PubMed: Some Tweaks
December 27, 2019
PubMed.gov is an old school online information service. The user types in one or more terms, and the system generates a list of results. Controlled terms work better than “free text” guesses.
According to “Announcing the New PubMed”:
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is replacing the current version of the PubMed database with a newly re-designed version. The new version is now live and can be found at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.
The appearance of the site has been updated. To one of the DarkCyber team members, the logo was influenced by PayPal’s design motif. Clicking for pages of results has been supplanted by the infinite scroll. Personally, I prefer to know how many pages of results have been found for a particular query. But, just tell me, “Hey, boomer, you are stupid.” I get it.
The write up does not comment upon backlog, changes in editorial policy, and cleaning citations to weed out those which are essentially marketing write ups or articles with non reproducible results, wonky statistics, or findings unrelated to the main job of medicine. But you can use the service on a mobile phone.
Stephen E Arnold, December 27, 2019
Online Calendars: Maybe Not for Everyone?
December 27, 2019
Fast Company published an unusual “hey, technology may not be the cat’s pajamas” article. The title? “This Old-School Weekly Planner Runs My Life.” The main point is that writing stuff in a paper monthly planner works reasonably well. For anyone giving a deposition, trying to gather data for a tax audit, or just sitting down with a lawyer—those paper calendars may be more usable than electronic systems. Plus, the calendars are fungible. This hard copy approach can be a net positive in some circumstances.
This very Silicon Valley information service states:
In an era of technological inundation, I’ve found that the one thing that actually does keep me on track is an old-school, pencil and paper weekly planner. It allows me to map out my life, week to week, and pull all my disparate notifications and notes from emails, texts, in-person meetings, and phone calls into one place.
Just a thought that makes sense from a publication which often touts some wonky analyses.
Stephen E Arnold, December 27, 2019
Underground Operations: Some Considerations
December 27, 2019
We believe the greatest dangers posed to modern society come from the air in the forms of intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombs, and armed drones. The Federation of American Scientists, however, explain that US soldiers face subterranean dangers too as explained in a new manual entitled, “ATP 3-21.51 Subterranean Operations -November 2019.”
Subterranean warfare is one of the oldest and most successful forms of combat. Ancient civilizations built underground fortifications to fend off their enemies or used them to transport supplies or as escape routes. In World War II, the Japanese built underground bunkers in their island hopping campaign to fight the Allied Powers. During the Vietnam War, the Vietcong constructed elaborate tunnel systems that ranged for miles and were booby-trapped. In October 1978, a tunnel was discovered on the North and South Korean borders. The North Koreans planned to use the tunnel to attack Seoul and it was estimated the 30,000 armed troops could march through it.
Subterranean warfare may seem primitive, but it remains one of the most effective means of combat. Current conflicts within the Middle East and Syria rely on tunnels and the Hamas use tunnels to protect Israeli leaders from air raids:
“Whether to protect vital assets and capabilities, mitigate weapon system and sensor overmatch, to strengthen a larger defensive position, or simply to be used for transportation in our largest cities, subterranean systems continue to be expanded and relied upon throughout the world. Therefore, our Soldiers and leaders must be prepared to fight and win in this environment.”
While tunnels and underground bunkers prove to be reliable, the greatest dangers may come from soldiers and other personnel forced to serve underground.
“Soldiers descending into unknown subterranean spaces often face a sense of isolation, entrapment, and claustrophobia due to the temperature changes, navigating a strange maze of passageways, lack of natural light and air movement, and other factors prevalent in subterranean spaces. Additionally, spiritual, philosophical, cultural beliefs, and previous experiences with subterranean spaces may affect a Soldier’s psychological well-being. The darkness and disconnection from the surface environment affects an individual’s conception of time. Entering unknown subterranean spaces may reduce a Soldier’s perceived sense of security, even before direct fire contact with the enemy.”
No matter the training, a stressful environment will take its toll on a soldier’s mind. Technology to the rescue? Not yet.
Whitney Grace, December 5, 2019
Emoto Marketing: Is This a Trendlet Aborning
December 26, 2019
I read, quite by accident, a write up mentioned by a young executive at a holiday party. The essay manifests what I call “emoto marketing”. This is shorthand for an emotional, sensitive, I-want-to-help approach to selling consulting services.
You can read this interesting sales pitch at Leowid, which is the author’s shorthand for himself. The essay is “I Coached 101 CEOs, Founders, VCs and Other Executives in 2019: These Are the Biggest Takeaways.” Be aware that there is a pop up enjoining the reader of the essay to “join me for regular adventures into the unknown.”
Now if there is one thing that, in my experience, makes high performers nervous is the unknown. Plus, there’s the risk of failure, which today includes allegations of improper behavior, missteps memorialized in pix from a college party, and plain old human failings like alcohol, synthetic opioids, and friendly Uber drivers.
