The Appification of Finding Info
October 29, 2011
It looks like another intelligence company is moving analytics access to the iPad. According to the October 4 news release “FirstRain’s New iPad App Delivers Visual Business Monitoring,” analytics software company FirstRain recently launched an iPad app that allows customers to quickly scan and understand critical market developments impacting their businesses with the convenience of a tablet device.
The app has several exciting new features including: Seamless integration with your Web-based and iPhone or Android environment, prioritized views of the highest-value, real-time content, and an easy, intuitive look-and-feel which quickly shows you relevant real-time updates on topics, companies and industries.FirstRain CEO Penny Herscher said:
Knowing and understanding critical developments that impact your revenue, your customers and your market has never been this quick or easy. We work closely with our customers, and it’s clear they want to consume FirstRain’s unique Business Web intelligence wherever they are or on whatever device they’re using. FirstRain for iPad offers an elegant way for users to quickly absorb the high-value intelligence uncovered, delivered and prioritized by our patented Business Monitoring Engine.
While this product seems like a great new addition to the analytics software arsenal, I wonder if end users will simply take a quick look, make a decision, and then learn that the data was misunderstood. While speed is good, it is not the answer to every analytics challenge.
Jasmine Ashton, October 29, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google YouTube Outside the US
October 29, 2011
The blogosphere is abuzz with Google’s shift from user posted stuff to “real” content. The consultants serving the video and motion picture industry are now officially out of the recessionary mire.
I will leave it to the news aggregators, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal to explain how Google is spending millions of dollars to get “real” content and create “channels.” The Pope already has a YouTube channel, so presumably he is not shooting additional videos this weekend.
But there is new venture for Google has been released, and no, it has nothing to do with Google+ social networking.
YouTube in Kenya, a localized version of the popular video sharing site, has been unveiled and will allow Kenyans to easily find local content and videos popular in Kenya. YouTube is already localized in 33 other countries and in 52 languages. The Standard’s article, “YouTube Eyes Broadcast Sector With New Product” tells us more about the site, the fourth to be localized in Africa:
‘What we are going through is a revolution,’ Information PS Dr Bitange Ndemo said, ‘There is huge hunger for content in Africa, and there is room for everyone. Through social media, every citizen of the world is being empowered,’ Ndemo said.
Google, the tech giant that revolutionized the Internet web search and changed the mobile phone landscape with its Android operating system, literally controls lives.
From news on Google News, email on Gmail, calls on Google Android phone to directions on Google Maps, watching videos on YouTube and organizing documents of Google documents, Google wants to own your every waking minute online.
One question, “Will this approach work in countries like China or Russia?”
Developments like this are ideal for creativity, news, education, and countless other possibilities. Yet the creativity seems to be constantly branded by the same corporations. That’s why local video-sharing sites, like www.naibase.com, are able to compete with the big fish; people are aware of the impact these social-media giants could potentially have on their lives and are making the decision to empower local businesses instead. And advertising? Nah, Google is focusing on “real” content.
Andrea Hayden, October 29, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Will XML Save Your Job?
October 29, 2011
If you work on enterprise search, enterprise content repurposing, or high end business intelligence systems, you may want to consider this question.
Is the Extensible Markup Language the ticket to first class retirement at a giant multi national firm?
At least one gosling asked me this morning, “What’s with the interest in XML?” I told him:
XML is complicated and can be explained in such a way that a CFO will write a check to save money due to the benefits of “intelligent content.”
If you believe that, then you are going to answer the question, “Will XML save your job?” yourself and probably before the end of 2011.
You will want to take a look at data2type’s AntillesXML tool. The product will definitely help lock in your expertise, making you indispensible to your employer. The story “A Unique Combination of XML Tools” asserts:
AntillesXML a perfectly equipped toolbox for dealing with XML documents. Thanks to the new graphical user interface which is easy and intuitively to handle, the numerous features are suitable for developers and users alike,” explains Manuel Montero, managing director of data2type GmbH.
If that does not bolster your confidence, you can follow the new White House Chief Information Officer, Steven VanRoekel. He is on board with XML. Navigate to “Federal CIO Unveils Initiatives to Push XML, Virtualization, Agile IT”. Imagine all government documents in XML.
Will this happen?
