‘Google’

Twitter has taken the bold step to say what everyone is thinking – Google promotes it own social network Google+ at the expense of other social networks.

Twitter has not been tactful about it as well. The company outright complained that users and news organizations will all be disadvantaged if there are no tweets in the Google search results. Since news of important events often appear first on Twitter, then the news networks, and finally in search results, it goes without saying that the tweets are the most relevant when it comes to up to date reports on events.

The Google+ centred approach has been criticized widely, with Twitter being the most prominent of the complainers.  The company loves the traffic from the search giant, but with no direct advantage for Google to send traffic to tweets, one can understand the shift in focus to promote their own struggling social network.

Twitter’s Perspective on Google+

Google can still index the tweets which are public and most of them are. Twitter feels that people rely on the search giant to deliver accurate search results including breaking news and events. With Twitter being a major source of information fitting the profile, it goes without saying that the results should include searches in their 250 million or so daily tweets covering just about any given topic.

Twitter boasts about a 100 million users and as such their input should not be ignored. With the changes in Google’s focus and subsequent search results, the users and publishers definitely are at a disadvantage and the results cannot be given as the most accurate or relevant to the user.

Google hasn’t included any public Facebook content in its search results up to now and Twitter has thus just joined the low search results ranks together with other social networks.

Google’s Perspective on Social Networks

Google’s response is that they don’t have access to crawl the content of certain sites including social networks. They can thus only provide results on information not hidden behind password protection and pay-walls.

Google has also announced that they are surprised by Twitter’s outrage since the company chose not to renew the pay agreement and since then the search giant has simply observed the no follow instructions.

Review of the Twitter versus Google+ War

If one has to be completely objective then Google certainly has the right to promote Google+ more than any of the other social networks and if Twitter has not renewed their agreement, there is certainly no reason for the search engine giant to send traffic their way. Google also has the right to get others to play nice and open up their networks for crawling, but look closer and you will be able to see that the exclusion of such results and pushing sites down the rank, influence the accuracy and relevancy of results.

Even though a user with a Google+ account now has a more relevant search experience when taken into consideration that search results are adapted to the user’s past searches and profile, essential results don’t show up. For Google, it may seem relevant, but the user is suffering because of their policies. With that then the giant engine shouldn’t proclaim the best results when indeed they are self-promoting and then demoting others at the same time.

Google+ is struggling and with all its excellent privacy features, little circles and clean lay-out, it cannot compete with Facebook and Twitter following. The search engine wants access to Twitter and Facebook to crawl, but then one also has to look even deeper. Google doesn’t make ad revenue from Facebook accounts and being excluded from revenue on Twitter, it seems like another ploy to downsize competition.

One must appreciate Google’s effort to get all information accessible under one umbrella. Currently you will search your Facebook page, do a Twitter search and a Google one if you want to get up to date and really relevant results. But, Google has also been accused of bullying Android and Motorola has complained that they don’t have freedom of decision. It does seem that Google pressures every other network, platform, mobile provider and site into submission to fit their own agenda.

Does this Tug of War Hurt the User or the Company the Most?

Undoubtedly the ongoing monopoly tugging does hurt the Internet user. One should, however, ask whether another social network is needed. Does anyone have the time to login at Facebook and Google+, make your way to Twitter for some tweeting, chat at Skype and then move onto searching? Indeed, Google surely doesn’t have in mind to just add another social network, it is more an issue of taking down the one network where it doesn’t get an income from and then if they succeed in pushing tweets down the results far enough, they may even take the market there as well.

The search giant, cannot however, be criticized for being so large and marketing itself since they do give a lot of free stuff. If many of their competitors would have done the same, they may also have flooded the market. They certainly also have the right to put pressure on companies to use their products.

Twitter’s complaint against Google is somewhat legitimate and resembles how many of the smaller companies also feel. With the constant changes made by Google, several thousands of little AdSense publishers have seen their income dwindle and their sites pushed down far on the search results.

One must ask whether Google has become so big that they have lost touch with their users in the quest to promote their Google+ and other products. One must also ask whether ad income from the large companies have become more important than accurate information as search results have become focused on the large sites recently. The Twitter versus Google+ war is far from over and one can expect to see more complaints surface in future.

Back to the question of whether Twitter’s complaint against Google for promoting their own social network while pushing others down should be supported – it depends on whether you still benefit from Google’s traffic and whether you want your searches and social network to be an integrated experience.

