Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin

“In memory of chicagocrime.org, Adrian Holovaty, it’s founder, wistfullly, and with much poetic license, headlines.

What does the “eulogy” euloigize? “The end of one of his projects”:

Chicagocrime.org site has been serving Chicago residents since May 2005.

Goodbye, farewell, then, the “end” for chicagocrime.org as Holovaty waxes nostalgic? Not quite. It is simply being rolled into Holovaty’s “newest project,” EveryBlock:

All pages will redirect to the appropriate pages on EveryBlock. In many ways, EveryBlock is the next generation of chicagocrime.org. I’ve often described it to people as “chicagocrime.org on steroids — more than just crime, and more than just Chicago.”

BUT, not more nuanced.

Holovaty is confident that “A lot of good has come out of chicagocrime.org”:

At the local level, countless Chicago residents have contacted me to express their thanks for the public service. Community groups have brought print-outs of the site to their police-beat meetings, and passionate citizens have taken the site’s reports to their aldermen to point out troublesome intersections where the city might consider installing brighter street lights.

The ”public service” that chicagocrime.org congratulates itself for can just as easily be considered a public disservice, though, despite all the feel good talk about turnkey Web 2.0. “transparency.”

Holovaty rallies for the power of the “programmer as journalist.” In other words, data is news. Unfortunately for the public the data “serve,” however, data is generally more art than science, regardless of conventional (not so) wisdom.

EveryBlock enables easier public access to public information available to the public, but that does not translate into a more informed public.

Disclaiming usage of EveryBlock is obviously not a priority of the “project; i.e., advising about what can, or can, not be read into the “hard data” presented. Information on the basis of the Chicago “crime” data offered nevertheless suggests many disclaimers to interpretations of the data presented at EveryBlock are warranted:

This data reflects incidents where the police responded and completed case reports. Note that a case report is not necessarily issued every time the police respond to an incident. A report’s “crime type” classification is based upon information known at the time the preliminary investigation was conducted. It may be revised at a later time. The crime classifications have been summarized due to the often lengthy and complex nature of the crimes. These definitions are not verbatim, may not include every element of every offense, and should not be used in a court of law or for legal reference. They are only basic attempts to describe primary classifications.

It is also basic human nature to have confidence in public “statistics” and “official” reports, often OVER confidence. Just ask those alleged “criminals” that are proven innocent after having been presumed guilty via official police reports.

MORE: Craigslist vs. EveryBlock? UC Berkeley New Media Case Study and EveryBlock Tests Craigslist RSS Feed Generosity: Missed Connection? and Craigslist PR: Same OLD Media?

PLUS: Google Execs Silent On NYC Print, Radio, TV Promises

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

Is Microsoft HealthVault bracing for a Google Health frontal assualt? NO! Welcome to the online consumer health care empowerment party, so indicates the Microsoft Health Solutions Group.

On the heels of a Microsoft strategic collaboration announcement with Mayo Clinic to together “put the patient and the consumer in control,” and with Google’s health portal ambitions looming, I asked the HealthVault team to reflect on the state of Microsoft’s consumer health care initiatives. 

Below is the EXCLUSIVE Insider Chatter Q & A interview with Microsoft Health Solutions.

INSIDER CHATTER: Is the Microsoft-Mayo Health Vault agreement exclusive, or can a service such as prospective direct competitor Google Health also work with Mayo Clinic to develop online health tools?

MICROSOFT: While Microsoft and Mayo have announced that they have entered into a strategic agreement to collaboratively develop tools that will empower people to manage their health and become engaged partners with their providers in a new model of health care, this agreement is not exclusive for either Mayo or Microsoft.

INSIDER CHATTER: Google Health’s debut is rumored to be imminent, as per Google’s advisement last fall. Does Microsoft believe Health Vault has achieved a meaningful head start over Google?

MICROSOFT: Transforming healthcare is an incredibly complex challenge – one which no single organization can solve alone. As Microsoft tackles the challenge of merging healthcare with the internet, we are working with dozens of other innovative organizations. We are excited about Google and others joining this space and making their offerings Health Vault compatible. This isn’t a race with Google, it’s about Microsoft delivering on its vision and working with partners.

INSIDER CHATTER: What is the traction of Health Vault to date? What are the metrics regarding consumer searches, consumer account creation, consumer record uploads?

