Roundup of Personalization Software for Search Improvement
January 8, 2015
The article titled 15 Website Personalization and Recommendation Software Tools on Smart Insights contains a roundup of personalization software. Think of Amazon.com. Groups of customers see vastly different suggestions from the store, all based on what they have bought or looked at in the past and what other people who bought or looked at similar items also considered. But in the last few years personalization software has become even more tailored to specific pursuits. The article explains the winning brands in one category, B2B and publisher personalization tools,
“Evergage is mentioned as tool that fits best in this category. WP Greet Box is a personalisation plug-in used by WordPress blogging users, including me once, to deliver a welcome message to first time users depending on their referrers. It’s amazing this approach isn’t used more on commercial sites. WP Marketing Suite is another WordPress plugin that has been featured in the comments.”
The article also explores the best in the category of Commerce management systems. The article states that “both Sitecore and Kentico have built in tools to personalize content based on various rules, such as geo-location, search terms…” this is in addition to the more widely understood personalization based on user behavior. The idea behind all of these companies is to improve search for consumers.
Chelsea Kerwin, January 08, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Grand View Research Looks at Enterprise Search and Misses a Market Shift
January 7, 2015
Every time I write about a low-tier or mid-tier consulting firm’s reports, I get nastygrams. One outfit demanded that I publish an apology. Okay, no problem. I apologize for expressing that the research was at odds with my own work. So before I tackle Grand View Research’s $4,700 report called “Enterprise Search Market Analysis By End-Use (Government & Commercial Offices, Banking & Finance, Healthcare, Retail), By Enterprise Size (Small, Medium, Large) And Segment Forecasts To 2020,” Let me say, I am sorry. Really, really sorry.
This is a report that is about a new Fantasyland loved by the naive. The year 2020 will not be about old school search.
Image source: http://www.themeparkreview.com/parks/photo.php?pageid=116&linkid=12739
I know I am taking a risk because my new report “CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access” will be available in a very short time. The fact that I elected to abandon search as an operative term is one signal that search is a bit of a dead end. I know that there are many companies flogging fixes for SharePoint, specialized systems that “do” business intelligence, and decades old information retrieval approaches packaged as discovery or customer service solutions.
But the reality is that plugging words into a search box means that the user has to know the terminology and what he or she needs to answer a question. Then the real work begins. Working through the results list takes time. Documents have to read and pertinent passages copied and pasted in another file. Then the researcher has to figure out what is right or wrong, relevant or irrelevant. I don’t know about you, but most 20 somethings are spending more time thumb typing than old fashioned research.
What has Grand View Research figured out?
First off, the company knows it has to charge a lot of money for a report on a topic that has been beaten to death for decades. Grand View’s approach is to define “search” by some fairly broad categories; for example, small, medium and large and Government and commercial, banking and finance, healthcare, retail and “others.”
Whatever Happened to Social Search?
January 7, 2015
Social search was supposed to integrate social media and regular semantic search to create a seamless flow of information. This was one of the major search points for a while, yet it has not come to fruition. So what happened? TechCrunch reports that it is “Good Riddance To Social Search” and with good reason, because the combination only cluttered up search results.
TechCrunch explains that Google tried Social Search back in 2009, using its regular search engine and Google+. Now the search engine mogul is not putting forth much effort in promoting social search. Bing tried something by adding more social media features, but it is not present in most of its search results today.
Why did this endeavor fail?
“I think one of the reasons social search failed is because our social media “friendships” don’t actually represent our real-life tastes all that well. Just because we follow people on Twitter or are friends with old high school classmates on Facebook doesn’t mean we like the same restaurants they do or share the politics they do. At the end of the day, I’m more likely to trust an overall score on Yelp, for example, than a single person’s recommendation.”
It makes sense considering how many people consider their social media feeds are filled with too much noise. Having search results free of the noiwy makes them more accurate and helpful to users.
Whitney Grace, January 07, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Qwant, Not Quant
January 3, 2015
Remember Pertimm? No problem. I scanned Techmeme yesterday and noted a link to a story about Qwant, another Google killer from France and the publishing wizards at Axil Springer. You might have some trouble locating the service because Techmeme spelled Qwant “correctly” if you live in Silicon Valley:
I covered Qwant in one of my for fee Information Today columns. I won’t recycle that analysis here.
