The Teflon Coated Google
January 17, 2013
For eighteen months, the Federal Trade Commission investigated Google to see if it was using its corner on the Internet search market to push its own products and services at the expense of its rivals. The Wall Street Journal reports in “Behind Google’s Antitrust Escape” that the FTC decided not to purse an antitrust suit, instead they opted for a series of smaller issues. Google agreed to make some changes in its search business. The FTC could not find any evidence that Google’s customers as well as its rivals were being harmed. All the FTC discovered were customers’ complaints about Google’s actions, which were not enough to make a case.
During the investigation, Google was setting itself up against the antitrust violation:
“Google also dispatched executive chairman Eric Schmidt and other employees to garner support from lawmakers, adding political pressure to the landscape. In November, for instance, staff members of U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a Democrat from Colorado, spoke with Google representatives. Afterward, Mr. Udall sent a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, encouraging the agency to proceed “cautiously” in its probes of Internet companies, which “have some of the highest consumer satisfaction rates in the country” and have created millions of jobs.”
Udall’s letter was only one of several letters that Congress members sent to the FTC. Many of these letters were leaked and Congress was concerned about information leaking. It was even suggested that the FTC leaked the info for strategic advantage. Whatever the truth is, Google got off with a slap on the hand and will continue on with its search dominance.
Whitney Grace, January 17, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Facebook Search: How Disruptive?
January 16, 2013
Lots of punditry today. Facebook rolled out graph search. A registered user can run queries answered by content within the Facebook “database.” How will it work? Public content becomes the corpus. Navigate to the BBC write up “Facebook Unveils Social Search Tools for Users.”
A comment by Facebook’s founder which caught my attention was:
“We look at Facebook as a big social database,” said Mr Zuckerberg, adding that social search was Facebook’s “third pillar” and stood beside the news feed and timeline as the foundational elements of the social network.
The former Googler allegedly responsible for Facebook’s search allegedly observed:
On graph search, you can only see content that people have shared with you,” developer Lars Rasmussen, who was previously the co-founder of Google Maps, told reporters.
So no reprise of the various privacy missteps the GOOG made. Facebook wants to avoid some of its fast dancing over privacy too.
How disruptive will Facebook search be?
First, the Facebook users will give search a whirl. The initial queries will be tire kicking stuff. Once some patterns emerge, the Facebook bean counters will slip the switch on ads. That, not search, may cause Google some moments of concern. Google, like Microsoft, has to protect its one trick revenue pony. Facebook won’t stampede the cattle, but those doggies will wander. If the pasture is juicy, Facebook will let those cows roam. Green pastures can be fragile ecosystems.
Second, search sucks. Facebook could answer certain types of questions better than the brute force Web indexing services. If users discover the useful functions of Facebook, traffic for the weak sisters like Blekko and Yahoo could head south. The Google won’t be hurt right away, but the potential for Facebook to index only urls cited by registered users could be a more threatening step. Surgical search, not brute force, may slice some revenues from the Google.
Third, Facebook could learn, as Google did, that search is a darned good thing. Armed with the social info and the Facebook users’ curated urls, Facebook could cook up a next generation search solution that could snow on Googzilla’s parade. Google Plus is interesting but Facebook may be just the outfit to pop search up a level. Google is not an innovator, so Facebook may be triggering a new search arms race.
Thank goodness.
Stephen E Arnold, January 16, 2013
Venture Funding Tracker from Digimind Offers Enhanced Features
January 16, 2013
Digimind drives competitive intelligence information with its service that tracks venture funding. Now that’s smart digging. TheNextWeb informs us, “WhoGotFunded.com Unveils Premium Accounts Offering More Filters, Keyword Searches, and Data Exports.” Three new premium account types offer users a number of useful features.
The free version of WhoGotFunded is still available, but the paid options may be worth the cost if your organization requires extended filtering, more than three results from keyword searches, or the ability to export data on more than three deals per month. Paying up also gets users “power” email alerts and user support. The write-up by Ken Yeung reports:
“Started by a group of technologists, the site uses text mining technology to curate funding news for any company around the world. When we spoke with Paul Vivant, one of the founders, he said that the site’s goal was to build the most comprehensive funding database in the world that would become ‘a source for venture capitalists, business angels, founders, CEOs, corporate executives, journalists, bloggers, and investment bankers’. . .
“The company is offering a free 14-day trial with its Starter plan, which costs $49 per month. The next two plans are $149 and $749 per month, respectively. Each plan offers the same amount of credits, search results, and features — the main difference is just how much data do you get.”
