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FCC To Support 'Net Neutrality' And Open Internet

The U.S. government plans to propose broad new rules Monday that would force Internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally, seeking to give consumers greater freedom to use their computers or cellphones to enjoy videos, music and other legal services that hog bandwidth.

The move would make good on a campaign promise to Silicon Valley supporters like Google Inc. from President Barack Obama, but will trigger a battle with phone and cable companies like AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp., which don't want the government telling them how to run their networks.

Treating Web traffic equally means carriers couldn't block or slow access to legal services or sites that are a drain on their networks or offered by rivals.

» Reuters [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]
» Wall Street Journal
» Washington Post

Help test "caffeine" google's next-generation search

For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google's web search. It's the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits "under the hood" of Google's search engine, which means that most users won't notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback.

Some parts of this system aren't completely finished yet, so we'd welcome feedback on any issues you see. We invite you to visit the web developer preview of Google's new infrastructure at http://www2.sandbox.google.com/ and try searches there.

Right now, we only want feedback on the differences between Google's current search results and our new system. We're also interested in higher-level feedback ("These types of sites seem to rank better or worse in the new system") in addition to "This specific site should or shouldn't rank for this query." Engineers will be reading the feedback, but we won't have the cycles to send replies.

Here's how to give us feedback: Do a search at http://www2.sandbox.google.com/ and look on the search results page for a link at the bottom of the page that says "Dissatisfied? Help us improve." Click on that link, type your feedback in the text box and then include the word caffeine somewhere in the text box. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

» Google [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Google Engineering Director Spells Out Vision for the Future of Digital Books

Google Books engineering director Dan Clancy spelled out the vision at a talk at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Clancy stressed the importance of making it possible to buy the digital books in traditional bricks-and-mortar bookstores, as well as online.

"Right now the physical bookstores are a critical part of our book ecosystem," he said. "A huge amount of books are bought because people go into a physical bookstore and say, hey I want this, I want that. It's a mistake if we think of our future digital world as digital means online and physical means offline. Because if that happens and 10 percent of the world goes digital, that's going to be really hard for all the bookstores to sustain their business model."

Dan Clancy comments:

People look at the settlement [with the Authors Guild and the AAP] and think that that is Google's vision for what the future looks like for books. And in fact the settlement is what we figured out for these predominantly out-of-print books, so it's more about the past. And in fact we've done a lot of thinking about what is the role we want to play going forward in a digital book world, for new books.

There are [three] things we put as requirements.

One is I believe people want their books stored in the cloud.... For most people, your library is something that you don't pull books off all that often, but when you need it, you want it to be there. That's where a cloud really works. You're not going to actively manage it, but you want to make sure that five years from now, [it's there].

Number two, I think it's critical that there's diversity of choices in terms of retailers that you work with.

Now one of the things with the cloud is that the consumer needs to trust that the person who's providing the cloud will be there. So you don't trust the cloud to some new startup that you've never heard of, or some small local bookstore, that you love to go to.

But right now the physical bookstores are a critical part of our book ecosystem. And in fact a huge amount of books are bought because people go into a physical bookstore and say, hey I want this, I want that. And I think it's a mistake if we think of our future digital world as digital means online and physical means offline. Because if that happens and 10 percent of the world goes digital, that's going to be really hard for all the bookstores to sustain their business model.

So part of our model is to figure out we're going to syndicate for our partner program all of the books we sell that are new, so that any bookstore can sell a Google edition and find a way that people can buy them in bricks and mortar stores as well.

And then finally, our model is you should be able to read on any device.... Our model is some people will read [our books] on a laptop, some will read them on the phone, some people will read on their netbook, and some people will read on their e-reader. And we'll work with any reader provider that wants to make it so they can get their books from the Google cloud....

So the principles of our future world is trying to build this world where there's lots of retail players, read on any device, but it's still stored in the cloud. And as we talk with publishers and booksellers, I think this is the right model, because we're trying to make what would be an open model that encourages competition

» Blog2 [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Will anyone pay for anything?

The idea for Revenue Bootcamp held on the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, Calif., developed earlier this year after some people realized that upcoming conferences focused only on "social media . . . basically gathering eyeballs, but nobody was talking about monetizing people . . .," Guy Kawasaki explained in his opening remarks.

» Revenue Bootcamp
» Building43 [ Contribute: submit link / submit article ]

Blogger's Code of Conduct - Tim O'Reilly's Draft

We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation. But frankness does not have to mean lack of civility. We present this Blogger Code of Conduct in hopes that it helps create a culture that encourages both personal expression and constructive conversation.