The “news” is that Qwant is going to roll out a child friendly version of its search system. Here’s the interface for Qwant. I wonder how many children can figure out what’s what?
Notice that the blank column contains news about my query “Qwant child friendly.” What do you think about a service that doesn’t present news about itself?
Fascinating. Will French children be thwarted by Qwant’s effort to protect them from adult content? LA schools found out that blocked iPads were a no brainer to convert from school stuff or more thrilling content.
Stephen E Arnold, January 3, 2015
Patent Search Needs to Be Semantic
December 31, 2014
An article published on Innography called “Advanced Patent Search” brings to attention how default search software might miss important search results, especially if one is researching patents. It points pout that some parents are purposefully phrased to cause hide their meaning and relevance to escape under the radar.
Deeper into the article it transforms into a press release highlight Innography’s semantic patent search. It highlights how the software searches through descriptive task over product description, keywords, and patent abstracts. This is not anything too exciting, but this makes the software more innovative:
“Innography provides fast and comprehensive metadata analysis as another method to find related patents. For example, there are several “one-click” analyses from a selected patent – classification analysis, citation mining, invalidation, and infringement – with a user-selected similarity threshold to refine the analyses as desired. The most powerful and complete analyses utilize all three methods – keyword search, semantic search, and metadata analysis – to ensure finding the most relevant patents and intellectual property to analyze further.”
Innography’s patent search serves as an example for how search software needs to compete with comparable products. A simple search is not enough anymore, not in the world of big data. Users demand analytics, insights, infographics, easy of use, and accurate results.
Whitney Grace, December 31, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Drop Everything and Learn These New Tips for Semantic Search
December 31, 2014
IT developers are searching for new ways to manipulate semantic search, but according to Search Engine Journal in “12 Things You Need To Do For Semantic Search” they are all trying to figure out what the user wants. The article offers twelve tips to get back to basics and use semantic search as a tool to drive user adoption.
Some of the tips are quite obvious, such as think like a user, optimize SEO, and harness social media and local resources. Making a Web site stand out, requires taking the obvious tips and using a bit more. The article recommends that it is time to learn more about Google Knowledge Graph and how it applies to your industry. Schema markup is also important, because search engines rely on it for richer results and it develops how users see your site in a search engine.
Here is some advice on future proofing you site:
“Work out how your site can answer questions and provide users with information that doesn’t just read like terms and conditions. Pick the topics, services and niches that apply to your site and start to optimize your site and your content in a way that will benefit users. Users will never stop searching using specific questions, but search engines are actively encouraging them to ask a question or solve a problem so get your services out there by meeting user needs.”
More tips include seeing how results are viewed on search engines other than Google, keeping up with trends, befriending a thesaurus, and being aware that semantic search requires A LOT of work.
Whitney Grace, December 31, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google in China: Countries Are Not Getting with the Program
December 29, 2014
Years ago, I pointed out that companies telling countries what to do might not be the path to a bright future in some circumstances. Countries have police, military, agencies, and rules. When an outsider suggests that the approach a country is taking is against the interests of a particular company, some of those in power have long memories.
I read “China’s Great Firewall Attacks Google Once Again, Blocks Any Form of Access to Gmail.” The headline is a bit misleading, probably in a quest to get lots of Google juice.
Firewalls do not attack. Firewalls are configured by people or other systems for a purpose. In this case, if the story is accurate, some human wants to prevent those within China’s datasphere from accessing Gmail. I am not sure this configuration is an “attack.” But with cyber warfare allegations flying around, some online publications just go with the semantic flow.
The write up asserts, one assumes correctly:
Gmail users in China are now finding that Google’s email service is totally inaccessible in the country. While Gmail’s website has been blocked in China since June, along with every other Google service, it had remained usable via IMAP/SMAP/POP in third-party email apps such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail. However, this newest crackdown seems to have shut that loophole, with Gmail’s IMAP, SMAP, and POP servers now fully blocked in China.
How does Google mend fences with China? One step forward on this long journey might be to take a look at what some companies are doing to tap into what seems to be a hefty market. Google is good at emulation, but in the case of China, criticism directed at Chinese authorities might be difficult to remove from the Chinese authorities’ index.