MICROSOFT: The focus at this time is on recruiting partners to develop services on the HealthVault platform for consumers. While we aren’t disclosing the actual number of users, we can tell you that we have a growing base of early adopters, industry partners, applications and devices.

INSIDER CHATTER: Which health organizations have partnered with Health Vault to date? What are the types of industry partnerships created?

MICROSOFT: We are currently working with dozens of partners across various categories – from leading medical providers, health management device manufacturers, and national health agencies – who are building solutions that will spur health innovation and better transform healthcare. There were 16 partners live at launch with beta implementations. These only scratch the surface of the possibilities that lie ahead that will come from partners across the health ecosystem. We anticipate there will be a wide range of partners across various categories building solutions that will spur health innovation and better transform healthcare. Below are the currently-launched partners.

Devices
•           LifeScan – A Johnson & Johnson company
•           Microlife Corporation
•           Omron Healthcare, Inc.
•           Polar
 
Applications
•           Allscripts
•           American Heart Association
•           Healthy Circles LLC
•           CapMed
•           Kryptiq
•           MEDSEEK
•           MedStar Health
•           Peaksware, LLC
•           PureWellness
•           Sound Health Solutions
•           US Wellness, Inc.
•           HealthMedia

GOOGLE: The consumer health care ball is in YOUR oline court! 

ALSO: Got a Web 2.0 Startup? Microsoft Wants YOU!

PLUS: Google CEO In-Car Radio Ad Vision Fading and Google TV Ads Auction: NO AdWords Buyer’s Remorse and Yahoo Shareholder on Microsoft Bid: AOL, Time Warner All Over Again?

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

I broke the news in June of 2006 that Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, believes when he is listening to the radio in his car, radio ads should personally address him about his needs.

For example, while driving past a clothing store, a radio ad should remind Eric that he needs a pair of pants and instruct him to turn left at the upcoming clothing store. Schmidt shared his vision for GPS location-based delivery of highly targeted and personalized advertising via in-car radios at a luncheon with a group of publishing executives in New York City.

While Schmidt predicted a realization of his vision by June of 2008, he did not share his vision for how the Google owned dMarc Broadcasting, a “digital solutions provider for the radio broadcast industry,” would enable such digital ad delivery via car radios. Google acquired dMarc two years ago to bring “radio advertising to Google AdWords advertisers.”

Eighteen months later, I asked the Google Audio Ads New York sales rep, Joe Anastasi: 1) Where does Google Audio Ads stand in the realization of Eric Schmidt’s desired product development roadmap? and 2) Did Eric find his pants?

My query at last evening’s Advertising Club of New York’s “All Google” night, hosted by the NYC Googleplex, garnered the sole laugh of the night.

Eric Schmidt may NOT be laughing in Mountain View, however: There is NO such in-car radio ad product anywhere in apparent Google Audio Ads sight, despite the Googler in Chief’s hopeful boasting.

Mr. Anastasi nevertheless assured his boss is always handsomely attired: NO apparent need for personalized radio ad reminders!

MORE: Google TV Ads Auction: NO AdWords Buyer’s Remorse

ALSO: Why Google Worship is a BAD Call in 2008 and Google Knol: The End of Google.com, NOT Wikipedia and Microsoft Seeks Healthy Relationship with Google: Health Vault INTERVIEW and Yahoo Shareholder on Microsoft Bid: AOL, Time Warner All Over Again?

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

The Advertising Club of New York’s event last evening at the NYC Googleplex was billed an “All Google” advertising one. The “all” Google advertising sales represented, though, was merely of the non-money making variety: Google Print Ads, Google Radio Ads, Google TV Ads…NOT an AdWords or an AdSense rep was in Googley sight at the luxury Google cafeteria complex which hosted several hundred New York advertising and technology execs.

Nevertheless, the GOOG fuel money making stars WERE the star attractions, as all OTHER Google ad products depend, inevitably, on an ingtegrated, search advertising upsell pitch, unable to close their own independent ROI value propositions.

The cheery panel of Google cheerleaders professionaly spun their respective product spiels. Long Ellis, Head of TV Sales, however, seemed to have spun himself into a tizzy.

How happy is Ellis to be a Googler at last? The prospect of selling Google TV ”sent shivers down my spine,” Ellis gushed. After all, “if Google can’t do it, who can?” he reminded us.