The reports on the latest social networking growth stats indicate that Facebook is the leader of the pack with Twitter second and LinkedIn trailing in third place. More significant is continues growth of the networks with Facebook, showing tremendous increase in usage. With over 1.1 billion users globally and attracting more than 81% of the Internet users, Facebook is by far the biggest gun in the social network industry.

Globally, social networking growth stats show that citizens in Israel spend the most time at social networking with more than 11 hours a month per user. The people of Argentina are not far behind with over 10.6 hours a month per user and then Russians with their more than 10.3 hours monthly. Turkey, Chile, The Philippines and Colombia are not far behind. Trailing the top ten are Peru, Venezuela and Canada. Surprisingly, the US citizens spend less time on social networks than the citizens in the above countries, with South Africans not yet coming close.

Gender Profiles

Reports further indicate that women use the social media sites for comparison with their female peers whilst the men use such for finding friends. Men love the idea of body photos whilst women tend to add facial photos.  Men use the platforms for finding information about people whilst females tend to use such for personal engagement.

Social Networking in South Africa Compared To the USA and Europe

Studies indicate that more than 75% of Americans use social networks with European users slightly behind them, but when it comes to South Africa, the picture looks different. Reports show that Twitter has grown its market tremendously to now include more than a million users with estimates indicating that more than 39% of the users are active. With the majority of users in South Africa, only joining during 2010-2011, it is definitely the hottest new thing on the social media scene when it comes to South Africa.

The South African Social Media Landscape 2011 released by World Wide Worx and Fuseware indicated that the SA media is mostly responsible for the tremendous growth in Twitter usage. Accordingly, many use the platform for retrieval and for following of news.

When it comes to Facebook, the social network growth stats indicate that many of the users didn’t even log in during 2010-2011. With more than 4.1 million users and only around 3.1 million plus, who logged in during the period, it seems as if the obsession with Facebook in South Africa has subsided a bit.

Numerous users now utilize BBM and MXit as well as Twitter instead, whilst some, and only some, have begun to use Google+.  Many of the Facebook users have accounts, but only occasionally visit their profile pages to upload new pictures or to play a game or two.

Surprisingly, LinkedIn has also passed the million user mark with reports indicating 1.1 million users. It shows tremendous growth with active usage also on the increase. It has indeed shown more than 86% growth in one year. Only a tenth of the users are businesses.

MXit, though certainly not forming part of the international social networking growth stats, is still the largest mobile social media platform for the country. Its user profile shows that more than 74% of the users are teens and younger kids. It is thus, apart from BBM, the preferred platform for social networking when it comes to the youth of the country.

USA Usage

When it comes to the USA, Facebook is definitely the most important of the social networks with reports indicating that more than 57% for the users use the platform on a daily basis. LinkedIn has a smaller market penetration with just over a fifth of the user profile and Twitter in the same region.

European Usage

The Europeans are surprisingly conservative in social media usage with about half the profile logging into one social platform only. Around two thirds of Europeans use at least one of the social media networks with over 60% logging in at Facebook on a regular basis and around 15-17% on Twitter. Another social network called Vkontakte that takes around 11-13% of the user profile.

New Networks

Apart from BBM that has made its mark, reports indicate that users don’t easily migrate to other networks or add them to their profiles.  It may explain the low usage level of Google+, although it certainly has enough subscribers, just not active users. Smaller social media networks will have an even harder time in penetrating the market. It can be ascribed to persons already having all their contacts at Facebook or LinkedIn and with them already following tweets they don’t seem to have more time or willingness to add another platform to their schedule. People, according to experts in the field, tend to ignore smaller social networks because of the low level of interactivity.

 Social Networking and Branding Growth

According to the various reports, globally the USA and European users follow brands, although international figures suggest that only half the number of users from other countries, including South Africa, actively follows brands on the social networks.

Other reports indicate that MySpace usage is on the fast track downwards with Tumblr surprisingly showing growth. Accordingly, the average time spent at Facebook has increased to more than six hours a month for the USA profile. Market dominance of the big players in social networking will continue, and currently only around five networks show massive growth while the thousands of other networks have indeed shown a decrease in activity.

Social Networking Growth Stats in Japan

The Japanese, according to reports, love Facebook and Twitter just about the same, but when it comes to usage, Facebook leads with more than 52% of the sharing whilst Twitter is only used for just under 14%. Twitter has, however, shown tremendous growth in 2011 with more than 576% growth in one year. Google has shown a drop in usage of around 7-8%. Reports indicate that more than 11 million of social networking users globally are in Japan.

Social networking growth stats clearly indicate Facebook as the leader. Twitter and LinkedIn are the two other big players, but usage trends differ from country to country. In South Africa, as shown, MXit and BBM are also big, with Google+ not really a threat to any network. What is important is to take note of the tremendous growth in social media and networking. Any business hoping to reach their target audience must make use of the social platforms where their users are in addition to offline marketing and their websites.

As reported in an earlier blog, Google TV as developed by Sony, Google, Logitech and Intel is an integrated Internet and television experience for the user. With the official roll-out announced, Sony and Logitech will also do the roll-out for their devices.  Users should not expect to have it all at once, but with the gradual introduction, we should see some users migrate to the new system over the next few months.

Google has been working on it for a while and the first announcement came in May 2010. Users will appreciate the upgrade to an improved Android operating system in addition to a Linux – Google Chrome browser which makes it possible to have a completely interactive TV experience by making use of the Internet. With the official launch in October 2010, South Africans have not yet benefitted, but will eventually be included in the new generation of television supporters.

What is Google TV?

Why All the Fuzz about Google TV?

It can be seen as another step by Google to dominate not only the world of searching, but also the mobile and entertainment market. The company must constantly develop new and more revolutionary methods to keep its place amongst the leaders in the digital world, and with Google TV it gets a chance to expand the usage of its Android operating system. The Chrome browser also features strongly allowing for a means to search the Net while also enjoying shows on TV.

Google is not the only player in the game. Netflix, which is a partner in all this, has developed a super app allowing for access to their database of programs and movies.  In addition, even the users of Apple Smart Phones will be able to use their phones as remotes.

Instead of having to choose between browsing the web or watching a TV program, consumers can watch television, do a bit of searching, chat on social media and schedule programs all in front of their television. It is the ideal solution for the attention deficient user who simply cannot sit still and do only one thing at a time.

Easy Control

Users will not have to purchase yet another remote which normally causes more confusion because so many devices already clutter the TV room. With Google TV you simply download their application to your smart phone and then use the phone to double up as remote.  With such users can even apply voice searching for more convenience and interactivity.

Familiar Operating System

Android phone users are already familiar with the operating system. It is light, fast and flexible. Users have access to all the additional apps specifically for the Android and Google TV market which can all be downloaded for free.

Support for Home Network

It works with various media formats including DLNA, MP3, MIDI and WMA amongst the audio formats while AVCHD, MPEG4 and WMV are amongst the video formats supported. In terms of images the normal GIF and JPEG in addition to BMP and PNG are also supported.

Audio-Visual Support

At present full cable and satellite integration is possible and 720P as well as 1080 HD screen resolution is fully supported.

Connection to the Internet

Connectivity can be gained by means of static or dynamic IP. Wi-Fi is supported. It comes with a USB port for addition of photos or videos by means of a memory stick.

Watch Your Favourite YouTube Videos

One can watch YouTube and other Internet video channels as if the television is a computer. Video streaming is supported, adding so much more to the viewing experience than would be possible with normal television or computer.

Listen To the Radio Station of Choice

Users can also listen to their favourite streaming radio collections from Slacker Radio or Pandora. It is even possible to watch music videos on the big screen in the comfort of your lounge.

Star on the Big Screen

With Google TV, one can watch videos from friends, family and even themselves on their big screen.

Locate Entertainment

Decide what you want to watch rather than having to watch what there is. With specific television streaming sites, images of what can be watched and according to category are displayed for easy navigation. It is almost the same as going into a DVD store and selecting exactly what you want to watch and when you want to view such.

Cost Effective TV

Google TV doesn’t involve a monthly contract fee and the viewer can simply use the existing Internet connection as well as the current satellite television subscription service. Updates are free of charge and the apps available for Android are also applicable for the television experience.

Implications for Marketers

Marketers will have a field day with the new media available as more than one hundred television networks are covered internationally. When it comes to the international market, you will be able to reach millions of households. For the South African market, sadly, still not a reality. Marketers can make use of HTML5 to create premier ad campaigns. We are waiting for our turn to reap the benefits, but if it is a hit internationally, South Africans can expect to also become part of the households targeted by marketers.

Google TV Browser

If you have used the web, you will be able to use the browser for Google TV. It is the same as Google Chrome, only in Linux format. This means although there are slight differences that the overall experience will be the same. Flash 10.1 is supported ensuring that even Flash websites will run on the television. If a website can operate correctly when using Chrome as browser, it will also render in the correct manner on the television. Data can be stored and archived by means of cookies in the same way as is done on normal computers when using the Internet.

