Google Amazon Dust Bunnies
October 13, 2011
The addled goose has a bum eye, more air miles than a 30 something IBM sales engineer, and lousy Internet connectivity. T Mobile’s mobile WiFi sharing gizmo is a door stop. Imagine my surprise when I read “Google Engineer: “Google+ Example of Our Complete Failure to Understand Platforms.” In one webby write up, the dust bunnies at Google and Amazon were moved from beneath the bed to the white nylon carpet of a private bed chamber.
I am not sure the information in the article is spot on. Who can certain about the validity of any information any longer. The goose cannot. But the write up reveals that Amazon is an organization with political “infighting”. What’s new? Nothing. Google, on the other hand, evidences a bit of reflexivity. I will not drag the Motorola Mobility event into this brief write up, but students of business may find that acquisition worth researching.
Here is the snippet which caught my attention:
[A] high-profile Google engineer … mistakenly posted a long rant about working at Amazon and Google’s own issues with creating platforms on Google+. Apparently, he only wanted to share it internally with everybody at Google, but mistaken shared it publicly. For the most part, [the] post focuses on the horrors of working at Amazon, a company that is notorious for its political infighting. The most interesting part to me, though, is … [the] blunt assessment of what he perceives to be Google’s inability to understand platforms and how this could endanger the company in the long run.
I want to step back. In fact, I want to go into MBA Mbit mode.
First, this apparent management behavior is the norm in many organizations, not the companies referenced in the post.I worked for many years in the old world of big time consulting. Keep in mind that my experiences date from 1973, but management idiosyncrasies were the rule. The majority of these management gaffes took place in a slower, not digital world. Sure, speed was important. In the physics of information speed is relative. Today the perceived velocity is great and the diffusion of information adds a supercharger to routine missteps. Before getting too excited about the insights into one or two companies, most organizations today are perilously close to dysfunction. Nothing special here, but today’s environment gives what is normal some added impact. Consolidation and an absence of competition makes the stakes high. Bad decisions add a thrill to the mundane. Big decisions weigh more and can have momentum that does more quickly than a bad decision in International Harvester or NBC in the 1970s.
Second, technology invites bad decisions. Today most technologies are “hidden”, not exposed like the guts of a Model T or my mom’s hot wire toaster which produced one type of bagel—burned. Not surprisingly, even technically sophisticated managers struggle to understand the implications of a particular technical decision. To make matters worse, senior mangers have to deal with “soft” issues and technical training, even if limited, provide few beacons for the course to chart. Need some evidence. Check out the Hewlett Packard activities over the last 18 months. I routinely hear such statements as “we cannot locate the invoice” and “tell us what to do.” Right. When small things go wrong, how can the big things go right? My view is that chance is a big factor today.
Third, the rush to make the world social, collaborative, and open means that leaks, flubs, sunshine, and every other type of exposure is part of the territory.. I find it distressing that sophisticated organizations fall into big pot holes. As I write this, I am at an intelligence conference, and the rush to openness has an unexpected upside for some information professionals. With info flowing around without controls, the activities of authorities are influenced by the info bonanza. Good and bad guys have unwittingly created a situation that makes it less difficult to find the footprints of an activity. The post referenced in the source article is just one more example of what happens when information policies just don’t work. Forget trust. Even the technically adept cannot manage individual communications. Quite a lesson I surmise.
In search and content processing,the management situation is dire. Many companies are uncertain about pricing,features, services, and innovation. Some search vendors describe themselves with nonsense and Latinate constructions. Other flip flop for search to customer support to business intelligence without asking themselves, “Does this stuff actually work?” Many firms throw adjectives in front of jargon and rely on snake charming sales people to close deals. Good management or bad management? Neither. We are in status quo management with dollops of guessing and wild bets.
