Google Is Not Evil
February 11, 2013
It is so easy to put a black cape, top hat, and dastardly mustache on Google, because nobody gets that successful without a few skeletons in their closet, right? Also the company has a “Don’t Be Evil” motto that gives them more flak than the average company. They must be evil, right? Or maybe it is the simple, natural process called change. Blind Five Year Old outlines“Google’s Evil Plan Is Simple (And Not So Evil)” by explaining the search engine is not evil, the users are. The article even details what Google’s “nefarious plan” is:
“Get people to use the Internet more. That’s it. The more time people spend on the Internet the more time they’ll engage in revenue generating activities such as viewing and clicking display ads and performing searches.
The way Google executes on this strategy is to improve speed and accessibility to the Internet. Google wants to shorten the distance between any activity and the Internet. Lets look at some of Google’s initiatives with this in mind.”
The article outlines a bevy of Google products and services meant to increase Internet accessibility and usage. More Internet usage means Google gets used more and Google makes more revenue. At the same time, Google is saying that this will improve people’s lives. Google is trying to find the best ways to make its products and services available everywhere at anytime. It sounds more like economics than world domination theory.
Whitney Grace, February 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Commercial Professional Publishers: Aced Again?
February 8, 2013
In June 2012, an insular commercial database and professional publishing operation paid me to show up and share the trends my team had identified in online information. We were deep in the open source search study, which will be available to registered attendees of the Lucene Revolution in May 2013. I showed up, ran down a list of five areas which looked like potential investment areas. The group said, “We have these on our list already. What the heck did we hire you for anyway?”
Flash forward eight months. The insular outfit is still insular. And one of the opportunities I highlighted just became much more expensive. Navigate to “LinkedIn Eyes Future as Professional Publishing Hub.” The story points out that LinkedIn is profitable and growing organically. Here’s the passage I noted:
LinkedIn plans to hook you with business content you can’t get elsewhere — whitepapers, news articles, educated discussion threads, and so forth. When you come back more often and stick around longer — LinkedIn likes to use the term “engagement” to describe your attention — the professional social network can get clients to list more jobs and spend more on ads.
Oh, oh. Content marketing. I think the approach is a variation on Augmentext type content.
Most professional publishing and database companies do not grow organically because after years of trying to move into new markets and channels, the outfits just raise fees to lawyers, accountants, librarians, and financial analysts. When that stops working, the companies buy stuff and try to make the investments work. Whether it is medical fraud or crazy online encyclopedias, the path to the good old days of commercial professional and database publishing are harder and harder to recapture.
LinkedIn, like a couple of other outfits, is now heading into professional publishing land. If one of the big guys like Thomson Reuters or Ebsco try to hop on the train, the price of ticket has gone up a lot.
I don’t like to say, “I told you so.” I am more inclined to point to Williams James’ comment about “a certain blindness.” If you don’t see it, you cannot react. This is not Google or Facebook “arrogance” on the part of these traditional publishing companies’ management. The inability to spot an hot opportunity, overcome the friction of the “way it was,” and then act in a purposeful manner is the core problem in this business sector. Mark Logic can run conferences that cheerlead slice and dice as a strategy for growth. Outsell-type consultants can spin reports about innovations in publishing. The failed Web masters and unemployed journalists who bill themselves as mavens and poobahs can explain what’s happening in content created by and for professionals.
The problem is that making money means getting in before the CNet’s of the world report the obvious. So, no I told you so. Just a certain blindness. One can get run over crossing the street when blind. Stakeholders, are you listening? Some of the management in the companies in which you have invested may not be able to see the opportunities on the information superhighway.
Stephen E Arnold
Is Facebook a Rip Off of 16th Century Academics
January 28, 2013
To us, it seems Facebook has taken over the Internet. The giant social network that promotes sharing data and creating a web of relationships is a real innovation, rising above the crowd online and off. Or is it a ripoff of a 16th century monk? After reading “Facebook Concept Used by 16th Century Scholars, Researchers Discover” on Phys.org, we are not so sure.
The article states that our obsession with social networking is nothing new. Researchers say this idea of creating groups or networks and then exchanging information dates back to the 16th century where young scholars created nicknames and developed mottos and emblems to form groups where information was shared. We learn:
“Professor Jane Everson, Principal-investigator, said: ‘Just as we create user names for our profiles on Facebook and Twitter and create circles of friends on Google plus, these scholars created nicknames, shared – and commented on – topical ideas, the news of the day, and exchanged poems, plays and music.
‘It may have taken a little longer for this to be shared without the internet, but through the creation of yearbooks and volumes of letters and speeches, they shared the information of the day.’”
The discovery was made when a team of academics were cataloging the works of the Italian Academies. Too bad for the monks, this copycat system is alive and thriving with no thanks to these early scholars. We think the similarities between our societies is fascinating and salute these early monks for the innovation.
