Looking Ahead for Bing Entity Engine
April 28, 2014
We know the Web search engines have been working to reduce the number of clicks between us and our desired information and/or action points. For Google, the mechanism behind this is called Knowledge Graph. For Bing, it’s the Entity Engine. Now, TechCrunch reports that “Microsoft Has Big Plans for Bing’s Entity Engine.”
Bing has always emphasized hooking users up with results that let them take action, like reserving a table or booking a flight. This increasingly means working with third-party sites. Reporter Frederic Lardinois interviewed Derrick Connell, head of the Bing Experience group. Lardinois writes:
“Connell argues that the only way to do this efficiently is to create an open ecosystem that powers these actions. ‘We think a lot about how we can create value for everybody who is participating in this new emerging space,” he said. “And how can we bring the best set of players to the table for our users?’
“Today, this means having partnerships with Yelp, OpenTable, TripAdvisor and others, and Microsoft then highlights the actions they make possible on its search engine. In the long run, though, Connell envisions an open ecosystem where any site can make actions available using a standard markup language (he mentioned schema.org as an option in our conversation). Then, when a user looks for an entity, Bing could map this to an entity provider and shorten the path users take between searching for something and putting this knowledge into action. Ideally, this could even mean taking the action right on Bing (maybe even with a single click), but Connell acknowledged that issues around identity and login management will probably mean users will have to take most actions on a third-party site.”
Unsurprisingly, Connell argues that Microsoft may be one of the only companies capable of building such a project. For now, as more third-party sites become involved, the problem is how to decide which gets the traffic from any particular search. Lardinois makes an interesting observation: the prevalence of the Microsoft Office suite means we could see the day when Bing lets us search the Web from within Word or Excel. Near-monopoly does have its advantages.
Cynthia Murrell, April 28, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Recalls SP1
April 28, 2014
After a much anticipated and delayed release of SharePoint’s Service Pack 1, it was unexpectedly recalled after only a few weeks. InfoWorld covers the news in their article, “Microsoft yanks SharePoint 2013 Service Pack 1, KB 2817429.”
The article begins:
“On Feb. 25, Microsoft announced that SharePoint 2013 Service Pack 1 was available at the Microsoft Download Center. The Office folks repeated the announcement on March 3 at the SharePoint Conference 2014 in Las Vegas. Last Thursday, with no notification that I can discern, Microsoft pulled the Service Pack and removed it from the Download Center.”
The note on the Service Pack 1 download package is noncommittal, only saying that it has been deactivated as a precautionary measure. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime leader in search and often reports on SharePoint on his information portal, ArnoldIT.com. Stay tuned for additional news on SP1 as it becomes available.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 28, 2014
Meme Attention Deficit
April 27, 2014
I read “Algorithm Distinguishes Memes from Ordinary Information.” The article reports that algorithms can pick out memes. A “meme”, according to Google, is “an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.” The passage that caught my attention is:
Having found the most important memes, Kuhn and co studied how they have evolved in the last hundred years or so. They say most seem to rise and fall in popularity very quickly. “As new scienti?c paradigms emerge, the old ones seem to quickly lose their appeal, and only a few memes manage to top the rankings over extended periods of time,” they say.
The factoid that reminded me how far smart software has yet to travel is:
To test whether these phrases are indeed interesting topics in physics, Kuhn and co asked a number of experts to pick out those that were interesting. The only ones they did not choose were: 12. Rashba, 14. ‘strange nonchaotic’ and 15. ‘in NbSe3′. Kuhn and co also checked Wikipedia, finding that about 40 per cent of these words and phrases have their own corresponding entries. Together this provides compelling evidence that the new method is indeed finding interesting and important ideas.
Systems produce outputs that are not yet spot on. I concluded that scientists, like marketers, like whizzy new phrases and ideas. Jargon, it seems, is an important part of specialist life.
Stephen E Arnold, April 27, 2014
Hewlett Packard: Never a Dull Moment
April 27, 2014
I read “Watch Out! KILLER HP Firmware Update Bricks ProLiant Server Mobos.” I am not sure if the story is spot on, but I find it interesting that HP seems to generate excitement whether it is the Autonomy dust up, promises to the Wall Street worshipful, or nuts-and-bolts hardware lovers.
