Predictive Movie Watching?
April 12, 2011
Ever wish you could bypass the annoying ritual of figuring out just what movie you should rent? Now you can.
According to ReadWriteWeb, Hunch, a predictive entertainment tool, has reached a collaborative agreement with Samsung and Digitas to launch a new interactive social movie watching experience called “The Smart Living Room.”
After a viewer answers a series of Hunch personality questions, The Smart Living Room creates a personalized movie recommendation including the genre best suited for that viewer as well as movie title suggestions. The viewer can then create a movie watching event by inviting friends and family through Facebook or email.
The Smart Living Room uses Hunch’s same movie predicting ability and applies it to television.
Stephen E Arnold, April 12, 2011
More Crazy Stats: iPhone, Android, Whatever
April 11, 2011
Do teens buy mobile devices? Nah, most of the teens in Harrod’s Creek fire up the wood stove and use smoke signals. However, elsewhere teens and tweens are into mobile devices. Some schools in which reading, math, and cursive are part of the instructional program ban these gizmos. You know that works really well.
I read “One-Third Of Teens Plan To Buy An iPhone Soon.” The write up is almost as wacky in its data as the IDC forecast that Windows Mobile 7 will kick everyone’s tail in the mobile phone market pretty soon now. Er, there are some issues with supply chain, updates, and apps but IDC is never, ever, absolutely for always right in making predictions that sell reports.
Any way, the story about teens reveals that an Apple towel waver ran a survey and—guess what—the interview sample revealed that one third of those surveyed want an Apple iPhone. You can read some of the stats from the survey and draw your own conclusion. Here’s the statement I found interesting:
There is some small glimmer of hope for Spotify, Rhapsody, and other subscription services — 37% of teens said they’d consider paying $15 a month for a music subscription.
Okay, teens don’t have jobs. So who is paying? Check out this March 2010 report, which may be bogus as well, to get some color on what may be behind the survey conducted by a financial services professional.
My recollection is that when I had teens, I paid. So we have an interesting sample and an assertion that teens pay. No, teens consume. Adults pay. Minor point considering the sample, the questions, and the source. But, heck, I live in rural Kentucky. Who pays is important. Now the big omission is how one finds music. Isn’t search important? Is the survey blind to the Ping and Apple search challenges?
Search is not on the radar. Again. Not good.
Stephen E Arnold, April 11, 2011
Baidu: Asked to Pay and Baidu Rolls Over
April 7, 2011
Call it common sense, pragmatism, or a desire to eliminate expensive legal hassles.
First, Tim Geigner at techdirt posted “Recording Industry to Baidu: Look, We Know You Beat Us in Court, but Just Do What We Want Anyway, Mmkay?” Since losing their copyright infringement case in Beijing last year, the recording industry is trying the pretty- please approach. The labels sent a letter through the Financial Times asking that Baidu comply with their copyright demands.
The court decision hinged on the fact that Baidu linked to MP3 files instead of hosting them itself. Recording execs are asking the site to filter audio files out of search results. Geigner thinks the recording industry is being a sore looser, and uses a story about the his brother and the last eclair to make his point.
More pertinently, the writer mentions certain differences between China and the U.S.:
“Never mind the cultural differences that may be coming into play here. Never mind that the nominal GDP for the United States is some thirteen times that of China. We want the Chinese to pay as much for their music as Americans, d**n it, and the way to do that is to get Baidu to voluntarily limit their own search results. . . . So, you see, if Baidu would just filter out the infringing content, relatively poor Chinese citizens would suddenly spend big bucks for music.”
Second, we learned that Baidu was a well behaved giant in “China’s Baidu to Compensate Songwriters for Music Downloads.” In my opinion, the key point in that write up was:
Baidu announced that it had made an agreement with the Music Copyright Society of China to establish a partnership to protect legal digital music, and will pay copyright holders to use their music. This will encompass any song that is downloaded from Baidu’s music search site, said company spokesman Kaiser Kuo.
It’s been said before, but the recording industry would be better served by seeking a way to profit from the new reality rather than fighting it at every turn. Baidu, regardless of motivation, avoided some of the legal hassles that have plagued other online services.
Cynthia Murrell April 7, 2011
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Netflix Flexes Flicks and Feels Flak
March 19, 2011
I am sitting on a manuscript that describes Google’s video technology. I am not sure I will do much with it. I am wrapping up a look at the big six in enterprise search. Companies other than Google are showing their guns in streaming rich media. (A “gun” one of my young tech goslings told me is the new term for bicep. Ah, sort of like “governance” or “business intelligence”. Slang. Got it.