Well, US government initiatives seem to come and go. When was the last time you used USA.gov or Data.gov? Hmm.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Access Innovations Awarded Patent for MAIChem
October 28, 2011
Bravo to our friends at Access Innovations for receiving a U.S. patent (the company’s 19th technology patent) for MAIChem, a software-based method for searching chemical names in documents.
The company, founded in 1978, focuses on Internet technology applications and content management and enhancement. MAIChem is a tool that will be highly useful for researchers and information managers in the chemical and pharmacy data industries. A press release, “Access Innovations Receives U.S. Patent for Unique MAIChem™ Software Search Method: Software Provides Fast, In-Depth, Broad and Consistently Accurate Searches of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry Data,” shares details about the tool:
Finding these names in documents is challenging due to the unlimited number of potential compounds and the variety of ways a compound can be named. MAIChem solves the problem by comparing the text to regular expressions that match typical chemical morphemes, such as “hydro” or “amine,” to see if they occur in words.”’explained Marjorie M.K. Hlava, president of Access Innovations. After its initial analysis, MAIChem’s software differentiates between nonchemical words that use the morphemes and actual chemical names.
MAIChem could potentially help in numerous fields and tasks: content discovery, analysis, machine-aided indexing, and faster information retrieval. The award of this patent shows Access Innovations is bringing something unique to the board in content management. Chemistry professionals should be swooning; Access Innovations is taking it to the next level. Congratulations from the team at Beyond Search.
For more information about Access Innovations’ MAIChem, visit http://www.dataharmony.com/products/maichem.html Now maybe the faux taxonomy experts will realize there is more to ANSI standard vocabularies than a slick marketing program and a reference to military training. We can only hope.
Andrea Hayden, October 28, 2011
Google Does Real Time Again
October 28, 2011
Google+ Rolls Out Real-Time Search and Hashtag Support
On October 12, Google Plus rolled out two new features; both allow users to create custom news streams based around topics being shared and build upon the search functionality of the network. The first feature, a real-time search, finds results from Google+ posts that are related to the search term a user enters. As new posts are created centering around the search topic, the user is notified and a real-time stream of posts is begun. ZDNet’s article, “Google+ Real-Time Search: The Social News “Ticker” tells us more about the changes:
… Google engineer Vic Gundotra – who posted the news from his Google Plus feed – notes that it’s a great way to keep up with real-time news events, such as a speech, a court trial or a sporting event. Basically, it’s a real-time news ticker for niche topics. The second feature – hashtag support – essentially turns any hashtag in a post into a searchable term that can be used as another way to create feeds and real-time streams.
This is a catchy notion. I’m interested to see if Google+ will begin integrating all social networking posts into their search results. What they’re doing right now isn’t groundbreaking; Twitter already offers the exact same feature. However, it would be groundbreaking to be able to follow trending topics on all the major social networking sites as they correlate to breaking news.
But Google did real time before. What’s “real time”? Whatever Google wants it to be I suppose from a marketing viewpoint.
Stephen E Arnold, October 28, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Amazon, Books, and Change
October 28, 2011
Amazon’s recent pre-release sales campaign for the not-yet-here Kindle Fire, with a price below most expectations, has created a lot of buzz around the company’s digital publishing aspect.
However, Amazon is going far beyond just eBook publishing: the company is becoming a major publisher in its own right. Features such as AmazonEncore, which uses customer reviews on Amazon websites to predict what products could potentially have greater sales, and imprints such as Powered by Amazon (short books) and 47North (science fiction,) the company is on the right route. We learn more in TechDirt’s article, “Does Amazon Want to Monopolize the Entire Publishing Chain?”
[Amazon]’s hired Larry Kirshbaum, a literary agent and the former CEO of Time Warner Publishing Group (now Hachette Book Group), to start a general trade imprint. Until now, Amazon’s imprints have focused on genre fiction like mystery and romance. By hiring a high-profile industry veteran to focus on “quality books in literary and commercial fiction, business and general nonfiction”—and by releasing those books in both print and digital formats—Amazon is announcing itself as a serious competitor against the “big six” traditional trade publishing houses.
