Big Data Is So Big
November 4, 2016
I love simplifications. I love simplifications even more when they arrive with nary a footnote, explanation of sources, or comments about methodology. Ta da. Let me point you to an IDC chart at this location. If the link does not resolve, contact IDC. I bet you can buy this picture.
My copy arrived via a tweet. More fascinating that the weird collection of circles is that the work comes from the same outfit which tried to sell my research on Amazon. The tweet with the wonky chart was free, but IDC slapped a $3,500 price tag on eight pages of information with my name but without my permission for its Amazon venture. At least my research team used footnotes. Ah, IDC, home of the “how much time you waste looking for information” craziness. A wonderful resource because — you know, like, really — Big Data are so big.
Stephen E Arnold, November 4, 2016
The Semantic Web: Clarified and Mystified
November 4, 2016
Navigate to “Semantic Web Speculations.” After working through the write up, I believe there are some useful insights in the write up.
I highlighted this passage:
Reaching to information has been changed quite dramatically from printed manuscripts to Google age. Being knowledgeable less involves memorizing but more the ability to find an information and ability to connect information in a map-like pattern. However, with semantic tools become more prevalent and a primary mode of reaching information changes, this is open to transform.
I understand that the Google has changed how people locate needed information. Perhaps the information is accurate? Perhaps the information is filtered to present a view shaped by a higher actor’s preferences? I agree that the way in which people “reach” information is going to change.
I also noted this statement:
New way of being knowledgeable in the era of semantic web does not necessarily include having the ability to reach an information.
Does this mean that one can find information but not access the source? Does the statement suggest that one does not have to know a fact because awareness that it is there delivers the knowledge payload?
I also circled this endorsement of link analysis, which has been around for decades:
It will be more common than any time that relations between data points will have more visibility and access. When something is more accessible, it brings meta-abilities to play with them.
The idea that the conversion of unstructured information into structured data is a truism. However, the ability to make sense of the available information remains a work in progress as is the thinking about semantics.
Stephen E Arnold, November 4, 2016
Genetics Are Biased
November 4, 2016
DNA does not lie. DNA does not lie if conducted accurately and by an experienced geneticist. Right now it is popular for people to get their DNA tested to discover where their ancestors came from. Many testers are surprised when they receive their results, because they learn their ancestors came from unexpected places. Black Americans are eager to learn about the genetics, due to their slave ancestry and lack of familial records. For many Black Americans, DNA is the only way they can learn where their roots originated, but Africa is not entirely cataloged.
According to Science Daily’s article “Major Racial Bias Found In Leading Genomics Database,” if you have African ancestry and get a DNA test it will be difficult to pinpoint your results. The two largest genomics databases that geneticists refer to contain a measurable bias to European genes. From a logical standpoint, this is understandable as Africa has the largest genetic diversity and remains a developing continent without the best access to scientific advances. These provide challenges for geneticists as they try to solve the African genetic puzzle.
It also weighs heavily on black Americans, because they are missing a significant component in their genetic make-up they can reveal vital health information. Most black Americans today contain a percentage of European ancestry. While the European side of their DNA can be traced, their African heritage is more likely to yield clouded results. On a financial scale, it is more expensive to test black Americans genetics due to the lack of information and the results are still not going to be as accurate as a European genome.
This groundbreaking research by Dr. O’Connor and his team clearly underscores the need for greater diversity in today’s genomic databases,’ says UM SOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is also Vice President of Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko Bowers Distinguished Professor at UM SOM. ‘By applying the genetic ancestry data of all major racial backgrounds, we can perform more precise and cost-effective clinical diagnoses that benefit patients and physicians alike.
While Africa is a large continent, the Human Genome Project and other genetic organizations should apply for grants that would fund a trip to Africa. Geneticists and biologists would then canvas Africa, collect cheek swabs from willing populations, return with the DNA to sequence, and add to the database. Would it be expensive? Yes, but it would advance medical knowledge and reveal more information about human history. After all, we all originate from Mother Africa.
Whitney Grace, November 4, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Is Your Company a Data Management Leader or Laggard?
November 4, 2016
The article titled Companies are Falling Short in Data Management on IT ProPortal describes the obstacles facing many businesses when it comes to data management optimization. Why does this matter? The article states that big data analytics and the internet of things will combine to form an over $300 billion industry by 2020. Companies that fail to build up their capabilities will lose out—big. The article explains,
More than two thirds of data management leaders believe they have an effective data management strategy. They also believe they are approaching data cleansing and analytics the right way…The [SAS] report also says that approximately 10 per cent of companies it calls ‘laggards’, believe the same thing. The problem is – there are as many ‘laggards’, as there are leaders in the majority of industries, which leads SAS to a conclusion that ‘many companies are falling short in data management’.
