MediaBriefing and Semantics
October 18, 2010
At a recent conference, a person mentioned the site, www.mediabriefing.com. I took a look at it and found its coverage on point. I am not too interested in the media sector, preferring to track the foibles and follies of search and content processing system vendors.
What did catch my attention was “New Site — and Semantic Technologies — May Help The Publishing Industry Sail To The New Media World.” The story reported:
Here’s where the semantic part comes in at TheMediaBriefing.com: It uses core aspects of idio’s semantic web technology to find, classify, tag, and index these sources to deliver to readers in the media industry what TheMediaBriefing.com says are very accurate matches to their information needs. Brown’s background in blogging, and searching and curating various sources of news pertaining to the media, led him to the conclusion that getting hold of and coalescing the data you really needed often involved following a big trail that combined everything from news sites to social media to non-traditional outlets that his peers didn’t always themselves think to go to.
I don’t have much detail about the semantic system in use, but I think the idea is a good one. If the write up is on the money, the notion of a news operation relying on semantic technology is an interesting use case.
Several observations:
- Big dog publishers like LexisNexis have been ankle deep in semantic technology and other content technologies for many years. The problem is that the financial situation at some big dogs is challenging. Semantic technology may not be the tow truck needed to drag the companies back from the brink.
- Semantic technology, as I have suggested, works best as plumbing. Will publishers and readers realize that semantic technology is behind the new site. My hunch is that some may; others will not.
- Publishing as an industry is experimenting with new partners and different business models. The good news is that some of the partners are tech savvy. The bad news is that some of the business models don’t generate the margins that the old business models did. Semantic technology may not be able to change the bad news into good news quickly enough.
Check out the links in this article. Interesting stuff.
Stephen E Arnold, October 18, 2010
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Quote to Note: Time Warner on Content vs Interface
October 10, 2010
I spotted a quote to note in the Hollywood Report’s story “time Warner CEO Calls Google an Ally.” That is a high potential phrase “Google an ally”. What caught my attention is that statement in the write up:
Said Bewkes [Time Warner big dog]: “When all of the content on the big screen works like the content on the little screen, what will happen? The programming will trump the interface.”
Yesterday we dusted off our old Apple TV and fired up two iPads, an iPhone, and two desktop Macs. We wanted to see what happened when we tried to use the iPads and the iPhone to control the Apple TV. Now I have some reasonably alert goslings helping me with this type of one in a million test, but we were indeed puzzled. The big iMac lit up and showed what looked like an iTunes interface and then closed the app. The little iMac took over. The Apple TV and the iMac auto discovered the iPhone, but the two iPads required some fiddling to get the codes into the Apple TV.
No big deal, but we concluded:
- If the auto-magic stuff doesn’t work, most folks are going to be baffled
- The interfaces across the Apple computers, the iPad and the Apple TV were different enough to give us some serious hunt and browse work.
- The potential for major home entertainment chaos is pretty high.
In short, the quote to note makes clear that a content company (albeit one in a state of change) sees the world as hungry for content. The hapless user may indeed want to watch content but if the interface sucks, no joy.
Like any complex system, the components have to work seamlessly. At this time, not even Apple has the rough edges polished. Does this tell us anything about the rush of new “consumer” add ons for one’s TV entering the market? I still can’t use my remotes without a magnifying glass and the Windows Office ribbon continues to baffle me. I must be one in a million goose.
Stephen E Arnold, October 10, 2010
Black Duck Flaps into Open Source Reference
October 6, 2010
Late last year or early this year, I explained to a giant publishing and information company about some of the important trends building in electronic information. I must admit that the audience wished it were someplace else, probably at the golf course or at a sales meeting where smiles and promises worked better than innovation.
I mentioned in passing that the world of open source was gaining momentum. I have documented one facet of open source in this blog. My two or three readers have been as indifferent as the big publishing and information company was.
One outfit, however, either by virtue of executive acumen or simply looking at what’s happening in open source has jumped on the open source information opportunity. That company is Black Duck Software. You can read an interview with one of the firm’s top mallards at “Bill McQuaide, Black Duck Software.”
I learned on October 5, 2010, that Black Duck is on the path of becoming the “Google of open source.” Yep, the Google of open source. Now that moniker is a tough one to shake, so my view is that Black Duck has made a play that seems to me to be pretty darned savvy.
The firm acquired Ohloh.net. Navigate to the Ohloh Web site. You will be able to search a directory of open source software and a directory of developers. Now anyone who has fiddled with open source knows that the PL/1 dudes down the hall are not exactly ready to compile open source and hook it into software with unfamiliar names, often with obscure references to the Tolkien, Star Trek, and a high school Latin class.