The article reports:
Sysadmins who download and install the patch on a vulnerable system will shortly discover that the server cannot detect its network adapter, which will be a pain to fix – especially when trying to subsequently load in replacement firmware. For some, the warning HP tacked onto the service pack’s web page came too late in the day: the firmware was released on 18 April, giving unsuspecting IT departments plenty of time to brick their electronics.
For amusement, I navigated to www.hp.com and entered the query “HP Service Pack for ProLiant 2014.2.0.” The result for the query was:
The good news is that I could leave some feedback. That was less helpful than the links to Windows XP.
Perhaps Autonomy’s content processing system might help those HP customers with non functional servers? One question: “What is HP’s real world expertise in information retrieval?”
Stephen E Arnold, April 27, 2014
Watson and Shopping: No Service, Just an Assertion
April 26, 2014
I read “Make IBM’s Watson Your Personal Shopping Assistant.” IBM wants to leapfrog www.pricewatch.com, www.amazon.com, and the aging www.mysimon.com, among other shopping services.
Now quite a few people have embraced Amazon’s flawed, yet popular, recommendations service. I am trying to remember when I first noticed this somewhat annoying feature of the digital WalMart. I cannot recall. I am reminded of the weaknesses of the system each time I log in and see recommendations to my wife’s book selections. Undoubtedly she and I are not following Amazon’s best practices. My wife is pretty familiar with my user name and password, Amazon, and the ease with which she can order products (dog vitamins), novels (wonky mysteries infused with herring), and oddments I know won’t plug into my computer systems; for example, something for a faux soft drink machine.
My view is that for some folks, an Amazon habit is going (note the present progressive) difficult to modify. Even though Amazon is struggling to deliver profit joy, the Amazon online shopping thing has quite a following.
Well, just in the nick of time–is it years too late?—IBM says it will apply the billion dollar baby to meet my shopping needs. Oh, yeah. Here’s what I learned from the write up:
IBM is partnering with Fluid, a digital commerce company, to create a one-on-one experience with Watson’s capabilities. For example, let’s say you’re looking for the perfect gift for your significant other. Tell Watson about the likes and dislikes of your loved one and let the computer score through piles of data, and eventually pick out a product (or group of products) with those details in mind. Or let’s say you’re going on a hike in the Himalayas and need the right gear for your trip: once you tell Watson what you need, the computer does the research and picks out all the right equipment for you.
I suppose this means that Amazon’s reviews are about to be staring at Watson’s tail lights. The article doesn’t pay much attention to Amazon or lesser services that pepper Google results pages with offers of prices, reviews, and suggestions for the procrastinating Mother’s Day shopper.
I read:
IBM is working on an app for XPS that will work on desktops, tablets and smartphones. It will be able to ask the same sort of questions you’d expect from a salesperson in a physical store, but without the hard-sell techniques and with a lot more personalization.
I think my grade school teachers called this the present progressive. I translated this to “it may sound now but nothing is showing up right now.”
Several observations:
First, is IBM or a “partner” going to design, build, debug, deliver, and support this magic carpet shopping service? On one hand, it looks like Watson’s brain trust in Manhattan is on the job. Then it struck me that an outfit called Fluid will have to lift that barrel and tote that bale. My hunch is that IBM will watch from the veranda of the hotel overlooking the laborers unloading the good ship Watson.
Second, I keep reminding myself that IBM has yet to provide a demonstration of Watson that makes it possible for me to compare throughput, precision, and recall with the search systems to which I have access. Talk, it appears, is much easier than making and selling a product.
Third, what about that Amazon thing? The Bezos-A-Rama is busy creating yet another digital monopoly. In addition, that big store offers recommendations along with one click shopping, reviews, a so so search system, and fawning Wall Street believers.
To me it looks as if IBM, on the other hand, is doing what IBM does best: Working its public relations firms extra hard. I hear the faint sound of Tennessee Ernie Ford singing,
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store
Mr. Ford’s backup singers are IBM’s sales and marketing team after a tough day of talking about what Watson will someday soon be. Hard work is moving 16 tons of marketing.
Stephen E Arnold, April 26, 2014
Big Data: Can the Latest Trend Deliver?
April 25, 2014
If you track Big Data, you will want to read “Why Big Data Is Stillborn (for Now).” The write up hits the highlights of the flickering hyperbole machine that sells fancy math to the government and organizations desperate for a Silver Bullet.