1. We take responsibility for our own words and for the comments we allow on our blog.
   We are committed to the "Civility Enforced" standard: we will not post unacceptable content, and we'll delete comments that contain it.
   
   We define unacceptable content as anything included or linked to that:
   - is being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others
   - is libelous, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
   - infringes upon a copyright or trademark
   - violates an obligation of confidentiality
   - violates the privacy of others
   
   We define and determine what is "unacceptable content" on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list. If we delete a comment or link, we will say so and explain why. [We reserve the right to change these standards at any time with no notice.]
   
2. We won't say anything online that we wouldn't say in person.
   
3. We connect privately before we respond publicly.
   When we encounter conflicts and misrepresentation in the blogosphere, we make every effort to talk privately and directly to the person(s) involved--or find an intermediary who can do so--before we publish any posts or comments about the issue.
   
4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.
   When someone who is publishing comments or blog postings that are offensive, we'll tell them so (privately, if possible--see above) and ask them to publicly make amends.
   If those published comments could be construed as a threat, and the perpetrator doesn't withdraw them and apologize, we will cooperate with law enforcement to protect the target of the threat.
   
5. We do not allow anonymous comments.
   We require commenters to supply a valid email address before they can post, though we allow commenters to identify themselves with an alias, rather than their real name.
   
6. We ignore the trolls.
   We prefer not to respond to nasty comments about us or our blog, as long as they don't veer into abuse or libel. We believe that feeding the trolls only encourages them--"Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it." Ignoring public attacks is often the best way to contain them.

» Tim O'Reilly / radar.oreilly.com

über bloggers

It's no secret that bloggers are becoming increasingly influential. But Arrington is part of an emerging crowd of writers who use their narrowly focused blogs, such as hyperlocal real estate reports, green guides, or Web 2.0 startup reviews, to establish themselves as thought leaders. These new influencers are taking a page from the blog networks Gawker and Weblogs Inc. and turning rapid-fire, around-the-clock blog patter that makes and shapes the news into a hot new online media model.

Companies are directing more efforts toward buttering up these New Media players, often feeding them exclusives that play well with their targeted audiences. And for marketers who are increasingly comfortable with spending money on blogs, advertising with these opinion leaders provides instant cachet.

Think of these as the digital version of potent, passionate trade press writers. They swarm every novelty in areas like tech, creating problems and buzz for companies and innovations. They report news and publish it alongside analysis of newspaper stories and company releases. These posts are salted with strong doses of personality, sparking discussions across the Web. By melding their own insights and opinions with the aggregated views of others, they're starting to gain leverage. "In a time-starved world, people—especially decision-makers—have very little time, but do not want to miss being in the know," says Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer at advertising firm Publicis Groupe Media.

» Business Week

A Cambridge company that pays doctors to post medical observations on its website, including reports of drug side effects, has quickly incurred the wrath of pharmaceutical makers.

Sermo Inc., founded by a surgical resident-turned-entrepreneur and backed by $3 million of venture capital, is promoting the website, sermo.com, as a novel Internet community. It's a password-protected private forum where raw postings by doctors can be viewed, for a fee, by Wall Street investment firms.

With its debut two weeks ago, the Sermo site generated debate by prominently featuring postings from several doctors saying that Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol-fighter Lipitor induces vivid and repeated nightmares in some patients as well as a posting by one doctor that said the diabetes drug Byetta, marketed jointly by Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. , was associated with "sudden death" in 50 patients.
Via: Boston Globe
Via: Sermo

Quantitative Marketing Research

Quantitative marketing research is a social research method that utilizes statistical techniques. It typically involves the construction of questionnaires and scales. Large numbers of people are contacted, usually in a survey. Marketers use the information so obtained to craft strategies and marketing plans.
Scope and requirements

If quantitative marketing research is carried out correctly, both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques can be used to analyse data and draw conclusions. It involves a large number of respondents, tests of a specific hypothesis, and the use of random sampling techniques to enable inference from the sample to the population.

General Procedure

1. Problem audit and problem definition - What is the problem? What are the various aspects of the problem? What information is needed?

2. Conceptualization and operationalization - How exactly do we define the concepts involved? How do we translate these concepts into observable and measurable behaviours?

