Intelligence for Everyone

June 23, 2007 11:11 AM

"Silobreaker is a groundbreaking, web-based current awareness service designed for executives, desktop researchers, and other light information professionals who are seeking contextual insights and actionable answers."

Sounds interesting enough. How about taking the system for a test drive?
(Open-Source Intelligence resource courtesy of InteLink)
posted by mystyk (23 comments total)

Can someone translate the buzzword-ese into plain english?

I can't figure out what's going on... other than this post seeming like an ad.
posted by falconred at 11:30 AM on June 23, 2007

"Silobreaker provides a single, unified environment for searching integrated information from multiple sources in real time."

Hmm. Sounds like this.
posted by docgonzo at 11:37 AM on June 23, 2007

Currently, the USAIC is evaluating this as an open-source resource, and has been asking soldiers to review the service. I understand that the full system is a pay system, but the amount of free services provided still make it a good venue for all-around info gathering. I more thought that the type of people on MeFi would enjoy the collection of info and perhaps find it entertaining.
posted by mystyk at 11:39 AM on June 23, 2007

So what does open-source mean?
posted by srboisvert at 11:43 AM on June 23, 2007

So what does open-source mean?

I think in this context it means "no secret agents and no nefarious deeds were employed during collection and presentation."
posted by notyou at 11:47 AM on June 23, 2007

How many "light information professionals" does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
posted by ericb at 11:52 AM on June 23, 2007

Sounds like Techdirt Insight, or DayLife, but with more confusion.
posted by Mach5 at 11:56 AM on June 23, 2007

So what does open-source mean?

Insert some cash.
posted by Mblue at 12:05 PM on June 23, 2007

Where do they come up with these names? When I hear 'Silo Breaker' I think of this. And I'm not sure how good it is that, when I think of your cutting edge web 2.0 thingy, that the first thing that comes to mind is a giant bomb.
posted by quin at 12:10 PM on June 23, 2007

Ever since I was a little boy, I've always wanted to be a light information professional.
posted by box at 12:19 PM on June 23, 2007

It looks like news for self-serious businessfolk and civil servants: no gossip, entertainment, sports, or pictures of pretty girls. Plus some extra fiddles like a "Visual Relationships" thinger that the jargon boys can use to "drill down" into a topic. Executive summaries summarily executed.
posted by pracowity at 12:29 PM on June 23, 2007

uhh
posted by blacklite at 1:00 PM on June 23, 2007

This is like drinking from a poorly organized firehouse. It's a bad idea that's seen far superior implementations.
posted by phrontist at 1:13 PM on June 23, 2007

When I read the post and the comments, I thought it would be 'business information about the world, but with everything removed that might make you feel stupid', sort of gerber baby infofood for managers who have gummed off more than they can chew, but reading the site, it seems more like a briefer for disaster capitalists-- the people who run the mercenary companies (and companies of mercenaries) that flock to the disasters the US and other agents of violence are leaving in their wake around the world right now, and which are increasingly profitable for vultures of this kind.
posted by jamjam at 1:44 PM on June 23, 2007 [2 favorites]

jamjam

.
posted by Mblue at 2:25 PM on June 23, 2007

In the old days, this would have been called a portal. Today, it's a fancy news reader.

I guess it's smart enough for someone to pull various bells & whistles together for the remaining clueless executive crowd, those who know little of "the Googles." I would guess there may be many who have never seen relationship maps, have no idea how to subscribe to an RSS feed, and don't frequent blogs, let alone know how to find ones they would want to monitor.

I ran into a business earlier this year that was charging companies thousands of dollars a year to deliver what were essentially industry-specific news feeds and packaging them into daily emails. Their role was essentially as a filter - which might be useful enough. But $30K per year useful? I found it boggling. Yup, many in corporate America are still clueless about how to use the Web. There are some who will try to make money on that while the window is still open.

It is interesting to read that USAIC is looking into this. I would have thought the "information" in their name might indicate that they have enough information sophistication to generate their own portal.
posted by madamjujujive at 2:33 PM on June 23, 2007

Their role was essentially as a filter - which might be useful enough. But $30K per year useful? I found it boggling.

I think I worked for them for about 5 years :) Slowly, executives are figuring out how to get their business intelligence themselves. Mostly though, that's just not done, any more than they would install a new hard drive.
posted by sidereal at 6:26 PM on June 23, 2007

Hey, it had some good information on "Tony Blairs."
posted by ancientgower at 5:41 AM on June 24, 2007

If this is supposed to summarize news it's doing an awful job. Particularly in the "AI & Robotics" section. How ironic.
posted by Foosnark at 7:57 AM on June 24, 2007

I see all these comments and there is about one with any substance. Have any of you guys actually tried the service - or are you all from competing services with no other agenda than badmouthing a newcomer (which I guess is flattering for them)? I have tried Silobreaker and it's great! Much better than both the free search engine news services and the ridiculously expensive news aggregation services that charge per article or on a subscription basis. Finally someone who understands that it's not about how many hits the search engine returns (since no-one can be bothered to look beyond the first couple of pages anyway) but putting the search results in context to help the user see a bigger picture. Ok, so it's not perfect, but last time I looked it was still in a beta release.
posted by MeFi63 at 1:55 AM on June 25, 2007

If that was just the $5 "I looked at my log files" comment that it really seems like you really missed an opportunity to explain and differentiate your service rather than just sound angry. Mind you the post is probably off the front page by now so the eyeballs have moved on. Still you could post a real explanation for googley posterity.

Or maybe you are somebody who just bought an account to post that one comment randomly. Who knows...
posted by srboisvert at 7:20 AM on June 25, 2007

... or are you all from competing services with no other agenda than badmouthing a newcomer

No, I am not and I doubt most of the people who commented here are anything more than potential users. Generally, if a search offering or a technology is promising, this community will jump on it. People just weren't bowled over, hard as that may be for you to hear.

For a $400 a year subscription fee, it needs to deliver substantial value. I don't see that. Also, I am assuming that for that price, subscribers wouldn't be subject to pervasive advertising.

And what srboisvert said. You need to make a better case than just bridling against these opinions. It would be better for the company to hear these reactions now and consider them while the service is still in beta than to dismiss them out of hand. Companies pay big bucks for focus groups - this was a freebie.
posted by madamjujujive at 10:58 AM on June 25, 2007

Much better than both the free search engine news services and the ridiculously expensive news aggregation services that charge per article or on a subscription basis.

I much prefer Buzztracker and Newsmap for their implementations. And they're free! [Previously discussed: 1, 2].
posted by ericb at 11:41 AM on June 25, 2007