Finding Content

May 20, 2009

There is a lot of data out there that states that business suffers because information can not be located.  Is this a problem? Yes!

If you are working and trying to use internally created content to advocate, sell, or succeed, it is critical that you are able to find organizational content.  All of my regular readers know that I strongly support the telephone as the number one most powerful research tool.  Unfortunately, information users get frustrated by the need to use the phone to find something they perceive to be a simple task.

If you work for an organization and want to find content created for and about you, can you do so without picking up the phone?  Even if you use Google or Cluuz are you satisfied with the results?

If not, is lack of findability caused by the the “search engine” (internal or external) or is it because of content distribution?  Are the two mutually exclusive?

In my opinion, digital content is so easy to create and upload that no one thinks beyond the upload.  In today’s cloud computing environment, tags are easy to create and content abounds. The million dollar question is:  is content findable?    I don’t really care if it’s “searchable”  because the search is just an action to get me to the data I’m seeking.  I want to FIND information so that I can use it.

So do the tags I use make my content on this blog “findable”?  I think so…I do pride myself on being a good taxonomist.   (So if anyone needs a good custom taxonomy to make your content findable…give me a buzz.)  I aim for descriptive tags that are consistent and fit into categories.  Of course, the more content you have, the more complex your tags/taxonomy/categories become.  Consistency in applying those tools is important.

If you are a digital content creator, you must be flexible and structured.  Growth of categories and tags is inevitable but consistent application increases the findability.  If you are an organization that has multiple content creators it is important to findability to establish procedures that ensure consistency in “tagging”.  It’s hard for content creators to keep at the forefront of their minds as they work, that other people, complete strangers, need to be able to find their content.  Thinking about how to bring people in and give them the content they need ensures success in advocacy, sales and success.

There is more to the digital revolution than uploading content.  Metadata is important, no matter the process of adding to your information.  Metadata helps make content easier to find so that decision makers can locate the information they need to support their work.   So if you are publishing content, either internally or externally to/for your organization think strategically about the processes and procedures that will make your content findable and usable…having it just sitting there defeats the purpose of creating content.

Constance Ard May 20, 2009

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Technology Expectations

January 8, 2009

Now this is my kind of new deal.  Law Technology News’ Ted Banks lays out what I’ve always believed.

Technology should accomplish what the User NEEDS.

This philosophy is simple but rarely is it incorporated.  Vendors make products that under-perform, librarians spend hours communicating both ways what is wanted and why the user can’t get what is wanted.

Is it really so hard to think about the use of technology and implement the use into the programming?  I haven’t programmed anything since High School, thankfully but programmers are smart, way smarter than I.

If I tell my programming friends that I want XYZ is it really so complicated that they can’t do it? Banks seems to feel the same way he states,

Clear Communicators?

To ensure effectiveness, which is driven by clarity and relevance, automation tools should be as close to the user as possible. Nothing should enter the real world until it reflects how real people act, and has been thoroughly tested by real people. Successful technology works when it mimics how people think and behave.

I always enjoyed beta testing new products because I would inevitably break.  I  wanted the new search tools to search for XYZ in case of Z & A with the ABC user group always in mind.  If new tools could not meet those expectations it probably wasn’t going to get used and it certainly wasn’t meeting expectations.

So programmers, vendors, librarians and users.  Hop on board the communication train and listen and respond don’t quote.  If you can’t use technology to solve problems you might as well give up matches for starting fires too.

Constance Ard January 8, 2009

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Enterprise Search in Law Firms

December 31, 2008

This Beyond Search post caught my attention.  Steve Arnold does an excellent job of pointing out the deficiency’s in SharePoint  when it is used to solve full scale search problems in law firms.

Information management and even more important, finding information has become a critical business process for law firms.  Gone are the days of working files and going down the hall to Joe’s office to get the case file.  The discrepancies in discovery and the aftermath that follows can wreak havoc years after a case is settled.

Steve is correct in his assessment that firms like to buy matching bags and shoes when it comes to information solutions.  Microsoft offers SharePoint because people use Microsoft applications.  The problem is that no system perfectly renders enterprise search and experts way smarter than I have pointed out Sharepoint deficiencies beyond my comprehension.

What I do understand is that users get frustrated when a solution has been implemented and they still have to find a work around to get what they need.  If attorneys and paralegals could devote as much time to reading, analyzing and writing as they do in searching for relevant work-product firms would be well on their way to making GC’s and other clients happy.

