Nestoria Abandons Google Maps
January 27, 2012
With Google Maps dominating the online map market since its creation last decade the unthinkable (that Google should be replaced) is in the process of happening. Nestoria, an online real estate listings company with growing ranks in Europe, Australia and India, recently announced their departure from Google Maps for OpenStreetMap in a blog post titled, Why (and How) We Switched Away from Google Maps.
Nestoria listed four primary reasons for their switch each with equal merit. First, OpenStreetMap provides maps at the same quality as Google Maps. That was not always the case. For a long time (up until very recently) Google Maps dominated because they were the best.
Next, the tools necessary to switch away from Google Maps were not available making the process difficult at best. That is not the case anymore. A good chunk of the blog post is devoted to explaining how the transition was technically done.
Third in the reasons, and perhaps the key motivator, is that Google has begun charging for the use of Google Maps. As the blog post points out the price to use the maps would bankrupt Nestoria making OpenStreetMap even more appealing.
Lastly, Nestoria lists a dedication to all things open source as a motivating factor in the switch:
Our service does nothing more (and nothing less!) than aggregate data from many different sources and present it in an easy to use format. We benefit greatly from open data, and as such we want to do our part (within the limited resources of a start-up) to help the open data movement.
The reasons considered seem to add up to a compelling case against Google Maps. For years Google was untouchable and the idea that a start-up could steal users away from the mighty Google giant was unthinkable. Time for a rethink?
Catherine Lamsfuss, January 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
New Image Search Service
January 19, 2012
Marco Vanossi is a young entrepreneur who has been creating quite a buzz thanks to his image recognition technology. According to The Next Web.com article “This 24 Year Old Brazilian Entrepreneur Wants to Disrupt Image Search” this young entrepreneur has already left his footprint in the business world. Vanossi asserts:
“Since I was only 14, my dad came along to the meeting, and Yahoo’s executives initially thought he was the “Marco Vanossi” they had scheduled a meeting with. Little did they know Marco was me, a teenager!”
Recently Marco has been working on an image recognition technology known as Clickpic. “Clickpic is an iOS app that lets users take pictures with their iPhone, which the app is able to recognize.” A new update allows Clickpic to also power face recognition apps. Another attractive option is that the Clickpic technology can also be utilized to recognize sound. Clickpic sounds like it could be useful technology but can’t make a clear cut decision. While the article praises Vanossi and his achievements which are impressive, it barely scratches the Clickpic surface.
April Holmes, January 19, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google TV Love: Buy Affection
January 9, 2012
I am documenting this story, but I do not have confidence that it is 100 percent accurate. The posting appeared in Slashgear and “Google Reportedly Paying Smart TV Vendors to Use Android.” The point of the write up is financial. On Google’s side, if the story is true, distributing some of Google’s cash hoard to consumer product manufacturers is as American as allowing members of the House and Senate to play squash with lobbyists or engage in some stock trading not permitted others.
If this statement is accurate, then we are racing toward lowest possible cost:
Exactly how much Google is paying manufacturers to use Android rather than their own smart TV OS is unknown, though the decision to switch to ARM-based chipsets likely means the actual hardware costs are minimal.
Three observations:
First, buying love works, and it is less messy that “real” love. “Real” love is like “real” consulting provided by failed home economics majors.
Second, in a race for least cost, the winner is the person who finds away around certain hurdles. These may be technical, procedural, financial, or legal. Excitement ahead may trigger memories of Cisco Systems’ adventures with router manufacturing in a far off land.
Third, what if US consumers don’t want lots of applications on a TV. I, for instance, am happy if I can find a current episode of Lizard Lick Towing, a fine example of modern reality television. It reminds me of the spate of predictions from Gartner, Forrester, Ovum, and others about technology. Excellence makes find bed fellows. “Find” equal “search” to me.
Here in the goose command center in Harrod’s Creek, we will be “watching” for news at 11.
Stephen E Arnold, January 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Social Media Analytics Podcast Availalbe
January 9, 2012
Text Analytics News has posted the podcast of their insightful Social Media Analytics Panel. Check it out for a taste of what you can expect at April’s inaugural Social Media Analytics Summit.
