Information overload: moving away from the wisdom of crowds
By R Lemuel Lasher, chief innovation officer for CSC
Published: February 12 2009 17:45 | Last updated: February 12 2009 17:45
We have gone from a world of information scarcity to a world of information surfeit. Valuable information gets lost in the noise of an increasingly crowded digital world in which everyone has more information than needed and, therefore, an urgent need for a point of view on what the information means.
I subscribe to only a small number of all the possible blogs and media websites configured for RSS feeds, and I receive more than 3,000 updates daily. How can I possibly manage to take advantage of all of this information wealth?
While I am an avid user of Amazon.com for all of my book purchases, I never rely on the book reviews for choosing a title. Anyone can post a reader rating for a book. I don’t know their background, qualifications, education, intelligence, or motivation, so how can I trust them?
I need a filter, and not a technological one. I mean a “conceptual” or “value” filter that acts as my trusted advisor. How do I know who to trust, and what is the basis of that trust?
The answer lies in an exploration of the philosophical principles that underpin much of what occurs online. Those principles can be characterised as democratic, communitarian, libertarian and millennial:
● The internet is democratic in the sense that it is assumed that the wisdom of the crowds will level archaic hierarchy and established institutional structures, by allowing a very personalised self-selecting inclusiveness to set new patterns of social, political and economic order.
● It is communitarian in the sense that the ethos of its “community”, non-economic contribution trumps the ethos of individual economic gain.
● It is libertarian in the sense that all progress is evaluated within the context of maximising “freedom” of choice, and “liberating” the individual from organisational and social constraints.
● It is millennial in the sense that a new world order is being ushered in through the revolutionary and broad-based product, service, social and political innovations that are enabled by web-based technologies. There is an abiding faith that this new world order will be an entirely different and better one than the world today.
These philosophical principles shape how we see events, and do reflect a dimension of what is going on; but seen without the proper context, they confuse the means with the end and ignore a dialectical view that will enable us to see more clearly what is going on and what the future may hold.
The basic construct of the dialectic includes three elements: a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. The thesis is the established order, the antithesis is the force(s) for change, and the synthesis is the result.
A thorough review of history will demonstrate that this view, properly applied, is a much more reliable way of correctly observing current events, than seeing the antithesis, and confusing it with the synthesis. This is a mistake that has been made throughout history, particularly by individuals who are passionately participating as agents of the antithesis.
There is currently a bias towards an online democratisation as a source of wisdom, and trusted sources of insight are not clearly identifiable. We are in the nascent stages of this dialectical evolution, which will eventually produce a more traditionally structured digital world and evolve towards more traditional hierarchical models, with a representative democracy of elite and proven sources.
Instead of a pure manifestation of democratic vox populi in an uncontrolled blogosphere, might not the future be more like a representative democracy, with editors and peer reviewers filtering content for us?
The editors and peer reviewers will gain credentials through societally sanctioned processes and organisational filters, but they will all have one thing in common: they will reflect a more elitist or even aristocratic representation of wisdom instead of the chattering of the crowds. The current difficulties experienced by the established media have more to do with the betrayal of their brand and role as trusted advisors, than with the “end of journalism as we know it”.
The internet has provided a platform for the emergence of a highly democratised world, and far from having reached the end game, we are seeing the beginnings of a dialectical process. This is certainly something the US Founding Fathers would recognise, who feared and eschewed the wisdom of the crowds and much preferred the wisdom of the ages.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Showing posts with label Search and Information Access. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Search and Information Access. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 04, 2008
FT.com / In depth - Google weighs in against Microsoft
FT.com / In depth - Google weighs in against Microsoft
Google weighs in against Microsoft
By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in London
Published: February 3 2008 19:54 | Last updated: February 4 2008 03:17
Google raised a red flag over Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover offer for Yahoo, on Sunday arguing it could open the way for the software developer to extend its PC monopoly to the internet.
The intervention is the latest example of the growing enmity between the two companies and echoes Microsoft’s denunciation of Google’s proposed acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick.
While Microsoft claimed that deal could give Google inordinate power to control online advertisements as they become the lifeblood of many internet companies, Google believes Microsoft would be in a position to influence the evolution of the web itself.
However, Brad Smith, general counsel of Microsoft, said: “Microsoft is committed to openness, innovation, and the protection of privacy on the internet.”
Microsoft has not ruled out launching a proxy fight for control of Yahoo by 13 March, the last date it can nominate its own directors to the company’s board ahead of this year’s shareholders’ meeting.
Separately, an alliance with Google is being seen inside Yahoo as one of the main options as the company tries to fight off Microsoft’s unsolicited approach, according to one person familiar with its thinking.
Yahoo rejected the idea of a tie-up with Google last year but has now put it back at the top of its list of options, along with finding ways to realise more of the value from its stakes in Japanese and Chinese joint ventures, according to this person.
The possibility of an alliance between the two internet groups adds to the intrigue surrounding the tussle between Google and Microsoft, and could raise questions about Google’s motivations in publicly attacking Microsoft now.
In a posting on Google’s company blog, David Drummond, its top lawyer, said: “While the internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies – and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.”
He went on to question whether a Yahoo acquisition would allow Microsoft, “despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offences, to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the internet”.
Google swung the spotlight on to the “overwhelming” share of the web e-mail and instant messaging markets that Microsoft and Yahoo account for, plus the fact that they own two of the busiest web portals.
“Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ e-mail, IM, and web-based services?” Mr Drummond asked.
Meanwhile, a Google-Yahoo alliance, something discussed but not pursued last year, would enable Google to halt Microsoft’s latest bid to boost its standing on the web.
The idea was receiving serious consideration again this weekend as Yahoo looked at a wider range of options, according to a person close to the company.
Microsoft’s cash-and-stock offer for Yahoo was worth $43bn at the end of last week.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Google weighs in against Microsoft
By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in London
Published: February 3 2008 19:54 | Last updated: February 4 2008 03:17
Google raised a red flag over Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover offer for Yahoo, on Sunday arguing it could open the way for the software developer to extend its PC monopoly to the internet.
The intervention is the latest example of the growing enmity between the two companies and echoes Microsoft’s denunciation of Google’s proposed acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick.
While Microsoft claimed that deal could give Google inordinate power to control online advertisements as they become the lifeblood of many internet companies, Google believes Microsoft would be in a position to influence the evolution of the web itself.
However, Brad Smith, general counsel of Microsoft, said: “Microsoft is committed to openness, innovation, and the protection of privacy on the internet.”
Microsoft has not ruled out launching a proxy fight for control of Yahoo by 13 March, the last date it can nominate its own directors to the company’s board ahead of this year’s shareholders’ meeting.
Separately, an alliance with Google is being seen inside Yahoo as one of the main options as the company tries to fight off Microsoft’s unsolicited approach, according to one person familiar with its thinking.
Yahoo rejected the idea of a tie-up with Google last year but has now put it back at the top of its list of options, along with finding ways to realise more of the value from its stakes in Japanese and Chinese joint ventures, according to this person.
The possibility of an alliance between the two internet groups adds to the intrigue surrounding the tussle between Google and Microsoft, and could raise questions about Google’s motivations in publicly attacking Microsoft now.
In a posting on Google’s company blog, David Drummond, its top lawyer, said: “While the internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies – and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.”
He went on to question whether a Yahoo acquisition would allow Microsoft, “despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offences, to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the internet”.
Google swung the spotlight on to the “overwhelming” share of the web e-mail and instant messaging markets that Microsoft and Yahoo account for, plus the fact that they own two of the busiest web portals.
“Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ e-mail, IM, and web-based services?” Mr Drummond asked.
Meanwhile, a Google-Yahoo alliance, something discussed but not pursued last year, would enable Google to halt Microsoft’s latest bid to boost its standing on the web.
