Slashdot Mirror
Illumio to Launch Social Network Advice Software
hdtv writes "The New York Times is reporting that Palo Alto-based Illumio will soon try to figure out the experts among your social network with a new online service." From the article: "Illumio is not a search engine, like Google or Yahoo. The system works by transparently distributing a request for information on questions like "Who knows John Smith?" and "Are Nikon digital cameras better than Olympus?" to the computers in a network of users. The questions can then be answered locally based on a novel reverse auction system that Illumio uses to determine who the experts are."
Hmmm ... sounds kinda like the Slashdot moderator system.
Is Digg better than Slashdot?
*ducks*
How could this model label someone an expert when all they're doing is an assessment and rendering an opinion. I can see this posing a problem if say Company X introduced fakesters into a social circle to hype up a product. For example, a social circle with MS workers will likely give negative influence to someone seeking to say purchase Redhat. Coca Cola... Pepsi, and the possibilities become endless. Sounds like an idea, but there is no guarantee of getting untainted honest results simply catered opinions.
Infiltrated dot Net
What could be complicating matters, though, is the fact that the concept is very natural for any blogging or social networking service. It would make sense if the feature gains popularity (which seems very likely) if LinkedIn or even LiveJournal would release such a feature shortly. There we could have a problem Houston for Illumio, because it would be then hard to compete against the existing monsters.. unless their "killer algorythm" is "too good".
Otherwise, *rubs hands in anticipation*
Now all I need is a way to automatically blacklist all of the "experts" and the number of opinionated blowhards who contact me will decrease.
The beginning of the article has a makebelieve scenario where you get answers to question like "are brand X cameras better than brand y". But that is such a generic question - how do you answer that? What metric? It really depends on what you want, and being an informed consumer, hitting all the usual spots for tech specs and opinions (usenet, amazon with reviews, other places with reviews, etcetera) might be better.
I'm sure they are trying to develop something more commercial, perhaps to be used in large organizations, but the article begins badly to present it that way, and isn't really clear.
Who cares who John Smith is, I want to know "Who is John Galt?"
By the taping of my glasses, something geeky this way passes
A desktop search engine enhances your Illumio experience. The DSE creates an index of the files (all or just the ones you designate) and Illumio uses this information to more efficiently filter requests so you receive more precisely matched recommendations. How can a search of files on my machine enhance someone else's opinion... "This is searching your friends' heads as reflected in what's on their computers," Ms. Dyson said. I have about 4 laptops at home. This happens to be my FreeBSD "anything goes machine" and I have my business laptop kept off of my home network. I have about 14+ years working experience in the IT field. On this machine I have nothing but music and art. Does this mean I would not qualify to answer questions about routers, session border controllers, VoIP equipment. Outside of what is known about this software, their words on privacy seem a little off-beat to me... "A simple search of what's on someone's machine will determine their level of expertise... I have another laptop my girlfriend uses to surf. Her cache is filled with "fashion" stuff... Will I be asked to partake based of her cache. Seems slightly ridiculous the more I think about it...
Infiltrated dot Net
millions of flies can't be wrong!
...because I would like to find out who the experts are and then DDoS them. I'm tired of people knowing more than me...
Oh man, do they never learn? A hand full of buzzwords, around the age-old, failed idea of user-generated contents, and they think they have something new.
Subject says it all.
The URL for the illumio is
URL: http://www.illumio.com/web/home.jsp
It is still not launched and all you can do is register for their early release program. Looks like they are generating hype by all the means they can utilize including posting on the slashdot.
Sounds like a spammers dream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet_oracle
I'll go for this idea if they can: Tell us where Jimmy Hoffa is, or
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Or are the founder(s) still working on step 2?
I love the rounded corners, it's sooo.... unconventional?
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
The questions can then be answered locally based on a novel reverse auction system that Illumio uses to determine who the experts are.
Without mentioning that these "experts" can be from competitative company and tell you not to buy either one. Instead they tell you to buy from them...
Think about it.
-Seeing the problem is ½ of solution-
In our Computing classes, we were taught that a system should also be fed garbage data to see how well it really coped.
Now, have any of you around here heard of a guy called John C. Dvorak?
"By excluding users of *BSD, Linux, OS X and other OSs, they are dramatically reducing the size of their network, which seems like would only negatively impact the entire project."
Dramatically? I'm certain their humility quota will take a similiar hit.
"This thing will enforce the power of urban legends, myths and other false but popular memes, people opposing them will be a minority."
And this is different from Wikipedia how?
It may be handy if this type of a service is coupled with a site like http://www.personio.com/ The two together can much better separate fact from fiction.
...except people partipate knowingly. I think it probably does identify experts, but the end users are not the target market. Think about the commercial value of some of those questions. Now think how that value is increased when you can weight the responses according to the "expert" level of the respondant. Now think about that value if these algorithms can be adapted to identify other groups, like "suckers".
I'm not even sure what value this has to end users. Use any newsgroup and the experts are immediately obvious. All they've done is made an algorithm out of something people do without thinking. Great for them, but what do people need it for?
Outlook not so good.
Yes.
"The collaboration space is big and busy," said David L. Gilmour, president and chief executive of Tacit.
Where have I heard this name before...?
13-4=54/6
Atlas Shrugged was just picked up about a month ago by Liongate Films (same folks who did saw)
s =h&p=0
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117942127?cs=1&
What does google trends has to say about /. vs digg?