My own approach to slang is “Netflix Flexes Flicks”, but it lacks the euphony of “House of Cards.” I am not a streaming media fan. Heck, I don’t care much about feature films. After the popcorn, I go to sleep. Netflix seems to be a force in the rich media niche and the company is getting into original programming. Netflix is, despite my inattention, like one of the people on the cover of a muscle magazine. Netflix is not someone I would taunt by kicking sand it its face.
Several observations.
First, Netflix, maybe more than Amazon, has already gone where Google’s patent applications described. Maybe Google can blow past Netflix and marginalize Amazon? Maybe not? Netflix, which someone told me taps into Amazon’s cloud services, is out lifting Amazon and Amazon knows what Netflix is up to. Even with that knowledge it is the Netflix news that lights up the rich media consumer.
Second, Netflix seems to be positioning itself where cable companies want to be or hope to stay. Darned surprising is that. I am not sure that the cable companies, despite their wires to the domicile and the other valuation boosters, can respond in a satisfactory manner. Netflix is just more technically adept for the rich media crowd. Not even Apple is able to hide Netflix’s gym locker key.
Third, the networks may want to pay more attention to Netflix. I don’t know much about Hulu, but Netflix could make life interesting for Hulu. Internecine warfare can distract folks from a more serious threat in my experience.
Two other issues warrant a quick comment.
- Netflix may feel more legal heat.
- Netflix may be chasing some Facebook love.
Bottomline: I may have to gear up to pay attention to Netflix, its open source search system, and its ability to disrupt. And Google? Well, not so interesting in the rich media space at the moment. But those patent applications make useful reading because the background sections of some of these open source Google documents explain market opportunities companies like Netflix are just grabbing.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2011
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Next Up for YouTube Next
March 14, 2011
Google’s umbrella just grew a little larger. “YouTube Buys NextNewNetworks, Launches YouTube Next” gives a glimpse of the video-sharing host’s latest move: YouTube Next. This incarnation is intended to prop up creator development while increasing partner growth. Built off of NextNewNetwork’s model of “developing, packaging and building audiences for original web video programming”, YouTube is going so far as to even stamp its brand name on certain programs.
I am all for cutting out the restriction-wielding, high-dollar middleman, at least as much as feasible. The introduction of new services, specifically like Amazon VOD, empowers the small video creator and offers a yet unseen accessibility to an expansive audience. We are beginning to see the fall of the movie production and distribution industries as we know them, adding more tumbleweeds to the desolate landscape of recorded songs and printed words. The signs had been emerging with the advent of the minor players, and now Google is throwing its weight behind the endeavor. It will be interesting to see the veritable rainbow of protests from the MPAA as their long-awaited irrelevance solidifies. I sense some long and protracted litigation on the horizon.
There is speculation that being spurned by Sheen’s choice of UStream to broadcast his trifling monologue over its own service has shaken Google, prompting the purchase of this new asset. I maintain that their ocular dollar signs erupted and Google just wants a larger piece of the video action. And that Charlie Sheen is not important. Per the article:
“Google announced the acquisition today, saying that the acquisition was part of a larger effort to support content partners, of which there are more than 15,000 worldwide. Over 2010, the number of partners raking in more than $1,000 a month increased by 300% and YouTube is looking to push that number even higher with YouTube Next.”
NextNewNetworks will be delivering its adopted parent six million subscribers and its partners potentially exponential growth. Thus, the positive effects of this transaction seem to be merely coincidental. If Google is willing to pitch the people a bone in exchange for an extra cent, perhaps at day’s end this is a symbiotic relationship.
Sarah Rogers, March 14, 2011
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Land Podcast
March 13, 2011
ArnoldIT.com sponsors a podcast by Dr. Tyra Oldham. The subject of the podcast is green engineering, technology and management. You can listen to the most recent podcast by navigating to http://www.landsds.com/podcasts . For more information about Dr. Oldham’s capabilities, navigate to http://www.landsds.com/.
Stephen E Arnold, March 13, 2011
Visual Search Engine Round Up
March 7, 2011
Search technology exists in a near constant state of flux. Arguably, over the last decade the trend has been curving toward a more commercially driven format, visual search.
Like.com springs to mind, famous for incorporating image recognition software, utilizing a visual signature in its queries. Generally though, image search is based on textual entries which are then juxtaposed against the metadata linked to the subject image.
Pandia Search Central, a site devoted to all things search, has compiled “A List of Visual Search Engines”, including:
Aga Kids
Bing Visual Search
Nexplore
oScope
Quintura
Qwiki
Redz
Search-cube
Simploos
SpaceTime 3D
Spezify
Ziipa
Yometa
After a swift scan of the list, here are a few details concerning two of the more obscure engines.
Spezify, the Swedish apparatus launched in 2009, presents a more contemporary face. Once engaged, your are abruptly met by an animated collage of material. Results are displayed in a swirling mixture of both straight text and image driven formats, the latter including links to video related to the keyword entered. While not recommended for serious data collection and analysis, Spezify is perhaps better suited for efforts of a decidedly more casual nature.
