Digital Discourse / Content Events

Breakthrough Talk Recap: Using Big Data to Build Prognostication Capabilities

February 4, 2013 By

Marie Giangrande, Public Notions

In a back stage interview, Factual Inc. CEO Gil Elbaz and Cortera Inc. CEO Jim Swift discuss the drivers and requirements to build a Big Data capability plan.

By Marie Giangrande, Public Notions

Tracking Behaviors Fuel Big Data
“It’s all about tracking events and behaviors in order to improve the accuracy of your decision making” asserts Cortera CEO Jim Swift. Cortera produces credit worthiness rankings from tracking the purchases and payments that a Company conducts. “When evaluating companies it’s good to hear what they are saying, but most important is to see their actual behaviors; tracking actual payments and purchases, for example will give a more accurate prediction of a company’s credit worthiness” continues Swift. Factual’s CEO, Gil Elbaz, agrees: “People expect and need the context to correctly interpret data… stitching together the facts and illustrating the backdrop is what Big Data is all about.” Factual offers a path for companies to source external data, enrich their own data and incorporate a variety of new data sets.

Prognostication Capabilities – The Next Competitive Battle
Behavioral targeting has been used extensively by online companies to target advertisements. Now, this concept is gaining broader appeal as a long term competitive advantage enabling Information Companies to match their content to their client’s workflow and distribution preferences. Companies can use behavior tracking to build predictions about client preferences, to identify partnerships and to develop value added services.

The pursuit of prognostication capabilities has a tremendous consequence: It redefines the importance of data in an organization. It puts an emphasis on data management capabilities. Can I handle streaming data from Twitter feeds or social media outlets? Is a ‘just in time approach’ to data collection needed? Can I enrich my data in order to monetize it? Is the data accurate and extensible?

The Strategic Information Spine

“A lot of companies are living with inefficient collection and maintenance of data. They ignore missing data and inaccurate data because they do not associate the underlying data to their ability to compete” comments Factual’s CEO, Gil Elbaz.

However, as soon as executives link their ability to compete with the value and accuracy of their data, the ROI presents itself. “It’s like an Information Spine” reflects Cortera’s CEO, Swift.”For information companies, the core stream of data is the spine and off this, hangs all their products and services.” The implication is that a company’s ability to compete will come back to the design, sourcing, accuracy and strategic health ‘of the spine’.

An Asset or Liability?

As firms embrace the use of big data for a competitive advantage, it changes all the questions and answers. It leads companies to develop a more strategic view: they identify data assets and data liabilities around maintenance and accuracy.

“Many companies have not yet thought through which data sets provide a competitive advantage and which ones won’t.” comments Factual’s Elbaz. “If you can buy the data, it is most likely not an asset” continues Elbaz. Data that is missing, inaccurate and difficult to maintain may not only be an opportunity cost, but it could actually be a liability, especially if not kept fresh.

For non-proprietary data, companies are developing Data Acquisition plans to give them new agility along with a managed cost structure. “Just as IT Managers embraced Open Source code, now Business Managers are embracing Open Sourced Data” Factual CEO Elbaz concludes. Elbaz points to dozens of internal databases that should be deleted and licensed from readily available, external, sources. He asks, “Why allocate internal resources to manage data you don’t have to?”

Finding the Skills
But finding the skills to manage the internal build, the external licensing and the data architecture is hard to find. “The biggest problem is the lack of people and talent needed for companies to bootstrap their efforts” claims Cortera’s Swift. Data architects and data developers are very different from software developers and IT managers. And both CEO’s agree this is not -necessarily- the role of a CTO or CIO.

Who, inside your company, could nurture and expand your newly found Data assets? The first step, it seems, is for us to prognosticate on that.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, DataContent, Information Industry Summit Tagged With: , , , , ,

SIIA Information Industry Survey Says More Jobs & Investment Ahead, But Concerns Remain

January 30, 2013 By

As part of the Information Industry Summit, SIIA released a survey of 50 CEOs, vice presidents and general managers of leading digital content and publishing companies today. The survey found strong positive signs regarding job and economic growth, along with a clear industry focus on “big data,” while also suggesting that economic uncertainty remains.

In the most significant sign of future growth, fully three-quarters (75 percent) of information industry executives say their company will have more employees in two years than it has today. Additionally, over one-third (37 percent) of executives say they plan to acquire or invest in other companies in the next 12 months. In another positive economic sign, over half (55 percent) of those executives planning to acquire or invest say they intend to spend more on this activity than they have in previous years.