In order to avoid this trend, company leaders must identify the obstacles impeding their path. A better focus on staff training and development is only possible after recognizing that a lack of internal skills is one of the most common issues. Additionally, companies must clearly define their data strategy and disseminate the vision among all levels of personnel.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 4, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
MicroSearch: A Specialized Video Search System for Academic Content
November 3, 2016
I am not sure if the Alphabet Google thing will be down with this new video search system over the long haul. If you want a different way to locate academic videos, you will want to explore MicroSearch’s system. MicroSearch says that it is “a boutique search engine company, providing private, secure video and document cloud storage as well as custom search services.”
I learned about this service in “University Videos on YouTube Get Custom Search.” You can explore the system at http://universityvideos.org/Home. The search system is at this link.
According to the write up, the system aggregates university videos and:
includes a video player that shows the video playing on the left and a transcript tracking with the video on the right. Clicking into another sentence in the transcript jumps the user to that part of the video.
I highlighted this passage:
The service also includes a search tool that allows the user to search on transcript contents, title, description, duration, category, tags, YouTube channel and year uploaded. The same fields are available as metadata, when search results are displayed and downloaded as an Excel export file. An advanced search feature lets the user enter a few letters into the transcription field and then click on an Index button next to the field to obtain a window that displays all of the terms with that series of letters.
Our test queries suggested that the system is less wonky than Google’s video search. The fact that Google is splitting its text index into one part for mobile and one part for traditional desktop search makes clear that search at Google is a work in progress. With a new search system for a segment of YouTube videos, one can conclude that YouTube video search is not a home run for some users.
Perhaps more attention on search and less on Loon balloons might solve the problem. On the other hand, Alphabet Google can simply block developers of “better mousetraps” and move forward with its online advertising programs and projects like solving death. Search is for revenue and maybe not for finding relevant content?
Stephen E Arnold, November 3, 2016
Quote to Note: Microsoft on Mobile Phones
November 3, 2016
This quote is a short one. The source is “Microsoft’s CEO Admits They Missed The Boat On Mobile.” Here’s the statement attributed to Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella:
We clearly missed mobile. There is no question.
No kidding? Perhaps Microsoft can team with Samsung and give it the old college try.
Stephen E Arnold, November 3, 2016
Worried about Risk? Now Think about Fear
November 3, 2016
I clicked through a remarkable listicle offered by CSO Magazine from my contract savvy pals at IDG. I don’t know much about risk, but I have encountered fear before. I recall an MBA Wall Street person who did not have enough cash to pay for lunch. I picked up the tab. That fellow had fear in his eyes because his firm had just gone out of business. Paying for a car service, nannies, country clubs, and a big house triggered the person’s fright.
You can be captured and tortured in an off the grid prison. Be afraid. Embrace IDG and be safe. Sort of. Maybe.
Well, CIO Magazine wants to use technology to make you, gentle reader, fearful. In case you are not nervous about your job, the London tabloids reports about a nuclear war, and the exploding mobile phone in your pocket.
Here are the “fears” revealed in “Frightening Technology Trends to Worry About.” Here we go:
- Overlooked internal threats. (Yes, someone in your organization is going to destroy you and your livelihood.)
- Finding and retaining top talent. (Of course, Facebook or Palantir will hire the one person who can actually make your firm’s software and systems work.)
- Multiple generations in the workforce. (Yes, what’s an old person going to do when dealing with those under 25. You are doomed. Doomed, I say.)
- Shifts in compliance. (Yes, the regulatory authorities will find violations and prevent your organization from finding new sources of revenue.)
- Migrating to the cloud. (Yes, the data are in the cloud. When you lose a file, that cherished document may be gone forever. Plus, the IT wizard at your firm now works at Palantir and is not answering your texts.)
- Getting buy in on hyper convergence. (Yes, you are pushing the mantra “everything is digital” and your colleagues wonder if you have lost your mind. Do you see hyper pink elephants?)
- Phishing and email attacks. (Yes, your emails are public. Did you use the company system to organize a Cub Scout bake sale, buy interesting products, or set up an alias and create a bogus Twitter account?)
- Hacktivism. (Yes, you worry about hackers and activism. Both seem bad and both are terrifying to you. Quick click on the link from Google telling you your account has been compromised and you need to change your password. Do it. Do it now.)
- The next zero day attack. (Yes, yes. You click on a video on an interesting Web site and your computing device is compromised. A hacker has your data and control of your mobile phone. And your contacts. My heavens, your contacts. Gone.)
- The advanced persistent threat. (Yes, yes, yes. Persistent threats. No matter what you do, your identify will be stolen and your assets sucked into a bank in Bulgaria. It may be happening now. Now I tell you. Now.)
- Mobile exploits. (Oh, goodness. Your progeny are using your old mobile phones. Predators will seek them out and strike them down with digital weapons. Kidnapping is a distinct possibility. Ransom. The news at 6 pm. Oh, oh, oh.)
- State sponsored attacks. (Not Russia, not China, not a Middle Eastern country. You visited one of these places and enjoyed the people. The people are wonderful. But the countries’ governments will get you. You are toast.)
How do you feel, gentle reader. Terrified. Well, that’s what CSO from IDG has in mind. Now sign up for the consulting services and pay to learn how to be less fearful. Yes, peace of mind is there for the taking. No Zen retreat in Peru. Just IDG, the reassuring real journalistic outfit. Now about those contracts, Dave Schubmehl?
