The Google: We Are Supreme Because We Say So
October 23, 2019
The quantum supremacy PR stunt is aloft. Navigate to “What Our Quantum Computing Milestone Means.” The write up does not mention self-serving public relations. Nope. Here’s an example:
While we’re excited for what’s ahead, we are also very humbled by the journey it took to get here. And we’re mindful of the wisdom left to us by the great Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman: “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.”
Aw, shucks. Google is just plain folk.
And the write up has a reminder to IBM, an outfit somewhat troubled by the supremacy thing:
As we scale up the computational possibilities, we unlock new computations. To demonstrate supremacy, our quantum machine successfully performed a test computation in just 200 seconds that would have taken the best known algorithms in the most powerful supercomputers thousands of years to accomplish. We are able to achieve these enormous speeds only because of the quality of control we have over the qubits. Quantum computers are prone to errors, yet our experiment showed the ability to perform a computation with few enough errors at a large enough scale to outperform a classical computer.
And Google sees an upside too:
Quantum computing will be a great complement to the work we do (and will continue to do) on classical computers. In many ways quantum brings computing full circle, giving us another way to speak the language of the universe and understand the world and humanity not just in 1s and 0s but in all of its states: beautiful, complex, and with limitless possibility.
Yep, our work. Let’s see. That includes:
- Online advertising
- Me too mobile phones
- Hiring Microsoft executives
- Implementing interesting management methods related to personnel- executive interaction
- Employees sleeping in their vehicles.
Great stuff. Quantum PR.
Stephen E Arnold, October 23, 2019
What to Be Found Via Google?
October 13, 2019
Do you want your business and/or Web site to be at the top of Google’s search results? It is a hard race to the top, but it can be won and Business 2 Community explains how in, “How To Use Google My Business Posts.” Google My Business (GMB) posts are part of the Google My Business profile, one of the many services that Google offers users to optimize their business’s profile. According to the article, Google My Business (GMB) posts are mini-ads for your business or the goods/services you offer.
The GMB posts allow users to publish products, services, events and other information directly to Google’s search and maps. Your content is then placed in front of potential customers. The biggest clincher is that the GMB posts are placed in Google’s many services in real time. That is a big deal! Being able to view and interact with content in real time is part of the augmented reality.
“Google offers four different types of posts to help you promote your business:
• Events, like a wine night or networking event
• Offers, such as sales or discounts
• Product updates, like new merchandise
• Announcements, such as “We’re open late” or “Closed due to inclement weather!”
There are two ways to create a GMB post, on a desktop or mobile device. Videos and photos can also be added to posts. All posts appear in a user’s GMB profile and are live on Google search for seven days, unless an event is more than seven days in the future.
GMB is like Facebook or LinkedIn, except for businesses. How long will it take before it becomes spam filled? Also Google Ads works too, but that requires some monetary investment.
Whitney Grace, October 13, 2019
Hot Buzzword: Continuous Intelligence
October 11, 2019
No, I don’t know what “continuous intelligence” means. When I worked at Booz, Allen, one of the presidents from that era remarked to me, “I have a sixth sense for great jargon.” That fellow, James Farley, would have embraced “continuous intelligence.” The phrase sounds good. It is metaphorical. It could support a new practice area.
I heard the word at the TechnoSecurity & Digital Forensics Conference. I am not sure which session speaker dropped the phrase. Maybe Cisco’s and Coalfire’s? At the time, I noted the phrase but did not think much about it.
This morning it surfaced again in “Clear the Path to Continuous Intelligence with Machine Learning, Consultancy Urges.” Not a Booz, Allen pitch which is interesting. The jargon outputters are from ThoughtWorks.
The write up defines the phrase “continuous intelligence” this way:
… The continuous intelligence state: This is where CD4ML platform thinking and a data DevOps culture become the norm. This is “continuous delivery for data,” the ThoughtWorks team explains. “As data scientists create more refined and accurate models, they can easily deploy these into production as replacements for prior models. Being able to create products which learn and complete the intelligence cycle in a continuous fashion is what sets this stage apart. The loops become more seamless and most of the hurdles are removed. Loops become tighter and faster with more use and more experimentation, which is a key indicator of the health of intelligence cycle.”
Got it? If not, a mid tier consulting firm will assist you as you travel the learning curve. A conference opportunity? Absolutely.
“Continuous intelligence” has arrived.
Stephen E Arnold, October 11, 2019
Oracle Is Streamlining Its Brands
September 19, 2019
When Apple rehired Steve Jobs to save the floundering company, Jobs returned to with a minimalist mentality. He told a shocked group of employees that instead of offering every type of Apple computer with bells, whistles, and ice-cream, there would be a limited number. From this limited number, consumers could choose which Apple worked for them and Apple would be able to concentrate on building the best product on the market. Oracle is taking a page from Jobs’s minimalist book, because ZDNet shares how, “Oracle Analytics: Honing 18+ Products Down To A Single Brand.”