While the results show strong signs of growth, they also show that executives have concerns going forward. Thirty-six percent of executives say it is either “very likely” or “certain” that the challenge of finding skilled employees will impede growth opportunities. Meanwhile, the same percentage of executives cited global economic concerns as a top possible impediment to future growth.

Another notable finding for the survey is the role of so-called “big data” in the future of information industry businesses. When asked to rank the importance of a variety of business issues – from mobile and tablet publishing to moving content behind paywalls – nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of executives identified “data and analytics” as the most important business issue they face. No other business issue drew such a strong response from these executives.

The SIIA Information Industry Executive Survey was conducted electronically from November 2012 to January 2013.

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager of the SIIA Content Division. Contact Kathy at kgsexton@siia.net.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Information Industry Summit

McGraw-Hill President & Internet Archive Co-Founder are Among Execs to Keynote All-New SIIA Information Industry Summit

January 22, 2013 By

SIIA today announced five high profile keynote speakers for the 12th annual Information Industry Summit, held Jan. 30-31, 2013 in New York City. The two-day event, which has been redesigned for 2013, is an important gathering for media, publishing, and information services executives who are seeking breakthroughs in a time of significant change.

Emerging technologies and new social realities are transforming the information industry and global communication. The theme of creative disruption will drive all keynote presentations at the 2013 Information Industry Summit, where the following industry leaders will discuss breakthrough innovation opportunities:

  • George Colony – Chairman and CEO, Forrester Research, Inc.

“Technology Thunderstorms”

Colony is one of the most influential thought leaders in the world of business and technology – a trusted advisor to the leaders of global companies such as Best Buy, Conde Nast and Cisco. Colony will prepare attendees to thrive amid “technology thunderstorms” – social, business and demographic changes fueled by emerging technologies – and will identify four upcoming technology thunderstorms that will change the information industry.

  • Gifford Booth – Co-founder and Partner, The TAI Group

“Fostering Disruptive Drivers of Innovation”

Booth has spent the past 25 years guiding business leaders to create effective teams in both large organizations and complex family businesses. He will discuss how executives can be empowered to drive innovation and creativity for breakthrough products and performance.

  • Glenn Goldberg – President, Information and Media Services, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

“Expanding Opportunity”

McGraw-Hill has undergone a complete transformation. In 2011, the company announced its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial and McGraw-Hill Education. Goldberg will discuss the challenges and opportunities in capturing the market to expand McGraw Hill’s businesses.

  • Brewster Kahle – Director & Co-Founder, Internet Archive

“Universal Access to All Knowledge”

A passionate advocate for public Internet access, Brewster Kahle has focused his career on making information free and accessible through digital means. Now, he says, we can make all the published works of humankind accessible to everyone, no matter where they are in the world. What will it take to reinvent the concept of libraries and create this ground-breaking resource for open society?

  • Nicholas Thompson – Editor, NewYorker.com

“Who Wins: the Micro-Tweet or the Narrative?”

Thompson is editor in chief of newyorker.com, and oversees the magazine’s tablet and iPhone publishing. In addition, he is a cofounder of The Atavist, a software startup that has designed a platform for multimedia publishing. Thompson will discuss the future of communication: will communication keep getting more and more concise, or is there an increasing role for long stories and big ideas? Who shall win: the micro-tweet or the narrative?

Other highlights of the Summit include the Content CODiE Awards Dinner, which honors the year’s best products, and the Previews program, which introduces emerging content and content-technology companies set to revolutionize the industry.

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager of the SIIA Content Division. Contact Kathy at kgsexton@siia.net.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Information Industry Summit, PSIG

Meet Previews Presenting Company Consensus Point

January 17, 2013 By

Meet 2013 Previews Presenting company Consensus Point through the words of Linda Rebrovick, the CEO.

Linda Rebrovick, CEO, Concensus Point

What is Consensus Point?

Consensus Point provides social predictive analytics, the capability for companies to engage their communities to forecast outcomes and accurately rank ideas and preferences with more speed, precision and value than many traditional market research and forecasting techniques.

What is the “secret sauce” that sets Concensus Point apart?

Our Consensus Point competitive advantage for success are our Huunu software platform, including the combination of our gaming techniques, research methodologies, and prediction market algorithm, and our customer support team, the leading global experts in prediction markets.

What to you hope to achieve by presenting at IIS?

By presenting at SIIA, I am looking forward to building mutually-beneficial business relationships with customers, partners, and potential future investors.

What is your favorite breakthrough technology?

In addition to our prediction market, my favorite breakthrough technology is still my PDA and mobile applications.

