OTOinsights

Desktop Applications, Screen Mates, Widgets, Gadgets, Modules, Oh My!!!

Consumer control of media continues to shatter old paradigms of content publishing and distribution.   More and more enterprises are exploring disaggregated media strategies that embrace the web as a platform for services and allowing consumers of information to install, embed, and/or configure small executable applications that are customized to fit into very individualized and personalized media portfolio.  From Branded Desktop Applications such as Southwest Airline’s Ding! to Apple’s iPhone Mobile Widgets, the marketplace is heating up with new and innovative solutions to answer the consumer cry for rich, modular, and customizable streams of content and information. 

Last week, One to One Interactive and MITX hosted the second Digital Marketing Series event that explored these emerging platforms, case examples of successful deployments, and best practices.  Participating in the session was Chris Heitmann, EVP One to One Interactive & Managing Director of OTOlabs, Stephen DiMarco, CMO of Compete.com, Nick Quagliara, M.S. IU School of Informatics, and Dan Gallagher, VP Audience & Architecture of NetworkWorld. 

The presentation and survey data that was discussed at the session may be downloaded here:

Speakers' Presentation (PDF, 11MB)
Compete Disaggregated Media Survey (July 2007)

Special thanks goes to Jeffrey Bardzell, Ph.D. and Shaowen Bardzell, Ph.D. for their valuable contributions.

IBM Helping to Keep Your Digital Wallet and Identity Safe

Cool stuff looming on the Digital Security horizon.  IBM is about to open source a piece of Information Security software that could play a big role in reducing financial and identity theft scams online.  For the short attention span crew, this means that transmission of your Financial, Health, and other related records online may become much safer in the very near future.

The software, called Identity Mixer, has the potential to allow users to anonymously complete secure transactions without the need to reveal any personal information.  Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, one potential scenario could work like this:

1. User downloads a browser plug-in from their bank which creates a secure token (called an ICard) on the user's machine.  This ICard contains limited encrypted information pertaining to a user's identification.

2. User goes to online merchant to buy clothes.  At check-out, user sees that the merchant supports their bank's secure transaction system.  User opts to complete the transaction with this method.

3. Merchant's system checks user's ICard to see if there are sufficient funds to complete the transaction. No identifiable information is transmitted, simply a "Yes" or "No" to the amount of funds required. 

4. Merchant completes transaction directly with the bank, where the user has securely stored their preferred billing/shipping information.  Funds are withdrawn, and the sale is completed. 

Note that during this process the user has never entered any personal information.  Not too shabby.

I could also see this technology working nicely on a Desktop Application.  Thinking ahead, a user could install a checkout system on their desktop and merchants could supply inventory and pricing information directly to the users so that all transactions happen directly between the customer and their bank.  All that changes hands between the bank and merchant is money and whatever personal contact info the users has allowed the merchant to receive. 

Like most new technology standards, there is the uphill battle of getting companies to willingly adopt them.  By itself, Identify Mixer is not all that useful as it is simply the code that provides the link between users and their personal information, be it bank/credit card balances, medical records, social security number, etc...  What it needs in order to become successful is for some engineers to leverage Identity Mixer's code into their own software and promote the software to financial institutions and online merchants as a new online commerce standard (take note, this is how small software start-ups can become very wealthy). 

As an aside, Microsoft also moving ahead to push their own security solutions, but there are speculations that MS may just adopt IBM's standards as part of their framework.  Otherwise users may find themselves in another Betamax vs. VHS war for security standards.

Don't Underestimate Microsoft

An article published in today's MercuryNews.com  titled "Hooked On Google" by Elise Ackerman explores whether or not Microsoft still has a fighting chance in todays changing technology/media landscape.  When compared to the enormous success  the likes of Google has experienced over the last couple years, the picture indeed looks grim.  Ackerman points out in his article:

"Microsoft's page views, an approximation of how long visitors spend at its sites, was down 12 percent in December to 18 billion, according to the research firm. Google's page views were up 90 percent to 13 billion.

Microsoft has steadily lost ground in search, despite developing its own search engine in 2004. As of November, Microsoft's share of Internet searches has fallen to 8 percent. Two years ago, when MSN search was released in beta, Microsoft share's of U.S. searches stood at 14 percent, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

Microsoft's Internet slide is reflected in its online sales. During the quarter ended Sept. 30, sales for the online business unit were $539 million, down 5 percent in a year. Google, in cruel comparison, reported revenue of $2.69 billion, an increase of 70 percent."

In fairness, Ackerman does offer that despite the above situation Microsoft has had a rather active 2006 by introducing a "slew of online offerings":

"In addition to the widely praised Virtual Earth, an exact 3-D representation of major cities, there were three new search services, a new portal, online video, classified ads, mobile e-mail and social networking. And perhaps most importantly, there was new adCenter software released in May that was supposed to help Microsoft make more money from its online offerings."

However, I think this misses a more important point why Microsoft should not be underestimated. 

Reason 1: They are the only major operating platform that cuts across desktop PCs (Microsoft OS), Mobile Phones/PDAs (Microsoft Mobile), TV (Microsoft iPTV) which both Verizon and Comcast are deploying across their massive Fiber and Coaxial nets, and Game Consoles (Xbox & Xbox 360).

Reason 2: Due to the reach across their installed platform base detailed above, Microsoft is in an enormously unique position to be one of the first companies to have a viable cross channel digital media offering.  From behavioral targeted web, e-mail and search  properties, to instant message, in-game  (via their purchase of Massive Inc. last May), mobile  and interactive TV advertising the folks in Redmond seem to be slowly transforming themselves from a software company to a media company.  Even though it does not exist now, it does not take one to imagine Microsoft's plans for using adCenter as the hub of their emerging cross channel media universe.

Reason 3. One word: PASSPORT.  Microsoft Passport accounts are central repositories for a person's online data and can include personal information such as birthdays and credit card numbers. They can also act as a single key to access many online accounts.

Microsoft uses Passport authentication for its Hotmail e-mail service, MSN Messenger instant messaging service, XBox Live Service, and Mobile Services. Several online retailers, such as eBay, Canon, Expedia and Starbucks, also use Passport authentication. Microsoft estimates there are 200 million active Passport accounts. 

It does not take a rocket scientist to guess that Microsoft will use this Central Customer Information (CIF) file to help deliver more personalized content/advertising to its opt-in customers as its able to understand their behaviors and activities across digital media platforms.

Its important to note...that I am hardly a fan of Microsoft.  Indeed, I have switched my work computer to the Powerbook just a couple of months ago.  I am a huge fan of the iPod (with exception to their Nazi DRM platform) and also plan to be one of the first to buy an iPhone when it is released.  I also do not proclaim to have a crystal ball that give me any special insight that the points made above will make a lick of difference.  All I am doing is agreeing with Gartner analyst,  Allen Weiner, when he states at the bottom of Ackerman's article: Don't Underestimate Microsoft.

Jeremi Karnell-President, One to One Interactive

 

Pentaho BI Open Source Solution Continues to Grow

Since 2002, a group of executives from companies including Hyperion, SAS and Cognos have been developing a series of interoperable open source packages that provide a full range of Business Intelligence (BI) offerings.  As of November, SourceForge.net reports over 500,000 downloads of Pentaho's software from their servers alone, and Pentaho estimates over 2.5 million total downloads in the past 2 years which may not seem like a large number in the grand scheme of things, but is akin to a landslide when compared to the number of operational licenses sold and managed by the proprietary BI players. 

In 2006, Pentaho was named to Red Herring's list of 100 privately held North American companies that are innovating the technology landscape.  They also made the Red Herring 'Open Source 20' list in August and were highlighted as the most popular open source BI suite by Intelligent Enterprise magazine. 

Also launched this year was Pentaho's Partner Program, with nearly 30 implementation and hosting companies already signed up.  They also formally joined IBM's partner program in October and partnered to demonstrate a join IBM/Pentaho solution at the "Information On Demand" conference. 

Press has been very favorable, including clips such as:

"Pentaho is well-positioned for the high-growth performance management market, which is poised to reach $23 billion this year. Some important wins include Abbott Labs, Divx, and Orbitz. To compete in a market of very big players, Pentaho will have to continue to snag large customers, but Chairman Andre Boisvert, an enterprise software veteran, can open a lot of doors for this fledgling." Source - Red Herring August, 2006

"After a lengthy development, and some initial market skepticism, Pentaho BI certainly seems to be gaining steam and followers. It's already listed as one of the top one hundred projects hosted on the Sourceforge.net nexus, a website that lists around 120,000 open source projects. The ranking is based on the number of downloads and activity." Source - Computer Business Review Online April, 2006

Pentaho has also made numerous enhancements and additions to their suite this year including integration with Google Maps for enhanced geographic analytics, rollout of Mondrian 2.2 including a wizard-driven business cube creation engine, and acquisition/integration of the Weka open source project which adds a rich new layer of data mining offerings developed by the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

To learn more about Pentaho's free* suite of products, check out their website.    

*Software is free, licensing for professional use will run $20k-50k which is 10% of the fees for the bigger proprietary players

Live from Google Labs - The New Accessible Search

Accessible Search is one of the latest in Google's deluge of beta product - this one is targeted towards visually challenged users.  According to Google, their algorithms for this search focus more on the HTML structure of the page than just the content and use of keywords.  Image- and flash-heavy sites will not fare as well on this search, nor will sites that lack <ALT>ernate tags for your images.  Following standard W3C guidelines for page development will help keep your site high in these rankings.  Don't be surprised if Google ultimately merges these algorithms in with their current ones, as their goals are to both better organize the world's data, and make it universally accessible. 

p.s. No paid placements are available on Accessible Search (yet).

IE continues to lose ground

It looks as if IE continues to lose market share, Macobserver reports today (clearly they have a keen interest in such things).