Stephen E Arnold, October 3, 2016
Job Hunting in Secret Is Not So Secret
November 3, 2016
While the American economy has recovered from the recession, finding a job is still difficult. Finding a new job can be even harder has you try to be discreet while handling emails, phone calls, and Web traffic under the radar. A bit of advice is to not search for jobs while at your current position, but that is easier said than done in many respects. Social media is a useful job seeking tool and LinkedIn now offers a job search incognito mode. SlashGear discusses the new mode in the article, “LinkedIn’s Open Candidates Feature Helps You Find A Job In Secret.”
The Open Candidates feature allows LinkedIn users to search for a new job while hiding their job search activity from their current employer. It will try to hide your job search activity, while at the same time it will add a new search feature for recruiters that displays profiles of people who have listed themselves under the Open Candidates feature. The hope is that it will bring more opportunity to these people.
However, nothing is ever secret on the Internet and LinkedIn can only do its best to help you:
While the new feature will probably be welcome by people who would prefer to carry out a job search while ruffling as few feathers as possible, LinkedIn does warn that even it will try to prevent your current employer from seeing that you’ve listed yourself as an Open Candidate, it can’t guarantee that it will be able to identify all of the recruiters associated with your company. In other words, use at your own risk.
If you work in a company that tracks your online social life or for a tech organization, you will have difficulty using this feature. LinkedIn and Microsoft employees will definitely need to use the first piece of advice, search for a new job on your personal computer/device using your own Internet.
Whitney Grace, November 3, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Dark Web Is a Double Edged Sword
November 3, 2016
Apart from hackers and criminals of all kind, the Dark Web is also used by whistleblowers and oppressed citizens for communicating. The Dark Web thus is one of the most secure modes of communicating online; more than secure apps like WhatsApp.
The Newsweek in an article titled How the Dark Web Works and What It Looks Like says:
Dark web technologies are robustly built without central points of weakness, making it hard for authorities to infiltrate. Another issue for law enforcement is that—like most things—the dark web and its technologies can also be used for both good and evil.
Despite backdoors and exploits, law enforcement agencies find it difficult to track Dark Web participants. Few technology companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google through its messenger apps promise to provide end-to-end encryption to its users. However, the same companies now are harvesting data from these apps for commercial purposes. If that is the case, these apps can no longer be trusted. As pointed out by the article:
And yet some of these same communications companies have been harvesting user data for their own internal processes. Famously, Facebook enabled encryption on WhatsApp, protecting the communications from prying eyes, but could still look at data in the app itself.
Thus, for now, it seems Dark Web is the only form of secure communication online. It, however, needs to be seen how long the formless and headless entity called Dark Web remains invincible.
Vishal Ingole, November 3, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Self Service Business Intelligence: Some Downers
November 2, 2016
Perhaps I am looking at a skewed sample of write ups. I noted another downer about easy to use, do it yourself business intelligence systems. These systems allow anyone to derive high value insights from data with the click of a mouse.
That’s been a dream of some for many years. I recall that one of my colleagues at Halliburton NUS repeating to anyone who would listen to a civil engineer with a focus on wastewater say, “I want to walk into my office and have the computer tell me what I need to know today.”
Yep, how’s that coming along?
The write up “9 Ways Self Service BI Solutions Fall Short” suggests that that the comment made by the sewage expert in 1972 is not yet a reality. The write up identifies nine “reasons,” but I circled three as of particular interest to me and my research goslings. You will need to read the original “Fall Short” article for the full complement of downers or “challenges” in today’s parlance.
- Hidden complexity. Yep, folks who don’t know what they don’t know but just want a good enough answer struggle with the realities of data integrity, mathematics, and assumptions. A pretty chart may be eye catching and “simple”. But is it on point? Well, that’s part of the complexity which the pretty chart is doing its best to keep hidden. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
- Customization. Yep, the chart is pretty but it does not answer the question of a particular user. Now the plumbing must be disassembled in order to get what the self service BI user wants. Okay, but what if that self service user who is in a hurry cannot put the plumbing together again. Messy, right?
- Cost and scalability. The problem with self service is that low cost comes from standardization. You can have any color so long as it is black. The notion of mass customization persists even through every Apple iPhone is the same. The user has to figure out how to set up the phone to do what the user wants. The result is that most of the iPhone users make minimal changes to the software on the phone. Default settings are the setting for the vast majority of a system’s users. When a change has to be made, that change comes at a cost and neither users nor the accountants are too keen on the unique snowflake approach to hardware or software. The outputs from a BI system, therefore, get used with zero or minimal modifications.
What are the risks of self service business intelligence? These range from governmental flops like 18F to Google’s failure with its fiber play. Think of the inefficiency resulting from the use of business intelligence systems marketed as the answer to the employee’s need for on point information.
When I walk into my office, no system tells me what I need to know. Nice idea, though.
Stephen E Arnold, November 2, 2016
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