Whitepaper: Plan for Holiday Sales Now
October 16, 2015
Marketing pros and retailers take note: semantic tech firm ntent offers a free whitepaper to help you make the most of the upcoming holiday season, titled “Step-By-Step Guide to Holiday Campaign Planning.” All they want in return are your web address, contact info, and the chance to offer you a subscription to their newsletter, blog, and updates. (That checkbox is kindly deselected by default.) The whitepaper’s description states:
“Halloween candy and costumes are already overflowing on retail stores shelves. You know what that means, don’t you? It’s time for savvy marketers to get serious about their online retail planning for the impending holidays, if they haven’t already started. Why is it so important to take the time to coordinate a solid holiday campaign? Because according to the National Retail Federation [PDF] the holiday season can account for more than 20–40% of a retailer’s annual sales. And if that alone isn’t enough to motivate you, Internet Retailer reported that online retail sales this year are predicted to reach $349.06 billion a 14.2% YoY increase—start planning now to get your piece of the pie! Position your business for online success, more sales and more joy as you head into 2016 using these easy-to-follow, actionable tips!”
The paper includes descriptions of tactics and best practices, as well as a monthly to-do list and a planning worksheet. Founded in 2010, ntent leverages their unique semantic search technology to help clients quickly find the information they need. The company currently has several positions open at their Carlsbad, California, office.
Cynthia Murrell, October 16, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Latest Version of DataStax Enterprise Now Available
June 19, 2015
A post over at the SD Times informs us, “DataStax Enterprise 4.7 Released.” Enterprise is DataStax’s platform that helps organizations manage Apache Cassandra databases. Writer Rob Marvin tells us:
“DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 4.7 includes a production-certified version of Cassandra 2.1, and it adds enhanced enterprise search, analytics, security, in-memory, and database monitoring capabilities. These include a new certified version of Apache Solr and Live Indexing, a new DSE feature that makes data immediately available for search by leveraging Cassandra’s native ability to run across multiple data centers. …
“DSE 4.7 also adds enhancements to security and encryption through integration with the DataStax OpsCenter 5.2 visual-management and monitoring console. Using OpsCenter, developers can store encryption keys on servers outside the DSE cluster and use the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol to manage admin security.”
Four main features/ updates are listed in the write-up: extended search analytics, intelligent query routing, fault-tolerant search operations, and upgraded analytics functionality. See the article for details on each of these improvements.
Founded in 2010, DataStax is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Clients for their Cassandra-management software (and related training and professional services) range from young startups to Fortune 100 companies.
Cynthia Murrell, June 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Apple Acquires Search Startup Ottocat
June 4, 2015
Apple needed a better search system for its app store, so it bought a startup; according to TechCrunch, “Apple Acquired Search Startup Ottocat to Power the ‘Explore’ Tab in the App Store.” Writer Ingrid Lunden observes that the deal was kept pretty quiet, but suspects it was agreed to in 2013; that is when Ottocat’s website disappeared. Months later, Apple implemented the “explore” feature for its App Store. So why did Apple pick Ottocat? The article explains:
“In a nutshell, its technology essentially addressed pain points on both sides of the App Store: for users unable to find specific enough results for subject-based app searches when they don’t have a specific app in mind; and for developers unhappy with how well their apps could be discovered among a sea of 1 million+ other apps. The premise was to do away with keywords by categorizing apps into increasingly more specific subcategories that worked on a ‘drill-down’ principle — eliminating the guesswork and potential inaccuracy of keywords altogether. …
“For example, rather than searching on ‘guitar’ or scrolling through the full selection of music apps that the term might call up, or the chart for the most popular music apps — which can contain streaming apps, apps that are designed to work with specific hardware, apps that let people use their phones to play music, apps that teach them how to play a specific instrument, and so on — you can start to look at specific subcategories to find a selection of apps you may want to download.”
Launched in 2012 by Michelle Cooper and Edwin Cooper, Ottocat is headquartered in Oakland, California. Lunden wonders whether the Cooper pair is now working at Apple, and what they might be working on. Search for Safari, perchance? Maybe neither Yahoo nor Microsoft will provide Safari’s default search once Apple’s deal with Google expires, after all.
Cynthia Murrell, June 4, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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