Oracle is one of the most recognized and trusted names in business intelligence. The company has grown so much with products and acquisitions that its hard drive runneth over with names and brands. Oracle rebranded its BI and data analytics with the Oracle Analytics moniker. Oracle is now run by Bruno Aziza and T.K. Anand, both worked in Microsoft’s BI department. They described Oracle Analytics as three pillars:
“Oracle Analytics Cloud will encompass all stand-alone cloud analytics and will serve as the flagship offering
Oracle Analytics Server encompasses all stand-alone on-premises analytics, and is essentially a reboot of OBIEE
Oracle Analytics for Fusion Applications will cover analytics in service of Oracle’s many business applications”
The rebranding will encompass classic analytics and new features, particularly taking advantage of natural language processing. There is a new integrated user experience with self-service data discovery, reporting, fancy dashboards, and multi-device usage.
Oracle promises to bring the same, reliable service, except better and more intuitive for BI enterprises. Oracle spoke about NLP, but did not say much about AI or machine learning. There is probably some AI in Oracle Analytics, but the rebranding has kept any new developments for a later announcement.
Whitney Grace, September 19, 2019
YouTube Recommendation Engine Benefits Advertisers, Users?
September 17, 2019
Beware the YouTube recommendation engine, especially where the kids are concerned. We are warned by Scientific American in its piece, “YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm Has a Dark Side.” (And, no, this is not about the pedophile thing.) Writer Zeynep Tufekci readily admits there is a lot of good information on YouTube. In fact, that is why just staying away is not an option for most internet users. He cautions us, though, not to go for the worthy instructions and stay for the captivating rubbish. He writes:
“‘How do I’ assemble that table, improve my stroke, decide if I’m a feminist, choose vaccinations, highlight my cheeks, tie my shoelaces, research whether climate change is real…? Someone on YouTube has an answer. But the site has also been targeted by extremists, conspiracy theorists and reactionaries who understand its role as a gateway to information, especially for younger generations. And therein lies the dark side: YouTube makes money by keeping users on the site and showing them targeted ads. To keep them watching, it utilizes a recommendation system powered by top-of-the-line artificial intelligence (it’s Google, after all). Indeed, after Google Brain, the company’s AI division, took over YouTube’s recommendations in 2015, there were laudatory articles on how it had significantly increased ‘engagement’: Silicon Valley–speak for enticing you to stay on the site longer. These ‘recommended’ videos play one after the other. … YouTube’s algorithms will push whatever they deem engaging, and it appears they have figured out that wild claims, as well as hate speech and outrage peddling, can be particularly so.”
We’re reminded that kids (most of whom do not have the experience to consistently discern good information from bad) are likely to go to Google-owned YouTube with their questions before any other search platform because, like it or not, they much prefer video to text. Couple that with the fact that Google’s Chromebooks, which come preloaded with YouTube, dominate the U.S. K-12 market. Grown-ups probably underestimate how much time young people spend on the platform, and especially how often they are lured away from approved educational fare.
Tufekci’s suggestion is for Google to disable the recommendation engine on schools’ Chromebooks. That would be a good place to start, but how do we convince a pusher to cut off its youngest and most vulnerable users? Legislation may be required.
Google wants engagement. Google wants revenue. Is the Google speak making these two factors too difficult for users to discern?
Cynthia Murrell, September 17, 2019
A Look at Snovio for Drip Campaigns
September 11, 2019
Marketing strategies evolve with the technologies available, and right now drip campaigns are popular. This approach involves sending pre-written messages to leads or existing customers over time. Naturally, automation makes drizzling such series into many inboxes a snap. Several apps exist to do just that; The Tech Block describes one of them in its write-up, “Snov.io Email Drip Campaigns: The Perfect Tool to Reach Out to More People.” We learn:
“Snov.io is a platform that gives marketers an opportunity to search for leads and their email addresses, check if they are real, send auto follow-ups, and some other useful features. You can use the email finder as an extension for Google Chrome and as a web application. It will help you find emails from various websites and even LinkedIn. With the help of the email checker, you will verify all the email addresses that you have found. This way you will be able to create an entire email contact list of potential prospects and send drip emails to them via the Email Drip Campaigns tool. The Gmail Tracker traces the sent emails and provides the details on email opens and link clicks.”
Snovio boasts professional message templates that help companies put their best foot forward, and promises “complete” automation. See the write-up, or Snovio’s website, for more details; don’t forget to check out some of the competition as well. Founded in 2017, Snovio is based in New York City.