Google’s zippy approach to generating ad revenue generates lots of money. Money is often equated with influence in some countries. In China, there may be other more important factors in play.
For 2015, Google has some thinking to do if it wants to keep the China market in the Google tent or at least near the Google tent. On the other hand, too much dependence on China can lead to the YUM Brands problems. Once the money begins to flow, China’s consumer market can shift. Google has a need for ad revenue. What will Google do to pipe China cash into the Googleplex?
Good question, but it should have been asked a decade ago. In my experience, countries don’t change. I have a few examples at hand, but I won’t trot those out. Any TV news program provides ample illustrations of the disconnect between the way things are assumed to be and the way things are in nation states.
When I want to search information in China, you may need to seek alternatives to the Google.
Stephen E Arnold, December 29, 2014
Searchblox Announces New Visualization Method for Search Results
December 29, 2014
The brief article on Searchblox titled A Visualization Is Worth a Thousand Search Results relates the addition of visualization to the Elasticsearch-based system, Searchblox. Searchblox is an open source enterprise content search engine founded in 2003. Its customers range over 25 countries and include Harley Davidson, Capital One Investments, Kellog, and the US Department of Justice, to name just a few. The article discusses the latest advancement of visualization with a note on how to use the new plugin and how it works. The article states,
“Create a visualization from your search results using our new AngularJS database plugin and discover unique insights from your data. The AngularJS plugin integrated the raw/d3js javacsript library to create visualizations on the fly for your analysis, content marketing and infographic needs. After you setup your collections, simply install the plugin and configure the required filters and database columns to display.
Once the data grid is configured you can see the search results in a grid format.”
The article stipulates that the plugin is best suited for data from csv files and databases. The ability to see your results as a graphic rather than a list is certainly promising, especially for people who are visual learners. There are several nifty chart options available, for all of which the user is able to state the fields for their data.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 29, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Holiday Surprise: HP Gets a Chunk of Coal
December 21, 2014
I read “US Judge Rejects HP Settlement in Autonomy Shareholder Case.” According to the foundation that cranks out “real” journalism:
A federal judge on Friday rejected Hewlett-Packard Co’s (HPQ.N) proposed settlement of shareholder litigation involving the information technology company’s botched acquisition of Autonomy Plc.
HP wanted everything in the Toys R US store; that is, most of what it paid for Autonomy back. Then the grinch spoiled the holiday.
HP will have to find a way to find a way to convert its management expertise into big content processing bucks Cutting the company in half may not be a tactic that effectively deals with its purchasing price, the management street fair, and the jousts with a judge.
What’s next? More legal cartwheels. Fascinating and lucrative for the attorneys involved with the matter. For HP I see the company cementing its position in business school case studies.
Stephen E Arnold, December 21, 2014
New Azure Search Compared to Veteran Solr
December 19, 2014
Wondering how the new search function in Microsoft’s Azure stacks up against open-source search solution Solr? Sys-Con Media gives us a side-by-side comparison in, “Solr vs Azure Search.” It is worth noting that Azure Search is still in beta, so such a comparison might look different down the line. Writer Srinivasan Sundara Rajan sets the stage for his observations:
“The following are the some of the aspects in the usage of Solr in enterprises against that of Azure Search. As the open source vs commercial software is a religious debate, the intent is not aimed at the argument, as the most enterprises define their own IT Policies between the choice of Open Source vs commercial products and same sense will prevail here also, the below notes are meant for understanding the new Azure service in the light of an existing proven search platform.”
Rajan’s chart describes usage of each platform in four areas: installation and setup, schema, loading, and searching. Naturally, each platform has its advantages and disadvantages; see the article for specifics. The write-up summarizes:
“Azure Search tries to match the features of Solr in most aspects, however Solr is a seasoned search engine and Azure Search is in its preview stage, so some small deficiencies may occur in the understanding and proper application of Azure Search. However there is one area where the Azure Search may be a real winner for enterprises, which is ‘Scalability & Availability’…. Azure Search, really makes scalability a much simpler thing.”
As Microsoft continues to develop Azure Search, will it surpass Solr in areas besides scalability? Stay tuned.
Cynthia Murrell, December 19, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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