Sounds like a great way to spread disinformation.
;)
Want the answer for "Is there WMDs in Iraq" to be "yes"? Just get enough "experts" saying so.
Want the answer for "Do most scientists thing Global Warming is real?" to be "No", get enough "experts" to say so.
"Are violent video games linked to kids murdering people?" The gut answer is "yes", and I'll bet that's what the expert reply will be.
The list can go on and on. When you live in a society where there are only two sides "your side" and the "wrong side", people will defend their believes to the bitter end. They will spend vast amounts of time obfusticating the truth, giving the perception that the general concensus is unknown or even in their favor.
You only have to SOUND like you know what you are talking about, and most people will think of you as an expert. Especially if their views match your gut feeling.
I'm very skeptical it will work, but I look forward to playing with the service (and of course to make sure my side, the right side "wins"!
This sounds strikingly similar to the Ask-the-audience life-line on "Who wants to be a millionare?". I havent seen the show too much, but the accuracy of audience answers varies drastically.
Pose your question to the general public (the methodology for selecting 'experts' seems fishy), and those who stumble upon the question will give their "opinions". The correct answer is the one that is statistically the most popular among the responses.
Where are all the mod points when you *really* need them??!!
Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't you just described the purpose of Google's PR algorithm?
The correct answer [top result] is the one that is statistically the most popular among the responses [links/anchor text found].
In other words, I fail to see what makes this system unique.
barack to the future?
Exactly how diverse is your interaction in this "real life" thing? Let me see, family, work, church, club, is that all? Have you ever tried to start a random conversation with a stranger in the street? In average, how many new people do you get to know in one week?
What's so special about the internet in general is exactly the opposite from what you said. In "real" life we are stuck with more or less the same circle of acquaintancies. We don't meet that many new people, and make no further contact with people who do not share anything significant with us. You have seen that tall guy with a limp at the supermarket now and then for years but have never tried to talk to him.
In the internet, OTOH, we meet people from everywhere all the time. Our first contact may be based on a single point of interest, but that relationship may grow to different areas. Of course, the first contact is based on the fact that both of you use computers, but every single person you ever met also had something in common with you to begin with, or you would have never met.
I think the weak point in your reasoning is that you assume that if a friendship began in the internet, then it will remain forever linked to technical aspects. This is not true, the same way it's not true in other environments. For instance you meet someone in your church because both of you have the same religion, but then you may find that both of you also share an interest in kayaking. But it's extremely improbable that you will ever meet someone in your church that isn't interested in religion, the same way that it's improbable that you'll ever meet someone in the internet who isn't interested in technology.
"If you can appear smart(like the idiot from marketing whos good with users) then people will take your word for it rather than the guy who actually knows the right answer but has no people skills and doesnt "pad" the answer with fluff to sound more knowledgeable."
Funny. A lot of people feel the same way about slashdot.
We've even got soft pastels, an allergy to the upper case, rounded corners and even a "team blog". "Web I" + "Web II" in giant colorful stickly ball of happy speak. They even manage to work in "Google" on the inside.
Ah ... nothing like the way an Areon chair molds itself to the ass while In the distance the soft clicks of a foosball match echo. Time for a free soda before the VCs arrive ...
factland
Lots of fonts have a proper capital I, like Verdana, and Courier!
Ok, so if everyone votes for Product X does that mean Product Y gets the kibosh? I mean, a service like this is only going to find out what most people already like, it won't have any benefits on determining future trends or selling niche products.
Also, to me this service sounds a bit like product research we already get annoyed with via telephone marketing polls, ick, no thanks!
crazy dynamite monkey
NT
"Great... someone figured out a new way to [try to] make money by sending spam"
Am I off-base, here? Is this something like an opt-in type of peer-review meritocracy kind of thing, or is it just going to be another [d.o.a.] spam-fest?
Which, IMO, is very good. The OP can flag replies as "Correct Answer" and "Assisted Answer," allowing the experts to tally a total score. You can then filter on expertise. Tektips.com does the same thing.
body massage!
If I ask the woodchuck question or fail to grovel, will I get lashed with a wet noodle?
Not even worth the effort for a "feh".
"While network experts may be likely to use a non-Windows OS, a plenty of other expert types (medical, phylosophical, cameras, movies, music, appliances etc.) actually use Windows."
Yeah, but, you don't need the Illumio site to search those guys machines... you just p0wn their machines and read their files directly.
-AC
I think this sort of idea has been around a long time in one form or another. Theodore Sturgeon was fond of writing about gestalt humanity ("The Cosmic Rape" aka "To Marry Medusa", "More Than Human", various other short stories). In his books the mechanism for gestalt was generally psychic or otherwise ethereal. But the drive is the same-- The ability for an individual tap into the knowledge of a larger group, quickly and easily.
As for tainting of the knowledge, that's also been around a long time. Go to any library and you'll find the bookshelves lined with highly slanted material on any topic you choose. Even dictionaries and encyclopedias are not immune to such. My favorite dictionary was an old 1950's edition that gave the following definition for the word space: "Man will never venture into space". Kinda wish I'd held onto that book for amusement value...
In the darkness of future past, The magician longs to see. One chants between two worlds, "Fire, walk with me!"
I missed something here. And so did my friend Adolf.
How many beans make five, anyhow ?