Learn more about Consensus Point, and the other 2013 Previews Presenting companies at IIS Breakthrough. Each presenting company will deliver a 5-minute presentation to an audience of key decision makers during the IIS Breakthrough event being held from January 30-31, 2013 in New York City. presenting companies will also have 5-minutes for audience Q&A and an opportunity to showcase their companies to IIS attendees during the SIIA Previews and CODIEs Showcase and Networking reception. To top things off, the IIS audience will vote on the company they believe is most likely to succeed.

About Previews
Over the past six years, SIIA Previews has showcased innovative content companies, including publishers, media, aggregators, and technology plays, and 2013 SIIA Previews will feature the 100th Preview Company! Each Presenting company has been selected after two rounds of Judging. To qualify, presenting companies must have less than $10 M in revenue, no more than series A financing, and real customers.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Information Industry Summit Tagged With: , , , ,

SIIA Announces 2013 Previews Winners: Top Early Stage Content Companies

January 16, 2013 By

SIIA today announced 11 winners of its “Previews” competition, which annually selects the country’s most innovative early stage content or content technology companies. Winners will be showcased at the 12th annual Information Industry Summit in New York City, January 30-31.

The SIIA Previews Program selects and then spotlights the most innovative new content creators, aggregators and technology vendors that are transforming the information industry. A panel of judges from the SIIA membership reviewed and judged a field of innovative companies to select the 11 Previews winners.

The companies (listed below) win a slot at SIIA’s Information Industry Summit (www.siia.net/iis) to present to 300 leaders from the information industry. During SIIA Previews sessions held throughout the Information Industry Summit, company CEOs will highlight the innovations that have made them successful. After the presentations, conference attendees will vote on the company “Most Likely to Succeed.”

As a result of presenting at Previews alumni have received investments, have been acquired, or created partnerships with SIIA member companies. Over the past 6 years, 91 companies have been featured and at SIIA events. In 2013, the program will celebrate its 100th presenting company at the SIIA Information Summit on January 30 & 31. The Class of 2013 SIIA Previews :

  • Appinions: Appinions is an opinion-based influence marketing platform designed to give companies the ability to identify, analyze and engage influencers, then measure the results of their influence marketing efforts.
  • Automated Insights: Automated Insights provides high-quality, real-time content automation services to help companies realize the full monetization potential of their data assets.
  • Buzzient, Inc.: Buzzient, Inc. provides Software as a Service that enables F5000 companies the ability to leverage social media (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook) for improved customer service.
  • Consensus Point, Inc.: Consensus Point, Inc. is a social analytics software company revolutionizing market research with a new prediction market research platform providing tremendous value from communities and new revenue to market research companies.
  • Datamyne, Inc. : Datamyne, Inc. provides international trade intelligence covering the import and export transactions of some 50 countries across 5 continents, including the US, and key markets in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the European Union.
  • Delve: Delve offers a personalized, curated, news reader for professionals with a simple social layer to share relevant stories with colleagues turning news into knowledge inside organizations.
  • Enlyton: Enlyton is a cloud-based enterprise search and content discovery platform that inventories, organizes, connects and presents creative search-based applications to organizations that manage diverse digital assets.
  • Gust: Gust provides investors, entrepreneurs, and organizations that support them with tools to connect and collaborate on funding decisions and investor relations from pitch to exit.
  • Movable Media: Movable Media has developed a unique technology solution that allows brands to become successful publishers through partnerships with established content creators.
  • PublishThis: PublishThis is a cloud-based content marketing platform that enables brands, retailers, media companies and trade associations to more easily publish fresh and compelling content across all their marketing channels at scale.
  • Visual Revenue Inc.: Visual Revenue Inc. provides real-time content placement recommendations for online publishers based on audience interest, publisher objectives, and editorial tone.

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager of the SIIA Content Division. Contact Kathy at kgsexton@siia.net.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Events, Information Industry Summit

CODiE Awards Judges: A Conversation with the Coordinator

October 31, 2012 By

Nominations have closed for the 2013 CODiE Awards, and I am definitely excited about the variety and caliber of products in this year’s program. I know our judges are looking forward to reviewing the products as well. Our first round review is the core of the CODiE Awards. It is also the portion of the program that gives me the most interaction with the judges and nominees. I am constantly in contact with both groups, ensuring that everyone has a great experience.

What is the first round review?

For the first round review, two judges review each product in each category. For example, products nominated in two categories will be assigned four judges. During this first round, judges participate in product demonstration s given by the nominees. Two options are available for the products demonstrations:

– Live product demonstration: Nominations walk through their product webinar-style with the judges participating as they do the walk-through

– Recorded product demonstration: Nominees may already have a video product demo that can be sent to the judges to watch.