My take on this dust bunny matter is that we have what may be an unmanageable and ungovernable situation. No SharePoint governance conference is going to put the cat back in the bag. No single email, blog post, or news article will make a difference. Barn burned. Horse gone. Wal-Mart is building on the site. The landscape has changed. Now let the “real” consultants explain the fix. Back to the goose pond for me. Collaborate on that.
Stephen E Arnold, October 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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Google’s Management Strives for Irony with Google+
October 12, 2011
Google CEO Larry Page and other top execs don’t seem that invested in Google+. No, I didn’t add them to my circle to see their lack of activity–I don’t have one. This great blog entry from the understatement broke down their usage in the form of a good old pie chart.
It turns out that only 3 of the 12 people listed on the Google Management Team page have ever made public posts on the site, which has been up and running for 3 months now.
The entry sums up some more of the stats they found in their research:
In total, of the 18 most senior people charged with overseeing Google, 11 have either not joined or have never made a single public post, and 5 have barely used it at all. Only Senior VP of Social / head of Google+ Vic Gundotra and SVP of Chrome Sundar Pichai have made any effort to seriously adopt Google+.
This lack of internal usage may be indicative of the site’s popularity. Usually if there’s a great product out there the employees, let alone the higher-ups, want to use it. This data collection does make me wonder how many Google employees overall are on Google+.
Megan Feil, October 12, 2011
Google Plus and Kumbaya
October 6, 2011
We think Google Plus or Google+ is quite interesting. We are convinced that Google Plus is the “new” Google. Our view is that search is being de-emphasized just as it is in the Windows 8 user experience.
Frankly we were surprised with the assertions, allegations, or revelations in “Google’s Management Doesn’t Use Google+.” The write up has a nifty chart which lists quite a few Googlers. The chart contains data about these individuals’ use of Google Plus. The idea is that the most prolific Googler is Vic Gundotra, the former Microsoft executive, and now Google senior vice president of social. (We hope this is not the “Welcome to the Social” usage of the word “social” that we noted with the Zune.)
Image source: http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv83/col1mjn/Weekly/anti-kumbaya.png
Here’s the passage we noted along with the table:
In total, of the 18 most senior people charged with overseeing Google, 11 have either not joined or have never made a single public post, and 5 have barely used it at all. Only Senior VP of Social / head of Google+ Vic Gundotra and SVP of Chrome Sundar Pichai have made any effort to seriously adopt Google+.
Several observations:
First, perhaps the data are incomplete?
Second, we find that social services exhibit a usage pattern among most users of drifting away due to the time commitment versus the pay back calculation users run once the novelty of a service wears off.
Third, Googlers are busy. There are investments in alternative energy, facilities in Norway, legal hassles, internal meetings to make the interaction of the advertising and search teams increasingly harmonious and effective. If I were smart enough to be a Googler, I might not have the time to invest in Google Plus.
The bottom line is that the “new” Google is more about creating a massive, integrated operating experience. Google Plus is the tip of the iceberg. My hunch is that Google Plus will become a much used service when bonuses are hooked to posts. Until then, I am not sure of the uptake.
Google Plus posts can become issues in a legal matter, and I think that until the litigation storms blow over, getting lots of outputs may be difficult.
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Tibbr 3: Findability Vendors, Be Aware
October 5, 2011
Tibco recently announced its new version of software, Tibbr 3.0, which provides all the same amenities as before but adds a component of social networking into the mix. Realizing that social networking is now a necessity in the workplace, version 3.0 enables users ease of access to documents and other data all while still interacting within Tibbr.
In a release Tibco broke Tibbr 3.0’s features into five categories: Unifying Communications in the Workplace, Beyond Follow Act on Activity Streams from Enterprise Applications, Adding a Social Layer to Existing Legacy Applications in Context, Document Management, and Beyond the Workplace.
Perhaps the most interesting of it’s new features is the social networking applications in Beyond the Workplace. As the release explains,
Version 3.0 incorporates tibbr Communities, a function that helps an enterprise to create, manage and monitor stakeholders on one platform, thereby enabling seamless engagement with internal and external contacts, as and when needed, with a single login and URL.
