How do people really feel about your brand? ConveyAPI delivers sentiment analysis

The ConveyAPI is based on REST web service, is simple to use and provides programmatic access to a text analytics engine, allowing you to better hone in on what people are saying about your brand. The API employs natural language processing (NPL), statistical modeling and machine learning techniques to return content-specific values across sentiment, emotion, intensity, and relevance.

Data could be sourced through Twitter API, for example, so a tweet that reads: “I loveee my new Ford Mustang!!” would return the following:

• Polarity: Positive – with a confidence level of .76
• Emotion: Joy – with a confidence level of .65
• Intensity: High  – with a confidence level of .73
• Spam: Not spam – with a confidence level of .45

Because I was at LAX when the United Airlines systems went down, I thought I would take one of my own tweets to see how I scored. My not so subtle tweet: “United Airlines system wide outage has everyone stranded at LAX. Manually checking in. Lines out the door – literally.”

• Polarity: Negative – with a confidence level of .56
• Emotion: Anger – with a confidence level of .27
• Intensity: Low  – with a confidence level of .14
• Spam: Not spam – with a confidence level of .46

So where did the ConveyAPI get these emotional attributions?

The work with emotion attribution is based on the work of Robert Plutchik, in the '80s, who created a wheel of emotions consisting of “8 basic emotions and 8 advanced emotions each composed of 2 basic ones”.

Plutchik laid out the following basic emotions (joy, trust, fear, and surprise) and their opposites (sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation), where joy and sadness are the basic and opposite emotions.

Then created the following chart to describe how they went together to create advanced emotions.

Human feelings (results of emotions)	Feelings	Opposite
Optimism	Anticipation + Joy	Disapproval
Love	Joy + Trust	Remorse
Submission	Trust + Fear	Contempt
Awe	Fear + Surprise	Aggression
Disappointment	Surprise + Sadness	Optimism
Remorse	Sadness + Disgust	Love
Contempt	Disgust + Anger	Submission
Aggression	Anger + Anticipation	Awe

Fascinating stuff!

The intensity attribution, as in the example above (high), might be comprised of punctuation+adjective+adverb. The rules are customizable, but there is a good deal of math that has gone into the existing rule-set, according to Mark Walz, VP of Product Management at Converseon.

The ConveyAPI has the ability to drill down from a page, to a sentence, to an Entity or specific keyword.

Being able to input a large amount of text is fine if you have an article that you wanted to analyze, but for a more granular analysis you will need to do a sentence-by-sentence analysis -- with each sentence returning polarity, emotion, intensity, and whether or not it is spam.

This way, instead of hearing that a blogger was 'neutral' on the latest Ford Mustang, for example, you would be able to categorize the article and car into its constituent parts. It may be that the blogger loved the new body style, power, and basic options, but was down on the gas mileage and telematics.

Likewise you are able to do Named Entity recognition – for example, Romney versus Obama; and Keyword recognition - Mustang, for example; going through the document/article and report the sentiment for only the 'Mustang' and not any of the other cars in the Ford line up.

The natural language engine understands slang, and odd phrasings with repeating vowels which tend to happen a good deal on social media sites. Consider the tweet, “I loveeeee my new Ford Mustang!” The ConveyAPI includes rules which state if word+last letter repeated, then count first repeating letter only.  So that 'loveeeee' is correctly interpreted as 'love'.

Though the interface is Spartan, being developer focused, the tool could easily be used to analyze  election content, Olympic coverage, and more. To ensure that the architecture can handle the traffic the product is hosted on the Amazon Cloud.

The interactive relevance model allows you to train the system for concurrence. In this way you have the ability to classify or tag relevant documents. You tell it what to keep and what to toss; with each iteration the tool improves. Once the training set is completed, you can quickly zero in on a keyword or topic across a large volume of data.

Soon the ConveAPI will be available as an add-on for Radian6.
If you want to know what your clients are syaing about your brand you had better be listening actively.
Let me know what you think. Start a conversation.