The article asserts:
Most “big data” has to be moved in physical containers. Most data centers do not have excess capacity to handle petabyte level simultaneous search and pattern discovery.
Believe in real time and high speed access? Consider this statement:
Bandwidth, throughput, and how “real time” is defined all come down to the weak link in the chain and we have many ***very weak*** links across the chain and especially in Washington, D.C. The bottom line is always “who benefits?” The FCC decision to destroy net neutrality is in error. The citizen, not the corporation, is “root” in a Smart Nation.
If you wonder why your Big Data investments have yet to deliver a golden goose pumping out 24 caret eggs everyday, check out this write up. Worth reading.
Stephen E Arnold, April 25, 2014
Google Plus and the Shadow of Orkut
April 25, 2014
Remember Orkut?
Google was into social networks when Orkut Büyükkökten cooked up the site after he joined the GOOG in 2002. Not long after Orkut became available, an outfit called Affinity Engines initiated an allegation that Mr. Büyükkökten was inspired by InCircle code. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Affinity did not buy my mother’s catchphrase.
There were some alleged and interesting coincidences between the InCircle code and the Orkut code; for example, eight or nine allegedly identical bugs. Well, Google and InCircle worked out their differences, but Orkut was off to the races. From Brazil to India, Orkut became popular. Some of the uses of Orkut were surprising to me. In 2008, Orkut had become a hit in Brazil and India. In the US, not so much. Orkut has been tweaked, redesigned, and relaunched for more than a decade. Orkut added some nifty features like video chat. There were allegations that some users were engaging in anti-social behavior. Brazilian authorities showed interest in the service due to allegations regarding some Orkutians use of the service. Surprising to some is the fact that Orkut was a pioneer of sorts. I find the trajectory of Orkut to be an early example of Google’s approach to “obvious” Internet services: An inability to avoid legal hassles and generate sustainable, substantive revenue.
Cracks in the off ramp to Google from the Information Highway. Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_engineering
Enter Google Plus or Google+, essentially an unsearchable name for an online service. (I am intentionally skipping over Wave and other socially innovations.) In 2011, Google rolled out another social networking service. Google executives suggested that Google Plus was the “new” Google. Over the last two years, Google hooked Google Plus into other Google services. The nature of online and other types of electronic services is that monopolies are a natural phenomenon. Google Plus, then, was the glue that would help hold together disparate services in one “new” Google. Identity, advertising, and integration were the drumbeats pounded out by the GOOG’s marketing band.
Well, how is that working out for some of the Google’s best and brightest?
I read various reports about the departure of Vic Gundotra, the face of Google Plus. See, for example, “Google+ Is Walking Dead.” With dozens of enthusiastic analysts providing their views of the shuffle, there is not much left for a hopelessly confused old person in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky, to add.
I did jot down three ideas about this ripple in the alleged future of Google.
First, Google is focused on keeping its revenues flowing in order to have cash to do the many different things that Google deems important. The shift to mobile is stressing the GOOG. The upheaval at Google Plus is one more signal that the clarity of mission evident in the period from 2002 to 2006 has become like Seinfeld’s puffy shirt.
Second, after decades of effort, Google is pegged to its implementation of the GoTo / Overture revenue model. Where’s the revenue come from? Search. But as mobile search puts pressure on Google’s GoTo / Overture desktop search inspiration, tensions are likely to continue to rise among the senior managers at Google. That will definitely improve the working relationships within the Google universe.
Third, Google Plus, like Orkut, demonstrates that Google can spot a good idea, emulate it, and then struggle with execution and monetization. Effort upon effort have preceded the Google Plus kerfuffle. More will follow? Will the next big thing be Loon, Glass, or yet another reworking of YouTube?
From my point of view, Google has, in the words of the Righteous Brothers’ song:
You’ve lost that loving feeling, oh that loving feeling
You’ve lost that loving feeling, now it’s gone, gone, gone
Do the founders of Google and the firm’s senior management team have this golden oldie on their Android phone? A Google search won’t answer this question. Come to think of it Google search has become so unwieldy for certain queries that I cannot find an answer. As the song lyrics remind me,
Bring back that loving feeling, now it’s gone, gone, gone
And I can’t go on, no oh oh
This sounds like a sentiment I should post on the Beyond Search Facebook page.
