Is the Web Dead? You Are Reading This Post, Right?
August 20, 2010
The Web is dead, or so the famous geek magazine, Wired, recently proclaimed. Fortunately, cooler heads are prevailing. Tech and pop culture hotspot Boing Boing took this ridiculous claim to task in a recent article, “Is the Web Really Dead?”. Using Wired’s comically misguided charts and graphs as evidence of factual negligence, the article pointed out more than one “interesting editorial choice”. In fact, as Boing Boing pointed out in its own hilariously similar charts, the internet is actually getting more popular, stating, “[a]ccording to Cisco, the same source Wired used for its projections, total Internet traffic rose then from about one exabyte to seven exabytes between 2005 and 2010.” An exabyte, of course, is a stack of floppies as big as the fish I caught in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky, last week.
We’d like to applaud Boing Boing for showing us that, just because a news source needs a splashy headline, that doesn’t make it fact. Clearly, the confusion of plumbing, information, and methods of access is painful.
Stephen E Arnold, August 20, 2010
Solr Glitch Reported
August 19, 2010
Short honk: Solr, the open source search system, has some glitches that the standalone installer is locked into the server, unless you open it up. Besides this, other observations reported in “Standalone Solr 9.0.1 Woes” force to conclude that the Solr installer is not as robust as Verity’s. Good news for Autonomy and a view that will make the open source search community scramble. According to the write up, Solr works fine locally, but issues crop up on a more robust server installation, where Solr gives no indication of connection, and may not report errors. Stay tuned.
Leena Singh, August 19, 2010
Vivisimo and Its New Positioning
August 19, 2010
I was poking around with Compete.com. Just for fun, I plugged in Endeca.com, dtSearch.com, Mindbreeze.com, and Vivisimo.com. Here’s the chart that Compete.com spit out. I view most usage reports as general indicators, not definitive data. But look at the top trending lines for Endeca and Vivisimo line:
What are these Vivisimo-hicans doing to scalp two competitors and challenge top-rated Endeca.com? The answer, based on my poking around, is that Vivisimo does not talk about search too much, does not use tired search jargon, or trot out search platitudes.
Vivisimo writes a combination of Latinized buzzwords and business school jargon. Here’s an example from the company’s news release “Top 10 Ways the US government Has Used Information Optimization to Save Tax Payers $300 Million.” Whoa, Nellie. In a time of de facto bankruptcy and government waste running amuck, Vivisimo is saving tax payers $300 million.
Here’s what the company says its Velocity Platform is doing:
Vivisimo, a leader in information optimization, today announced the top 10 ways its Information Optimization platform has saved taxpayers $300 million by helping the federal government become more efficient and improve national security. Over the past few years, federal agencies, including federally funded organizations, have saved hundreds of millions of dollars and improved America’s security posture by being able to quickly surf through mountains of information and pull relevant data that will allow federal employees and contractors to perform their job better and faster.
“Information optimization” is an interesting concept. It suggests that “information”–a concept not defined in the write up—can be optimized. “Optimize” to me connotes making a process as effective as possible or taking steps for me to make the most of an action such as my time at the gym. Optimizing information sounds pretty darned good, but I don’t know what it really means.
The news release continued:
Fortunately, Vivisimo’s Information Optimization Platform, provides capabilities that improve information access, re-use and collaboration across the full range of government activities. From internal knowledge portals that enhance agency performance to intelligence analysis, military operations and public-facing websites, Velocity helps government agencies fulfill their missions and deliver value to taxpayers.
Next the company explains that
Information Optimization is the process of finding insights across multiple systems and then delivering the right information to enable better business decisions that solve operating challenges and create economic value. The Velocity Platform helps organizations achieve information optimization through information connectivity and contextual intelligence that then enables organizational capabilities.
“Information” appears in this definition three times, optimization twice, and the notion of “contextual intelligence” (not defined) one time. I recall from my university days something called the “fog index”. My hunch is that this chunk of prose would tally a high fog score. Your mileage may differ.
What’s clear is that Vivisimo is selling its clustering and federated search technology in a quite different way. What’s also clear is that the people looking for information about solving “information problems” are find their way to the Vivisimo Web site. That big read line makes the other outfits’ search engine optimization strategies look less effective that Vivisimo’s interesting new approach.
