Privacy, Social Networking, and Search
September 17, 2010
Long ago, the former US Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren had said, “The fantastic advances in the field of communication constitute a grave danger to the privacy of the individual.” Years later, Google proved him right. Communication has taken the form of social networking, and Google had to pay up for its blunder of infringing on the privacy of Gmail users, over the ill-fated Buzz social networking service, which made the names of users’ Gmail contacts public. The PCWorld News “Google Settles Privacy Lawsuit Over Buzz” reports of Google’s costly compromise over its misadventure, and its renewed commitment for transparency by simplifying its privacy policies.
“The Internet Company has come under fire for the way it handles the growing amount of sensitive information that its users hand over,” informs the article, adding that the Buzz incident called for a national Do Not Track Me list by the Consumer Watchdog. Google is in news frequently for its stumbles or blunders, nevertheless it seems like apologizing and then mending its ways have become sort of ‘new normal’ for it.
Some view Google’s subsequent ‘caring about privacy’ policy as a gesture of good faith, and a necessary step in today’s social networking privacy scenario. The TechCrunch article “Google Streamlines Its Privacy Policy. Should Facebook Be Next?” calls for the “attention to the needless complexity of various web service privacy agreements, settings, and policies.” The author supports the ongoing debate around online privacy, and acknowledges Google’s recent steps to make the “minutiae of online privacy easier to understand.” Generalizing the issue, the author suggests, “Perhaps this concerted movement towards being more transparent and simple with regards to privacy would also work well for Facebook which, like Google, is currently involved in various scuffles.”
Can social networking retain its charms with curbs on privacy, or it’s just an initial resistance to openness? What should be searchable and by whom? Tough questions which seem to be of little interest to certain online users.
Leena Singh, September 17, 2010
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Apple versus Google
September 17, 2010
Google seems to emulating lots of sector leaders. Apple may be of particular interest to Google because Apple may be angling to thwart Google.
At least for now, it appears so. Reported in the Forbes blog post by Dan Frommer “Here’s How Apple Is Beginning To Destroy Google’s Core Search Business”, the App Stores are replacing the Web search engine for mobile device users, sounding a danger siren for Google.
Apple iPad users do not use Google to search for apps but use the Apple’s App Store, which is built into the phone’s operating system. This means that even if Google comes up with better apps, iPhone or iPad users just won’t find them, making it an issue of major concern to Google, which rules the Desktop search.
Google counteracts with Android, “its answer to Apple’s iOS – both on smartphones, where it has already passed Apple in market share, and on tablets, where Android-powered iPad rivals are popping up,” says Dan. However, to keep out of the murky waters, Google needs to coax the “world’s top smartphones makers – Nokia and RIM – to switch to Android.”
Leena Singh, September 17, 2010
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Google-Amazon: Another Tussle Looming?
September 17, 2010
Google wants to provide you the best information about the stock of things you look for in its affiliated retails stores. We come to know this from the WebProNews article “Google Calls Upon Retailers to List Inventory,” that reveals Google is making public its help documentation of Local Shopping inventory for Google Merchant Center, which is a “feature that allows retailers to let customers know about what they have in stock right from the web.” That’s good as far as it helps to facilitate or help the customers.
However, not everybody can show up their stocks, and have to go through an approval procedure. “You’ll be asked to submit a complete and accurate data feed, including unique product identifiers,” states the article, adding, “You’ll also need to be listed and verified in Google Places.” This makes us wonder if Google is trying to play catch up to Amazon, as it is currently doing with Apple for online digital music.
Harleena Singh, September 17, 2010
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Quote to Note: Free Stuff like Search
September 16, 2010
Here’s a quote to note from Metafilter:
If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.
posted by blue_beetle at 1:41 PM on August 26 [115 favorites]
Nice, Blue Beetle.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2010
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Nuxeo and Its Semantic Technology Revs Up
September 16, 2010
There are semantic engines with Web-based APIs, but here’s one with an open source license for offline use or within a private infrastructure. We found the article “Nuxeo Present FISE, a RESTful Semantic Engine” on H-online.com, give an insight into the Furtwangen IKS Semantic Engine (FISE) with a RESTful interface.
A typical semantic engine would process and categorize documents, based on the suggested tags, and even extract known or unknown entities like people or places. However, what FISE does is:
allow developers to run their own semantic engine which offers Web based access to the engine with a /engines endpoint allowing a user to submit text for analysis and view the results, a /stores endpoint to view stored and processed documents and a /sparql endpoint for making SPARQL queries of the stored documents.
The future looks bright for FISE with the addition of multi-lingual support, relationship extraction, and integration. This is all interesting stuff, and we will monitor the kind of impact it will have on the Web and real time search space.