With almost 14% of the surfers out there using something other than IE on a PC (and even with the meager marketshare, Safari shows up at over 3%, Firefox making up most of the rest with nearly 11%) and the landscape continuing to shift away from IE, it looks like our clients are going to have to seriously considered cross-platform compatibility more than many of them have wanted to thus far.

Stardust@home Project Brings Cosmic Dust to Your Desktop

NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned safely to Earth when the capsule carrying cometary and interstellar particles successfully touched down at 2:10 a.m. Pacific time this past Sunday in the desert salt flats of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. Launched in February 7th, 1999, Stardust rendezvoused with the Comet Wild2 in January 2004 and captured thousands of cometary dust grains in special aerogel collectors. 

This is the first sample return from a solid solar-system body beyond the Moon and the first ever samples of contemporary interstellar dust ever collected.  In order to search for the tiny dust samples embedded in the aerogel, scientists from the Nasa Jet Propulsion Lab at the California Institute of Technology are recruiting volunteers online to download a virtual microscope (VM) . The VM will automatically connect to a server and download so-called "focus movies" -- stacks of images that are collected from the spacecraft using an automated microscope at the Cosmic Dust Lab at Johnson Space Center.  Those interested may learn more and apply to participate at the following website: http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Homeland Security On The Cheap!

Getting bored of Googling old friends to see if you have more hair and a smaller waistline than them?  Check out this guy's article describing how he used Amazon, Yahoo!, and Google Maps to pinpoint people likely to lead civil war (or who may just attend one of our fine Liberal Arts universities and have no evil intentions whatsoever).  *Warning* - the article goes in some detail about the code used to accomplish this, but you'll get the general theme down without having to learn TCL. 

Ultimately, this is no different than what is done in any good data mining application, it's merely meant to show what can be found by manipulating a few disparate data sources around the Internet. 

...Plus, you don't need an unauthorized wiretap program to accomplish this, it's all (currently) legal!

Open Source Loses its Baby Teeth

In 2005 the Open Source movement showed some real signs of getting teeth.  A peek at this article suggests that the grumbly developer community, weathered and jaded by a decade of implementing expensive and overly complex web applications, is starting to gain clout and attention in an infrastructure once dominated by a handshake between the CIO and an impeccably-dressed rep with the slickest Powerpoint presentation.

Apocalyptic? Well, sort of... but in a good way.  Keep in mind that a large number of the developers who support this Open Source community are the same people who know the technical ins and outs of the larger competitors in the marketplace today because they had to actually get the beasts installed, configured, and running.  Believe it or not, these folks know what they are doing, and they will end up saving their companies a lot of time and money.

So, what do I like so much about Open Source Software?

1. By the people, for the people - Developers actually like working with Open Source because it was built by like-minded peers.  The code, by its nature, can be modified to fit individual needs.  This means that if you don't like the way the widget was built, you can go in and re-engineer the widget instead of fumbling for an elaborate workaround that will become unusable when version 2.0 of the software is released. 
2. Enormous support structure - Finding answers to your issues does not require sitting on hold or paying $250+ only to have someone to suggest you reboot your server.  Most Open Source software has vast searchable knowledge bases and users who will respond to questions within an hour or two, if not within minutes.   
3. Operational stability - This software is in constant QA by the developer community.  Great pride is taken in the stability and up-time of the software.  As an interesting aside, one of the oldest and most successful pieces of software at a large automotive company I previously consulted with is a Java-based brochure request form that has been in operation on the Web for over 8 years.  All custom developed, and had better uptime than nearly all of their end-user sites.
4. Proven - Did you know that there is over a 50% chance that the page you are looking at right now was delivered using an Apache web server?  Yup, Apache is Open Source too.  Not to mention Mozilla, and OpenSSL (the technology used to securely submit data across the Internet, like your credit card number!).  My company recently relaunched our website using OpenCMS, a fantastic Content Management System that holds its own against the pricey competitors. 
5. Free Licensing - Correct, the software itself is free (as is the extensive community support).  However, this does assume that you have access to a developer with the proper experience to customize and deploy your software.  For more information on such talented individuals, feel free to email sales@onetooneinteractive.com

Don't get me wrong, Microsoft, Oracle/Siebel, and Interwoven aren't going anywhere just yet, but they're going to have more and more lower-cost solutions in the mix with them, and they just may lose a toe-to-toe battle or two that will start to raise eyebrows.  Stay tuned.

Tim Berners-Lee is Blogging

Tim Berners-Lee, father of the World Wide Web, has started to publish his own Blog. In his inaugural post, he claims that the reason he has not adopted blogging earlier is because he has already been publishing online a series of personal notes titled "Design Issues".  Since he had write access to the site hosting his notes and tools such as Amaya and Nvu to direct his editing, he claims that up until now he didn't "have the urge to blog with blogging tools".  That said, he seems delighted that current day blog platforms take over the administrative drudgery of managing navigation bars, comment threads, etc. and that he is going to go ahead and try "this blog thing using blog tools".  Welcome to Web 2.0 Tim.  Oh....and thanks for the Web!!!