Is Vivisimo radically different from what it was when it operated Clusty.com (now long gone) and processed content for some of its government clients? In my view, no. What’s different is that the management team is selling to the Federal government using jargon that is second nature to the procurement crowd.
Is there a lesson in this shift? Well, traditional search technology does not deliver the traffic that the Vivisimo jargon seems to deliver. The real test will come when hard financial data becomes available or the company gets acquired. In the meantime, other search vendors may want to study the Vivisimo vocabulary.
Do I know what the Vivisimo lingo means? Does that matter? Not in the world of Web site traffic in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, August 19, 2010
Update on Facebook Questions
August 18, 2010
It’s no secret that Google has been aiming to take a bite out of the social media world with programs like Buzz. However, social media kingpin Facebook is fighting back and possibly taking a bite out of Google’s search dominance. Digital Journal outlined this tactic in a recent article, “Facebook Launches Questions Feature.” The gist of the article is that Facebook will soon allow users to ask questions to the community and get answers. Anything from recipes, to historic facts and personal data are up for grabs. According to the piece, “Facebook Questions goes up against some strong players in the ask-a-question-get-an-answer field.” Namely, the king of answer providing: Google. This is going to be a fun war to watch, because Google is not used to losing and Facebook provides a unique spin on Q&A options that its competition can’t touch. Google seems to be a giant looking like the gorilla on top of the Empire State Building.
Pat Roland, August 18, 2010
Graphic of Online Communities Reveals Big Social Media Shifts
August 18, 2010
Since the introduction of the first online social media sites the industry has grown immensely. XKCD using a map illustrated the relative size of the various online communities in 2007 but just a mere three years later Flowtown released an updated version of the map as shown in “Map of Online Communities Reveals Staggering Social Media Shifts (Pictures).” According to the 2007 map MySpace was the dominant social media site with Facebook pictured as one of the smaller ones. Flowtown created a network map “that reflects current trends in 2010.” The results were substantially different and show Facebook, which boasts about 500 million members, as the dominant social site. The old giant MySpace experienced a decrease in membership as well as social media power. With so many options and members it can make searching through the sites an endless task. In just a few years the social media world has done a 360.
April Holmes, August 18, 2010
New Blog with ArnoldIT.com Content
August 18, 2010
A new Web log and information services débuts today (August 18, 2010). Redefining Monitoring, owned by IGear Corporation, provides news, information, and commentary about cloud-centric monitoring. IGear’s technology embraces numerically-controlled machines and production systems as well as other business processes. IGear’s cloud technology makes it possible to “take the pulse” of smart machines, systems, and complete production operations 24×7. The IGear dashboard provides an intuitive, graphical display. Access from mobile devices, netbook computers, or desktop systems is supported. You can access the Web log at www.redefiningmonitoring.com.
In a statement released by IGear today, the company said:
IGear, a leader in the monitoring industry, has launched Redefining Monitoring at www.redefiningmonitoring.com, a blog that covers news and information about monitoring and the latest in cloud computing technologies.
“We decided to launch the blog after much discussion with clients, colleagues and staff. There are many exciting issues and options which come across my desk every day, and this is a great way to share them as well as our thoughts about their impact with a broader group of people. We can add some ‘color and shading’ to the disciplines involved in monitoring a range of production equipment and manufacturing systems, among others,” explained Don Korfhage, president of IGear.
One of IGear’s principal backers said, “we are experiencing a new era in monitoring driven by advances in cloud and wireless technologies along with the desire of people to have information at their fingertips, 24×7”.
Redefining Monitoring has several standard sections, including news, features and recent posts. Anyone interested in updates can subscribe to the blog through Feedburner and comments are welcome.
IGear serves as the foundation of numerous OEM equipment builder private label offerings. Since 1986, IGear software has been the foundation of reliably collecting critical data from thousands of machines globally.
IGear provides valuable information and alerts to OEMs and their customers enabling them to make better decisions and operate in a lights-out capacity. With IGear, OEMs more proactively service equipment, isolate problems, and optimize their service technicians – the result – a quicker resolution and more satisfied end-user customer.
“I/Gear – Always On” – ushering in a new era in monitoring.
For more information, navigate to the IGear Web site at www.igearonline.com.