Stephen E Arnold, April 25, 2014
Caution Advised on Big Data
April 25, 2014
Someone is once again raining on the big data parade, urging us to consider carefully before jumping on the bandwagon. FT Magazine warns, “Big Data: Are We Making a Big Mistake?” Writer Tim Harford points to Google’s much-lauded Google Flu Trends as an emblematic example in the field. That project notes an increase in certain search terms, like “flu symptoms” or “pharmacies near me”, by point of origin. With those data points, its algorithm extrapolates the spread of the disease. In fact, it does so with only one day’s delay, compared to a week or more for the CDC’s analysis based on doctors’ reports.
The thing is, this successful project is also an example of the blind faith many are putting into the results of data analysis. The scientists behind it aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know which search terms are most fruitful or how, exactly, its algorithm is constructing its correlations—it’s all about the results. Correlation over causation, as Harford puts it. However, Google Flu Trends hit a speed bump in 2012: it greatly over-estimated the flu’s spread, unnecessarily alarming the public. Correlation is much, much easier to determine than causation, but we must not let ourselves believe it is just as good.
The article cautions:
“Cheerleaders for big data have made four exciting claims, each one reflected in the success of Google Flu Trends: that data analysis produces uncannily accurate results; that every single data point can be captured, making old statistical sampling techniques obsolete; that it is passé to fret about what causes what, because statistical correlation tells us what we need to know; and that scientific or statistical models aren’t needed because, to quote ‘The End of Theory’, a provocative essay published in Wired in 2008, ‘with enough data, the numbers speak for themselves’.
“Unfortunately, these four articles of faith are at best optimistic oversimplifications. At worst, according to David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge university, they can be ‘complete bollocks. Absolute nonsense.'”
Another quote from Spiegelhalter summarizes the problem with letting ourselves be seduced by big data’s promise of certainty: “There are a lot of small data problems that occur in big data. They don’t disappear because you’ve got lots of the stuff. They get worse.” The article goes on to discuss in detail the statistical flaws behind big data’s promises. It is an important read for anyone facing the alluring shimmer of the big data trend.
Cynthia Murrell, April 25, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Alternatives to Google Popping up Everywhere
April 25, 2014
It’s a golden era for search alternatives. For a while there folks were worried about Google monopolizing the internet, but it’s not shaking out that way. Far from it, in fact. We are currently living in a golden age of niche search tools, as we discovered from a recent Virtual Strategy Magazine story, “MaxxCAT Raises the Bar for Search Performance with MaxxCAT 5.0.”
According to the story:
The 5.0 performance enhancements really come into their own when you begin looking at the scalability of our appliance in the enterprise…Sure, if you can build an index for a small amount of data in 5 minutes instead of 10, it’s nice, but it’s just 5 minutes. However, if you can index terabytes of data in 5 hours instead of 10 hours, that’s a huge difference.
MaxxCAT isn’t the only boat on this alternative Google sea, in fact, they aren’t even the biggest of the bunch. It’s not tough to find alternates, there are articles everywhere. The trickier part is finding one that fits your needs. Each serves a purpose, whether it is open source technology or privacy protection, that suits someone and repels others. This trial and error period is part of the fun, in our books.
Patrick Roland, April 25, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Deployment Success Story
April 25, 2014
Because SharePoint is such a massive and complicated solution, it is easy to find stories of bad deployments and trouble implementations. But every now and then, a story with a happy ending is needed. IT Web Business offers us one in, “SharePoint Deployment Pays Off for Global Chrome Supplier.”
The article begins:
“Dac Systems, a Proudly South African national provider of turnkey solutions based on Microsoft products, has ensured that a leading listed supplier to the global ferrochrome market has benefited from a large-scale SharePoint deployment upgrade as an integral part of the migration to SharePoint 2013. SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS) is an important part of a range of game-changing technology Dac Systems endorses for the market.”
The article goes on to describe the process Dac Systems used to identify the needs of the company. All organizations could take a lesson from the process. Planning is key, with or without a third-party solution or consultation. Stephen E. Arnold finds the same thing in his SharePoint coverage on ArnoldIT.com. His lifetime of search experience shows through as he analyzes all angles of SharePoint issues.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 25, 2014
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