Ellis may have no “remorse” in joining Google, but Google advertisers do, big time, the Google TV point man unwittingly advised. Ellis touted the advangtages of the Google TV bidding scheme; In so doing, however, a BIG marketer disadvantage of the world famous Google black box AdWords auction cash Google cow was apparent.

The Google TV point man assured New York marketers and media planners that the Google TV “auction theory” prervents “buyer’s remorse” because the winning bidder ends up paying the bid price of the runner up bidder.  WHAT ABOUT ADWORDS THEN? IS GOOGLE GIDDILY CAUSING MULTI BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ADVERTISERS’ “BUYERS’ REMORSE” becasuse it doesn’t adhere to the “auction theory” that Google TV ads does?

Apparently so. MORE ON GOOGLE ADWORDS “MAGIC”: Why Advertisers LOSE In Publicis, Google SEM Deal and
Yellow Pages Get Reprieve? The Myth of King Google Local Advertising ROI and
Reach Local Advertising? How Google Squeezes SEMs and AdWords Buyers and
Local Ad Sales War: Why Google is a Guaranteed Winner and
Google AdWords Plus Box: Local CPC Bidding War Unleashed! and
Google Apps & Maps: Enterprise and Local Business STILL Missing and
Google Zeitgeist: $200 University Payola AdWords Scam and
How Google AdSense FAILS Better Business Bureau and

PLUS: Frugal Google.org: How NOT To Save the World On $159,000 a Day and Google CEO In-Car Radio Ad Vision Fading and Microsoft Seeks Healthy Relationship with Google: Health Vault INTERVIEW and Yahoo Shareholder on Microsoft Bid: AOL, Time Warner All Over Again?

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

Corporate interest in shaping public messaging to its advantage is alive and well througout the Web.  

Craigslist and the University of California, Berkeley are a match made in new media heaven, so say the two parties and so goes conventional media wisdom. Indeed, Berkeley hails a shared “fundamental respect for alternative thinking in the public interest,” in hailing a $1.6 million Craigslist donation to the university.

In tandem with Craig Newmark’s namesake Craigslist contributing $1.6 million to Berekely to help fund a Center For New Media, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster becomes founding member of the center’s executive advisory board. Buckmaster on Craigslist’s affinity for Berkeley: Their “history of challenging convention means a lot to us.”

Odd then, that despite public congratulations all around, little of substance has been offered on how the parties aim to “think rigorously about how new media will continue to change our lives and perceptions.”

Even more peculiar, new media bloggers dutifully regurgitate the UC Berkeley-Craigslist self-congratulatory press release of a “thrilling” financing of the “first endowed faculty chair in new media,” with nary a sighting of any of the supposed new media “critical analysis” that the Craigslist donation is said to support.

The blog “paidContent”–self-described as providing insight into “the economics of content”–acknowledges the lack of substantive information available in its one paragraph reposting of the press release announcement–”hard to say what the center itself is doing”–but apparently made no journalistic effort to find out for itself, or its readers!

Here at Insider Chatter, I have been making a deliberate effort to understand BOTH the economics AND the content of the Craigslist-Berkeley financial and executive collaboration.

I have submitted extensive, detailed questions to the Craigslist CEO with the goal of gaining a more in-depth understanding of how Craigslist will interact with Berkeley and how the substantial comittment reinforces the Craigslist mission, questions such as:

Among the prospective research areas of the Center, “privacy, reputation, trust, access and new ways to encourage socially constructive action,” what will you personally lobby for as areas of inital pursuit for the Center? What actionable types of deliverables will the Center research projects produce?

Buckmaster, however, declined to “say much about specific projects”:

Other than the advertised advisory role, i’ll try to be useful in any way that makes sense.

Surprising PR style speak from an organization that claims a “service mission and non-corporate culture” and touts a $1.6 million contribution to “partner with the Berkeley Center for New Media, as it is uniquely positioned to change the very way we think about new media.”

BUT, is Craig Newmark’s namesake Craigslist changing the way it thinks about any media coverage of its activities? Craigslist is not forthcoming about its philanthropic efforts beyond PR platitudes and it is secretive about its publicly posted Terms Of Use.