This move, in addition to Amazon’s imprints and the spread of Kindle e-readers, the company is quickly becoming a global publishing company. Amazon could very easily take over traditional publishers because of its distribution possibilities. The way things are looking, it doesn’t seem like Amazon wants to simply become part of the traditional publishing chain. Amazon is on the right track to take over the entire publishing chain.
As our beloved goose-like publisher says, “Online services are potential monopolies.” If Stephen E Arnold is correct, then Amazon is going to be chasing Cornelius Vanderbilt’s achievement. The fellow did pay for Grand Central Station himself I believe.
Andrea Hayden, October 28, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
PolySpot Wins over OSEO with Enterprise Search
October 28, 2011
Paris-based PolySpot’s reliability in conjunction with their innovative technologies paid off. In the news release, “OSEO Opts for a new Search Engine with PolySpot” we got to hear about many of the specifics that made PolySpot stand out amongst the competition.
First, lets look at the issues that prompted OSEO to make the switch. OSEO had a Java-based directory in addition to a search engine supplied with its open source content management system.
OSEO’s former service was characterized by the following:
Indexing of data was restricted to the intranet and the search engine picked up too much ‘noise’. The users, unable to locate required information quickly, were no longer satisfied with the existing search engine which offered basic functionality.
Frédéric Vincent, Information System and Quality Assurance Manager champions their decision to use PolySpot Enterprise Search.
The functionalities that comprise an intuitive user interface make PolySpot’s Search stand out: users can now customize their internal search tool, see added-value tags related to their queries in tag cloud, and access search without quitting any other applications.
We think it may be a prudent step to check out PolySpot’s solutions at www.polyspot.com.
Megan Feil, October 28, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Useful Claims-Based Authentication White Paper
October 28, 2011
Facebook and Semantic Search
October 27, 2011
Stories about Facebook search surface then disappear. For years we have wondered why Twitter resists indexing the urls posted by Facebook members. Our view is that for the Facebook crowd, this curated subset of Web pages would be a useful reference resource. With Facebook metadata, the collection could become quite interesting in a number of dimensions.
Not yet, but the ongoing social media war between Web giants Facebook and Google doesn’t seem to be stopping at social media.
Facebook was last spring beavering away to create a semantic search engine using meta data, based on the company’s Open Graph system and by using collected data on every user. Few companies have the ability to build a semantic search engine, but with Facebook’s scale of users (over 400 million users), the company has the ability to create something huge. We learn more on AllFacebook’s article, “Facebook Seeks To Build the Semantic Search Engine”:
There are a number of standards that have been created in the past as some developers have pointed out, microformats being the most widely accepted version, however the reduction of friction for implementation means that Facebook has a better shot at more quickly collecting the data. The race is on for building the semantic web and now that developers and website owners have the tools to implement this immediately.
The source document appeared in April 2011 and here we are in the run up to Turkey Day and no semantic search system. Now we are wondering if Facebook has concluded that search is yesterday’s business or is the company struggling with implementation of semantic technology in a social space?
We will keep watching.
Andrea Hayden, October 27, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Twitter as a Predictor
October 27, 2011
Rhyme and alliteration accompany Twitter. Example: Twitter trending topics are often a big hit or miss when it comes to reflecting evolving events, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement.
However, that isn’t stopping an emerging industry aimed at using tweets of millions of people to help predict the future. How is this possible? By following certain terms surrounding everything from disease, elections, and finance, you can gain insight into what may happen. For example, during the Egyptian revolution earlier this year, there was a high correlation between tweets and actual events. There is even a hedge fund called Derwent Capital Markets that makes stock and fund trades based on Twitter analysis, and it is actually fairing well.
“Can Watching Twitter Trends Help Predict the Future?” on GigaOM tells us more:
The theory behind all of this Twitter-mining is that the network has become such a large-scale, real-time information delivery system (handling more than a quarter of a billion messages every day, according to CEO Dick Costolo at the recent Web 2.0 conference) that it should be possible to analyze those tweets and find patterns that produce some kind of collective intelligence about a topic. It’s the same idea that drives companies to do “data mining” on their customers’ behavior…
Will this become a “must have” tool for researchers, medical staff, and politicians. Even the U.S. government’s Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity Unit is looking into using data from social media as part of its intelligence gathering. But is passivity better than active research? We think one needs both. Judgment helps too.
Andrea Hayden, October 27, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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