Cynthia Murrell, September 11, 2019
Tech Giants Are Classy and Semi Clever
August 16, 2019
I read “Google Attacks Windows by Comparing It to a Broken-Down Car.” Classy on two criteria:
- TechRadar’s story title. DarkCyber loved the “broken down” bound phrase
- Google’s decision to diminish the Microsoft system.
The Google has coveted Microsoft’s position in the computing world. The company rolled out its word processing, presentation, and ledger software specifically to undermine Microsoft Office. Years ago a Googler explained the strategy. (Sorry. I can’t tell you why a real Googler was talking to a person who lives in rural Kentucky.)
Humor is useful, particularly for stand up comedians. Jack Benny made fun of Fred Allen. The two had a feud.
The difference is that from where I view the world across the hollows and streams filled with mine drainage:
- Both companies deliver software and services which are deeply problematic. Whether it is Google’s irrelevant results on ad choked page or Microsoft’s updates which kill systems upon which people rely for “work” — both outfits have some technical work to do.
- Both companies are monopolies in distinct ways. Google controls a number of services; for example, content delivery via the Android complex. Microsoft dominates in business software.
- Both companies have an arrogance which surfaces in product support and public messaging.
To sum up, two deeply flawed organizations sniping at one another is less amusing than what flows from professional comedians.
The ad and the news giant reporting about the ad remind me of individuals who think that their insights are really clever.
Maybe they are, but will high school antics determine what type of laptop computer I will buy? Nope. I am happy with an eight year old Mac Air. No reason to change because advances in the tools I use on a day to day basis are not changing in a meaningful, useful manner.
When innovation stalls and creativity wanes, why not go for jokes?
Stephen E Arnold, August 16, 2019
Clever or Clumsy? Attempts to Achieve Lock In from Nervous Giants
August 9, 2019
The master of lock in is Amazon. (Lock in means that a company finds a way to ensure that a customer remains a customer. The term, as DarkCyber uses it, refers to the golden age of IBM. Remember that era?)
Apple and Google don’t have the Prime play. But both companies are trying, and their efforts are interesting. DarkCyber finds these “moves” amusing.
First, Apple is going to annoy customers of iPhones who try to get a battery replaced at a non Apple service location. Beta News explains this stroke of genius in “Apple Is Discouraging the Installation of Third Party Batteries by Displaying Battery Health Warnings.” The “you may get harmed” angle is fascinating. The write up states:
While it could be argued that Apple is concerned that iPhone users might install low quality batteries in their handsets, the more cynical response would be that the company is trying to scare people into buying more expensive batteries direct from Apple rather than a third party. This is not the first time Apple has been caught blocking or discouraging the use of third-party components; similar activity has been seen in relation to replacement screens and home buttons.
With Apple stores becoming less and less friendly, now an iPhone customer has to deal with a click through annoyance and a message from the Apple chief parent. What’s the goal? Simple. Control, money, and interactions with the customer. Yes, some of the ingredients of lock in. Not an Amazon Prime grade play, but it is interesting and a bit sad for some black turtleneck wearers.
Second, the Google has an anti-Prime play. Amazon charges people to become a member of a virtual Costco. Google pays people to join. Here’s how this works if DarkCyber understands the implicit message in “Google Flights Will Offer Money-Back Price Guarantees.” Uber Gizmo states:
Google has announced that they will be introducing a money-back price guarantee feature to Google Flights. This means that you won’t need to worry about finding the best price as Google will refund you the difference. According to Google, “When we predict the price won’t decrease for select itineraries booked between August 13 and September 2, we’ll guarantee the price won’t drop, and we’ll refund you the difference if it does. We’ll monitor the price for you and if the price drops any time before departure, we’ll send you an email letting you know once your flight takes off–so there’s no work on your end.”
Our conclusion: Use our service, and the Google will provide you with an Amazon Prime type benefit for free. Is the benefit free? DarkCyber does not believe that any Google service is “free.” Google wants traffic, and it wants to provide a cash benefit for trusting Mother Google.
What do these two examples suggest?
- Prime envy is real
- Apple and Google are trying to generate what DarkCyber interprets as “millennial loyalty”
- The “plays” are not exactly subtle.
Net net: Apple and Google have adopted “marketing” tactics which call attention to a a subtle shift from a “power” position to a “threatened” position. Prime case examples, right?
