News Feeds and Knowledge Maps LO18491

stseng@CCGATE.HAC.COM
Tue, 23 Jun 98 21:23:42 PST

Replying to LO18221 --

Walter Derzko asked

> Has anyone seen any good filtering tools that can be attached to newsfeeds?

Here is a list of possible tools based on the scope of the solution set:

1. If you are interested in a general purpose end to end solution.

Please take a look at service called InfoMation Echo knowledge management
service at http://www.infomation.com/docs/sitemap.htm

It delivers web and news service information (and corporate information
from Notes database) to corporate users via personalized desktop
interface. It is closer to a personalized delivery push than a web pull
model. Other push delivery services include Farcast and Wayfarer (as well
as traditional news tools like NewsEdge)

The InfoMation license is $25,000 for 1 Echo server for 100 users.

2. If you are interested in just a search tool to integrate in your
current system, look at WiseWire at
http://www.wisewire-corp.com/indexnew.html for product information and
tool comparison. WiseWire was purchased by Lycos and joined the same CMG
Information system parent as InfoMation, so the search functionality may
be integrated into future release of InfoMation. Any of tools in the
tools comparison can be candidates as well as general search tool like
hotbot, infoseek, but I don't know if the respective Internet search
organizations are devoting any resources to sell the search tool to the
corporate market.

3. Long Term... The W3C just release a Internet standard called XML that
augments the current web HTML structure to allow many of the features that
future users want. However, the tools, databases, the new processes and
organizational uses of the XML structure need to be invented and put in
place. Most end to end system based on XML are a few years away. Two
earl versions include

Perspecta http://www.xml.com/xml/pub/SeyboldReport/ip020528.html and
DataChannel http://www.xml.com/xml/pub/SeyboldReport/ip020206.html

I am not sure now much effort may be required to make these tools work. If
you try it, please let me know they work.

More information on XML is available at:

www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/papers/xml/ascent-of-xml.html for a good
writeup on the rationale behind XML.
http://www.xml.com/xml/pub
http://www.w3.org/XML/

XML is an extension of the foundation of the web and offer significant
opportunities for tool vendors, database vendors, and consulants. Users
and content providers should reap benefits from it. Unfortunately most
current XML players are computer types. Translators for what the XML
allows the users and content providers to do are needed for the XML
benefits to come to fruition.

If someone write an XML extension to hypermail, it may be possible to go
back to the learning organization discussion archive and add "context" and
search "tags" conforming to XML and a sister standard called RDF
metadata. These tags could allow search, retrieval, and multiple views
into the information buried in the discussion archive. Wouldn't that be
nice!!! [Host's Note: Yes, it would! ...Rick]

I don't have any vested interest in any of the above tools. I just
finished an analysis of the push tools, XML tools, and searching tools, so
I thought I would share my insights...

If someone is interested in writing a XML extension to hypermail, please
contact me and I'll draft out a list of requirement.

-- 

"Shirley Tseng" <stseng@mail.hac.com> Hughes Communication

Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>