I did some advice-from-the-pond work on a couple of open source search start ups. I panned these. Google, at the time, had an open source search service, which the 20 somethings who called me after a couple of failed journalists, mid tier consultants, and unemployed CMS consultants struck out in the knowledge department. The open source search is available as Code Search at http://www.google.com/codesearch. Black Duck and Ohloh went further.
Several observations:
- Traditional publishing companies are probably going to have to buy, license, or stroke the features of Black Duck. The company has an opportunity to build a robust information service and the big boys who prefer to play golf and head out for an early lunch have missed the boat.
- Open source software is operating a bit like one of those minor earth tremors in Turkey or one of the “stans.” One day the building is just crumbling. When change occurs, folks look around for information and my hunch is that Black Duck may come up Number One on the Dancing with the Coding Stars.
- Open source, unlike indexing business information, is pretty much an insiders’ game at this time. The “community”, which is tough to define, can be a really major pain in the bursa scattered in various parts of one’s anatomy.
I suppose I should feel bad that the big information companies missed an opportunity. But, if my memory is correct, less agile outfits just pay lots of money to buy a company with a great opportunity. That is good for the black ducks out there. Geese? Now that’s another story.
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2010
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The Reed Is Bending from Winds of Change
October 6, 2010
I don’t pay much attention to the traditional publishing sector. Most of my attention goes to data fusion, an area of considerable promise. Traditional publishing is not into data fusion the way it is practiced by Fetch Technologies, Digital Reasoning, and other up and coming outfits.
I did try to work my way through “Reed Business Information Gets Sued for Computer Usage Violations.” I was confused by the litany of executive changes and passages like this one:
Anglo-Dutch multinational Reed Elsevier is in debt to the tune of billions of US dollars and has been desperately trying to pay it off, even going as far as trying to sell RBI in 2008. Yes that is the year 2008 when the world financial markets were in the worst situation since the 1929 Wall Street crash. So bad was it that Reed Elsevier had to arrange what is called “vendor financing” for RBI’s sale. Meaning it had to get a group of banks to offer any buyer of RBI what money was needed to clinch the deal.
My goodness. The article explains a legal dust up and allegations of a traditional publisher using computer technology to make life exciting for another outfit.
If the write up is accurate, I may have to start tracking the traditional publishing sector again. Exciting stuff. Desperate times, desperate measures. I thought these executives played golf and croquet too.
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2010
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Floss Plone Information
October 4, 2010
I have been listening to podcasts when at the gym. New to the podcast world, I have been downloading programs to try and find out which ones have consistent, solid content. Yesterday I listened to Floss Weekly Number 137: Plone, produced by an outfit called Twit. You can get the show and information about Twit from the company’s Web site at http://twit.tv. I was surprised with the information revealed on this particular podcast, hosted by Randal Schwartz (aka merlyn), a Perl expert.
The guest on the program to which I listened was Alexander Limi, former Googler, employee at Mozilla, and user experience specialist for Plone. If you are not familiar with Plone, it is an open source content framework. You can use it to create content for industrial strength applications like the FBI and Discover Web sites. For more information about Plone, navigate to http://plone.org/.
I have no solid information about the accuracy of this particular podcast. I do want to highlight two points made in the podcast because I don’t want them to slip away.
The first point concerns Microsoft SharePoint. On the podcast I heard that Microsoft is not really selling or licensing SharePoint. Instead the model is shifting to providing the software and relying on services to generate revenue. I will have to poke around to find out if this is an early warning of a shift in the SharePoint business model or if there are only certain situations in which Microsoft is providing access to SharePoint in this way. The reason this is important is that SharePoint is, in my opinion, the fertile soil of an ecosystem that supports quite a few third-party vendors. These range from Microsoft Certified Partners who produce software that snaps in or overlays SharePoint. Example range from European vendors like Fabasoft to US firms like BA-Insight. In addition, there are many engineers who take some Microsoft classes and then support themselves making SharePoint work as the licensee requires. The notion of a “free” SharePoint or even a low cost SharePoint can explain why so many English majors, unemployed journalists, and third string business school MBAs are vociferously marketing their SharePoint expertise. This is a big ecosystem and it is going to get even bigger. I documented a study that suggested some SharePoint installations were challenges. The pricing implications are significant and the outlook for companies which can actually make SharePoint work are significant as well. I think most of the SharePoint snap in vendors could still be walking on a knife edge. The reason is that big accounts will be sucked up by Microsoft itself. Why let that revenue go to those who cultivated the cornfield? Just like big agriculture, the small farmer gets an opportunity to find a new future.