The panel brings together Bill Touhig of J.D. Power & Associates, Robin Seidner of Radian6, and Beyond the Arc’s Steven J. Ramirez. The social media analytics experts share their insights in the 55 minute podcast. The description describes the discussion content:
- Analytic technologies and techniques being used to make business sense of the flood of user-generated content
- The cutting edges of social media and sentiment analysis – what works, where improvements are being made, and which platforms are leading the way
- The comparison between proprietary and do-it-yourself tools for social media analysis
- Effective ways for leveraging social media information to get a leg up on your competition
The most memorable points from this podcast for me hinge on the unexpected. Social media is still a very new field that continues to supply surprises. For example, Touhig shared a discovery his company made for a major cosmetics company: trying to stay ahead of the curve, generation Y women were using skin care products made for older women. The company then had to find a way to communicate that using products for their skin type will actually be more effective for these customers.
Another surprise—Ramirez pointed out that, with social media data, more is not better. This may seem obvious to some, but it is not the case with other data types, where more volume produces more accurate results. Instead, analysts find that they need to narrow the data to exclude the vast amounts of irrelevant input that social media provides. As Ramirez commented, “people will say anything!”
It may be no surprise that text analytics is experiencing a talent gap. As Ramirez quipped, if you know young people just starting out, advise them to go into this young field. Yes, general business users are usually capable of analyzing data, but they need a leg-up. It is best to develop a program and invest in tools and training before expecting results from non-specialized employees.
There is much more to this podcast than I can fit here, so be sure to check it out for yourself. Then, plan to attend the Social Media Analytics Summit next spring.
Cynthia Murrell, January 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Search Technology Evolves to Encompass Sound
December 6, 2011
Lockergnome reported on the evolution of search technology this week in the article “In Search Of Sound With MediaMined.”
As a way to continue to evolve search technology beyond searching for text and images, audio engineers at Imagine Research in San Francisco have been working on what they call “the world’s first sound object recognition Web service.”
The service is called MediaMined, and is driven by artificial intelligence that is able to “listen” to sound files — whether they’re properly labeled, mislabeled, or not labeled at all — and analyze what they actually are.
Writer Robert Glen Fogarty states:
“Musicians, podcasters, radio broadcasters, and audio engineers would obviously benefit from this kind of technology, but some other unexpected applications could make use of it, as well. Mobile devices could use a MediaMined type of system to detect their surroundings and present new ways to interact with their users based on this incoming data (think augmented reality cranked up to 11). Medical professionals might be able to use this technology in order to gather data based on sounds made by patients — such as sneezing, snoring, coughing, and wheezing — to help with more keenly diagnosing their condition.”
Here at beyond search we believe that this new search technology is definitely a step in the right direction. The experts at Search Technologies can provide organizations with search
solutions–text or talk.
Iain Fletcher, December 6, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Microsoft and Video Search
November 29, 2011
the revolution in video search continues to arrive, just slowly. Google’s video search continues to improve. The Google TV findability function is due for enhancement. The first go-round was a baffler to many people. Now Engadget reports that “Microsoft Acquires VideoSurf, Promises to Bring Better Video Search and Discovery to Xbox Live.”
VideoSurf, founded in 2006, discovers and analyzes content by focusing on frames of video. Microsoft plans to use its technology to drive search on its Xbox 360’s entertainment platform, accessed via XboxLIVE.
This bid for speedier, more efficient search comes as Microsoft continues to push its console into the center of the living room. We learned from the write up:
In the coming months, Microsoft will bring nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers to Xbox LIVE. . . . With Kinect, users will be able to easily search and discover content across multiple entertainment providers within Xbox LIVE and then interact with and enjoy content in extraordinary ways using voice search powered by Bing on the Xbox 360.
I have to wonder whether success on the console will spur growth of video search in other quarters. I don’t like video search myself, but it is a big deal for the non-reading, attention deficit crowd. We have to accommodate them, right? Video is a serial information experience. Search is tricky in text. Toss in moving images, and task becomes harder. Text search remains a baffler for many. Video is a step beyond. We’re hopeful.
Channel surfing may not be productive, but it is easy to explain. Finding a specific program remains a challenge. Getting a specific program to display without payment hassles, start and stop rendering, and without time consuming dead ends are hurdles which must be overcome. Maybe Microsoft can resolve the issues which are evident to me.
Cynthia Murrell, November 29, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Search Sound
November 26, 2011
Lockergnome reported on the evolution of search technology this week in the article “In Search Of Sound With MediaMined.”
As a way to continue to evolve search technology beyond searching for text and images, audio engineers at Imagine Research in San Francisco have been working on what they call “the world’s first sound object recognition Web service.”