With all the benefits mentioned, one would expect loud cheering by the public, media and marketers. Unfortunately, Google TV has received mediocre reviews and as such will have to do some more work to get a positive reception internationally.

Just as you think that now you have seen it all, the tech world stuns again with something as amazing the Siri personal assistant in the iPhone 4S. It is the ultimate replacement of the secretary on the go. Not that secretaries will ever be replaced, but if you want a mobile one in your pocket then you will adore the stunning new features of the iPhone 4S.

What can the Siri Personal Assistant Do For You?

Say you are driving and want directions without having to type in a search in Google Maps. Simply speak to your iPhone 4S and get it to locate the place on the map. If you quickly want to find a restaurant nearby ask the assistant to locate such. It will take some time to learn exactly how to phrase the question, but once you have cleared up any misunderstandings with the Siri you will find it to be rather responsive and accurate.

Directions are not the only reason for getting the iPhone 4S with Siri. If you for instance, want a meeting to be setup with one of the persons in your contact list, all you have to do is to give the command, and the Siri will check your calendar. If it is open for the particular time frame, it will request permission to go ahead in notifying the person about the meeting. Once given, the phone will do such and schedule it as well as remind you about the meeting in due time.

Two functions don’t make for the perfect mobile phone, agreed, but if you want the Siri to play a particular song or remind you of something that has to be done or even write a note, it can be done by simply speaking to it. The best of all, it will be done immediately.

Glitches as Part of Growing Pains

The Siri personal assistant is not without flaws, not yet. It has to deal with network problems which may occur from time to time and then there is the problem of sounds in the background which can cause confusion.  You have to learn how to structure questions to ensure it understands such and you will also have to refrain from talking again until it has carried out the instruction as to avoid confusion. Siri is the voice recognition feature now available with the iPhone 4S and with it also being part of the Apple product stable, it can be seen as a direct threat to Google, especially the controlled searching features of Google.

Is Siri More Accurate Than Google?

With Google one gets the familiar list of blue lined results. Although Google is certainly known as an accurate search engine, it does save time to just ask Siri and get the perfect answer.

Is Siri a Serious Threat to Google?

With the Siri concept, artificial intelligence is optimized and with thousands of users added in a short time, one can expect a large database of knowledge to develop in a short period. The estimate is that the personal assistant will shortly be able to answer questions with the same speed and accuracy as can be expected from a human. Shortly, however, means around two or three years of learning. This should give Google enough time to develop a counter strategy, although some feel that Google doesn’t have enough time to respond to the artificial intelligence threat posed by Siri.

At present Google allows interaction, but not at the extent offered by Siri. You have to speak in a voice similar to that of a bot. It still has to grow a bit before reaching the ideal level, already accomplished by Siri. Speech recognition is still at infancy stage with Google, whereas the personal assistant is more natural and allows for greater interaction. You will certainly not feel that you are speaking to a robot. With an eloquent voice and a human like feel, it leads the way for human and computer interaction of the future.

The iPhone 4S is the Next Generation Phone

Gamers have become used to bots and on many forums, bots answer the questions. Teaching your computer to answer you is not new, but having an intelligent phone with the potential of becoming just as efficient as a personal assistant on the move, is something that is revolutionary.

Apple is Happy with Siri

Apple apparently did not anticipate the many uses and popularity associated with the personal assistant, but with all the potential now discovered, it is possible that Apple will allow for other developers to create even more applications to ensure a competitive edge in the mobile market and especially to oust all the Android driven phones.

Third party developers, at this stage are not involved since the basics are not yet fully established. Although the personal assistant has an exceptional accuracy level it is not at a rate of more than 96% of the time. The day is coming and with that then the preference of users to rather interact with Siri than ask a human a question. Humans tend to have moods and can be slow at times. A reliable machine doesn’t have all that and if consistency is what you want then a mobile personal assistant will be the answer in future.

Personalisation is the Key

The Siri can be personalised to understand a particular user and the general queries, commands and needs of the user. It may very well become the next best friend of many mobile users. Apart from travel arrangements, entertainment location, and meetings, the personal assistant can further more do a bit of ecommerce bargain hunting. For people regularly buying online, Siri can develop a profile of preferences and do automatic buying without involvement of the user. Let’s hope the personal assistant never gets shopping mad.