We recommend that the nominees keep the demos to under an hour. If it is a live demo, remember to leave time for Q&A with the judges.

The first round review also includes product access. It’s beneficial for the judges to get a feel for the product on their own, as a supplement to the guided demo. Product access can happen in several forms, including temporary online login information or by sending the physical product to the judge.

I also suggest sending as much additional information as you would like to the judges. This can be additional links to PDF’s, videos, news releases, etc.

Who are the judges?

We take great care in selecting the industry experts who volunteer as judges. Each division reviews every judge application to determine if he/she is qualified. We want to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.

For our software and content categories, the judges consist of industry executives and analysts, members of the media, bloggers, investors, and even some customers.
For our education categories, we use educators and administrators as our judges. They are the users of these products and can best determine what products may work the best in their classrooms.

Judging is a great experience because it gives the customers a chance to review the products and provide feedback that the companies can use to make improvements.

How can you help?

We are still looking for judges in several of our categories in Content, Software, and Education. If you are interested in judging or can recommend a colleague please complete our brief judge application.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wendy Tanner Wendy Tanner is CODiE Awards Coordinator. Follow the CODiE Awards on Twitter @CODiEAwards

Share|
Filed Under: All About the Cloud, Cloud Computing, CODiEs, Content, Content Events, Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education, Education Events, Finalists, Information Industry Summit, Mobility, Personalized Learning, Social Media, Software, Software Events, Uncategorized

SIIA Announces All-New Information Industry Summit in NYC Jan. 30-31

October 10, 2012 By

The Content Division today announced the all-new 2013 Information Industry Summit (IIS). The twelfth annual conference, to be held January 30-31 in New York City, has been recast for 2013 with an intense focus on an agenda that serves the needs of publishing, media, and information industry C-Suite executives – helping them identify next-generation opportunities for growth and innovation.

The information industry is in a time of tremendous change, but this new reality presents extraordinary opportunities for companies to develop new products and services and to find new markets and customers. As the industry is changing, so is our event – in 2013 we will present a new, unique, and compelling program for industry executives. Our goal is to challenge even the most established information businesses with fresh ideas, innovations, and strategies. IIS 2013 promises to be one of the most important gatherings for forward-thinking information industry executives.

The 2013 Summit will draw leaders from media, publishing, and information services companies as well as the technology and private equity organizations that serve them.

Discussions at IIS 2013 will be led by industry thought leaders including:

  • Keynotes by George Colony, Forrester CEO; Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive Co-Founder; Nicholas Thompson, Senior Editor, The New Yorker; and Terry McGraw, Chairman, President and CEO, The McGraw Hill Companies
  • Key discussions with individuals including David Kirkpatrick, Senior Technology & Internet Editor, Fortune; David Reimer, CEO, Merryck & Co.; Andy Prozes, Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus; Denzil Rankine, Executive Chairman, AMR International; Scott Peters, Co-President, The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.; and more
  • “Breakthrough Talks” by James Peck, CEO, LexisNexis Risk Solutions; John Yemma, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor; Donal Toole, Finance & Strategy Director, The Christian Science Monitor; Jeff Shelstad, CEO, Flatworld; Steven Kuyan, Executive Director, NYU Poly Incubator; and Jeff Giesea, CEO & Founder, Best Vendor

The conference will also include a number of special events and activities, including:

  • The SIIA Content CODiE Awards, which honor the best products and services in the information industry. This year, the CODiE’s will feature a showcase during IIS 2013 of all Content CODiE Award finalists, in addition to the annual award ceremony.
  • The  SIIA Previews Competition, which showcases emerging content and content-technology companies.  This year, Previews will cross the 100th presenting company mark;
  • The second annual Peter E. Jackson Innovation Award, which honors the late Thomson Reuters Vice President and Chief Scientist, and his profound impact on the B2B publishing industry. Dr. Jackson was an active board member of the SIIA Content Division. Keynoter Brewster Kahle was this first recipient of this award.

Finally, SIIA is especially pleased to announce its partnership with host sponsors Connotate, ProQuest, and The Jordan, Edmiston Group, all working with SIIA to create what is sure to be the year’s most compelling conference for the leadership of the media, publishing, and information services industries.

For more details about IIS and to register online, visit www.siia.net/iis/2013.

Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager of the SIIA Content Division. Contact Kathy at kgsexton@siia.net.

Share|
Filed Under: Content, Content Events, Information Industry Summit Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts