Google Glass and Augmented Reality, Striving for a Place in Effective Marketing
November 11, 2013
The article on ClickZ titled Alice Through the Looking Glass: Augmented Reality in the Real World introduces a new discipline that involves capturing vision behavior. The author cites both Google Glass and Qualcomm Vuforia as technologies capable of Augmented Reality (AR). They are capable of capturing the user’s vision and as a result, of improving his or her engagement. The article explains,
“Like Alice Through The Looking Glass, we become visitors navigating through the real AR world, which is not unlike charting visitor conversion paths in a website from the home page to the checkout confirmation page. The basic idea of augmented reality is to superimpose graphics, audio and other sensory enhancements over a real-world environment in real-time.”
How is this useful in business? The author explains his testing and research with a thorough example, following a user of AR through a store, seeing what they spend time looking at, (the longer they look, the higher their engagement levels) and then perhaps offering discount at checkout for sharing the image of the product they are purchasing. The research has been effective in real-world usage of AR, citing sporting goods purchases, movie tickets sold, and games purchased. It is easy to see how this technology might be a very powerful resource for marketing through the customer, but what has yet to be explained it how one might search the data being compiled.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Palantirs Growth Continues Following the 2011 Move to Australia
November 11, 2013
The article titled The Rise and Rise of Palantir and Its Deep Domain Knowledge on Crikey follows the move of Palantir Technologies, a datamining company with a 2 million dollar investment from the CIA, to Canberra, Australia. Palantir has seen its fair share of press, good and bad, but ever since Anonymous hacked their system and discovered their plan to destroy WikiLeaks’ credibility in 2011, the adjective “ruthless” seems appropriate. The company, founded in 2002, moved to Australia in 2011 and has seen enormous success. The article explains,
“The Department of Defence began using some of its software in 2011 via third-party providers, but this year has seen the company grow rapidly… Top-flight lobbying firm Government Relations Australia was hired to represent them in Canberra and state capitals. In the last few weeks, the company has secured multi-year contracts with the Department of Defence’s Intelligence and Security branch worth nearly $2 million, all secured via limited tender…Those of course are the contracts we know about.”
The article speculates that Palantir is being utilized by the Australian government given the proven effectiveness of datamining for national security. While the ACLU believes they pose a massive threat to the privacy of civilians, governments continue to invest in cybersecurity companies.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Predictions of Real-World Events, Magic or Science?
November 10, 2013
The article on SmartData Collective titled Can You Predict Crowd Behavior? Big Data Can argues that prediction of real-world events like protesting and violent conflict are already being successfully predicted, not by historians or economists but by data scientists, specifically those at Recorded Future. We have all heard about Nate Silver’s voting predictions, but according to the article, Recorded Future has taken crowd behavior predicting even further,
“Back in January 2010 a small startup company called Recorded Future released a blog post claiming that Yemen would likely have food shortages and flooding that year. Due to the combination, the country was headed for conflict. By September of that year not only had Yemen experienced flooding but was also combating food shortages… By February 2012, the protests had turned violent with protesters killed by gunmen and the Yemen President suffering severe injuries after a bomb was planted in his compound.”
While we are not sure how this is working out in the real world, with actual events, businesses have certainly embraced the idea that they can sell things to people before the people even know they need them. The problem might be how to avoid creeping the customer out like the expectant mother debacle at Target. Meanwhile the issue of privacy rears its head; apparently it is never too early to start predicting bad behavior.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
In Spite of Survey Numbers Suggesting Hype, Gartner Claims Big Data For Real
November 10, 2013
The article Gartner Inc. Insists Big Data Is Not Hype, Survey Says Otherwise on Tools Journal explains some of the findings in the recent released survey from the well-established research agency, Gartner. Are azure chip consultants ever wrong? The findings about Big Data are somewhat contradictory, with question marks forming after the number 8, signifying the percentage of survey respondents from organizations that had actually deployed some form of technology connected with Big Data. However, the number for investors (and those planning to invest) is up from last year, and now at 64 percent.