Source: http://www.zdnet.com

Three tips to escape the tyranny of IT metrics

Many IT organizations rely on metrics to evaluate their own work and incentivize employees around specific goals. Although appearing beneficial, metrics can drive shortsighted behaviors at the expense of innovation and   real business value.
One typical white paper (PDF download) on this topic describes 100 IT performance metrics in categories such as:

• Infrastructure and operations
• Applications
• Staff resources
• Technology change management
• Financial management
• Delivering value

The metrics are a collection of traditional, almost stereotypical, performance standards that describe IT's ability to maintain its systems and deliver core services to users. Example metrics in the list include:

• Total Infrastructure Incidents (by infrastructure type excluding desktop incidents) 
• Max Downtime (Peak Hours) 
• Average Application Response Time
• Actual Hours by Request Priority
• Total Backlog Request Hours by Type
• Total Defects Introduced from Changes
• Actual Costs-to-date by Application Priority
• Percent of Hours by Business Priority
• Cost savings from efficiency improvements

From an IT-centric point of view, metrics such as these make complete sense. By giving the IT organization a single set of standards, metrics do unify execution and foster consistency. Metrics also play a political role: helping IT demonstrate its value and "proving" that IT does important work. In addition, the numbers give non-technical management a yardstick for evaluating IT.
Despite the obvious convenience and utility of traditional metrics, there are problems. Most significantly, they perpetuate the old status quo of IT as technical services provider devoid of strategic benefit to the organization. Although measures such as server uptime are important, they do not encourage IT to understand the company's business nor do they reward innovation and strategic partnership. By incentivizing cost and efficiency to the exclusion of innovation, such metrics ultimately devalue IT.
TIPS TO BECOME A STRATEGIC INNOVATION PARTNER
Fighting the metrics battle can make even the most hardened CIO weary and tired. Follow these tips to change the role and perception of IT within your organization and escape the tyranny of technical metrics:
1. Embrace the metrics. Operational excellence is the first step to improving IT's credibility and becoming a strategic partner to the business. If you can't deliver projects on time, within budget, and with high customer satisfaction then your team must improve its game. In other words, learn to handle the basics first.
2. Listen and learn from the business. An IT department that achieves operational excellence naturally gains respect from the business. The next step is engaging with operating folks in lines of business to learn about their goals and strategies; become a friend and learn to understand pains and triumphs in the business.
3. Offer solutions to the business. Having established a history of capable execution and then created a relationship with the business, you are now in a position to offer ideas and solutions. Continue to listen thoughtfully but become proactive in proposing ways that IT can help the business accomplish its goals and relieve its pains. Start slowly but relentlessly engage with good ideas in the spirit of cooperation and helpfulness.
In summary, use metrics to establish a baseline for operational excellence but never forget that innovation and strategic partnership with the business are your true goals. Although traditional IT metrics can be useful, they are not a substitute for finding ways to help your company innovate.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com

Patents shouldn't apply to the obvious

Over dinner this week, my friends and I were discussing the Apple-Samsung patent lawsuit when I joked that the next-generation of non-iOS phones would have us licking the device to scroll and tapping it on our foreheads to zoom.
Lest you haven't heard, in one of the most hotly watched patent trials, the U.S. court on Aug. 25 ruled in Apple's favor and agreed Samsung had infringed several of Cupertino's patents including double-tap to zoom and one-finger to scroll.
Samsung, not surprisingly, is appealing the court's decision but should this be dismissed, these basic gestures--which have become almost a reflex for many of us--may no longer be available on non-Apple devices.
Reactions from the general public and industry analysts have been mixed. Some believe the South Korean electronics giant will be able to move on without much impact and modify its software to work around the patented features.
Consumers in Asia expressed concerns it could stifle Samsung's ability to innovate and pave the way for Apple to emerge a monopoly in the market.
More importantly, I think the lawsuit highlights yet again a pressing need for changes to be made to the tech patent system.
Patents were designed to protect intellectual property and encourage innovation. But when there are U.S. patents even for how peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are constructed, questions need to be raised over whether common things and methods should be patentable.
U.S. Patent No. 6,004,596, for instance, was awarded to U.S.-based The J.M. Smucker Company under its product brand "Uncrustables", and outlined how sealed, crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were made. It triggered a public outcry because it appeared that an obvious and common invention had been patented. A reexamination was called and a U.S. court eventually rejected the patent in 2005.
I'm not calling for patents to be abolished. On the contrary, I agree they are necessary to ensure the IT industry continues to innovate and those that do so well should be rewarded accordingly. But patents should protect inventions that are truly novel, unique and intricate, and not serve to restrict varying applications of basic, fundamental features.
As ZDNet US blogger James Kendrick said: "The patent situation has sunk to such a low point because it is no longer serving the function it needs to serve. It has changed over time to allow minor changes and improvements in existing technology to become protected by patents... It's now largely serving to recognize minor improvements in existing technology. What is the natural evolution of technology, and what everyone should want to occur, is now being patented.
"This business of granting patents for things like how the user touches a screen, or slightly different ways of interacting with existing technology is just insane."
One of our readers highlighted a good point. In a post on the ZDNet Facebook page, "Royford Robinson" noted the need for a level of familiarity between products. "Just as if you buy a car, you don't want to relearn how to drive again if you're in a different brand of car," he said, describing the Samsung-Apple lawsuit as a "stupid court battle".
Imagine the mayhem if the steering wheel in a Honda makes the car turn left when the driver steers left, but does the exact opposite in a Ford.
Patents should be applied to protect true innovation and intellectual property, instead of some company's maneuver to shackle the competition.
Until then, Samsung can find some comfort today after a Tokyo district judge ruled its Galaxy smartphones and the Galaxy Tab did not violate Apple's patent on media transfer.