Harleena Singh, September 16, 2010
Open Source Software Round Up
September 16, 2010
We wanted to share an excellent open source software list. Open source software alternatives have become an important option for companies looking to cut costs. Open source refers to software where the source code as well as a special software license is provided to users and they can alter the program anyway they choose. These types of options are generally only available to the copyright holder. “50 Open Source Replacements for Really Expensive Software” provides interested parties a list of possible software alternatives. With the attractive alteration options and the additional savings when compared to traditional software, open source could be a major threat.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2010
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Google Drives One User to a DuckDuckGo
September 16, 2010
As a goose, I did not think I would see the Google drive a user to a duck. Actually, DuckDuckGo, a search system that I have mentioned in this Web log. The author expresses his concern that Google is adding features, not tackling more significant issues. He wrote:
The experience I have with Google every day has convinced me that they’re no longer concentrating on their original mission. Google is now marketing company, and what was supposed to be their “core competency” has been neglected in favor of rolling out new features and services. I’m far from the only person that thinks Google’s search results have been slipping, even though Google seems to think the quality of their search results is improving.
The view in Harrods Creek is that no search system is particularly good. In order to locate useful information, quite a bit of work is needed. Some of that work involves using free Web search systems; other work requires different methods, including interviews.
What I find particularly interesting is that this person’s view about Google is popping up in other posts. In 2006 and 2007, criticism of Google was evident, but the core function of search was not what troubled people. Now the crown jewels are getting a close look. Cubic Zirconias amidst the AdWords cash hoard?
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2010
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Twitter Morphs into an Application
September 16, 2010
The Web pundits are in full stampede mode. Twitter, beloved of those who live and breathe real time connectivity, has changed from a Fail Whale into a Application. You can get a useful summary of the new features at “How Twitter.com Gives Your Favorite App a Run for Its Money.” The idea is that one does not need a service like Collecta.com or one of the dozen of other Twitter-attuned services to make sense of the tweet stream. Nope. You can do it all from Twitter. I find this development interesting for three reasons:
- The new layout makes monetization options blossom like dogwoods the week before the Kentucky Derby.
- The Twitter-centric services will have to put on their innovation sneakers and get moving. Twitter, long content to deal with stability issues and explaining what tweets are, is on the move.
- The shift takes another chunk out of the hide of traditional key word search. The narrowing by hash tags, the social component, the following—each of these makes a Boolean query look like a Babylonian clay tablet.
With complexity overwhelming many computer users, a service that becomes an application runs the risk of feature-itis. I find the new service quite interesting, but it tells me more about how companies like Twitter are reacting to the laundry list approach to finding information. That’s what makes the goose paddle faster.
And it is “real time.” That’s a fuzzy concept but it mashes up info in an app. Sort of new methinks.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2010
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Microsoft and Its Next Big Challenge
September 16, 2010
As the giants Apple, Facebook and Google continue to grow man wander if there is a place for Microsoft among the elite. The author of the Xconomy article “Can Microsoft Outflank Apple, Facebook, and Google? A Strategy Update” attempts to get readers to see exactly how Microsoft continues to makes moves while flying under the radar. The author points to Microsoft’s business strategies and believes 2010 could be the “turning point for Microsoft new businesses.” Bing is Microsoft’s Web search project and the key to its strategy. Due to Microsoft’s aggressive marketing efforts it is a definite and dangerous Google competitor and continues to flourish and grow. Bing also created interest with the announcement that it “is officially powering all of Yahoo’s search capabilities in the U.S. and Canada.” As Microsoft grows and spreads its wings Google may end up paying the price for dropping the ball and missing the opportunity to spread and solidify its dominance.
Stephen E Arnold, September 15, 2010
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IGear and Search without Search
September 15, 2010
One of the clearest signals about the “search without search” trend is the use of Web technology to make tailored information available. One of the writers for Beyond Search called my attention to “I/Gear TV”, a system that allows a manufacturing and production operation to roll up information from different sources, tailor it, and display it on standard LCD televisions or computer monitors. The system features a graphical administrative control panel. The authorized user can select information to display, specify what data are displayed and when, and then stream the content to connected devices.
The system has applications beyond the shop or plant floor. When I reviewed the company’s description in its blog post this morning, I could see that this type of system would be useful in schools, government agencies, and almost any office setting.
However, the key point about IGear’s system is that it delivers tailored information to users who can see the content at a glance. There is no searching required. The approach has been used in various forms in many business sectors, but IGear’s use of this technology in a heavy-duty industrial environment makes clear that the application of Web technology to data acquisitions, transformation, and dissemination has moved from a specialist realm into the bone marrow of industry.
If you are not familiar with I/Gear, a firm specializing in production monitoring and cloud computing to enable access to disparate data, you will want to visit the firm’s Web site and take a look at the product line up.
Search without search is gaining momentum and in some interesting market sectors. What does this type of innovation mean for search engine optimization? No easy, quick answer at hand I fear.
Stephen E Arnold, September 15, 2010
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