Category: Internet

Google Custom Search

Here is a revised version of the Custom Search Engine that I first talked of last year- this year it now includes Business Intelligence Sites.

Try it out and let me know of you want to help create a customized Data Mining Engine- Note it already has 800 plus analytics and Business Intelligence Sites.

I got much better results than Google when searching for R, but thats to be expected 🙂

Google Custom Search

Here is a revised version of the Custom Search Engine that I first talked of last year- this year it now includes Business Intelligence Sites.

Try it out and let me know of you want to help create a customized Data Mining Engine- Note it already has 800 plus analytics and Business Intelligence Sites.

I got much better results than Google when searching for R, but thats to be expected 🙂

Spreading Content using Social Media

The concept of social media is different for different people- some view it as a revolution enabling people to communicate world wide, others view it as a new marketing media, while some of us wonder what the big fuss is all about.

Here are some ways to spread content/marketing communication using Social Media-

1) RSS – Really Simple Syndication has effectively proven a challenge to content creators as well as search engines.Using it effectively can make it a very nice and user friendly way to spread the words you write.

  • Newsletters- I use both Feedblitz ( for historical reasons) and my default feed is Google Feedburner. Google feedburner is useful especially for content leaching and security. I also like to track how people read the newsletter and Feedblitz is very good in that, but if the RSS feed is used by a RSS reader then Feedburner does a better job of tracking IMO.Note Linkedin now has a good feature for Announcements that does the same thing.
  • Linkedin News – In the Linkedin Group created for your Blog ( if not, do it.now) There is an option for News – add your RSS feed there for people/visitors to read it.
  • Facebook- Use the Facebook application called Facebook Notes for spreading your content to all your connections every time you write a post.
  • Linkedin WordPress Application- This updates your Linkedin profile for latest posts. Very useful for link seekers like me who have 8000+ Linkedin connections ( Note I have got 4 contracts and multiple knowledge opportunities through the links there- In a hyper Linked world every one needs as many links they can get)

2) Thid Party Sites- Create a Page to Drop Links or Create a Community to Exchange Comments/Views

  • Create a Facebook Page for your site  and also add similar pages for Favourites- Like a FB analogy for Blogroll( Example –

Join ours at http://www.facebook.com/pages/DecisionStats/191421035186

  • Create a Linkedin Group ( if not done so already)

Join Decisionstats at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=54257

3) Twitter- Use the RSS in Step 1 ( Preferably use Feedburner than the raw xml feed to help you track) and add it to www.twitterfeed.com for automated posting of your content.

4) Use Customized Widgets- I recommend the one at Add to Any WordPress Plugin to help your readers share it on – and you CAN tweak the colors here –

http://www.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save/menu_style/wordpress

5) WordPress- The latest version of WordPress is available at both Simple Scripts ( for Self Hosted) and at www.wordpress.org

Use it for a better looking website/blog. Using custom themes and Akismet with Bad Behaviour plugins guarantees security. For more tips on WordPress security see www.dullest.com

6) Use it or Lose it-

  • Using Facebook has helped me maintain contacts with SCHOOL Friends
  • Linkedin has helped me like n Online Rolodex
  • Twitter – I am still trying to figure it out but it is fun.

Hope that helps. Have a great Memorial Day weekend in the US- those vets have helped the world stay free in Europe, Africa and Asia as well

Advertising Feed back Loop: Facebook and Adwords

In Systems design a feedback loop is something that measures the difference between expected and actual output and adds it back to the system to enhance it’s performance

For a better more accurate definition see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedback

Here is how Facebook measures the satisfaction whether I got for an ad on my page- note fraudelent or systematic cheaters would be eliminated by the law of averages.

It places a very small thumbs up or thumbs down on an ad on right hand corner.
‘
When I place a thumbs down on an ad ( note it shows only graphical ads)-it asks me why i didnt like the ad

Was it

1) Misleading
2) Offensive
3) Uninteresting
4) Irrelevant
5) Repetitive
6) Other- allows text mining of free form allowing subjective feedback.

However if I type say Business Intelligence on Google – I get the following

http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=business+intelligence&meta=&aq=0&oq=business+intell

Open Source Ad on Pentaho at prime spot just above the results. Makes me wonder how much open source will spend.

Search Results-
Wikepedia entry usually at the top ( but no ads there*)

Search Optimization means SAS Business Intelligence is now fifth from top- which is the first mention of a BI vendor there ( Note cost to SAS is zero as you can see below). In the remaining top 4, two are similar http://www.businessintelligence.com and http://www.businessintelligence.co.uk as the title page tag remains more important than sheer consumer behaviour to Pagerank.

Right Column Sponsored Links ( These guys spend more money than SAS to be on the sponsored links and still end up in a less favourable ad page than in top vendor on search results page)-

1 http://www.brgglobal.com
2 SAP.com/India
3 IBM.com/cognos
4 http://www.BusinessObjects-India.com
5 http://www.softsmith.com
6 http://www.syncfusion.com/BizIntell
7 http://www.intelligententerprise.com/

(Note from Ajay*- A senior IIM Alumnus CK Prahlad (the first batch in fact) – first expounded the concept of core competence-

Now-what is Google’s core competence.
I believe that Google should simply donate all its information on wikipedia, and offer Google Knol to it- rather than just wallow in sunk cost theory or expect an immediate return from this transaction. It will get lots of goodwill- and maybe the Google Wikipedia Knol will take off.

Similarly sell Orkut to Facebook and just take the advertising and search functions to be combined in a seperate spin off called Google Search before Microsoft forces the Europeans and Justice department to do so.

Or continue to moon the giant.)

I didnt like the Adwords ads or the order they were in. But there is no way in Adwords for me to give feedback to it. Facebook listens. Will Adwords listen.

For the past one week I have been fending off repeated denial of service attacks on Decisionstats.com

My email addresses are widely known thanks to my participation on technical forums and my willingness to reach out and make friends ( 8500+ on Linkedin alone).

While the attacks were particularly vicious including email accounts, server changes, ip addresses to deny certain geographies, poisoned RSS feed/scripts, and scripts in folders to re direct posts.

Thanks to the fine team supporting me and some friendly advice from bloggers at Google- the worst is over. I have not hesitated to bash Google at will over its big size and even added a few cartoons on them – (even now I think they should sell Orkut to Facebook and add Twitter to create a spinoff Google Social Media for an IPO and take that particularly search and advertising)

But Google Search and Gmail and Google Analytics and Particularly Youtube are free- and thanks to them knowledge has spread way around the world. Also working behind the scenes the Google team spends a huge amount fighting spam and all for free. Or a bit of advertising on a website.

Thanks a lot Google men, and here is a You Tube video ( which you may have seen many times before but still) that celebrates the one ness of a global online community ( despite the occasional sith attacks)