Arnold For Fee Columns, October 2010
October 3, 2010
Yep, another month and another series of for-fee columns. The Beyond Search blog content is a marketing effort. The good stuff finds its way into the work that people actually pay me to do. We just knocked off a report about a new market for search and content processing companies, but I won’t be sharing any of that solid gold information in this blog. Keep in mind that the blog, although written by five people each week, is putting information in the voice of a 66 year old goose. I dearly lover the breathless 20 somethings who want me to participate in briefings with senior executives who have something to say about search engine optimization or the junior mid tier consultants who think I will sit through a Webinar because some vendor was silly enough to give these azurini money to put them in touch with a thought leader. Sigh.
If you want a glimpse of some of the research we have done into information retrieval, you will have to chase down one or more of these for fee columns when each appears either in print, online, or in both media.
- For Information Today, “Connectors: The Next Search Battleground”. I used this phrase in a personal email to a vendor and the vendor wanted to snag my phrase for its Web site. No way, José. If you are in the connector business, you will want to read this column. If you have licensed connectors, you will want to read this column. Why you ask? Who cares about connectors? Well, grasshopper, you don’t know what you don’t know. Think racketeering. How about a Federal court? Of course, you can chase down your PR person or your mid tier consultant and get the “real” story. Pick a path but stay informed.
- For Information World Review, “Governance: A Politically-Correct but Toothless Notion.” I hear so much baloney about governance, I was thrilled when someone paid me to dig into the subject of “taxonomy governance.” Talk about baloney. Instead of recycling a narrow take on governance, I upped the ante an invoked Jeff Papows, Oracle, HP, and Sun Tzu. Bottomline: governance like much info-baloney is a straw man. Talk about being politically correct. You can find out more when the story hits the online and hard copy Information World Review in the next few weeks.
- For KMWorld, “Google Enterprise: Reseller Challenges Arriving.” In this column I talk about Google’s recent attempt to shore up the security of its enterprise products and services. The Google is trying, but now the battle is shifting to productive partners, resellers, and integrators. The point of the story is that now that Google is addressing some important issues with its product offerings, competitors are shifting the battle. Can the Google react quickly? You will have to read the column to find out what’s ahead.
- For Smart Business Network, “Marketing to the US Hispanic Markets: Digital and Grandmother Methods.” Fancy digital marketing is great for those who live in Silicon Valley, are between the mental ages of 10 and 40, and lack the ability to focus on one task for more than three minutes. For SBN online and its network of 12 hard copy business magazines, I point out that the burgeoning Hispanic market may require some different types of market planning and methods. Olé.
A final reminder to the PR people. Please, read the About information for this blog. I sell ads, interviews, and stories. Each story points out that it is a freebie or in some way sponsored. Beyond Search is not a “real” news publication. I have two or three readers, and these folks should have better things to do with their time. I suggest going to the park and feeding the ducks and geese. Winter is coming help out my feathered relatives. If you are an English major, take a book of Browning’s poems and puzzle over “brown Delores.”
Stephen E Arnold, October 3, 2010
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Alleged Android User Data Harvesting
October 2, 2010
Short honk: I have no idea if “Android Apps Sending Covert Info to Advertisers” is spot on or disclosing part of a larger story. The main idea is that Android phones beam user data, including phone numbers and location data, back to someone’s ranch. Maybe an advertiser? Maybe some other entity? If the story is false, I remain concerned that certain types of covert data collection is possible. If the story is true, I wonder if there is much chance for a user of any mobile device to have a reasonable expectation of privacy. I don’t get too many secret calls. The idea that information can be intercepted and used for some purpose for which I have not given permission could pump up my blood pressure. But at this point, I believe that this type of data activity is part of the landscape. The question is, “What other types of data sucking is going on?” Math Club was never this fun in 1958 when I was in high school.
Stephen E Arnold, October 2, 2010
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Digg Dug Deep Dip
October 2, 2010
I use an aggregation tool we built called Oversight. You can see how it works with its features stripped away at this link. We look at some aggregation sites at lunch, so we don’t have much first hand knowledge about Digg.com. “Is It Too Late for a Digg Comeback?” raises an important question. For me, this passage seemed particularly interesting:
Whether or not the adjustments and upcoming changes will be enough to bring back some of the vibrant Digg community of old remains to be seen. More new features are likely to be rolled out, including “interests” pages, but not much is known about that or whether users will want it. Rose mentioned the return of user “leader-boards,” which had always been popular in the past. The pagination could mean an uptick in page views, which could do good things for the company’s bottom line and morale. Also, once the site’s API stabilizes, it could mean a slew of new products developed around Digg, as well as more traffic. “Publishers can reliably use Digg buttons and Digg widgets once Digg gets its API up to speed,” said Barrera. “More developers will also be able to create web experiences around Digg data, which means Digg will be able to reach a lot more people than through just their site.”
