SEO: A Growth Business and a Relevance Killer in One Go
April 6, 2018
Beyond Search believes that SEO is more appropriately characterized as “the relevance destroyer.” For companies unwilling to pay for traffic, search engine optimization “experts” have worked to make sure that irrelevant results are the norm. The goal is putting their clients’ Web links in a results list. Nice and annoying to us here in Harrod’s Creek.
In our opinion, SEO is not what we would call reliable. It’s a great way to dispose of extra cash for those with money to waste. Still, as Search Insider reminds us, the profession persists; they ponder, “Are Search Professionals Optimistic About 2018?” Writer Laurie Sullivan cites the recent Local Search Industry Survey from research firm BrightLocal, and one glance at the graph she shares shows most SEO pros expect a rosy year ahead, undeterred by certain challenges. Sullivan specifies:
“Despite the continual search algorithm changes by Google and Bing, 92% of search-engine-optimization professionals feel optimistic that 2018 will be a good year for SEO professionals. But 73% think delivering client results will become more difficult. A study conducted by BrightLocal that benchmarks business practices, pricing, services, attitudes and growth expectations during the past year reveals the average search professional does 7.7 different SEO and business-related tasks weekly. For that, they earn on average $61,711 annually. Overall, the local SEO industry has a positive outlook for 2018, with 92% admitting they feel optimistic about what’s to come for search next year. About 34% are very optimistic and 92% of SEO professionals think 2018 will be a positive year for the search industry. Just 9% said they feel pessimistic or very pessimistic.”
An interesting addition to this year’s annual study is discussion of SEO pricing; they found that the average hourly rate to be $110 per hour. Most respondents say they work about 40 hours a week, and report an increase in clientele in 2017. Their favorite jobs, most report, involve wrangling large amounts of data, like performing optimization and analysis tasks. See the write-up for more statistics from the survey.
Cynthia Murrell, April 6, 2018
Build an Alternative Google: How To Wanted
April 6, 2018
Hacker News presented an interesting question, “How would you build an internet scale web crawler?” We have been talking with companies which have developed Internet search systems that are not available for free Web search. Those conversations have produced some fascinating information. Some of the data will be included in my upcoming lecture for a government agency and then in my two presentations at the June 2018 Telestrategies ISS Conference in Prague.
What was interesting about this question was the few people responded. That is interesting because my team’s research for my new presentations on deanonymizing encrypted chat and deanonymizing digital currency transactions pivot on comprehensive Internet indexing. In fact, more companies are indexing the Internet content than at any time in the last 10 years.
The second issue the post triggered was a realization that only a handful of people jumped on the topic. This low response to the question in itself is interesting. With more activity in indexing, why aren’t more people helping out JustinGarrson? That’s a question worth thinking about.
Third, one of the responses to the Hacker News question was a pointer to the YaCy.net open source project. We once included this technology in our Internet Research for Law Enforcement training program. My recollection of the system is fuzzy, so I will get one of my team to take at look.
The final thought the Hacker News’ story triggered was, “Have people just accepted Bing, Google, Qwant, and a handful of metasearch systems as too dominant to challenge?” My view is that an opportunity exists to create a public facing Internet search and retrieval system. The reason? Outstanding alternatives to Bing, Google, and Qwant are available for those who qualify as customers and who are willing to pay the license fees.
My hunch is that just as enterprise search has coalesced around the open source Lucene/Solr technologies, free Web search has become “game over” because the ad supported model has won.
The problem, of course, is that a person looking for information usually does not realize that free Web search results are neither comprehensive, timely, or objective.
I hope individuals like JustinGarrison get the information needed to seize an opportunity in Internet search.
Stephen E Arnold, April 6, 2018
CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access Explains the Tech Behind the Facebook, GSR, Cambridge Analytica Matter
April 5, 2018
In 2015, I published CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access. This is a quick reminder that the profiles of the vendors who have created software systems and tools for law enforcement and intelligence professionals remains timely.
The 200 page book provides examples, screenshots, and explanations of the tools which are available to analyze social media information. The book is the most comprehensive run down of the open source, commercial, and cloud based systems which can make sense of social media data, lawful intercept data, and general text and imagery content.
Companies described in this collection of “tools” include:
- Cyveillance (now LookingGlass)
- Decisive Analytics
- IBM i2 (Analysts Notebook)
- Geofeedia
- Leidos
- Palantir Gotham
- and more than a dozen developers of commercial and open source, high impact cyberOSINT tool vendors.
The book is available for $49. Additional information is available on my Xenky.com Web site. You can buy the PDF book online at this link gum.co/cyberosint.