Yeung notes that there are similar services out there, but Digimind seems to be confident that it has something unique to offer. The company works to save its clients time and money by automating and streamlining the collection, analysis, and sharing of data. Its global client list includes organizations from a broad range of industries.
Cynthia Murrell, January 16, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Polyspot Provides New Search Engine for Algoma University
January 15, 2013
PolySpot, an open search solutions provider, has been all over the news lately for partnering with various companies to help out with their search troubles. The recent PolySpot blog post “Polyspot on the Algoma University Web Site” announces a new project that PolySpot is participating in with the University.
The blog post reveals:
“With our partners TerminalFour, we now provide Algoma University (Canada) with a new search engine for its website. After the Sacred Heart University, we are happy to offer Algoma students and potential students a relevant and easy search tool through all content available on the University Web site.”
Here at Beyond Search we are glad to see that Polyspot is sharing its cutting edge search technologies with Colleges and Universities. Its easy-to-use enterprise search solution is making great strides to improve the industry at large. Check out the company’s Web site for more information about PolySpot.
Jasmine Ashton, January 14, 2013
SEO Community Jumps to Conclusions About Google and Press Releases
January 15, 2013
Are press releases the red-headed stepchild of Google, or just misunderstood from a lack of complete information? An SEO pro schools his colleagues in Search Engine Journal’s “Get Over Yourself—Matt Cutts did Not Just Kill Another SEO Kitten.” His is a voice of reason in a field that tends to defensively vilify Google’s attempts to serve up only quality content.
The latest dustup began in the Google forums, where one poster asked about press release companies that only push their stories to “legitimate” (quality content) sites. Google’s Matt Cutts (probably unintentionally) stirred things up with his simple statement: “Note: I wouldn’t expect links form press release web sites to benefit your rankings, however.” Hyperbole ensued.
Many in the SEO community took those words to mean that Google will now ignore all links in every press release it encounters, and were quite perturbed. Writer and SEO veteran Alan Bleiweiss takes the alarmists to task, and it is entertaining to read. I’m more interested, though, in his comments on press releases. After acknowledging the wealth of garbage that is now often distributed as “press releases,” he wrote:
“REAL press releases, that communicate TRULY time sensitive newsworthy information, have, and always will be a valuable means of spreading information that deserves to be spread. REAL press releases don’t get written purely for the links. REAL press releases are designed to communicate with legitimate news people. REAL press releases are designed to let others know valid updated information.
“And a well-crafted press release, targeting truly accurate niche recipients can lead to legitimate journalists, bloggers and social media influencers contacting a site’s owners, or doing their own write-up on the subject, and potentially even generating their own links.
“So from a sustainable SEO perspective, press releases are STILL an SEO best practice recommendation. As part of a comprehensive marketing solution that is vital to providing multiple layers of direct and indirect signals for SEO purposes. But ONLY when those releases are executed properly.”
It is good to see such reasonable sentiments from someone in the search engine optimization field. Will Bleiweiss succeed in talking sense into his colleagues?
Cynthia Murrell, January 15, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Latest Desktop Version from dtSearch Available
January 14, 2013
We spotted dtSearch’s latest desktop version, v7.72.8085-Lz0, for sale at Release BB. Will this new release be a splash or a flash?
The product description reads:
“The dtSearch product line can instantly search terabytes of text across a desktop, network, Internet or Intranet site. dtSearch products also serve as tools for publishing, with instant text searching, large document collections to Web sites or portable media. Developers can embed dtSearch’s instant searching and file format support into their own applications.”
A few of the product’s features include a variety of helpful search options, data exports in several formats, and specialized forensic indexing and searching tools. See the company’s official Desktop product page for more details.
Incorporated in 1991, dtSearch began its R&D in 1988. They have since become a major provider of information management software, supplying award-winning solutions to firms in several fields and to numerous government agencies in the areas of defense, law enforcement, and space exploration. The company also makes its products available for incorporation into other commercial applications. dtSearch has distributors worldwide, and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
Cynthia Murrell, January 14, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Remains a Habit for a Reason
January 13, 2013
Despite Google’s current stronghold in Internet search, there are still a few other companies that believe they have a way to disrupt what has become status quo. A recent article published in Everything PR called “Interview Exclusive: Bing Search’s Stefan Weitz” discusses Bing Search’s goals.
The Q&A with Bing Director Stefan Weitz dives into a question about how to what extent the negative stigma that Bing has proved challenging in gaining a larger audience. Weitz believes that it is not a stigma that Bing faces, but rather they deal with people’s already formed habits.
“[We want] to get people to demand more from search than presenting a bunch of links in response to a keyword. It’s why we’re investing so much in multimodal experiences where Bing simply becomes part of the fabric of your day whether it’s on your television, within your productivity suite, on your mobile device, or on your tablet. We think the act of search should weave itself into the fabric of your daily experiences – not be something you ‘go do’.”