Changes and technology conspired to create problems for Digg. I thought that zippy outfits in Silicon Valley and San Francisco were able to handle tweaks. I think the idea is agility, flexibility, and adaptability. I was wrong. When a site makes fixes, the same old problems crop up just as they do in more traditional, less hip systems. The idea that big Webby systems are easy to manage is silly.
But the main take away for me is that a hot site can cool quickly. On top of that, annoyed users no longer click away. Those annoyed users fire up their Twitter account and start tweeting. Then blogs jump in. Finally, a serious news outfit like Venture Beat picks up the story.
At that point, it is indeed too late. Online is tough even for the young of heart, living in San Francisco, doing podcasts, and implementing Google-esque management methods. Just an opinion from Harrod’s Creek.
Stephen E Arnold, October 2, 2010
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MarkLogic Reveals Strategies for Publishers
September 30, 2010
A reader sent me a copy of a news release from MarkLogic. “MarkLogic Unveils Strategies for Publishers to Create Innovative New Tools and Products at Frankfurt Book Fair 2010” contained some interesting information. Here are two points that jumped out at me:
- MarkLogic’s customers include, if I read the news release correctly, seem to include McGraw-Hill, Springer, Pearson Education, Thomson Reuters, John Wiley & Sons, Simon & Schuster, and Oxford University Press. That’s an impressive line up, and it certainly suggests that the company has been inroads in a number of top firms. The implication is that MarkLogic will continue to capture customers in this segment.
- MarkLogic’s system allows its customers to create new products and streamline work flow, aggregate content, syndicate content, and deliver content. The outputs? Print, of course, as well as mobile devices and digital products.
My take on this announcement is that MarkLogic has shifted from offering an XML solution to a broader information solution. XML is still there, but the message in the news release for me is that MarkLogic allows publishers to generate new revenue, reduce costs, and support the consumer’s growing appetite for content when it is wanted and how it is wanted. Looks to me that I will have to chase down a MarkLogic senior manager and find out more about the firm’s positioning for 2010 and beyond.
Stephen E Arnold, September 30, 2010
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Targit Is Number One
September 29, 2010
I do have a difficult time figuring out how a company makes or does not make one of the many Top 100 lists. I learned on a call this morning that Targit Business Intelligence, a company in Denmark with offices in Tampa is ranked as Number One on a Computerworld’s Top 100 list. Here’s a screenshot of the Targit splash page with the announcement:
Kudos to Targit, a company offering a business intelligence suite. We have encountered the system in the past and found it to be a good product. The product fits into the next-generation of content processing systems. Targit says:
TARGIT was founded in 1986, with CEO Morten Sandlykke as one of the founding partners. From the beginning, TARGIT developed and sold Business Management Systems. While starting out as a software company providing applications to the retail and oil business, Targit quickly realized the overwhelming need for analytical processing tools that could help management in day-to-day decision-making. With the acquisition of Morton Systems in 1996, TARGIT started to develop a Business Intelligence tool based on the same basic ideas of usability, versatility and ease of implementation that has always been a Targit trademark. In October 2000, the company was reorganized; the “new” Targit Inc. is a pure business intelligence company that markets only the Business Intelligence product line; Targit BI Suite. The first version of the Targit Business Intelligence technology was launched during spring of 1996. The core technology of Targit Business Intelligence is protected by several international patents.
The company says that it has more than 270 marketing Targit throughout the world and has over 3,700 customers with more than 260,000 named users. You can see some good examples of the system and its interface on the Targit Video Demo Web page.
What caught our attention is the fact that the Computerworld seems to be specific to Denmark. Nothing wrong with that, but my hunch is that the list may be a clever way to open the door for Computerworld ad sales people to ring up a firm on the list. The idea is that advertising in a Computerworld publication, on its Web site, or participating in some other special program is the object of the game. In fact, the list reveals more about Computerworld than the names of the companies placed on the list.
I learned that several conference organizers are shifting to a pay-to-speak model. Other companies are skipping the public conference opportunities and holding user conferences. MicroStrategy contacted me today inviting me to a free business intelligence seminar. The idea is to learn about business intelligence and interact with a business intelligence system. My hunch is that this will be MicroStrategy’s own system.
As search and content processing vendors shift to new markets, I expect that more innovative marketing and promotion opportunities will become available. The problem is that procurement teams are likely to have a very difficult time figuring out what is real, what is marketing, and what is coming in the next release of a particular product.
As search implodes, I think I will be witness to an explosion of content systems that are transforming themselves into different types of companies.
For established players, this creates a need to market better. The good people at Computerworld seem to have hit on a “special” list as one way to boost revenue and, in my opinion, create confusion for those trying to find a system to resolve a quite particular problem. Lists don’t solve problems. I think long lists without context create more work and can lead to confusion. Desperate times call for innovation. Lists. New. Fresh.
Stephen E Arnold, September 29, 2010
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