The service is called MediaMined , and is driven by artificial intelligence that is able to “listen” to sound files — whether they’re properly labeled, mislabeled, or not labeled at all — and analyze what they actually are.
Writer Robert Glen Fogarty states:
??“Musicians, podcasters, radio broadcasters, and audio engineers would obviously benefit from this kind of technology, but some other unexpected applications could make use of it, as well. Mobile devices could use a MediaMined type of system to detect their surroundings and present new ways to interact with their users based on this incoming data (think augmented reality cranked up to 11). Medical professionals might be able to use this technology in order to gather data based on sounds made by patients — such as sneezing, snoring, coughing, and wheezing — to help with more keenly diagnosing their condition.”
Here at Beyond Search we believe that this new search technology is definitely a step in the right direction.
Jasmine Ashton, November 25, 2011
Google and Logitech: Fool Me Once
November 12, 2011
I am not a TV person. We leave on financial shows and when something exciting happens, one of the goslings will turn up the sound. Otherwise, I ignore the boob tube. Some of the younger goslings at ArnoldIT are rich media wackos. TV on the mobile phone. TV on the iPad. Not me. In fact, I always wondered how the Google professionals would cope with TV. The medium is porky, serial, and generally superficial. The ads have appeal, but as audiences fragment, the value of blasting out a Chevrolet commercial becomes an unwieldy task. Explaining the payoff from TV advertising is also tricky. But it seems logical that selling TV ads is not that much different from selling online ads. No brainer, right? The search part, I assumed, would be a slam dunk. How tough is it to point to a TV show. A no brainer, right?
My knowledge of TV bumped up a notch when I read “Revue This: Logitech Is Done with Google TV after $100M Loss.” Here’s the passage I noted:
At a Logitech-hosted Investors Day event Wednesday, De Luca called the Revue a mistake that cost the company well over $100 million in operating profits. The company, he said, intends to allow the device’s current inventory levels to run out this quarter. It also has no plans to introduce another box to replace the Revue. As for why the Revue was a mistake, De Luca blames the Google TV software for not being ready at launch.
Yep, software. When a software company flubs on software for TVs or iPad apps, I ask, “What is management doing?”
Logitech may have learned the meaning of the idiom “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” TV, software, $100 million. Quite a mix.
Stephen E Arnold, November 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google TV Seems Shockingly Vivid
November 10, 2011
What is your definition of vivid, of evil, of family-appropriate video?
Don’t know. I was just asking.
We read “Can 24/7 Porn Rescue Google TV?” If you are interested in this alleged content type, you may want to read the article. We find it interesting that such companies as Thomson Reuters will be participating in Google’s new television initiative. What if the staid Thomson Reuters’ channel and the alleged off color channel are adjacent or easily confused? Google needs to sharpen its video search precision and recall or there will be some surprised financial TV watchers who will wonder what happened to their money channel.
Stephen E Arnold, November 10, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google and TV
November 3, 2011
Last year, we worked on a project about Google’s rich media plans. We uncovered a number of interesting initiatives, including a wild and crazy plan to provide back office services to those who would make motion pictures. Alas, that information is part of our for fee service. We can, however, offer several observations based on the announcement that Google is cutting deals for original content. The idea is that YouTube.com will become the next big thing in television, cable, entertainment, etc.
It’s the new face of search at Google: browsing for shows. PhysOrg.com reveals the company’s plans for a key asset in “YouTube Making Deals for Original Content: Report.” Discussing a recent Wall Street Journal article, the write-up reports that YouTube will soon announce content-producing partnerships with media companies and celebrities:
The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said expected media partners include IAC/InterActiveCorp.’s Electus, News Corp.’s ShineReveille unit, RTL Group’s FremantleMedia Ltd., skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and “CSI” creator Anthony Zuiker.
An interesting collection; I think we can look forward to some innovative new programming here. Probably some flops, too. Maybe lots of flops. The approach triggered three ideas or thoughts:
- Throw lots of content out “there” and see what works
- Googlers have a non consumer approach in many of their products and services and this play is the very opposite of some competitors’ angle of attack
- How will some of these high profile individuals produce content to fill a “channel”. Video takes time, money, and, oh, did I mention time.
YouTube, bought by Google in 2006, is the king of amateur video. However, it is up against some real powerhouses in the professional arena. Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and iTunes are all fighting tooth and nail for digital domination. The “real” television industry is in the game for keeps too just like the nice people sitting around pools in Los Angeles May the best streamer win!
And search? Hmmm.
Cynthia Murrell November 2, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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