A background check of Simploos provided little information on this Houston based system. Aside from what the head Gander had to say about Simploos Search back in 2009, I could find no other facts beyond the two hundred and thirty words on the site itself. Described as a “tool” allowing users to access content through the act of “horizontal scrolling”, Simploos’ simple method of navigation and engrossing presentation of results provides a fresh approach to search.
For a brief yet informative review of Yometa, you can read “Kartoo Closes and Opens the Door for Yometa”, also by Stephen Arnold.
Also, Pandia will publishing Stephen E Arnold’s new monograph about enterprise. More details will be available soon.
Micheal Cory, March 7, 2011
Cisco Embraces Video
March 7, 2011
Now anyone can be a video producer according to “Cisco Makes Video Easier to Create, Consume, Search and Share across the Enterprise”. In an effort to improve transmission of information in and among businesses, Cisco Systems is rolling out a new line of products and services, including the TelePresence system and new endpoints. What is most interesting for us at Beyond Search is the claim these new offerings will allow one to:
Enjoy exceptional search capabilities within videos themselves. Instead of wasting time scrolling through hours of video to find the right clip, with a few clicks of a mouse, users can now simply advance to the right spot — whether to a spoken word, phrase or desired speaker.
This will be a useful tool, alleviating long hours and headaches for many. We can be sure this is true because of the positive results after the Voxalead release a few years back, Exalead’s speech-to-text transcription module with the ability to search inside multimedia content in the same manner as Cisco’s new system.
So, in summation… a good feature? Yes. First of its kind? No. Will video reverse Cisco’s softening of its growth plans? Maybe.
Sarah Rogers, March 7, 2011
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Online Video Platform Tussle: Kaltura vs Brightcover
February 25, 2011
As video becomes the new way to communicate, online video is getting significant attention.
Kaltura, an Israeli startup founded in 2006, recently developed an open-source video platform to compete with the industry leader Brightcove. Brightcove has been pioneering the market since 2004. In their third round of financing Open-source video platform co Kaltura raises $20m. Previous rounds had raised $14 million in funds.
The open-source video platform:
\“enables any website to incorporate video, picture, and voice functionalities, including video management, searching, uploading, importing, editing, annotating, remixing, sharing, and advertising. The platform supports desktop computers, tablet computers, television, and other devices.”
Already in use by high-profile companies such as Fox, Paramount, HBO, and Warner Brothers, Kaltura offers an attractive and flexible alternative to Brightcove at a lower price. Time will tell if the recent injection of capital will be enough to overcome the entrenched competition.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 25, 2011
Exclusive Interview: Sam Brooks, EBSCO Publishing
January 18, 2011
We have been covering “discovery” in Beyond Search since 2008. We added a discovery-centric blog called IntelTrax to our line up in September 2010. One of the companies that caught our attention was EBSCO Publishing, one of the leaders in the commercial database, library information, and electronic publishing sectors. EBSCO has embraced discovery technology, making “search without search”, faceted navigation, and other user-centric features available to EBSCO customers. Chances are your university, junior college, middle school, and primary school libraries use EBSCO products and services. Thousands of organizations world wide rely on EBSCO for high-value, third party content, including rich media. You can get the details of the EBSCO content and information services offerings at http://www.ebscohost.com/.
I wanted to know how a company anchored in online technology moved “beyond search” so effectively. I spoke last week with Sam Brooks, senior vice president of EBSCO Publishing. He told me:
As library users have grown accustomed to the simplicity and one-stop shopping of web search engines, EDS allows users to initiate a comprehensive search of a library’s entire collection via a single search box. The true value of EDS is that while providing a simple, familiar search experience to end users, the sophistication of the service combined with the depth of available metadata allows EDS to return extensive results as if the user had performed more advanced searches across a number of premium resources.
EBSCO’s presentation is easily customized. This particular user interface matches the rich options available from such companies as i2 Ltd. and Palantir, two leaders in the “beyond search” approach to information.
The new discovery interface makes it easy to pull together a broad range of content to answer a user’s query. The interface then goes farther. Exploring a topic or following a research thread is facilitated with the hot links displayed to the user. The technology for the user interface is intuitive. Mr. Brooks told me:
By using our EBSCOhost infrastructure as the foundation for EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), the entire library collection becomes available through a fast, familiar, full-featured experience that requires no additional training. Additionally, unprecedented levels of interface customization allow libraries to use EDS as the basis for creating their own “discovery” service. Currently, users can access EDS via the mobile version of the EBSCOhost interface. Further, there will soon also be a dedicated iPhone/iPad app for use with EDS as well.
For the full text of the exclusive interview, navigate to the Search Wizards Speak feature at this link.
Stephen E Arnold, January 18, 2011
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