ArnoldIT.com provides content for this news and information service. If you are interested in focused, professional content with high impact, write seaky2000 at yahoo dot com. The ArnoldIT.com Overflight system generates content for www.taxodiary.com, www.theseed2020.com, and the Beyond Search blog. Beyond Search’s content pushes beyond SEO.
Kenneth Toth, August 18, 2010
Sponsored post
Facebook Pages Become Customer Support Centers
August 17, 2010
Consumers are the driving force behind any successful business. Many companies are behind when it comes to their CRM (customer relationship management) and though they may have excellent products customers are unable to get the quality support they need and deserve. Issues with customer service can lead to customers jumping ship and taking their money elsewhere. Many businesses have Facebook pages aimed at consumers. Facebook is improving by “brining customer service software to businesses living inside the world’s biggest social network.” “Facebook Pages Become Customer Support Centers” provides a little insight on the new support system designed by Parature. Customers will be able to choose from several different options and find the answers they need quickly. Users will no longer be a victim of the dreaded phone tree Hades. A language processing vendor will become one of the first to use the new service. Time will tell if this customer service software is effective but sometimes talking to a real person is the best fix. We think this repurposing of Facebook has significant implications for the hapless customer support search sector.
April Holmes, August 17, 2010
2010 Trends in Open Source Systems Management
August 17, 2010
Zenoss wanted to examine the system management trend among IT professionals in attendance at the USENIX Large Installation System Administration (LISA) conference so they conducted a system management survey in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. They were especially interested in the utilization of open source software to handle the IT management needs of large groups. Survey results were compared to data obtained from the Zenoss user community. Out of 974 survey participants over 98% of them acknowledged they use open source in their enterprises. More than 66% of the Zenoss community survey participants preferred to use open source if available. Quality of support was the main reason enterprises liked open source. In addition 50% of those surveyed were using cloud technology. Read the Zenoss blog “2010 Trends in open Source Systems Management” to find a few of the results obtained as well as view the complete results of the 2010 Open Source Systems Management Survey.
Our view is that open source is going to put search and content processing into a martini shaker and deliver James Bond’s potent cocktail to some unwitting tipplers.
April Holmes, August 17, 2010
Quote to Note: No Anonymity
August 14, 2010
Google had a rough Friday the 13th. From the land that gestated, “There is no privacy. Get over it.” comes a Mozart DuPont variation. Point your browser thingy at “Google CEO Schmidt: No Anonymity Is the Future of Web.” Here’s the quote I noted:
Privacy is incredibly important,” Schmidt stated. “Privacy is not the same thing as anonymity. It’s very important that Google and everyone else respects people’s privacy. People have a right to privacy; it’s natural; it’s normal. It’s the right way to do things. But if you are trying to commit a terrible, evil crime, it’s not obvious that you should be able to do so with complete anonymity. There are no systems in our society which allow you to do that. Judges insist on unmasking who the perpetrator was. So absolute anonymity could lead to some very difficult decisions for our governments and our society as a whole.”
I seem to recall a bit of a snit with Cnet when that outfit published information about a certain Google executive.
I like the medieval approach. The kings and queens at the top operating in one way, and then the surfs digging potatoes and watching lords and ladies do pretty much what each wants. Seems fair to me.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2010
Freebie.
Twitter: New Monetizing Play?
August 14, 2010
Data and text mining boffins like to crunch “big data.” The idea is that the more data one has, the less slop in the wonky “scores” that fancy math slaps on certain “objects.” Individuals think that his / her actions are unique. Not exactly. The more data one has about people, the easier it is to create some conceptual pig pens and push individuals in them. If you don’t know the name and address of the people, no matter. Once a pig pen has enough piggies in it (50 is a minimum I like to use as a lower boundary), I can push anonymous “users” into those pig pens. Once in a pig pen, the piggies do some predictable things. Since I am from farm country, piggies will move toward chow. You get the idea.
When I read “Twitter Search History Dwindling, Now at Four Days”, I said to myself, “Twitter can charge for more data.” Who knows if I am right, but if I worked at Twitter, I can think of some interesting outfits who might be interested in paying for deep Twitter history. Who would want “deep Twitter history?” Good question. I have written about some outfits, and I have done some interviews in Search Wizards Speak and the Beyond Search interviews that shed some light on these folks.
What can a data or text miner do with four days’ data? Learn that he / she needs a heck of a lot more to do some not-so-fuzzy mathy stuff.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2010
Freebie.
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