Stephen E Arnold, August 9, 2019
Clickbait: Still Tasty After All Those Years
August 8, 2019
This will come as no surprise to many who consider the rise of smartphones a scourge on society. Haas Newsroom, a publication of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, explains “How Information Is Like Snacks, Money, and Drugs—to Your Brain.” Writer Laura Counts reports on a study performed at Haas which found that, as with eating tasty food or receiving money, taking in information can produce a dopamine surge. So, clickbait junkies are real junkies, addicted to junk information instead of drugs, money, or junk food. Counts writes:
“‘To the brain, information is its own reward, above and beyond whether it’s useful,’ says Assoc. Prof. Ming Hsu, a neuroeconomist whose research employs functional magnetic imaging (fMRI), psychological theory, economic modeling, and machine learning. ‘And just as our brains like empty calories from junk food, they can overvalue information that makes us feel good but may not be useful—what some may call idle curiosity.’ The paper, ‘Common neural code for reward and information value,’ was published this month by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Authored by Hsu and graduate student Kenji Kobayashi, now a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, it demonstrates that the brain converts information into the same common scale as it does for money. It also lays the groundwork for unraveling the neuroscience behind how we consume information—and perhaps even digital addiction. ‘We were able to demonstrate for the first time the existence of a common neural code for information and money, which opens the door to a number of exciting questions about how people consume, and sometimes over-consume, information,’ Hsu says.”
See the write-up for the study’s methodology. Though researchers did not specifically examine the brain’s response to consuming information online, their results do indicate information prompts the reward response. That is why we find ourselves seeking out details that are not really helpful in any way. Except, of course, to get a shot of that sweet, sweet dopamine.
Hsu draws a parallel to junk food. Sugar was a rare treat for our distant ancestors, and the desire for sweetness drove them to eat healthy fruit whenever they could. Now, though, refined sugar is all around us and usually divorced from fruity nutrients. Similarly, we live in a time when unhelpful (and downright untrue) information pervades our environment. As with watching our diet, we must be careful which information we choose to consume.
Cynthia Murrell, August 8, 2019
The Platform of the Future Is…
August 2, 2019
What’s the platform of the future? Here are your choices:
[a] Artificial intelligence
[b] Neuro linguistic services
[c] Silicon brain implants connected to the cloud
[d] Indexing
[e] Pay to play content.
Did you pick “d”: Indexing.
If you did, you are on the same wavelength as the rock and roll, up and down advisory and analyst firm IDC.
The pronouncement comes from Stewart Bond, research director at IDC Research Inc. (Note: DarkCyber has written reports for IDC. The firm sold these reports on Amazon without DarkCyber’s permission, and IDC did not pay for the use of the DarkCyber reports. How much were our reports? $3,200 for eight pages of goodness? Want to know more? Drop us an email: darkcyber333 at yandex dot com.)
This revelation appeared in Silicon Angle which presented a summary of an interview with IDC Research’s director. Other gems from the write up were:
Pre-existing silos and multicloud can give companies a lot of disparate spaces to scavenge through. The most sensible place to start may be with the available data about all that data — or metadata.
Yes, indexing, an art practiced for millennia.
We noted this statement:
Companies are realizing that poorly cleansed or inaccurately labeled data are resulting in inaccurate insights. And vendors are rushing to the rescue. The number of vendors offering cataloging solutions has increased about 240% in the last year and a half, according to Bond’s research.
Hmm. What’s the research methodology? Remember that IDC has generated some specious numbers in the past; for example, the amount of time a person in a company spends looking for information. DarkCyber is curious about this 18 month period, the sample, the methodology, and the reliability of the analytic process. A 2.4X increase is robust, particularly for indexing and the accompanying tasks embraced in the sweeping generalization.
And we put an exclamation mark next to this passage:
Multicloud has flung data all over the place. Effective software must have spider legs that can reach out and quickly gather intelligence about it. Data cataloging may do this with machine learning, human annotation, Google-like search features, etc. “I think that’s going to be the data platform of the future,” Bond stated. Informatica Corp. currently leads in this market, according to Bond.
Okay, flinging data all over the place. Colorful. We also noted that Informatica Corp. is the leader in “this market.” Exactly what market are we thinking about. Google, search, cloud—what, which?
Keep in mind that Informatica has been around since 1993, and it has grown to about $1 billion a year in revenue. Impressive when compared to the local tire store, but a bit behind the curve when it comes to data. Amazon in the last quarter generated about $8 billion. Annualized Amazon is about 32X bigger than Informatica. Who will win in the cloud cataloging game? Informatica? Sure it will.
But why the love for Informatica? One possibility is that Informatica is a client or prospect of IDC. That’s an idea worth considering.
And where did this “indexing” pronouncement appear? In Silicon Angle. Here’s the explanation which appeared with the IDC research director’s startling insight:
SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content. If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
DarkCyber interprets this information as a way to make “sponsored” content less front and center.
“Indexing” is a sure fire way to generate buzz for a consulting company and maybe, just maybe, some revenue from sponsored video for Silicon Angle.
The video is here.
Stephen E Arnold, August 2, 2019
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