3. Hypothesis specification - What claim(s) do we want to test?

4. Research design specification - What type of methodology to use? - examples: questionnaire, survey

5. Question specification - What questions to ask? In what order?

6. Scale specification - How will preferences be rated?

7. Sampling design specification - What is the total population? What sample size is necessary for this population? What sampling method to use?- examples: cluster sampling, stratified sampling, simple random sampling, multistage sampling, systematic sampling, nonprobability sampling

8. Data collection - Use mail, telephone, Internet, mall intercepts. May be a custom survey, or added to an omnibus survey

9. Codification and re-specification - Make adjustments to the raw data so it is compatible with statistical techniques and with the objectives of the research - examples: assigning numbers, consistency checks, substitutions, deletions, weighting, dummy variables, scale transformations, scale standardization

10. Statistical analysis - Perform various descriptive and inferential techniques (see below) on the raw data. Make inferences from the sample to the whole population. Test the results for statistical significance.

11. Interpret and integrate findings - What do the results mean? What conclusions can be drawn? How do these findings relate to similar research?

12. Write the research report - Report usually has headings such as: 1) executive summary; 2) objectives; 3) methodology; 4) main findings; 5) detailed charts and diagrams. Present the report to the client in a 10 minute presentation. Be prepared for questions.

via [ OneBlog ]

Qualitative Market Research

Qualitative research methods are used primarily as a prelude to quantitative research. They are used to define a problem, generate hypotheses, identify determinants, and develop quantitative research designs. They are inexpensive and fast. Because of the low number of respondents involved, these exploratory research methods cannot be used to generalize to the whole population. They are however, very valuable for exploring an issue and are used by almost all researchers. They can be better than quantitative research at probing below the surface for affective drives and subconscious motivations.

Approaches

Most qualitative methods use a direct approach: they clearly disclose the purpose of the study and the organization that commissioned it. Questions are direct and to the point. Many other qualitative techniques use an indirect approach. The true intent of the research is disguised, either by claiming a false purpose or by omitting any reference to the study's purpose. Some researchers have ethical misgivings about the deceit involved in this approach. Those researchers that use this approach feel that it provides the more honest and accurate responses. If disguised methods are used, all respondents should, on completion, attend a debriefing session in which the true purpose of the research is given and the reason for the deception explained.

The main types of qualitative research are:

Depth Interviews

• interview is conducted one-on-one, and lasts between 30 and 60 minutes
• best method for in-depth probing of personal opinions, beliefs, and values
• very rich depth of information
• probing is very useful at uncovering hidden issues
• they are unstructured (or loosely structured)- this differentiates them from survey interviews in which the same questions are asked to all respondents
• can be time consuming and responses can be difficult to interpret
• requires skilled interviewers - expensive - interviewer bias can easily be introduced
• there is no social pressure on respondents to conform and no group dynamics
• start with general questions and rapport establishing questions, then proceed to more purposive questions
• laddering is a technique used by depth interviewers in which you start with questions about external objects and external social phenomena, then proceed to internal attitudes and feelings
• hidden issue questioning is a technique used by depth interviewers in which they concentrate on deeply felt personal concerns and pet peeves
• symbolic analysis is a technique used by depth interviewers in which deeper symbolic meanings are probed by asking questions about their opposites

Focus Groups

• an interactive group discussion lead by a moderator
• unstructured (or loosely structured) discussion where the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas
• usually 8 to 12 members in the group
• usually last for 1 to 2 hours
• usually recorded on video
• the room usually has a large window with one-way glass - participants cannot see out, but the researchers can see in
• inexpensive and fast
• can use computer and internet technology for on-line focus groups
• respondents feel a group pressure to conform
• group dynamics is useful in developing new streams of thought and covering an issue thoroughly
• see focus group for a more detailed description

Projective Techniques

• these are unstructured prompts or stimulus that encourage the respondent to project their underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings onto an ambiguous situation
• they are all indirect techniques that attempt to disguise the purpose of the research
• examples of projective techniques include:

word association - say the first word that comes to mind after hearing a word - only some of the words in the list are test words that the researcher is interested in, the rest are fillers - is useful in testing brand names - variants include chain word association and controlled word association

sentence completion - respondents are given incomplete sentences and asked to complete them

story completion - respondents are given part of a story and are asked to complete it

cartoon tests - pictures of cartoon characters are shown in a specific situation and with dialogue balloons - one of the dialogue balloons is empty and the respondent is asked to fill it in

thematic apperception tests - respondents are shown a picture (or series of pictures) and asked to make up a story about the picture(s)

role playing - respondents are asked to play the role of someone else - researchers assume that subjects will project their own feelings or behaviours into the role

third-person technique - a verbal or visual representation of an individual and his/her situation is presented to the respondent - the respondent is asked to relate the attitudes or feelings of that person - researchers assume that talking in the third person will minimize the social pressure to give standard or politically correct responses

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