Since EveryBlock launched Thursday, I have been investigating and anlayzing the new site’s bulk use of Craigslist RSS feeds. SEE Craigslist vs. EveryBlock? UC Berkeley New Media Case Study and EveryBlock Tests Craigslist RSS Feed Generosity: Missed Connection? and have been in contact with both EveryBlock and Craigslist.

The issue extends beyond EveryBlock. Craigslist’s actions vs a vs Oodle and listpic caused many to consider Craigslist a “walled garden.” The hows and whys of access to Craigslist listings is of interest to the Web community at large. Unfortunately, Craigslist is not forthcoming about how it actually evaluates what is, or is not, acceptable to Craigslist.

I asked Buckmaster for clarification on how Craigslist defines “non-commercial purposes” regarding usage of its RSS feeds: 

“Third parties can easily ascertain what is permitted on our site by consulting our Terms Of Use and/or contacting us with any questions they may have,” Buckmaster has demeured.

Cragislist’s lack of candor with the media, and subsequently the public, is contrary to the ethos of both Craigslist and its founder.

Craig Newmark wrote about “community building on the Web,” seeking the “strength of good citizen journalism”:

When the correspondent has the courage to speak truthfully even in the face of powerful opposition….journalism’s essential role of being a watchdog on government and other important social and economic institutions.

This citizen journalist has been seeking to get the truth from Craigslist, a very important social and economic institution. STAY TUNED!

ALSO: Facebook Davos PR Blitz: Beware Scoble Hype, Users Still at BIG Risk and Google TV Ads Auction: NO AdWords Buyer’s Remorse

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

The Internet is STILL the (as yet not completely tamed) Wild, Wild West!

Craigslist, hailed by the University of California, Berekeley, as “one of the most popular Web sites in the world,” donated $1.6 million to the university’s Center For New Media this week to help try and sort things out.

SEE: Craigslist Q & A: Craig Newmark Philanthropy Matches Google’s Page and Brin

The director of the Center, UC Berkeley engineering professor Ken Goldberg, on compatibility with Craigslist: “We share interests in research areas such as privacy, reputation, trust, access.”

ACCESS? The shared Berkeley-Craigslist “research interest” can be explored via a perfect case study for application of some of Craigslist’s $1.6 million: A real world Craigslist example!

I analyzed yesterday, EveryBlock Tests Craigslist RSS Feed Generosity: Missed Connection?, pointing out issues of open Web access to information in relation to the launch of EveryBlock on Thursday.

The specific issue: The EveryBlock service is populated, in part, with Craigslist user listings. EveryBlock’s bulk usage of Craigslist’s publicly available RSS feeds, however, is not in apparent conformity with Craigslist’s Terms Of Use.

I asked publicly yesterday if Craigslist will soon terminate EveryBlock’s redistribution of the information contained in Craigslist’s RSS feeds. I also asked Craigslist directly if it would enforce its Terms Of Service vs a vs EveryBlock.

Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist CEO told me: “We generally don’t pre-announce the specifics or timing of enforcement efforts relating to our Terms Of Use.”

If Craigslist does NOT take action against use of its RSS feeds inconsistent with its Terms Of Use, what message would be understood by the Web community? After all, Craigslist has been called a “walled garden.” Oodle and listpic have first hand knowledge of Craigslist’s desire to preserve the integrity of Craigslist user postings, within Craigslist.

At the end of the EveryBlock day, how will third parties really know what is, or is not, permitted usage of Craigslist listings? Buckmaster told me:

Third parties can easily ascertain what is permitted on our site by consulting our Terms Of Use and/or contacting us with any questions they may have.

So, DID EveryBlock contact Craigslist to obtain an apparently required “license” for its bulk, non-personal use of Craigslist listings? I asked EveryBlock’s founder, Adrian Holovaty, how the site physiically obtains the Craigslist listings which populate parts of EveryBlock on a daily basis: ”We’re using Craigslist’s publicly available RSS feeds, pretty much every page has an RSS link,” Holovaty told me.

Is the EveryBlock use of “public” Craigslist RSS feeds–in apparent contradiction of the publicly posted Craigslist Terms Of Use–accepted, approved and/or authorized by Craigslist?  Both EveryBlock and Craigslist are mum at present.

Will Craigslist funded UC Berkeley Center For New Media be able to help sort things out?

MORE: Craigslist PR: Same OLD Media?

ALSO: Facebook Davos PR Blitz: Beware Scoble Hype, Users Still at BIG Risk

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN