Search Your Yahoo Mail? Yeah, Right
August 19, 2015
While Web site search used to be considered the worst before Google released a high-performing search widget, the title now officially goes to email search. Nobody wants to search through their email to find a missing email and you are doomed if you even think about using a mail application such as Outlook or Apple Mail. In part of its rebranding effort, Yahoo is taking measures to fix email search, says the New York Times in “Yahoo Tweaks Email To Make Search More Personal.”
Yahoo has been working for a year to improve email search and now Yahoo mail has implemented the changes. It now offers auto complete and suggestions when a search term is typed into the query box. It will also index attachments and links included in emails, so users do not have to find the actual email they were in. The sorting options have also been updated and social media accounts can now be synced.
The changes are small and the auto complete/suggestions usually revert to basic keyword suggestions, but it is a step in the right direction. Yahoo does not want to overhaul the mail system too quickly, because, as anyone knows, too many changes at once are upsetting to users.
“Instead, Yahoo is subtly making changes. Last month, for example, it added a small plus button to the bottom right of the window used to compose emails. If you click on that button, you can drag and drop photos and documents from your email archive, pull in an animated GIF from Yahoo’s Tumblr social network, or add the results of a web search.”
Yahoo made a good business choice and is working to improve its email and other applications. It will be interesting to watch the changes unfold.
Whitney Grace, August 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Bing Is Very Important, I Mean VERY Important
July 31, 2015
The online magazine eWeek published, “What The Bing Search Engine Brings To Microsoft’s Web Strategy” and it explains how Bing spurs a lot of debate:
“Some who don’t like the direction in which Google is going say that Bing is the search engine they prefer, especially since Microsoft has honed Bing’s ability to deliver relevant results. Others, however, look at Bing as one of many products from Microsoft, which is still seen as the “Evil Empire” in some quarters and a search platform that’s incapable of delivering the results that compare favorably with Google. Bing, introduced six years ago in 2009, is still a remarkably controversial product in Microsoft’s lineup. But it’s one that plays an important role in so many of the company’s Internet services.”
Microsoft is ramping up Bing to become a valuable part of its software services, it continues its partnership with Yahoo and Apple, and it will also power AOL’s web advertising and search. Bing is becoming a more respected search engine, but what does it have to offer?
Bing has many features it is using to entice people to stop using Google. When searching a person’s name, search results display a bio of the person (only if they are affluent, however). Bing has a loyalty program, seriously, called Bing Rewards, the more you search on Bing it rewards points that are redeemable for gift cards, movie rentals, and other items.
Bing is already a big component in Microsoft software, including Windows 10 and Office 365. It serves as the backbone for not only a system search, but searching the entire Internet. Think Apple’s Spotlight, except for Windows. It also supports a bevy of useful applications and do not forget about Cortana, which is Microsoft’s answer to Siri.
Bing is very important to Microsoft because of the ad revenue. It is just a guess, but you can always ask Cortana for the answer.
Whitney Grace, July 31, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Bing Is A Winner…Huh?
July 29, 2015
Bing is the joke of Internet search. Skilled Web surfers…no, scratch that term. Nobody “surfs” the Internet anymore, unless you are an older person trying to maintain relevancy. Skilled Web users Google or play DuckDuckGo, but according to Mashable, Bing might be ringing in as many jokes anymore, “Microsoft’s Bing Isn’t Such A Failure After All.”
Microsoft VP of advertiser and publisher Rik van der Kooi said that Bing is now able to pay for itself, contrary to its launch six years ago when it hemorrhaged cash from the beginning. Microsoft wants Bing to be even more profitable by its 2016 fiscal year, which started earlier this month on July 1.
“Microsoft should provide more clarity on Bing’s financials with its next earnings release in July. Profitable or not, Bing is clearly moving in the right direction. The service’s improved financial position, combined with recent strides in pushing its share of the search market to 20%, offer the clearest argument yet that Microsoft still has the power to muscle its way into lucrative and mature technology categories and find solid footing there.”
The article recounts Bing’s unprofitable history, culminating in its more recent successes that have funneled more green into the search engine. This includes Apple making Bing the default search on its mobile OS, a renewed partnership with Yahoo, a ten year deal with AOL, and Bing sending map imaging to Uber. It finishes by calling Bing a contender and it looks like that may be true. Let’s wait until they start making self-driving cars until victory is declared.
Whitney Grace, July 29, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Coveo Partners with Etherios on Salesforce Services
July 7, 2015
Professional services firm Etherios is teaming up with Coveo in a joint mission to add even more value to customers’ Salesforce platforms, we learn from “Etherios and Coveo Announce Strategic Alliance” at Yahoo Finance. Etherios is a proud Salesforce Platinum Partner. The press release tells us:
“Coveo connects information from across a company’s IT ecosystem of record and delivers the knowledge that matters to customers and agents in context. Coveo for Salesforce – Communities Edition helps customers solve their own cases by proactively offering case-resolving knowledge suggestions, and Coveo for Salesforce – Service Cloud Edition allows customer support agents to upskill as they engage customers by injecting case-resolving content and experts into the Salesforce UI as they work.
“Etherios provides customers with consulting and implementation services in the areas of Sales, Customer Service, Field Service and IoT [Internet of Things]. … Etherios capabilities span operational strategy, business process, technical design and implementation expertise.”
Founded in 2005, Coveo leverages search technology to boost users’ skills, knowledge, and proficiency while supplying tools for collaboration and self-service. The company maintains offices in the U.S. (SanMateo, CA), the Netherlands, and Quebec.
A division of Digi International, Etherios launched in 2008 specifically to supply cloud-based tools for Salesforce users. They prefer to inhabit the cutting edge, and operate out of Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco.
Cynthia Murrell, July 7, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
ClearStory Is On the Move
July 1, 2015
The article on Virtual-Strategy Magazine titled ClearStory Data Appoints Dr. Timothy Howes as Chief Technology Offiver; Fromer Vice President of Yahoo, CTO of HP Software, Opsware, and Netscape discusses Howe’s reputation as an innovative thinker who helped invent LDAP. His company Rockmelt Inc. was acquired by Yahoo and he also co-founded Loudcloud, which is now known as Opsware, with the founders of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, who are current backers of ClearStory Data. Needless to say, obtaining his services is quite a coup for ClearStory. Howe discusses his excitement to join the team in the article,
“There’s a major technology shift happening in the data market right now as businesses want to see and explore more data faster. ClearStory is at the forefront of delivering the next-generation data analysis platform that brings Spark-powered, fast-cycle analysis to the front lines of business in a beautiful, innovative user experience that companies are in dire need of today,” said Howes. “The ClearStory architectural choices made early on, coupled with the focus on an elegant, collaborative user model is impressive.”
The article also mentions that Ali Tore, formerly of Model N, has been named the new Chief Product Officer. Soumitro Tagore of the startup Clari will become the VP of Engineering and Development Operations. ClearStory Data is intent on the acceleration of the movement of data for businesses. Their Intelligent Data Harmonization platform allows data from different sources to be quickly and insightfully explored.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 1, 2014
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
Yahoo Considers Options for Japanese Division
May 25, 2015
Despite a series of changes since former Googler Marissa Mayer took over at Yahoo, the search-and-entertainment company still struggles to find its footing in a tech landscape that shifted around it long ago. Bloomberg Business wonders whether the Yahoo’s next steps in Japan will set it on a sturdier path in, “Yahoo Weighs Options for Japan Stake; Sales Miss Estimates.” Writer Brian Womack reports that Mayer plans to make the most of her company’s Japanese assets. He posits:
“By telling investors she’s looking at options for Yahoo Japan, Mayer may be seeking to buy herself more time to jump-start growth at the company she’s been working to turn around for almost three years. Unless she can expand sales, investors may eventually lose patience with the strategy and question her leadership. Some analysts speculated earlier this year that Yahoo could become a takeover target for a larger Internet company after it spins off the Alibaba stake.
“Yahoo’s share of the U.S. online display ad market may slide to 3.5 percent in 2017 from 5.5 percent last year, according to EMarketer Inc. Quarterly revenue growth has come in at less than 4 percent or negative since the end of 2012.”
The success of China’s largest e-commerce firm, and Yahoo asset, Alibaba is responsible for much of the company’s recent growth, such as it is, but that boost will only last so long. Womack reports there has been investor pressure to spin off Yahoo’ Japanese division, but apparently Mayer prefers to consider a range of options. Will Yahoo find salvation in the land of the rising sun?
Cynthia Murrell, May 25, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Yahoo and Microsoft Announce Search Partnership Reboot
May 7, 2015
It seems that Microsoft and Yahoo are friends again, at least for the time being. Search Engine Watch announces, “Yahoo and Microsoft Amend Search Agreement.” The two companies have been trying to partner on search for the past six years, but it has not always gone smoothly. Writer Emily Alford tells us what will be different this time around:
“First, Yahoo will have greater freedom to explore other search platforms. In the past, Yahoo was rumored to be seeking a partnership with Google, and under the new terms, Microsoft and Yahoo’s partnership will no longer be exclusive for mobile and desktop. Under the new agreement, Yahoo will continue to serve Bing ads on desktop and mobile, as well as use Bing search results for the majority of its desktop search traffic, though the exact number was undisclosed.
“Microsoft and Yahoo are also making changes to the way that ads are served. Microsoft will now maintain control of the Bing ads salesforce, while Yahoo will take full control of its Gemini ads salesforce, which will leave Bing free to serve its own ads side by side with Yahoo search results.”
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer painted a hopeful picture in a prepared statement. She and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have been working together, she reports, to revamp the search deal. She is “very excited to explore” the fresh possibilities. Will the happy relationship hold up this time around?
Cynthia Murrell, May 7, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Continued Growth and Success at Syl Semantics
May 5, 2015
The article on Yahoo New Zealand titled Syl Semantics Raises New Capital and Appoints New Directors begins by naming the two freshly-minted non-executive directors, Murray Nash and Gene Turner. This is the result of successful capital raising to the tune of a million dollars for the Wellington-based company. Syl Semantics will continue to focus on growing the company with the assistance of the new directors. The article explains,
“Murray Nash is Managing Director of Zusammen, an advisory firm specialising in strategy, finance and capital markets, risk management, and public policy. In 2013 Murray was manager of the Establishment Unit and subsequently the acting Chief Executive of Callaghan Innovation. Murray has been a senior manager in three financial risk management start-ups in New York – supplying technology solutions to global leaders in banking, insurance, asset management and prudential supervision. He has a MComm (Finance) from the University of Auckland.”
Gene Turner’s background is in law and banking. Syl Semantics was created in 2008 and has grown steadily since then, releasing Syl Search in 2011 with great success. Syl Semantics is focused on what they term “Information Intelligence” or the “ability to access and extract value, meaning and learning from information.” James Fowler, the Director of Sales and Marketing, spoke to the ambition and perseverance of the company, which hopes to gain more of a foothold in New Zealand and Australian markets.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 5, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
How do You use Your Email?
April 28, 2015
Email is still a relatively new concept in the grander scheme of technology, having only been around since the 1990s. As with any human activity, people want to learn more about the trends and habits people have with email. Popular Science has an article called “Here’s What Scientists Learned In The Largest Systematic Study Of Email Habits” with a self-explanatory title. Even though email has been around for over twenty years, no one is quite sure how people use it.
So someone decided to study email usage:
“…researchers from Yahoo Labs looked at emails of two million participants who sent more than 16 billion messages over the course of several months–by far the largest email study ever conducted. They tracked the identities of the senders and the recipients, the subject lines, when the emails were sent, the lengths of the emails, and the number of attachments. They also looked at the ages of the participants and the devices from which the emails were sent or checked.”
The results were said to be so predictable that an algorithm could have predicted them. Usage has a strong correlation to age groups and gender. The young write short, quick responses, while men are also brief in their emails. People also responded more quickly during work hours and the more emails they receive the less likely they are to write a reply. People might already be familiar with these trends, but the data is brand new to data scientists. The article predicts that developers will take the data and design better email platforms.
How about creating an email platform that merges a to-do list with emails, so people don’t form their schedules and tasks from the inbox.
Whitney Grace, April 28, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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