The article explains,
“Many analysts feel that 2013 for Big Data was turning out to be the year of experimentation and early deployment. The Gartner study showed 70 per cent of those surveyed had moved past the early knowledge gathering and strategy formation phases and into piloting (44 per cent) and deployment (25 per cent)… Lisa Kart, Research Director at Gartner says in a written statement, “The hype around big data continues to drive increased investment and attention, but there is real substance behind the hype.”
Hedging their bets on Big Data, Gartner’s numbers surrounding the technology suggest that the challenges associated with it are also changed from last year. Then the winner was governance issues, but for 2013 it looks like companies are having trouble with knowing how to get value from Big Data and also in firming up their strategies while developing competent skills.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
New Version of Media Mining Indexer (6.2) from SAIL LABS Technology
November 9, 2013
The release titled SAIL LABS Announces New Release Of Media Mining Indexer 6.2 from SAIL LABS Technology on August 5, 2013 provides some insight into the latest version of the Media Mining Indexer. SAIL LABS Technology considers itself as an innovator in creating solutions for vertical markets, and enhancing technologies surrounding advanced language understanding abilities.
The newest release offers such features as:
“Improved named entity detection of names via unified lists across languages… improved topic models for all languages… improved text preprocessing for Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Frasi, US and international English…support of further languages: Catalan, Swedish, Portuguese, Bahasa (Indonesia), Italian, Farsi and Romanian…improved communication with Media Mining Server to relate recognized speakers to their respective profiles.”
Gerhard Backfried, Head of Research at SAIL LABS, called the latest release a “quantum leap forward” considering the system’s tractability, constancy and ability to respond to clients needs. The flagship product is based on SAIL LABS speech recognition technology, which as won awards, and offers a suite of ideal components for multimedia processing, and the transformation of audio and video data into searchable information. The features boast the ability to convert speech to text accurately with Automatic Speech Recognition and the ability to detect different speakers with Speaker Change Detection.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Growth of Tableau
November 9, 2013
Good news for those with Tableau Software stock, the company is showing record growth. GeekWire focuses on the company’s current success in, “Tableau Posts 90% Revenue Gain And Tops 1,000 Staffers, Files For $540 Million Secondary Offering.” Despite the growth, Tableau is seeing red due to a $2.5 million net loss. That does not stop people buying in or Tableau filing for a $450 million secondary offering.
How do the numbers stack up? Tableau saw a $61.1. million profit, which is a 90% increase from the same time last year. It can be surmised that Tableau will use the monies to cover the net loss.
What about stock options?
“Tableau went public in May at $31 per share, and since then the stock has been on the rise. Shares are now trading at $68.99 in after hours trading, up nearly 10 percent. The company’s market value stands at $3.74 billion, and it now employs 1,039 full-time employees worldwide. That’s up from 188 in December 2010 and 749 in December 2012.”
The investors who bought stoke in May are very happy right now. Where will the company invest its money and go next? Do we expect to see a rise and fall in the stock price? Yes, the real question is how long will it continue to trend upwards.
Whitney Grace, November 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Readin, Riten, Rithmatik, and Guzzlin
November 8, 2013
I read “America’s Media Guzzling Ways.” Good word “guzzling” or “guzzlin” as it is pronounced in rural Kentucky. The write up contained a factoid that I find difficult to grasp; to wit:
The amount of media data, measured in printed text, that Americans consumed last year. That’s 6.9 zettabytes—6.9 million-million gigabytes—to be exact.
Let’s assume that the figure is dead accurate or a couple of zettabytes, plus or minus. According the article, each person in the US spends 15 hours a day checking Facebook, watching videos, and tapping screens.
My reaction is that the consumption of media contributes to these observed events yesterday:
- A sponsored event at a trade show was attended by about 15 people. None of those at the hoe down were employees of the company. I suppose the guzzling of digital content was more important than showing up and pretending to be thrilled that potential customers were eating free snacks and drinking no name beverages. YouTube cannot wait, people.
- A conference program that did not include information about one of the speakers. Heck, it was an oversight even thought that speaker was paid to attend, received a free hotel room, and a free registration. Facebook posts take priority with this outfit I surmise.
