people who were actually able to conduct a normal conversation. Nevertheless, the Type As made life interesting for one another, senior managers, clients, and family. Ooops. At the Booz, Allen I knew, one’s family was one’s colleagues. Most spouses had no idea about the odd ball world of big time consulting. There were exceptions. Some folks married a secretary or colleague. That way the spouse knew what work was like. Others just married the firm, converting “quality time” into two days with the dependents at a posh resort.
So clever usually causes one to seek out other clever people or find a circle of friends who appreciate the heat generated by aluminum powder in an oxygen rich environment. When a company employs clever people, it is possible to generalize:
Clever people do clever things.
What’s this mean in search and information access? You probably already know that clever people often have a healthy sense of self worth. There is also arrogance, a most charming quality among other clever people. The non-clever find the arrogance “thing” less appealing.
Let’s talk about information access.
Let’s assume that a clever person wants to know where a particular group of users navigate via a mobile device or a traditional browser. Clever folks know about persistent cookies, workarounds for default privacy settings, spoofing built in browser functions, or installation of rogue code which resets certain user selected settings on a heartbeat or restart. Now those in my advanced class would get a kick out these types of actions. Clever people appreciate the work of clever people. When the work leaves the “non advanced” in a clueless state, the fun curve does the hockey stick schtick. So clever enthuses those who are clever. The unclever are, by definition, clueless and not impressed. For really nifty clever actions, the unclever get annoyed, maybe mad. I was threatened by one student when the Friday afternoon fume hood event took place. Fortunately my debate coach intervened. Hey, I was winning and a broken nose would have imperiled my chances at the tournament on Saturday.
Now more exogenous complexity. Those who are clever often ignore unintended consequences. I could have been expelled, but I figured my getting into big trouble would have created problems with far reaching implications. I won a State Championship in the year of the fume hood. I won some silly scholarship. I published a story in the St Louis Post Dispatch called “Burger Boat Drive In.” I had a poem in a national anthology. So, I concluded that a little sport in regular chemistry class would not have any significant impact. I was correct.
However, when clever people do clever things in a larger arena, then the assumptions have to be recalibrated. Clever people may not look beyond their cube or outside their computer’s display. That’s when the exogenous complexity thing kicks in.
So Google’s clever folks allegedly did some work arounds. But the work around allowed Microsoft to launch an attack on Google. Then the media picked up on the work around and the Microsoft push back. The event allowed me to raise the question, “So workers bring their own consumerized device to work. What’s being tracked? Do you know? Answer: Nope.” What’s Google do? Apologize. Hey, this worked for me with the fume hood event, but on a global stage when organizations are pretty much lost in space when it comes to control of information, effective security, and managing crazed 20 somethings—wow.
In short, the datasphere encourages and rewards exogenous behavior by clever people. Those who are unclever take actions which sets off a flood of actions which benefit the clever.
Clever. Good sometimes. Other times. Not so good. But it is better to be clever than unclever. Exogenous factors reward the clever and brutalize the unclever.
Stephen E Arnold, February 24, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google and the Data of Users
February 21, 2012
Tech Radar interviews former Googler Brian Fitzpatrick in “Google: Why It’s Important You Can Get Hold of Your Data.” Fitzpatrick founded the Data Liberation Front, the Google engineering team which makes it easier for users to move their data into and out of Google products. Why would the company want to make it easier to leave? The write up quotes Fitzpatrick:
“The way we keep you as users is to make it better. Rapid innovation, rapid iteration. So we thought, ‘If we make it even easier for people to leave our products, we’re going to be forced to iterate even more quickly, and make our products better’. Everybody benefits from that, right? Users benefit from it, and we benefit because we’re competing really fairly. I mean, as an engineer, I’d much rather build a better product than build bigger walls around a product.
According to Fitzpatrick, Google head Eric Schmidt was enthused about the idea from the start. It is gradually affecting the way new products evolve because developers are working to keep in mind the mechanisms for data withdrawal.
Not many users have taken advantage of Google Takeout, the page from which users can download all of their Google-stored data. Apparently, though, just knowing it is there makes people more comfortable. Do you find this comment interesting in the shadow of the Safari privacy work around Google inadvertently stumbled into? I do. Say one thing. Do another methinks.