The idea was receiving serious consideration again this weekend as Yahoo looked at a wider range of options, according to a person close to the company.
Microsoft’s cash-and-stock offer for Yahoo was worth $43bn at the end of last week.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
FT.com / Companies / IT - Subprime boost for Autonomy
FT.com / Companies / IT - Subprime boost for Autonomy
Subprime boost for Autonomy
By Maija Palmer, Technology Correspondent
Published: October 24 2007 03:16 | Last updated: October 24 2007 03:16
Mike Lynch, chief executive of Autonomy, said the search and archiving company could see a boost to business next year if financial services groups started facing litigation over their exposure to US subprime home loans.
The company provides software that helps companies retrieve e-mails and other electronic records and said its systems were often used by companies preparing for lawsuits. Autonomy increased its exposure to the legal market earlier this year with the $375m acquisition of Zantaz, which supplies nine of the world’s top 10 law firms.
Mr Lynch said the company had won new customers “all along the financial services chain” who were preparing for litigation related to the subprime problems. The company also supplies software to the New York Stock Exchange and the Serious Fraud Office.
“It’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good,” said Mr Lynch.
However, shares in Autonomy fell 44p to 911p as it reported third-quarter results in line with estimates.
Revenues were up 49 per cent at $89.6m for the three months to the end of September, while pre-tax profits rose 38 per cent to $18.3m.
Roger Phillips, analyst at Evolution Securities, cut the stock from “add” to “reduce” and said: “There were no horrors in this. Autonomy have repeatedly beat expectations and this time they are in line. But the stock is just too expensive – to maintain the valuation you need constant outperformance.”
Autonomy also announced the acquisition of Meridio for £20m ($40m) in cash and shares.
FT Comment
●Autonomy shares have doubled over the past year and trade at 50 times this year’s earnings estimates – well above the rest of the software sector. It is natural for the market to worry about whether this is justified and panic at any sign of weakness. Autonomy’s revenues rely on selling big licences to big companies and this may slow in a downturn, while eventually it may face market saturation. However, there is little sign of that yet and in spite of there being little in the latest results to propel the shares higher, Tuesday’s correction looks overdone.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Subprime boost for Autonomy
By Maija Palmer, Technology Correspondent
Published: October 24 2007 03:16 | Last updated: October 24 2007 03:16
Mike Lynch, chief executive of Autonomy, said the search and archiving company could see a boost to business next year if financial services groups started facing litigation over their exposure to US subprime home loans.
The company provides software that helps companies retrieve e-mails and other electronic records and said its systems were often used by companies preparing for lawsuits. Autonomy increased its exposure to the legal market earlier this year with the $375m acquisition of Zantaz, which supplies nine of the world’s top 10 law firms.
Mr Lynch said the company had won new customers “all along the financial services chain” who were preparing for litigation related to the subprime problems. The company also supplies software to the New York Stock Exchange and the Serious Fraud Office.
“It’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good,” said Mr Lynch.
However, shares in Autonomy fell 44p to 911p as it reported third-quarter results in line with estimates.
Revenues were up 49 per cent at $89.6m for the three months to the end of September, while pre-tax profits rose 38 per cent to $18.3m.
Roger Phillips, analyst at Evolution Securities, cut the stock from “add” to “reduce” and said: “There were no horrors in this. Autonomy have repeatedly beat expectations and this time they are in line. But the stock is just too expensive – to maintain the valuation you need constant outperformance.”
Autonomy also announced the acquisition of Meridio for £20m ($40m) in cash and shares.
FT Comment
●Autonomy shares have doubled over the past year and trade at 50 times this year’s earnings estimates – well above the rest of the software sector. It is natural for the market to worry about whether this is justified and panic at any sign of weakness. Autonomy’s revenues rely on selling big licences to big companies and this may slow in a downturn, while eventually it may face market saturation. However, there is little sign of that yet and in spite of there being little in the latest results to propel the shares higher, Tuesday’s correction looks overdone.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
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