Get the CyberOSINT monograph. It’s the standard reference for practical and effective analysis, text analytics, and next generation solutions.
Stephen E Arnold, April 5, 2018
Insight into the Value of Big Data and Human Conversation
April 5, 2018
Big data and AI have been tackling tons of written material for years. But actual spoken human conversation has been largely overlooked in this world, mostly due to the difficulty of collecting this information. However, that is on the cusp of changing as we discovered from a white paper from the Business and Local Government Resource Center, “The SENSEI Project: Making Sense of Human Conversations.”
According to the paper:
“In the SENSEI project we plan to go beyond keyword search and sentence-based analysis of conversations. We adapt lightweight and large coverage linguistic models of semantic and discourse resources to learn a layered model of conversations. SENSEI addresses the issue of multi-dimensional textual, spoken and metadata descriptors in terms of semantic, para-semantic and discourse structures.”
While some people are excited about the potential for advancement this kind of big data research presents, others are a little more nervous; for example, one or two of the 87 million individuals whose Facebook data found its way into the capable hands of GSR and Facebook.
In fact, there is a growing movement, according to the Guardian, to scale back big data intrusion. What makes this interesting is that advocates are demanding companies that harvest our information for big data purposes give some of that money back to the people whom the info originate, not unlike how songwriters are given royalties every time their music is used for film or television. Putting a financial stipulation on big data collection could cause SENSEI to top its brake pedal. Maybe?
Patrick Roland, April 5, 2018
Social Media Fantasy Land? Hello, Hello?
April 5, 2018
We noted Facebook’s minor correction. That Cambridge Analytica – GSR 50 million person data glitch; it is now 87 million. Minor stuff. “Facebook Says Cambridge Analytica May Have Had Data on 87 Million People” states:
The 87 million number is the maximum amount of people that could have impacted, according to Facebook’s calculations. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call with reporters on Wednesday that it got to that number by looking at the maximum number of friends its users had at the time.
Okay, just a minor mistake. Keep in mind that Facebook has 2.3 billion or so “users.” A mere 87 million is not even 10 percent of this select group of well informed, online savvy Facebookers.
I like the “maximum” too. Because Facebook has apparently generated this figure, I know it is rock solid. Why would Facebook obfuscate? I can’t think of a single reason. Perhaps investigators will come up with at least one or two hypotheses?
In this context of revising a 50 million figure to an 87 million figure, we think some analysts are working hard to make social media vendors into really great outfits. In “Using Artificial Intelligence to Investigate Illegal Wildlife Trade on Social Media” I learned:
“Methods from artificial intelligence are being developed and used to investigate the supply chain of the illegal wildlife trade in an innovative and novel way, stresses the importance of such novel methods to identify relevant data on the illegal wildlife trade from social media platforms.”
This movement has become quite far reaching to stop the hunting of elephants and rhinos for their ivory. We spotted a snow leopard jacket for sale on eBay.
The coat was manufactured in Kabul. Those filters are working really well too.
Even Google is working to preserve animals. The well managed company and ZSL recently teamed up to also help pinpoint poaching hopefully before it happens and definitely after it occurs.
With Facebook revising numbers and Google using its smart software to help minimize poaching, Silicon Valley touchstones are doing excellent work.
“Management excellence in action,” opined one of the Beyond Search researchers. From people to animals, online is setting a new standard in governance infused with smart software.
Stephen E Arnold, April 5, 2018
DarkCyber Profiles the Grayshift iPhone Unlocking Appliance
April 5, 2018
DarkCyber has released a special video report about Grayshift’s iPhone unlocking device for law enforcement forensics professionals. The GrayKey device unlocks most iPhones quickly and without the need to ship the suspect’s mobile phone off site.
The video is available on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/262858305.
The video covers the pricing for the iPhone unlocker and its key features. Plus, the video product overview identifies the challenges that Grayshift will have to overcome if it wants to become the preferred provider of plug-and-unlock iPhone devices.
Stephen E Arnold said, “Grayshift’s GrayKey is important because it offers an easy-to-use iPhone unlocking system. Four digit passcode protected devices can be unlocked in two to three hours. Apple mobiles with six digit passcodes can be unlocked in two to three days. The device can be used in a mobile forensics lab and costs a fraction of some competitive solutions. GrayKey looks like the right product at the right time and at the right price.”
DarkCyber is a weekly video new program for law enforcement, intelligence, and security professionals. The special report series will focus on a single product, service, or technical innovation.
This is a special report in his CyberOSINT Tools series. These special reports will be issued when notable products, services, or technologies become available to law enforcement and intelligence professionals.