Cynthia Murrell, February 21, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Apple: Assertions in Play in an Ethics-Free Context
February 19, 2012
I am not firing on all cylinders this morning. The goose is in recovery mode. Despite my weakened condition, I noted the brouhaha over Google’s getting tangled in the Apple Safari thorn bush. Allegations are zooming through the datasphere, and I noted one particularly fascinating write up, “Google Didn’t “Track” iPhones, But It Did Bypass Safari’s Privacy Settings.” The write up asserts:
Google was tracking iPhones? That suggests the location scandal that came up last year. In reality, Google’s not tracking phones. It’s tracking what some people might do within the Safari browser, both on the phone and on the desktop. In fact, I’m pretty perplexed about why the iPhone aspect is being played up so much. This seems far more likely to have impacted more people using Safari on the desktop. I’m not alone in feeling some things are being trumped up in the headline and opening paragraphs — see also John Battelle’s take, as well as MG Siegler.
These are big names. But none of these individuals are working at Google on the team responsible for the thorn bush blunder.
Several points:
- Is there a theme evident in Google’s missteps? Whether the shadow of Google on the Apple Board of Directors or the Buzz flap is affecting me, I discern a pattern of action-reaction-apology and then the Hegelian cycle repeats. I must be alone in this perception.
- Do commercial enterprises have an obligation to hold themselves to a higher standard? I find it somewhat disconcerting that financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and, yes, even online services routinely take actions that require apologies. Without consequences, are we creating a situation where alleged problems are the outcome, not value?
- Which of the pundits are sufficiently clever to keep up with the actions of programmers who are really clever? I can’t describe my work experiences in detail, but I know that clever does not equal good judgment. Once again, am I the only person who is growing tired of clever?
Fortunately I am too old, infirm, and jaded to expect that appropriate or ethical behavior will become the norm. As my old favorite boring writer said:
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.—William James, 1842-1910. Not known to be a user of Google’s services or an Apple device equipped with Safari.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Gets Publicity
February 17, 2012
Most Hollywood folks know that any publicity is good publicity. Well, there might be an exception for Heaven’s Gate. I thought about Heaven’s Gate. Publicity did not put a rocket under that team. I noted the story “Google’s iPhone Tracking.” I am not sure how accurate the story is. There is the shadow of News Corp. clouding my intake of the organization’s content. I don’t have much to add. I do have a question. Is this Google’s Heaven’s Gate moment? I will have to run a search for that sequence of proper nouns.
Stephen E Arnold, February 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Two Google Work-Arounds
February 12, 2012
We’ve found a couple of useful tips for Google users. The first one I used immediately: MakeUseOf reveals “How to Turn Off Google’s Personal Search Results & Get Back to Enjoying Life.” Like writer Justin Pot and me, you may find Google’s new Personal Search to be more hindrance than help. The write up asks:
Have you ever looked through your Facebook feed and thought to yourself ‘It would be really awesome if all of this useless [stuff] came up when I was searching for something?’ Me neither! Google seems to think differently though, so last week they started flooding everyone’s search results with a bunch of nonsense. Happily they’re not complete idiots – they did provide a way to turn this [stuff] off.
The way is found under the gear in the top right of the Google screen. Click on that, then Search Settings, then, under “Personal results,” select “Do not use personal results.” Click “Save” at the bottom, and you’re back to your old Googling ways.
LifeHacker supplies the next tip, in “How to Sign Up for a Google Account Without Being Forced in to Google+ or Gmail.” Though the GOOG insists that “Your Google Account is more than just Search,” not everyone wants to be railroaded into Google+ or Gmail or to reveal personal information. Writer Melanie Pinola has two solutions. At the time of this writing, you can still use the sign-up old form found here. You can also sign up from other Google services like Calendar and Blogger to avoid the new form. For now, at least.
Google’s fix? Don’t log in to Google. We think this is a clever response and probably not going to prevent online wizards from figuring out quite a bit about a user.
Cynthia Murrell, February 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
TwitWipe Allows Room for Regret
January 25, 2012
The introduction of Facebook Timeline has made quite a few users uncomfortable. Users of such social media outlets, especially the public forum Twitter, may have second thoughts about postings and revealing their entire past.
A service created in 2009 by Aalaap Ghag is becoming popular with Twitter users. The service, TwitWipe, allows users to easily erase all of their previously posted Twitter messages. The article on Mashable, “TwitWipe Gives You a Fresh Start by Deleting All Your Tweets” tells us more:
Do you feel like everything you’ve done for the last few years is recorded by Twitter’s eternal digital record? A new service, TwitWipe, can get rid of all your carefully crafted (and less carefully crafted) 140-character messages Rather than creating a new account, TwitWipe allows you to keep all of your followers, favorited tweets and people you’re following.
However, if you’re interested, you better hurry. This may be disabled soon. Users should also be aware that all Tweets in the public Twitter timeline are recorded in the Library of Congress, anyway. Hurry. We have heard that there are moves afoot to prevent social content from deletion. Best bet? Don’t post on social media. How’s that sound, you 900 million social media users?