Weitz has a chance to direct the conversation on Bing with this interview and the choice word throughout it, habit, was a smart one for him to use because of the sometimes negative connotation associated with it that he wanted to drive towards Google. However, the word inherently recalls how habits are facilitated: through an efficient and intuitive user experience. Google created that and has logically become the norm and the standard.
Megan Feil, January 13, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Elasticsearch Pins Big Hopes on New Marketing VP
January 12, 2013
The complex Elasticsearch, with their recent investment infusion, seems to be tapping into proven marketing strategies. In “Elasticsearch Expands Executive Team to Drive Adoption of Big Data Search,” BusinessWire reveals that the company is welcoming tech-marketing expert Elyse Phillips, who has spent fifteen years in the field. The write-up summarizes the new vice president of marketing’s experience:
“Elyse has spent her career rapidly evolving innovative technologies and services into market game changers. Prior to Elasticsearch, Elyse was director of marketing at Appcelerator, the leading mobile development platform provider, where she launched Titanium, the number one open source mobile development platform in the world, and helped build a community of 350,000 mobile developers worldwide. Prior to Appcelerator, Phillips was the head of marketing and investor relations for First Virtual Corporation, a pioneer in Internet video, where she took them from start-up through IPO.”
Elasticsearch CEO Steven Shuurman believes that Phillips’ history of creating savvy marketing positions and strong visibility will help drive his company to big-data success. Will marketing be enough to overcome the complexity of their system?
Elasticsearch recently benefited from $10 million in Series A funding. Though their headquarters are in Amsterdam, Phillips will reportedly be working in the SanFrancisco Bay offices. The company was formed in 2012 specifically to develop and support the open-source elasticsearch solution, which several of its founders helped establish through Apache.
Cynthia Murrell, January 12, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
A9 Search May Be on the Verge of Improvement
January 11, 2013
Sometimes tidbits of information come from unexpected places. A job posting at LinkedIn for a “Principal Software Engineer- Contextual Relevance” suggests that Amazon may be trying to fix up A9 Product Search. It is good to make use of existing assets, but I do hope any new hire understands what they are getting into. A9 has been panned as a disappointment so far.
The job description reads, in part:
“This is an exciting opportunity to develop the next generation of technologies for understanding unstructured textual content. Leveraging Amazon’s unique assets, we are building industry-leading systems to comprehend textual data and solve challenging contextual relevance problems like key concepts extraction, text classification, and sentiment analysis. Our systems need to operate at internet scale and serve billions of requests every day in a fault tolerant manner and under stringent latency requirements. You will thus need to aim high and invent revolutionary technologies that have a large and direct impact on one of the largest businesses on the web.”
Well, at least they are not downplaying the challenge. Naturally, the credentials required are pretty hefty, but if you think you or someone you know has what it takes, check it out.
The posting also emphasizes that A9.com combines the advantages of a small-business culture with the resources of their parent company. A9 is, not surprisingly, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and was formed in 2003 as an Amazon subsidiary. Though perhaps not (yet) all that Amazon hoped for, the search platform is in place and functioning on their site and many other e-commerce sites.
Cynthia Murrell, January 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Nexans Licenses PolySpot Search Engine
January 10, 2013
We learned that the Nexans Group, a global player in the infrastructure, industry, building, and local area network data markets, uses the PolySpot search engine to cross-reference its internal sources of information and all of its information portals.
According to information provided to Beyond Search:
The goal of the roll out was to streamline collaborative processes while ensuring the integrity of security regulations. The strong point of the solution lies in the simplification of access to information regardless of the source. Using the PolySpot engine, users, customers, partners, and employees of Nexans can now easily access the product catalog and at a level of information consistent with their right of access.
Nexans tested various competing solutions on the market. PolySpot told Beyond Search:
PolySpot stood out because of the performance and strength of its Microsoft SharePoint connector. The PolySpot connector for Microsoft SharePoint is characterized by a very large tolerance of isolated errors (corrupt data, crashes, micro network outages, etc).
PolySpot supports the indexing of an entire SharePoint farm and provides fine-grained filtering. The PolySpot approach limits the the maximum load on the application and network.
As a result, Nexans Group users have access to faceted navigation within the relevant Group directory. Information access is pivotal to Nexans Group’s business which offers an extensive range of cables and cabling systems to raise industrial productivity, improve business performance, enhance security, enrich the quality of life, and assure long-term network reliability.
For more information about PolySpot’s technology and services, visit www.polyspot.com.
Stephen E Arnold, January 10, 2013
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