Source: http://www.zdnet.com

New Generation, New Technology: Google Play Store Adds Personalized App Recommenda...

New Generation, New Technology: Google Play Store Adds Personalized App Recommenda...: One thing that Google has continued to work on since the launch of the then-Android-Market is app discovery. Even with thousands of great...

Nokia Working Hard to Bring Top Symbian Apps to Windows Phone

Nimbuzz Messenger has more than 105 million users worldwide, but chances are good that you’ve probably never heard of it. The reason? Most of those users are accessing the app via Symbian.
While Nimbuzz only has 9 million users in the United States, the app is exceptionally popular in emerging markets and is one of the top three Symbian applications downloaded in the world.
Nokia has taken notice of the app’s popularity, and hopes to replicate it on Windows Phone, helping to launch a new Lumia-optimized version of the app Thursday.
For the launch, Nimbuzz developers were provided direct developer support from Nokia for the build as well as design assistance. While the app was already available in the Windows Phone Marketplace, Thursday’s update has optimized graphics and performance specifically for the Nokia Lumia series of devices.

“Nimbuzz has experienced incredible success on Nokia Symbian devices in the past, and Nokia saw a clear opportunity to assist us in bringing Nimbuzz to Lumia users around the world,” Joby Babu, Head of Operations at Nimbuzz told Mashable. “Through bringing their most popular applications from Symbian to the Windows Mobile Platform, Nokia is looking to replicate on their past market successes.”

In addition to providing Nimbuzz with developer support, hardware, and design direction, Nokia and Microsoft will also actively promote the Nimbuzz application throughout their marketing channels.
“Nimbuzz has long been one of Nokia’s most requested apps,” Maximilian Schierstädt, Director, Global Partner Management, Nokia said in statement . “Nokia devices deliver outstanding experiences to consumers, and we’re committed to developing partnerships, such as Nimbuzz, which deliver even better apps, services and features to our portfolio of devices.”
Nimbuzz, which provides features such as free SMS messaging, group messaging, and picture sharing, isn’t the only app Nokia has its eye on.
Babu says Nokia identified the top 10 apps currently within its ecosystem, and has offered development and design support to those apps in order to help them take full advantage of the hardware and software of the Lumia line. Nimbuzz is a model for what that support looks like.
Since the 2007 introduction of the iPhone, Nokia has lost 90% of its market share. The company announced it would adopt Microsoft’s smartphone operating system in 2011, giving up the homegrown Symbian in an attempt to regain its role in the mobile market.
Nokia will be holding an event in New York City on September 5th where it is expected to announce the newest addition to its Lumia line of smartphones, a phone that will likely be running the next-generation of Windows Phone: Windows Phone 8.

Sorce: Mashable

7 Fantastic Calendar Apps To Keep You on Schedule

Most of us maintain calendars, and most of us end up struggling with them. Whether you use a calendar to keep up with schoolwork or important business appointments, you can use apps to help keep track of everything, from organizing your schedule to showing up on time to important meetings.
We scoured the web to find some of the best Android and iOS schedule management apps out there. One displays calendar information on your phone’s home screen; another plays a custom sound to remind you of important calendar events. If you need deadlines to get things done, we even found an app that counts down the days before a particular event takes place.