Andrea Hayden, January 25, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Mobile Users May Say No
January 13, 2012
In such a heavy mobile based technology world, businesses understand the need to be in tune with what customers are doing on these devices and readily jump on their ability to collect data from those who are willing to share. However, according to the Ontrack Data Recovery News article “Business Data Collection “May Face Backlash From Mobile Users,” users may no longer be so eager to share. “Businesses’ ability to collect data from those using mobile and pad devices may be short lived, as individuals become more cagey about what they are willing to share.” According to the article business data collection is going to gain even more popularity in 2012 but the importance of privacy and data security is also going to grow. Psychologist Graham Jones makes a bold prediction “Business which focus on tapping into geolocation and so on will probably only have a relatively short life, as human beings batten down the hatches and increase their privacy.” From phone tapping in Congress to sharing on Facebook, privacy is becoming an issue. Seems more and more people have adopted the philosophy “just keep it to yourself.”
April Holmes, January 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Big Data in 2012: Reliable Open-Source Software Required
January 11, 2012
Enthusiasm and optimism that Big Data as a concept is the next big thing. We are almost ready to board the Big Data bull dozer. The hoopla surrounding Big Data has not died down in 2012. Instead, the concept demonstrates the continuing environment of processing and analysis.
As businesses become aware that the Big Data trend is here to stay, publishers are looking for reliable support. The Apache Hadoop project develops open-source software for reliable, scalable, distributed computing. The company offers much in the way of dealing with unstructured data and is setting the pace for consolidation as well as personalization. I came across an interesting article, “State of the World IT: Big Data, An Offer That is Formed” (The original article is in French, but http://translate.google.com works well for this gosling). We learn:
As a recognition of the market in 2011, Hadoop has also attracted the top names in the IT industry who put this framework in the heart of their range of data processing volume. One reason: the cost mainly reminded us James Markarian, executive vice president and technical director of Informatica confirming that the framework ‘helped to change the economic model of the Big Data.’ Adding that flexibility… was as a criterion for adoption.
It is clear that the excess of data will only continue to grow by the minute. Generations of search, publishing, and consolidation will continue to emerge. I recommend staying informed of the products and the specific capabilities of each. However, Big Data which is filtered may pose some interesting problems; for example, will the outputs match the pre-filtered reality? Will predictive methods work when some data are no longer in the stream? So far the cheerleading is using chants from an older, pre-filtering era. Is this a good thing or a no-thing?
Andrea Hayden, January 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Language Found to Reveal Hierarchies
January 5, 2012
Isn’t it great when technology is used to pursue answers to the burning questions of our day? MIT’s Technology Review announces, “Computer Scientists Create Algorithm That Measures Human Pecking Order.” Cornell University’s John Kleinberg, known for his work on the HITS Web page ranking algorithm, and associates have discovered that language usage can reveal power differences between humans. The article states:
They say the style of language during a conversation reveals the pecking order of the people talking. ’We show that in group discussions, power differentials between participants are subtly revealed by how much one individual immediately echoes the linguistic style of the person they are responding to,’” say Kleinberg and co.
Particularly, the researchers look at functional words like articles and conjunctions. It seems that, while top dogs feel no compunction to copy the speech or writing of others, those lower on the totem pole do. Unconsciously, of course.
Though these findings may seem like a simple curiosity, the article points out potential real world ramifications. Companies might analyze email exchanges to determine the leaders among their employees. Also, if done in real time, the technique could influence key conversations like negotiations and interviews.
Perhaps we have another way to explore privacy and manipulate?
Cynthia Murrell, January 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Search Engines May Take Action Against Pirate Web Sites
January 3, 2012
From the Sooner or Later Department:
Google has been in the news a lot lately for being biased when it comes to search result ranking. According to a the recent Telegraph article “Google May Give Pirate Sites Lower Ranking,” that bias may be leading to positive results. A new code will force Search engines to automatically rank pirate websites lower than official ones and give priority to those that were certified under a recognized scheme.
The article states:
According to research by the Publisher’s Association, Google searches for the 50 best-selling books in one week in March returned an average of four illegal links in the top 10 listings. The previous year that figure was closer to two.
Under the code, Google as well as other search engines would stop allowing illegal sites to advertise and would step up their efforts in delisting pirate websites as soon as they are flagged by legitimate rights holders.
While the search engines have yet to respond to the proposal, we believe that if this is policy goes into effect, there may be some unforeseen consequences. Exciting to be the one to define “pirate”.
Jasmine Ashton, January 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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