Protected: Open Web Analytics and IKANOW as a Key Resource
May 10, 2012
Findability and Design: How Sizzle Distracts from Understanding
May 9, 2012
I have been watching the Disneyfication of search. A results list is just not exciting unless there are dozens of links, images, videos, and graphs to help me find the answer to my research question. As far as I know, Palantir and several other analytics companies have built their businesses on outputting flashy graphics which I often have a tough time figuring out. My view is that looks are more important than substance in many organizations.
I read “Designers Are Not a Panacea.” I agree with the basic premise of the write up. Here’s a passage I tucked into my reference file:
Rather than granting designers full control over the product, remember that they need to play nice and integrate with several other aspects of your business. You need to remember that you are building a business not a pretty app. A designer co-founder could help (as could a sales co-founder), but does not offer any guarantees that you will make good business decisions, regardless of how “beautiful” an experience your application offers (not to say that adding more engineers does). Visual aesthetics are rarely enough. Getting a product into the hands of potential customers is important.
The write leaves an important question unanswered: “Why is the pursuit of visual flashiness now so important?”
I have several hypotheses, and I don’t think that some of these have been explored in sufficient detail by either the private equity firms pumping money into graphic-centric search and content processing companies. Here goes and feel free to use the comments section of this blog if you disagree:
First, insecurity. I think that many professionals are not sure of their product or service, not sure of their expertise, and not sure of their own “aura of competence.” Hiding behind visually thrilling graphs distracts the audience to some degree. The behavior of listeners almost guarantees that really basic questions about sample size and statistical recipes used to output the visual will not be asked.
Second, mislead. I think that humans like to look at pictures and then do the “thinking fast, thinking slow” thing and jump to conclusions for social or psychological reasons. The notion of an in depth discussion is something I have watched get kicked into the gutter in some recent meetings. The intellectual effort required to think about a problem is just not present. A visual makes it easy for the speaker and the listener to mislead intentionally.
Third, indifference. In a recent meeting, several presenters put up slides which had zero to do with the topic at hand. The speaker pointed to the visual and made a totally unrelated comment or observation. No one in the audience cared. I don’t think most people were listening. Fiddling with smart phones or playing with iPads has replaced listening and old fashioned note taking. The speaker did not care either. I think the presentation was prepared by some corporate team and the presenter was trying to smile and get through the briefing.
What does design have to do with search? If one looks at the “new” interfaces for Google and Microsoft Web search, I noted that neither service was making fundamental changes. In fact, Google seemed to be moving to the old Excite and Yahoo approach with three columns and a bewildering number of hot links. Microsoft, on the other hand, was emulating Google’s interface in 2006 and 2007.
Visualization systems and methods have made significant contributions to engineering and certain types of mathematics. However, for other fields, visualization has become lipstick designed to distract, obfuscate, or distort information.
In US government briefings, visual sizzle is often more important than the content presented. I have seen the same disturbing trend at analytics and search conferences. Without accountability from colleagues and employers, design is going to convert search and findability into a walk through Disneyland. The walk is fun, but I don’t think an amusement park shares much with the nitty grit of day to day revenue generation from software and services.
Stephen E Arnold, May 9, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
A Brief History of the Black-Scholes Formula
May 8, 2012
Here’s a story for the math inclined—the story of a formula that transformed the financial industry. BBC News describes “Black-Scholes: The Maths Formula Linked to the Financial Crash.” Writer Tim Harford stretches the tale back to 17th Century Japan, but the formula itself was developed in the early 1970s by Myron Scholes and Fischer Black. The problem it was created to solve? The valuation of options. As the write up understates, “the details are hugely complicated.”
After the formula was published, it took on a life of its own, eventually enabling the development of that confounding instrument, the derivative. The article tells us:
“Scholes thought his equation would be useful. He didn’t expect it to transform the face of finance. But it quickly became obvious that it would. . . .
“‘By 2007 the trade in derivatives worldwide was one quadrillion (thousand million million) US dollars – this is 10 times the total production of goods on the planet over its entire history,’ says [author Ian] Stewart.”