Andrea Hayden, January 28, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Key Yahoo Traffic in Steady Decline
January 23, 2013
Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer has a big hill to climb. Just as she is working to woo investors, recent statistics present some troublesome numbers, we learn from “Mayer’s 10X Challenge: Yahoo’s Homepage, Mail, and Search Traffic Show Significant Year-Over-Year Declines” at All Things D. Yes, that search thing is one of the issues; email and the customizable homepage are the other primary problem spots. The article informs us:
“Private stats from comScore show that those three areas have continued their longtime decline over the last year, in some cases dropping significantly. In November and December, for example, compared to the same two months a year ago, U.S. search was down 28 percent and 24 percent respectively, while mail was down 16 percent and 12 percent.
“This matters a great deal, since the troika of homepage, mail, and search have been the critical driver of the Yahoo value ecosystem for advertisers.
“The impact of those drops is felt all over Yahoo, whose music, movie, games and travel site have also seen massive drop-offs in traffic year over year in those same months.”
Though the drops in search and email were steep, the home page seemed to stabilize a bit, and Flickr has increased its users by a handsome 37 percent. That could have something to do increased support the CEO has been showing for that project.
Flickr, however, is not enough to save Yahoo, insists Swisher. She does give the company credit for other moves it has been making to refresh its offerings, like a new version of Yahoo Mail and a homepage redesign that emphasizes its mobile and social facets. Will it be enough to keep Yahoo near the top of the heap?
Cynthia Murrell, January 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Paid Links May Be the New Content Manipulation Game
January 8, 2013
With the New Year upon us, we can count on new tricks for content manipulation. Search Engine Land brings to our attention of the of the possible new tricks in “Will 2013 Bring a Paid Link Resurgence?” Not many people give credit to link builders, but the conjecture is that bad links for Web sites could potentially be as bad as negative SEO. Google has once more updated its Webmaster Guidelines and paid linkage is a way to manipulate Google’s search results. Google is punishing web sites for unnatural links. Webmasters will have to finally admit that content is the only way to get to the top of Google’s search results or control their marketing process. The later usually involves greenbacks that most do not want to spend. If business starts to suffer, however, guess where investments will need to be made?
Google is working overtime to control its search results:
“Google’s constant attempts to crack down serve only to spawn new and harder-to-catch ways to win. It sounds harsh but I know that no matter what methods they develop of controlling manipulation in one form, people will find ways to manipulate something else, until that gets smacked too, and they start over again.”
Paid links are part of everyday Web search and their impact is felt, we just do not realize it. However, one method of search results manipulation does not prove better than the other. It all depends on what is popular at the time and what can get past Google’s aggregators.
Whitney Grace, January 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Amazon Needs Content to Redeem Kindle Sales
October 24, 2012
Our beloved chief goose has commented about Amazon’s battle with its rising costs. Selling hardware at a loss in the hopes that the business model of Richard King Gillette will work is the sign of an optimist.
According to a recent admission from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon needs content, and it needs it to sell fast. The company stated that it makes virtually no money on its Kindle hardware and is counting on content to sell to make the ebook venture worthwhile. The reporting article, “No More Games: Amazon Admits it Needs Content Sales for Kindles to Fly” on Ars Technica, shares that the company is hoping that content purchases from Kindle users will redeem the profit margin on the ereader.
The article reveals more information about the pricing and the company’s game plan:
“The Kindle line has long seemed like it might be a loss leader for Amazon, though the company has been reticent about stating that outright. Bezos said at the press event announcing the new Kindle Fires and the Kindle Paperwhite that ‘We want to make money when our customers use our devices, not when they buy our devices,’ before unveiling their competitive (but not staggeringly low) prices.”
The revelation sounds particularly dreary for Amazon and its content providers. We wonder if the company will be able to control its costs at this time of tactical loss leaders in tablets and ebook readers? What happens if the costs exceed revenues? Interesting question.
Stephen E Arnold, October 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com
Study Proves Students Not Enthused About Digital Classrooms
October 17, 2012
Numerous opportunities exist online to assist in the development of education, such as social networking, blogs, and even simple email. However, according to an article I spotted on Phys.org titled “Study Reveals Disparity Between Students’ and Professors’ Perceptions of the Digital Classroom,” the integration of education and information and communication tools (ICTs) is not exactly welcome by many students. A recent study from Concordia University shows that students actually prefer an engaging lecture to some wired supplement.
The article elaborates on the results:
“Instructors were more fluent with the use of emails than with social media, while the opposite was true for students.
‘Our analysis showed that teachers think that their students feel more positive about their classroom learning experience if there are more interactive, discussion-oriented activities. In reality, engaging and stimulating lectures, regardless of how technologies are used, are what really predict students’ appreciation of a given university course,” explains [Magda Fusaro from UQAM’s Department of Management and Technology.]”
The countless possibilities that exist online to expand learning and teaching methods could prove to be a mad rush to the Web for many learning establishments as they attempt to explore the options. However, if this study is accurate, students may not be willing to go along on the ride. It appears online information and services may not be able to fill student expectations.
Andrea Hayden, October 17, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
High Speed Internet Access for Some
September 10, 2012
Many of us have come to see high-speed internet access as a given, kind of like electricity and indoor plumbing. However, TechNewsWorld informs us, “FCC Report Finds 19 Million Internet Have-Nots.” It is tough to search without a workable connection.