Straight away, I translate the 101 into one therapy session every three days or a couple of conferences with 50 and a half shattered attendees. Either way, the learnings from these emoto interactions could be indicative of why software able to figure out the emotional payload of an email will thrive in 2020. Doesn’t everyone one a semantically, context aware daemon buzzing in one’s mobile device?
Let’s look at three of the findings; read the essay for the other insights. Be sure to sit down, however. The revelations may knock the wind out of the sails of your 75 foot sailboat.
- People are “bags of emotion.” I sort of knew this after I learned a person unhappy with holiday gifts, pulled out a weapon and began taking pot shots at the gift givers.
- Manage focus, not time. I understand that paying attention and listening are important. I watch LivePD and see how the inattentive find themselves in uncomfortable situations.
- Boundaries create connections. The social graph is important to the emoto marketer.
To sum up, the essay combines pseudo science, self help, and MBA speak with unabashed emotional appeals. If facts won’t work, go for emotion.
DarkCyber will focus, not just listen, in order to discern other examples of this approach to selling services. Imagine an emoto marketing campaign from McKinsey & Co or a government agency.
The author trained as a trauma therapist and lives in Vienna, Austria (a very flexible and emotional city I believe). Oh, the author lives near a forest.
Fascinating.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2019
Amazon: Sticks and Stones and Assertions Can Break Stuff
December 26, 2019
An online publication called LiveMint published “The Ascent to Power of Surveillance Capitalists.” The write up is semi interesting and may foreshadow how technology companies will be characterized in 2020.
Let’s look at how LiveMint described Amazon, which has been the subject of my research in the last few months.
These two passages invoke the mantra of surveillance capitalism, a popularization of lecture notes and deep thinking by a professor. The phrase “surveillance capitalism” has become a way to make clear that private companies are in the information business. What the book does not make clear is that one of the fundamental laws of digital information is that concentration and monopolistic utility structures cannot be avoided. From my point of view, wanting Amazon, Google, or any other digital operation to be significantly difficult is difficult if not impossible to achieve.
Here are the two passages from the write up I noted:
Allegation One
For its part, Amazon has moved aggressively into government contracting, providing a wide range of information services to federal and local agencies. It has offered facial-recognition products to law-enforcement agencies such as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though the software suffers from implicit bias against people of color.
Allegation Two
Amazon is also using its Ring line of smart doorbells to broker cooperation agreements with local police departments. When homeowners provide prior approval, law-enforcement officials can access Ring video feeds without a warrant. Civil liberties advocates and experts are understandably concerned that when combined with facial-recognition technology, Ring doorbell networks will allow for new, potentially unconstitutional forms of surveillance. Journalists have also discovered that Amazon’s Ring deals give the company undue leverage over how law-enforcement agencies communicate with the public.
Several observations:
First, the approach is “everybody knows this to be true.” Well, maybe.
Second, the absence of facts is troubling. Asserting and repeating information without attribution or — heaven forbid — a footnote is interesting.
Third, recycling digital tropes does little to address a real or perceived issue.
Will analyses in 2020 follow this write up’s approach? Don’t know. I do, however, care.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2019
The Real Tesla, Not the Auto Tesla
December 26, 2019
Good old Nikola Tesla. The fellow was not exactly an electrically charged JP Morgan. If you know about the inventor, you may have a flickering sense of his ideas about electricity. But there is another, less publicized facet of his life. For a look behind the towering equipment, navigate to the FBI Vault. There are three sets of PDF files related to this sparking personality. Find the documents at this link: https://vault.fbi.gov/nikola-tesla.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2019
Content Marketing: HBR and Adobe
December 26, 2019
I spotted an interesting write up in CIO Magazine, one of those editorial Gibralters branded IDG. Why was the story an attention grabber? It was an ad.
“How the Harvard Business Review Used Personalization and Automation to Enhance Success” explains that bulk email is a super business method. Not spam, enhancement of success. Yes.
I learned that the Harvard Business Review has energized its business by using Adobe marketing technology. The HBR brand, its magazine, its executive centric podcasts, and its pride of place in “business” were not enough. Energize, not spamming with email. Please, note that.
The write up explains that Adobe (once the beloved arts and crafts software outfit) has marketing technology that delivers. Here’s the proof:
Using Adobe Campaign, HBR sent out 4.5 million triggered emails that had an average open rate of 28% and a click-through rate of 5%. These are impressive results that surpassed previous efforts. Adobe Campaign also allows HBR to drive more targeted campaigns and expand volumes to reach a wider range of audiences.
Yep, email in the spirit of America Online’s free CDs. No physical disc, just email.
The other interesting facet of the write up is that the email blasts are presented as an objective story.
What’s that say about the underpinnings of a Harvard MBA and the business precepts outlined in those HBR podcasts and articles?