Google has a real contender with the iPhone 4S Siri personal assistant. If a consumer has the choice of not having to deal with ads, the choice seems obvious and the days of structured searches may be at an end.

The recent death of Dennis Ritchie, co-father of the C programming language and co-developer of UNIX has not received the same attention in the media as did the death of Steve Jobs from Apple, but without his groundbreaking work in programming, much of the digital world of today would not have existed.

Dennis M Ritchie was found dead at his home earlier this month. The cause of death was not announced, but his health deteriorated fast during the last couple of months and he died quietly on 12 October 2011. He was often referred to by his username of dmr, which is quite appropriate considering that he was a programming genius that has shaped the operating system environment of today.

Dennis Received Several Awards during his Lifetime including:

• Turing Award in 1983 – Ritchie and Ken Thompson received the award jointly for their work on the development of a generic OS and the UNIX OS.
• Elected to the National Academy of Engineering – for the co-development of UNIX OS and C programming language.
• IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal 1990 – Ken and Dennis jointly received the award for their development of C and UNIX.
• National Medal of Technology 1999 – Ritchie and Ken received the award for their development of C and UNIX. The medal was awarded by the then President, Bill Clinton of the USA.
• Japan Prize for Information & Communications 2011 – they received the award for their work on UNIX.

Career Path of Ritchie

It is the revolutionary thought processes of Ritchie and Thompson that have made it possible to have Windows 7, advanced search engines including the likes of Google, and smart phones used widely. Dennis and Ken worked together from the early sixties and have jointly made one of the best contributions to the world of technology which has shaped the modern computer world. Ritchie retired in 2007 as head of the Research Department as Lucent Technologies System Software and it is believed that his death is related to his earlier struggle with prostate cancer.

His career started after finishing school in New Jersey at Summit High School. He received degrees in applied maths as well as physics from Harvard and then began his computer career in 1967 at the Bell Labs. He continued his studies until finally receiving his PhD at Harvard upon successful completion of his thesis about the computational complexity of programming structures.

He will, however, best be remembered for his work on UNIX as an operating system and C, which was at that stage a high level programming language, although today seen as a low level language. Without his work, however, numerous applications and embedded systems used today would not have been possible.

Importance of his Work on C Programming and UNIX OS

Although no longer used as a high-end programming language, C is still the core of many programming languages including C++ as well as Java built applications. Linux, the free and open source variant of UNIX, co-developed by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson, powers numerous data centres and with the Internet virtually running on it, one can get an understanding of how they helped to fast-forward the world of digital technology. Linux is also the core foundation for computing systems such as the Apple iOS.

The C programming language and UNIX were totally different from any other computing programme back in the seventies. The cost of computing could be reduced significantly because of the introduction of the above. Both were ideal for minicomputers and allowed for collaboration. The idea behind the development of C as programming language was to help system operators get optimal OS performance as well as improve compiling.

Considering the levels of programming language of today, one may wonder what the fuzz is about, but note that most of the languages of today as well as Internet applications and normal computing would have been years behind the level we are now, if it wasn’t for the development of C and UNIX.

Dennis Ritchie was well-known amongst computer and programming experts and almost a household name with Linux developers and multinational technology corporations. For the average man on the street, his name means little. It is only once you realise that even when using applications such as the iPhone 4S or working on Windows as OS has something to do with his groundbreaking work, that you come to appreciate his contributions to digital development.

Even though most of computer users never even heard of him, they already did without knowing so, simply because they enjoy the fruits of his labour. Almost every computer system is in some way related to C and its descendants such as C++. In essence, UNIX also forms the foundations of OS X.

Steve Jobs received a lot of praise and rightfully so. Both of them have done enormous work and both were private persons. Steve, however, created the designs that one could visually appreciate and it is thus easier to see what he has done for the world of mobile computing. Dennis on the other hand, was so private that many of his colleagues knew almost nothing about him. He did behind the scenes work which would have an enormous influence on the world of computing. With his work not directly visible, consumers have not realised until now, what a loss his death is to the world of technology.

Worth a Moment’s Thought

In summary, when looking back, one may realise that while we remember names such as Thomas Edison or even Tesla for great inventions, many of the inventors of today have become obscured simply because we have become so accustomed to luxury and advanced technology that we never stop to think who made it all possible.

Dennis Ritchie, Steve Jobs, and co-developer of C and UNIX, Ken Thompson, are names that will make the history books regarding technological developments that have shaped the modern world.