. . . . And we all know how that story progressed. The article goes in depth into why widespread use of the Black Scholes Formula has caused so much trouble in the markets. The issue has sparked debate about not only this formula, but the role of equations in the stock market and the related reliance on computer-directed trading.
Is there any hope that one day investments will again be centered around building things (and jobs) rather than on placing bets? Nah, probably not.
Cynthia Murrell, May 8, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Inteltrax: Top Stories, April 30 to May 4
May 7, 2012
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically, where the power lies in the analytic world.
Our story, “Korea Gets Analytic Attention” shows that China doesn’t deserve all the analytic attention when discussing Asian superpowers.
However, that doesn’t mean that China isn’t astoundingly powerful in the big data market. Our story, “Beijing Set to be the new Analytic Wall Street” all but solidifies that notion.
However, nations don’t hold all the strength. “Analytic Partner Power” highlights the growing shift of strong analytic companies teaming together to weather any storm.
Whether nations are on the rise, staying on top or innovative business ideas are helping forge new strengths, we’ll be keeping an eye on everything in the big data analytics sphere. Keep up with the news every day.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax.
May 7, 2012
Digimind Releases Digimind Mobile
May 1, 2012
Digimind users can now put that power in their pockets, provide they use an i-device. “Discover Digimind on the Go! Now Available in the App Store,” crows Digimind’s Web site. The write up states:
“In today’s fast-paced working environment, you need access to business critical information while on the move. With Digimind mobile you can receive and validate alerts, add information and share with colleagues as you travel between meetings or commute to and from work. The flexibility that comes with the Digimind app gives you a real competitive edge.”
With the mobile tool, one can receive alerts and alert validations, forward content, and add information to folders. Its App Store page is here.
Digimind‘s global client list includes organizations from a broad range of industries. Its works to save its clients time and money by automating and streamlining the collection, analysis, and sharing of data. The company boasts of having turned a profit from day one, and of growing by 50% annually.
Cynthia Murrell, May 1, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Ikanow and Carahsoft Bring Infinit.e to Government
May 1, 2012
Here at Beyond Search we often report on tech partnerships that will result in improved search technology. In this vein, Yahoo News recently published “IKANOW and Carahsoft Partner to Bring Open Analytics and Agile Intelligence to Government,”a news release on an important new partnership to look out for.
According to the article, government IT solutions provider Carahsoft Technology Corp and the open analytics platform developer IKANOW have joined together to bring IKANOW’s Infinit.e data and knowledge discovery platform, built on open source technologies, to the U.S. public sector market. Whereas IKANOW will be in charge of product development, Carahsoft will focus on sales and marketing activities to educate the market.
The article states:
“Infinit.e is an all-in-one knowledge discovery tool with an intuitive browser-like interface and powerful algorithms that automatically find relevant information, determine connections and present results in easily understood diagrams, saving time, increasing confidence and improving communications.”
This cloud based analyst platform will allow companies to quickly and easily sort and analyze mass amounts of structured and unstructured data and could make a big impact on our government’s ever expanding demand for research tools.
Jasmine Ashton, May 1, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
Inteltrax: Top Stories, April 23 to April 27
April 30, 2012
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically, problems in the data analytics world and how they are overcome.
“The Trouble with Big Data and Social Media” took a look at the overwhelming glut of info brought on by social media and how analytics looks to wrangle it.
“Big Data Law Could Smooth Bad Government PR” actually looks to smooth over a prior problem. The government appears to be making nice with big data companies after threatening its reputation in a data mining suit.
“Big Data Downfall Not Believable” zeroes in on the naysayers of big data and proves them wrong at every turn.
As with any burgeoning industry, there are lows that go along with the highs. Often, like with the above stories, you can learn a lot about how people handle these rough patches. You can bet we’ll be studying these moments along with the highs every day.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax.
April 30, 2012
Samir Batla Discusses Cloud Based Content Analytics
April 30, 2012
Text Analytics News recently shared an interesting podcast on their site called “Employ the Cloud for Efficient Content Analytics” as part of their text analytics podcast series leading up to the upcoming text mining conference scheduled for June 12 through 13 in Boston.