MBA schools and money raising programs need marketing too. Which company is the winner with this PR story in CIO? You will need to attend a Harvard Executive Program to formulate the “right” answer.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2019
Learning to Drive a Bezos Bulldozer Knock Off
December 25, 2019
“Two-Pizza Teams and More: Former Amazon Employees Bake Bezos Principles into Their Startups” makes clear that certain management methods may be transportable. Like Facebook’s precept “Move fast. Break things”, the Bezos bulldozer driver learns to “never say that’s not my job.” Other important ideas are having a catchy metaphor for one’s business foundation; for example, a flywheel. The idea is that once a big heavy electrical motor begins spinning, it takes quite a bit of effort to slow it down. Then there’s momentum, an idea which explains why one does not stop a bulldozer with a couple of people pushing on the business end of the machine.
The write up notes that Amazon has since 1997 encouraged employees to “have backbone; disagree and commit,” for example, and “insist on the highest standards.”
Another big idea is to keep teams small. If it takes more than two pizzas to feed a team, the team is too big.
Several “discoveries” sparked by the write up are:
- The Seattle Times’ Web site is unusable because ad blockers are not permitted and certain versions of Internet Explorer cannot render the story’s pages. Maybe hiring one of those no-longer-at-Amazon developers is a good idea?
- The focus on people seems to be a good idea except when those people want to unionize or to implement certain training procedures for some Amazon delivery professionals.
- The highest standards sounds good but apparently permitting merchants to sell certain types of products is okay.
To sum up, looking at companies which are operating in ways which would have had 19th century regulatory authorities working overtime provides a new type of management blueprint. Methods which a “bar raisers” are likely to create some interesting business consequences.
Efficiency can be a positive. But there are downsides, and business schools, management consultants, and baby Amazons will rush to explain these glitches away.
Sounds good, almost utopian. One company may be more efficient than multiple companies. Plus that pizza may be delivered by an Amazon operating unit.
Stephen E Arnold, December 25, 2019
Open Source: A Good to Be Exploited?
December 25, 2019
Is Amazon Web Services taking undue advantage of open source software, or is it simply giving its users what they want (or perhaps both)? It seems to be a matter of perspective. ZDNet reports, “AWS Hits Back at Open-Source Software Critics: Claims that AWS is Strip-Mining Open-Source Software is ‘Silly and Off-Base,’ Says Exec.” The defense is in response to a piece (paywalled) in the New York Times in which open-source creators complained the company takes the liberty of freely integrating their work into its profitable platform. Writer Liam Tung specifies:
“According to the New York Times report, several rivals have discussed bringing antitrust complaints against AWS. Bloomberg reported this month that the Federal Trade Commission has asked software companies about AWS. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince told the NYT that ‘people are afraid that Amazon’s ambitions are endless’. Cloudflare operates a large content distribution network, which competes with a subsection of AWS.”
We also learn that open-source firms are shifting their licensing terms in response to such cloudy business practices from IBM and others, as well as Amazon. MongoDB’s Server Side Public License is one example. Elastic, maker of Elasticsearch, has also placed limits on how cloud companies may use its software.
AWS VP Andi Gutmans, however, insists this is much ado about nothing. Tung quotes the executive:
“‘The [Times] story is largely talking about open source software projects and companies who’ve tried to build businesses around commercializing that open-source software. These open-source projects enable any company to utilize this software on-premises or in the cloud, and build services around it. AWS customers have repeatedly asked AWS to build managed services around open source,’ Gutmans said. He noted that AWS contributes to open-source projects such as Linux, Java, Kubernetes, Xen, KVM, Chromium, Robot Operating System, Apache Lucene, Redis, s2n, FreeRTOS and Elasticsearch.
“‘A number of maintainers of open-source projects build commercial companies around the open-source project. A small set of outliers see it as a zero-sum game and want to be the only ones able to freely monetize managed services around these open-source projects,’ he added.”
And the remediation process? Lawyers are standing by.
Cynthia Murrell, December 25, 2019
A Reminder about Malware
December 25, 2019
Digital information systems are faster, more reliable, take up less space, and offer greater insights than paper systems. The one great thing about paper systems, however, is they are immune to malware infestations. Chiapas Parlelo delves into how cyber criminals are using malware to extort money from businesses in the article, “Cyber Criminals: Network Harassment And Extortion Of Large Companies Through Malware.”
A growing cyber crime is uploading malware into a company’s network, then hackers usurp control of the network and hold it for ransom. If the company refuses to pay the ransom, the hackers threaten to destroy or post the information, often it is sensitive and private. Malware is one of the biggest types of cyber crime in Mexico, but it is one among many that includes financial, child pornography, and sexually explicit photos (usually with women). Other crimes are smaller in nature, such as the removal of a few pesos from an account or credit car scams. Cyber crimes cost Mexico three billion dollars in 2016.
The amount of cyber crimes continue to rise, but the best way to not be a victim is to take preventative measures:
“One of the main approaches to cyber criminology is prevention…the importance of basic care measures to avoid being the victim of an attack. He also mentioned that, beyond taking care of the privacy settings of what is shared, special attention should be paid to the content.”
People need cybercrime literacy. It is similar to teaching children not to speak with strangers or follow a person down a dark alley. Educate yourself and it will knock a large portion of the attacks.
Whitney Grace, December 25, 2019
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