This newest version of Tibco software validates the overwhelming cry from every industry that social networking is not simply a fad and is here to stay. Google is trying their hand at it, as is several others. Companies must begin looking at how social networking can strengthen their business and unite employees for a more fluid and efficient workplace. Worth a look.
Catherine Lamsfuss, October 5, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Americans Addicted to Facebook Love
October 1, 2011
At the recent Facebook F8 developers conference, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Facebook’s most recent evolution. The site is now coming out with a more advanced news feed, timelines, open graph, apps, music, and more. If it wasn’t apparent before, Facebook is blowing other sites like AOL and Google out of the water and revolutionizing social networking as we know it.
To provide a visual representation of exactly how far ahead of these other companies Facebook is, Citigroup created a chart showing the percent of time the United States spends online. In the article The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out, Peter Kafka said of the chart:
It’s a neat illustration of the Web 2.0 era, and does a nice job of explaining why Google is so freaked out about Facebook, and why AOL and Yahoo seem to be in eternal turnaround mode. (Note that just a couple of years ago, someone might have thought to include MySpace in here. Remember?)
Who knew back in 2004 how much Facebook would transform our lives? and, even more disconcerting, who knew that we would be spending over 16 percent of our lives on a single Web site? I thought I America was addicted to Google search. Is this a change in the US digital drug of choice? May be.
Jasmine Ashton, October 1, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Endeca Clicks into Real Time Search with DataSift
September 26, 2011
Endeca, known for its e-commerce software, is pairing with DataSift, a provider of aggregated social data feeds at Web scale. Their partnership will produce visualizations and advanced analytics on semi-structured content in real time. Benzinga covers the latest in, “Endeca and DataSift Team to Analyze the Real Time Web.” The write up asserts:
Pairing Endeca Latitude®, an Agile BI platform, with the breadth of social data like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress as well as other popular social solutions, enables organizations to react to the “big data fire hose” alongside internal data, for marketing analytics, customer intelligence, CRM and competitive intelligence. Endeca and DataSift will demonstrate their joint offering at O’Reilly’s Strata Conference on September 22-23 in New York.
DataSift’s granular and modular sifting abilities combine with Endeca Latitude’s intuitive interface to produce a product that is both powerful and cost-effective. The yet unnamed offering will help companies mine the business value out of the gushing well of new social data.
Our view is that “latency” exists across the six major types of “real time” solutions. What does “real time” mean? Well, it means different things depending upon the application. Some solutions are mind bogglingly expensive. Think Thomson Reuters’ feeds of financial data on certain investments. Others are pretty leisurely; for example, what is trending in the world of Lady Gaga. Interesting tie up. No solid definition of latency yet. We are watching and waiting. You know. Latency.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 23, 2011
Google+ User Update Searches: Premature at Best
September 20, 2011
Now that Google has unveiled Google+ to the world, the world is ready to start using it! The .article, How to Search for Google Plus User Updates, on Make Use Of, explains step-by-step how to do just what it says – search for Google+ user updates.
The article provides a step by techie step guide on how to manipulate Google’s own search engine to get results from Google’s own social network site. Hmmm….One has to manipulate Google to get Google info? The article summed it up best:
It’s weird that Google (a search engine in the first place) has created its own social network without giving users the ability to search for other users’ real-time updates. There’s an option to search for users – which works much like Facebook’s people search – start typing and people will be suggested instantly. It works primarily by matching words you are typing with users’ names and emails.
While one can toy around with the Google search engine to get the results they are looking for, the question that came to our minds was, “who cares?” Not to be rude to Google+, but Facebook, it ain’t. At least not yet.
Google gets that dreamy look in its eyes every time they talk about the future of Google+, but so far, Facebook isn’t feeling very threatened.