Stephen E Arnold is the author of “Dark Web Notebook” and “CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access.” He has been named as a technology adviser to the UK based Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Human Trafficking and Child Sex Abuse.” Mr. Arnold also lectures to law enforcement and intelligence professionals attending the Telestrategies ISS conferences in Prague, Washington, DC, and Panama City, Panama. In recent months, he has shared his research with law enforcement and intelligence professionals in the US and Europe. His most recent lectures focus on deanonymizing chat and digital currency transactions. One hour and full day programs are available via webinars and on-site presentations.
Kenny Toth, April 5, 2018
How to Become a More Informed Research Scientist: Cancel Subscriptions to Peer Reviewed Journals
April 4, 2018
France wants to be a world leader in artificial intelligence. The country is confident that it can access the technical and scientific information to achieve this goal. As a result of this confidence, the information in “French Universities Cancel Subscriptions to Springer Journals” is a reminder that certain old school content gems are second hand goods. With the power of Qwant at their fingertips, French research scientists can keep pace with other countries’ research. Perhaps a Chinese solution may be in the works for French universities?
Stephen E Arnold, April 4, 2018
Google and Search: More Churn Turmoil
April 4, 2018
I read “John Giannandrea, Head of Google’s Cornerstone Web-Search Unit, Steps Down.” I found the phrase “steps down” amusing. I think the wizard went to the Apple orchard. Since Mr. Giannandrea ran search, Google search has become less useful to me. Now I have to use multiple search systems to locate what I think are slam dunk queries. Nope. I get some pretty off the wall Google search results.
Two points jumped out of this story for me.
First, Google is forced to go back to one of the early Googlers from the AltaVista.com team. (I did some work for an outfit called PersimmonIT, which was a provider to AltaVista.com.) What’s interesting is that Jeff Dean is one of the really old Google guard. I know he’s bright and capable but that begs this question: “Aren’t their younger, smarter, and as or more capable professionals to get the over hyped Google artificial intelligence operation underway.” I can suggest at least one candidate from the DeepMind team. But, hey, who really cares?
Second, search must be pretty broken. The job has fallen to another old timer at the GOOG. Same question: “Aren’t there younger, more with it technical wizards who can handle the massively complex, software wrapped, advertising centric systems? (Yep, systems because there is “regular” search and “mobile” search. Two search systems are part of the index puzzle Google has built over the years.) Plus, do you remember Google’s “universal” search which, as aBearStearns’ legend has it, was cooked up over a weekend to deal with a PR problem triggered by an analyst’s report to which yours truly contributed. You know “universal.” One query gets you blog content, new Web sites, Google Books, Google Scholar, yada yada. That doesn’t exist and probably will never come to pass for some pretty good reasons. But saying something is just as good as delivering I assume.)
Net net: Google is now a mature company. The founders have distanced themselves from the legal troubles in which the company is mired. The company is caught in the Silicon Valley backlash. The Oracle Jave thing is a Freddie Kruger thing for the GOOG. Management change is a companion to the craziness which seems to characterize some units of the company.
I wonder if a query launched from a desktop computer will return on point results in the near future. I sure hope so.
Stephen E Arnold, April 4, 2018
Facebook Wants to Do Better
April 4, 2018
The company seems to be unable to cook up ways to do better. If “Do You Think Facebook Is Good for the World?” is accurate, Facebook wants its “users” to provide the company with ideas. Mr. Zuckerberg wants to “fix Facebook.” What did Alexis de Tocqueville say about voting in a “democracy”? Was it the triumph of the average? Perhaps Facebook will share the results of its survey.
Stephen E Arnold, April 4, 2018
Dark Web Security: The New Black
April 3, 2018
Security threats on the general internet have been around since the first email was sent. But a new and more vengeful form of cybercrime is rising up from the Dark Web and the hiddenwebs, and companies are scrambling to fight it. We learned about one such organization in a recent Gov.uk story, “Cyber Security Firm Secures $26 Million Series C Funding.”
According to the story, Digital Shadows helps target threats on the everyday web, but also those more shadowy realms average people have no idea about. This financial boon will help in many ways, according to a spokesman:
“We intend to use this new funding to scale and grow on a global basis. We’ll also continue to invest in the product, and to stay ahead of anyone else, continually ensuring we can provide unique value to the customer… We will continue to work with organizations with 500+ employees, because they need the most help to protect themselves and their assets against digital risks.”
In addition to venture capital firms, governments, too, have been focusing attention on fighting this type of fraud too. The challenge is that security remains a cat and mouse game. Watch this blog for a link to our new video about Grayshift’s iPhone unlocking device. We point out in this video that Apple will button up loopholes, and the security arms race begins again. Dark Web security operates in the same manner. Expensive? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Profitable for security firms? Yes.
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