Check Gallery

Google Play Store Adds Personalized App Recommendations

One thing that Google has continued to work on since the launch of the then-Android-Market is app discovery. Even with thousands of great apps ready for you to download and install, they do no good if users just aren’t finding them.
In the past we’ve seen Google introduce curated recommendations from staff, but it started making things personal last month with a “Recommended for You” section in the web-based Play Store. Now, that feature is finally coming to the Play Store app, as well.
It takes into account factors like which apps your Google+ friends enjoy and the general geographical area in which you live — these thing play a role in influencing just which apps Google recommends. Below each, the Store will give you a brief explanation of why it thinks the app might be pertinent to your interests.
When Google just totally misses the mark on its suggestions, you can tap an “Uninterested” icon to let the company know, training it to provide more on-target recommendations in the future.
Check out what Google’s suggesting for you, and let us know how good a job you think it’s doing a good job.

Mashable

Google Maps for Android Adds Half a Billion Meters of Bike Paths

If you’re an avid European biker with an Android smartphone, you’re in luck.
Google Maps announced Wednesday it’s adding mobile biking directions and navigation for 10 European countries — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
“Mount your device on your handlebars to see the turn-by-turn directions and navigation, or use speaker-mode to hear voice-guided directions,” Larry Powelson, software engineer for Google Maps, wrote in a blog post.

In July, Google added desktop mobile biking directions for those 10 countries. This allowed user to research bike paths before heading on a trip, a commute or a jaunt around town.
Now European riders can use their Android device as a on-bike navigator that can read directions aloud through Google Maps Navigation, which is in beta.
“Today, there are more than 330,000 miles (equal to more than 530,000 kilometers, or half a gigameter) of green biking lines in Google Maps,” Powelson writes.

The U.S. and Canada have had Google Maps bike directions since 2010. The feature lets users chose their mode of transportation from a drop-down menu on Google Maps. Google Maps will tell you how long your ride will take, and show you the least-hilly route.
If you plan to stop somewhere along the way, simply click and drag the highlighted path on the map to readjust your route.
Some things to remember about Google Biking Maps:

• Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only path
• Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road
• Dashed green indicates roads that are designated as preferred for bicycling, but without dedicated lanes.
• The blue line shows you the path you want to take.

In the blog post from July, Kai Hansen, product manager at Google Maps, said the team is working to add more countries to the Google Maps bicycling feature. Will you use this new feature from Google Maps for bicycling in Europe? Tell us in the comments.

Samsung Unveils First Windows Phone 8 Smartphone

Meet the ATIV S, a new Windows Phone that’s part of Samsung‘s new line of Windows products. It’s the first smartphone to be unveiled that will run Windows Phone 8, the latest smartphone OS from Microsoft that will launch with Windows 8.
With ATIV, Samsung appears to be fully embracing Windows 8 as part of its mobile strategy. The two Windows 8 hybrids unveiled earlier will fall under the sub-brand in the global market (though maybe not in the U.S.) and there’s also a Windows RT tablet. The phone completes the line of four products, at least for now.
ATIV is “vita” spelled backward, and it’s a way for the company to showcase that it’s one of the few companies that makes Windows computers, tablets and phones.

Aside from running Windows Phone 8, the phone has typical smartphone specs. Samsung says it’s designed for “work and entertainment,” with a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display. It packs a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, and it’ll be able to connect to HSPA+ 42 networks (such as T-Mobile’s), though no word on LTE connectivity.
The ATIV S has an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash in back and a 1.9MP camera in front. It’s equipped with Bluetooth 3.0, NFC (near-field communication) along with assisted GPS and its Russian counterpart, Glonass. It also boasts the same “tap to share” ability that Samsung put in the new Galaxy Note II.
It comes with either 16 or 32GB of storage. No word on availability, but it would have to be after Windows 8 launches on Oct. 26. A U.S. launch will probably come later.

China Knocks Off iPhone 5 Before it’s Released

If you simply cannot wait until the next Apple release, reported to take place next month, you can get you hands on the latest iPhone now. Here’s the stipulation: It wasn’t made by Apple.
Chinese company Goophone is advertising a device, the Goophone I5, that bears a striking resemblance to an iPhone. The difference? It runs a version of Google’s Android software.

Source: Mashable