In part three of the series Samir Batla, the Principal Product Manager of Search & Analytics for EMC Corporation explains some of the technical aspects and business advantages of performing content analysis in the cloud along with some of the risks associated with performing cloud-based text analytics. Batla also offers tools on how to determine the best approach for operating your content analytics solution in the cloud.
According to Batla, 90% of our digital universe is unstructured content and 91 percent of IP traffic will be video by 2014 and it will take 72 million hours to view that content. Content is exploding and people who create solutions need to combine their own technical expertise with the needs of their users.
When discussing the difference between Enterprise IT and the public cloud Batla states:
“With Enterprise IT the message today is that it is complex and it is expensive and not flexible. However, it is trusted and you can control it. It’s reliable and secure. The public cloud is flexible and dynamic and it is low cost but there is no control or security.”
For those interested in getting an in depth look at the pros and cons of the various types of cloud solutions available, this is an excellent podcast to listen to.
Jasmine Ashton, April 30, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Autonomy Jumps Into Media Analytics
April 27, 2012
HP property Autonomy has released a couple of products that build on its IDOL server, CMS Wire reports in “Autonomy Offers Media Analytics with NewsSocial Release #NABShow.” Writer David Roe is intrigued by the move into the Digital Asset Management space, which has not traditionally been in HP’s purview. Well. . . expand or perish, right?
The first product mentioned in the write up is NewSocial 24×7. It could become a must-have for those in news rooms or anyone else who relies on real-time info. The article tells us:
“Powered by IDOL, the new solution provides in-depth, real-time media monitoring and analytics for all text, rich media voice and voice sources including print, online, blogs, social media and broadcast news. . . . NewSocial 24×7 offers real-time conceptual understanding of customer commentary on social media channels, allowing campaigns to be adjusted quickly.”
The second release, Virage MediaBin8, is designed to help users identify the most appropriate information for use in enterprise, Web, social media, or online advertising. Advanced features, like facial, logo, and other pattern recognition, are provided through the HP Digital Library. We learned:
“With Virage MediaBin, organizations can tag and classify rich media assets, regardless of format or language. It then applies this information to deliver advanced analytics, categorization, summarization, concept clouds, dynamic content associations, content hyper-linking and automation of business processes and workflow.”
Autonomy, originally founded in 1996, is a leader in meaning-based information technology. They take pride in building tools that efficiently extract meaning from unwieldy tangles of unstructured data. HP bought Autonomy in 2011.
Cynthia Murrell, April 27, 2012
Sponsored by Ikanow
Connotate Pursues Big Data for Marketing
April 25, 2012
Connotate’s Web site announces, “Connotate Automates Altitude Digital Partners’ Ad Exchange Data Collection Processes.” Altitude Digital Partners is a supply-side platform for monetizing online content. The company has chosen Connotate to automate its Web data collection and monitoring. The move should free up Altitude’s employees for other tasks. Lots of other tasks.
The write up quotes Kelly Darnall, Director of Ad Operations for Altitude Digital Partners:
“Connotate’s solution is the perfect fit for our business needs as it allows us to monitor and collect the information our clients require from the Web – even if the source is password-protected. We expected to experience immediate operational benefits but were surprised at just how dramatic the results were. . . The quality of the results improved, we expanded the number of ad networks and exchanges that are available to our customers and improved client service.”
Connotate credits Altitude’s customer service improvements to its reworked SSP interface.
Connotate, named a KMWorld “Trend-Setting Product” for the past six years, was founded in 2000. The company aims to help clients increase the value they glean from their data with an easy-to-use solution. Connotate asserts that it is the only vendor in its field “with a broad, uncontested patent portfolio.” That is a definite advantage.
Altitude Digital Partners works with hundreds of online publishers to provide services in yield optimization for display and online video advertising. The company claims to, on average, generate a threefold revenue increase for its clients.
Cynthia Murrell, April 25, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
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