Google+ might just be the perfect, billion-dollar blend of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but Google is making changes, just more slowly than I expected. The “real names” method is one example. The slow inclusion of Google Plus content into search results is another. Where’s that fast cycle, multiple iteration method from the glory days of 2006 and 2007? Why the hurry up and wait?
Catherine Lamsfuss, September 20, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Social Media: Is There a Scare Factor?
September 17, 2011
From the “Do You Need to Be Reminded” Desk: Social media mining is a growing field, one that deals with parsing meaning out of the big data generated by social networks. Valuable to advertisers, but potentially also to employers, law enforcement, and even criminals, this data can generate relevant information about individuals and groups. But how do we know if it’s accurate? Eric Naone explores in, “When Social Media Mining Gets it Wrong.”
…In Las Vegas, at the computer security conference Black Hat, Alessandro Acquisti, an associate professor of information technology and public policy at the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University, showed how a photograph of a person can be used to find his or her date of birth, social security number, and other information by using facial recognition technology to match the image to a profile on Facebook and other websites. Acquisti acknowledges the privacy implications of this work, but he warns that the biggest problem could be the inaccuracy of this and other data-mining techniques.
If the privacy aspect of social media mining doesn’t scare you, the inaccuracy of the technology should. Correlations made from individuals’ social “likes” and comments are weak at best. If companies try to implement usage of big data gleaned from social media, it will no doubt push the issue into political debate in order to prevent misuse and breaches of privacy. Now what about social search? Worth considering?
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 17, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Powwownow Dons Autonomy IDOL
September 15, 2011
A leader in the teleconferencing industry, Powwownow, announced they are using Autonomy’s TeamSite as a content management tool. The article, Powwownow Selects Autonomy’s Content Management Tool, on Content Software Management (CSM) explains how this move will prove beneficial to the young company.
A UK based company, only seven years old, Powwownow took conference calling to a whole new level when they erupted onto the market. Their premise is simple: provide people a teleconferencing service with no fees, no scheduling hassles, and local phone rates. Genius!
As their growth has expanded exponentially since their humble beginnings, their tech needs have grown. The search began for Web Content Management as the company’s needs demanded changes. The final decision to go with Autonomy’s TeamSite resulted because of these factors:
By removing the need for manual processes and ensuring a personalized online experience for its customers, TeamSite will enable Powwownow to increase its conversions and sales revenues, said Autonomy. ‘Autonomy’s technology was the only one that could address the main goals of our WCM initiative: drive customer conversion rates, empower our marketing team and reduce involvement of IT. As a 24/7 service, we could not afford any downtime, and Autonomy’s implementation was a success in this regard,’ (Powwownow IT Director) Maguire said.
Beyond Search likes Autonomy’s simple mission: make computers sort through the millions of data streaming into a company every day so that human’s can be left to perform higher level thinking tasks. It’s no surprise that they are doing quite well in their efforts to provide Information Risk Management, archiving, rich media management, Information Risk Management and many other much needed services.
Catherine Lamsfuss, September 15, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Praise for Google Plus
September 10, 2011
CNN Tech applauds Google+ with “A Month with Google+: Why This Social Network Has Legs.” Writer Jacqui Cheng tried out the new social site for a month, and she’s happy with it. She especially likes the “circles” feature:
It’s clear to me that this — sending updates to certain groups of people and not to others — is the main appeal of the service. . . . With Google+, sending out certain updates to some people and other updates to other people is right at the forefront of the experience. You are always asked to make a conscious decision about your social circles and about which circles get to see which posts.
She also likes that she can see her page from other users’ perspectives, that there is no message character limit. Another plus is being able to screen out posts on certain topics, rather than certain users entirely. She likes “Hangouts” feature, but its removal wouldn’t be a deal breaker.
Cheng spends a lot of pixels comparing this service to Facebook and Twitter. However, a different comparison comes to our minds: Google+ is starting to look more like a LinkedIn with added features, not a Facebook with teens and college students on a sleep over. Perhaps it’s time for social media to grow up.
Cynthia Murrell, September 10, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
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