- A sign at the National Press Club that contained a misspelling. It is the spelling checker’s fault was one explanation. SMS spelling is the way to go. LOL
- Asking for directions from a bus driver elicited this statement when I asked, “Where is 999 9th Street, NW.” The professional driver replied, “Dude, my iPhone is not connecting. Ask someone else.” The bus driver did not meet my gaze. He was frantically scanning the street for a mobile phone shop.
The article helps me understand why information presented on a mobile device is perceived as accurate, complete, and current. The grazing public has neither the time nor the grit to do much reading, writing, or arithmetic I fear. Oh, as the National Press Club sign maker would have it: Readin, writin, rithmetic, and guzzlin.
One person looked for Cuba Libre Restaurant using Google Maps. No joy. The system displayed four choices, none of which was the desired restaurant. The smart system made it impossible for the iPhone user to locate the destination. Fascinatin’.
Stephen E Arnold, November 8, 2013
Talend Begins Support for YARN
November 8, 2013
Talend has already made a name for itself in big data software, but they want to continue pushing boundaries with the newest release of its integration platform, says Sys-Con in “Talent Reinforces Leadership In Big Data Integration With Support For YARN.” Version 5.4 does something that no other data integration platforms running in Hadoop does: leverages YARN aka MapReduce 2.0.
“ ‘At the forefront of a big data paradigm shift, Talend invests heavily in building the integration platform of tomorrow, leveraging the benefits of open source for enterprise clients,’ said Fabrice Bonan, CTO and co-founder of Talend. ‘With the advent of YARN, Hadoop is truly becoming a computing platform that goes well beyond its early use cases. With Talend v5.4, we are providing customers with the tools they need to unleash the power of Hadoop to fully leverage their total data and use it as a strategic asset, for any type of value-added project or application.’”
Talend is stepping up to increase the value of big data projects by continuing to offer features that other companies end up copying. It sets the standard for itself and Talend is always successful in topping its prior releases.
Whitney Grace, November 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Data Science Explained With an Infographic
November 8, 2013
Data Science is a hot industry. Even though data scientists have been around for decades, but it is only the proliferation of new devices and data streams that have brought the career to the Internet spotlight. Data Science is more than monitoring reports about data or even the big data revolution. Data Science is an intricate and interesting science and to understand it better check out the Visual.ly infographic labeled: “Data Science: More Than Mining.”
The graphic explains that data science has exploded:
“Proliferation of sensors, mobile and social trends provide explosive growth of new types of data. Data scientists are creating the tools that can be used to interpret and help translate the streams of information into innovative new products. Social media platforms such as Facebook depend on data science to create innovative, interactive features that encourage users to get interested and stay that way.”
The basic of data science are data mining, statistics, interpretation, and leveraging. The data scientist interacts with the data by asking questions about how to apply the information in new ways and better the process. Data scientists are hardly people off the street, they require the skills of hacker, mathematician, and an artist. Mixing all those together goes makes a data scientist a very diverse person and able to see how to apply the data in new, unknown ways. It is amazing how data science has shaped society from behind the current since 1790.
Whitney Grace, November 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
WCC Search Technology May Have Something Others Do Not
November 8, 2013
Search companies come and go faster than a person can type in their query into the search box, so when asked to review FindBiometrics’ biopic on “WCC Smart Search And Match” there, at first, does not seem to be anything that sets it apart from another search company.
WCC Smart Search makes the usual claims about a dedicated staff and how they can build a beneficial business solution using their technology. It was not until we got further into the description that WCC Smart Search comes out as a different player in the game:
“Our customers say WCC Smart Search & Match’s flagship product ELISE offers something no other product on the market can – the ability to search through data just as the human mind would. Using such techniques as bi-directional matching, weighted criteria and gliding scales, ELISE delivers ranked, meaningful results. And even better than the human process, ELISE can return those results in under a second – no matter how big the database, or how many!”
They tout that ELISE can return a result no matter what the query is and the search engine can track all the information. ELISE is a multi-modal platform equipped with smart search and comes with a guarantee to return accurate results. ELISE has been deployed in many fields: border control, healthcare, disaster recovery/missing persons, criminal investigation, and enrollment verification. These are some pretty neat claims and if they have already been used in these fields than ELISE might have something that other search products do not.
Whitney Grace, November 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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