Yes, the FCC‘s Eighth Broadband Progress Report found that about 19 million Americans lack high-speed Internet access. Out in the boonies, 14.5 million folks go without; in tribal areas, nearly one-third of the population is out of luck, according to the Report. Compared to the rest of the world, we lag in both our rate of high-speed deployment and the overall speed at which the Internet is delivered. The article notes:
“The FCC appears to agree in its report that the situation is untenable, noting that broadband is essential to innovation, jobs and global competitiveness. . . . However, the FCC goes on to say in its report that a lot of progress has been made. It noted that ‘billions’ have been invested by the communications industry in broadband deployment, including next-generation wired and wireless services. Also, there has been an expansion of networks technically capable of 100 megabit-plus speeds to over 80 percent of the population through cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 rollout. Finally, it also said, LTE is steadily spreading via mobile operators.”
True, but that still leaves us relying on the actions of the private carriers, whose goal is to run a successful business, not ensure Internet access for all. While telecom law still does not recognize the Internet access as a “need,” like phone access, it probably should be. The question is—what will we do about it?
Cynthia Murrell, September 10, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Updates the Portal from 1996: Info on Multiple Devices
August 30, 2012
The portal never really died. AOL and Yahoo have kept the 1990s “next big thing” despite the financial penalties the approach has imposed on stakeholders. There are other portals which are newer versions of the device which slices, dices, and chops. Examples I have looked at include:
- NewsIsFree, which delivers headlines, alerts, and allows me to find “sources”
- WebMD, which is a consumer “treat thyself” and aggregation information portal
- AutoTrader, which provides a vehicle research, loan, and purchasing portal.
Google when it rolled out 13 years ago took advantage of search systems’ desire to go “beyond search.” The reasons were easy to identify. Over the years, I have enumerated them many times. Google’s surge was due to then-search giants looking for a way to generate enough revenue to pay for the cost of indexing content. Now there are some crazy ideas floating around “real” consultant cubicles that search is cheap and easy.
Next Generation Portals: Gate to Revenue Hell?
Fear not, lads and lasses.
Search is brutally expensive and—guess what?—the costs keep on rising. The principal reasons are that systems need constant mothering and money. No, let’s not forget the costs which MBAs often trivialize. These include people who can make the system work, run faster, remain online, and keep pace with technology. Telecommunications, power, hardware, and a number of other “trivial” items gobble money like a 12 year old soccer player after practice chowing down on junk food.
Next Generation Portals: Gate to Revenue Heaven?
Portals promised to be “sticky”, work like magnets and pull more users, and provide a platform for advertising. Portals were supposed to make money when search generated modest amounts of money. First Overture, then Yahoo, and finally Google realized that the pursuit of objectivity was detrimental to selling traffic. Thus, online pay-to-play programs took off. The portals with a lead like Yahoo fumbled the ball. The more clever Googlers grabbed the melon and kept going back to the farmer’s garden for more. Google had, it appeared, figured out how to remain a search system and make lots of money.
No more.
Do we now witness the portalization of Google? Is the new twist is that the Google portal will require the user to have multiple devices? Will each device connects to Google to show more portal advertising goodness?
There is a popular impression among some MBAs on Wall Street and “real” consultants that Google is riding the same old money rocket in did in 2004 to 2006. My view is different.
Amazon and Pinterest: Information or Disinformation
August 30, 2012
I found “Uh Oh! Amazon Researchers Say Pinterest Doesn’t Generate A Lot Of Sales” interesting. Why? When a major Web outfit does research which suggests another Web outfit is either good or bad, my radar pings. Is the article praising Pinterest or is the article criticizing Pinterest. I find survey data remarkably malleable. Information can be shaped in different ways.
Consider this statement:
Will Young, director of Zappos Labs, told Bloomberg that Pinterest users are far more likely to share a purchase than Twitter or Facebook users—but that shared items generate far less revenue than Twitter or Facebook. This is a big problem for Pinterest, because the whole idea of the site is that it’s supposed to be better at monetizing social activity than Twitter or Facebook.
We have a positive statement about the sharing and a negative statement about generating sales.
You decide. My questions are:
- Is Amazon planning on competing with or buying Pinterest? A touch of doubt is useful when negotiating.
- Does it matter to Pinterest users if they don’t buy at a rate another retail site thinks is “low”? If Pinterest users are happy, does survey data matter?
- Were the survey data assembled doing the “right stuff.” When creating questions and analyzing survey data, tiny choices can have major implications for the outputs. I am confident that Amazon Zappos worked hard and did the maths correctly. I am just asking, “Was the finding one that required some tiny decisions about which I know nothing?”
Pinterest, in my opinion, works for a specific demographic segment. “Works” does not mean buy Mr Clean bleach pens on Amazon or snap up discounted evening slippers on Zappos.
Search is subject to similar tiny decisions. What happens when I try just published books on Amazon? I get pages of results listing books that will be published in the future. Tiny decision? Carelessness? An attempt to make a sale before having the product?
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
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