Just because the bag matches the shoes doesn’t mean it’s going to help you find your keys in the dark.  Choose solutions for enterprise search and knowledge management that solve problems and return results.  Look beyond brand names and test the functions to be sure you can find the keys.  When it comes to search don’t suffer to be beautiful because functionality is way more important.

Constance Ard December 31, 2008

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Business Intelligence

September 5, 2008

Thanks to Stephen Arnold at Beyond Search for leading me to this article about BI.

We all wish that search worked the way we think it should.  Our expectations aren’t high.  I go to the LFPL OPAC and search for an author and seemingly retrieve anything with any of those words or none of those words returned in what to my mind is a random results list.  I mean really is it that hard to retrieve a list of materials held by the library with author Tuchman?  I wouldn’t think so, I’m just glad my searching has improved with the new OPAC system, when I first moved to Louisville I just roamed the shelves of the very tiny branch that I still frequent.  Good thing I learned the Dewey Decimal system way back when.

Anyway, back to BI.  Rarely are users searching for searching sake.  Ultimately, they are seeking specific answers.  Answers to the question of who, what, when, how, why and should.  So the fact that enterprise systems are working to improve the ability to answer questions when users perform a search give me hope.

I truly like the results I get when I use Silobreaker.com. Searching news is one of the most powerful tools in BI, CI and research in general.  Having a system that gives you news in context makes a researcher sing Opera ala Bugs Bunny.

When organizations invest in a system that takes their internal data, in whatever format it may exist, blend that with data from other structured sources and deliver contextual results business will not be done as usual, it will be done on a level far above the usual.

There are some companies out there making this happen.  Unfortunately, there are many factors beyond technology that challenge the functionality for this ideal application.  Security, user roles, and data limitations are just a few of the considerations to be accounted for when choosing your own information solution.  If you want to stay on top of the technical developments, I highly recommend adding Beyond Search to your feedreader.

In the meantime, take stock of what your business intelligence goals and challenges are and investigate the available solutions so that you can get as close to one query for the who, what, when, how, why and should answers as possible.

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Finding What You Need, When You Need It

July 15, 2008

The May 2008 Neilsen/NetRatings Global Index Chart indicates that the Current Digital Media Universe is 548,528,042, a 1.62 % increase since April.  As the amount of information created, published and accessed over the Internet grows, so too must the abilities of the information consumer.

With this information explosion, the information consumer who needs to make a decision by end of business, needs to locate the information to analyze and inform the decision.  The information on the number of manufacturers in the automotive industry who have gone from concept to production for alternative fuel power is there but can the C-levels get it?

Do you have the support you need?  Is the structure of the web so transparent that you feel comfortable with a Google search and the surface results or do you think maybe, just maybe an industry think tank may have just the data you need but those think tank results aren’t in your first two pages of results.

Perhaps the data needed was presented in an internal meeting several weeks ago but damned, if you can put your hands on the file right now. Or perhaps the presentation to stockholders you are working on needs bits and pieces from various reports that have been delivered over the past year.

Intranets and company portals have their own wealth of data.  Unfortunately, enterprise search is known to underperform.  This is due in part to security constraints, content management practices and system limitations.  Having a comprehensive federated/enterprise search system is such a wonderful dream.

Taxonomies, tag clouds, indexes and categories are all ways to try to make the dream come true.  There are information professionals who work everyday to manage the wealth and organize the data.  Some work in their very own universe, those portals are leaps and bounds ahead of the hard-copy file, especially for multi-national or multi-office organizations who collaborate.  Others, like Google, work to organize and make available the “whole” web.

In my opinion, its just too big.  The information you need may live in the “deep-web” or the company portal or just might be available with a simple keyword search or …the possibilities seem endless.  Do you have an expert helping guide your content management policies/strategies?  Do you have individuals available that employ expert information retrieval skills so that you can make that decision knowing you’ve reviewed the most relevant data.  Are you, as an information retriever, employing the best strategies to find the needed content?

It seems overwhelming, but the truth of the matter is that if you have a relatively good taxonomy and use sophisticated search strategies and your results are from verifiable sources you may just be skimming the surface of available information, but you are getting the answer.  And getting the Answer is what it is all about at the end of the day.

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