Implications of Push Technology for Information Management

1
Implications of Push Technology for Information
Management

• Laura Larsson
• larsson_at_u.washington.edu
• Health Services
• University of Washington
• revised June 1998

2
Objectives

• to learn what push technology is
• to look at who is pushing information at us
• to learn about the different methods of receiving
  pushed information
• to see if the advantages outweigh the
  disadvantages
• to learn what to do about pushGlut

3
The Past and Present

• newspapers
• radio
• TV
• magazines
• comics
• newsletters

4
Push Technology

• today we are in a new era of information
  dissemination
• personal considerations (the content user)
• business considerations (the content producer)

5
Personal Considerations

• for those who have access to it, email is
  generally considered by many to be their personal
  favorite news delivery system
• but it does not quite satisfy the need for
  regularly updated (hourly) business or health
  news
• nor can it provide us with graphics with its
  visual excitement

6
Personal Considerations, continued...

• the Web is pretty passive - you go to it and
  rummage around until you find something useful
  amidst the irrelevant information
• not always very efficient since you can get
  thousands of hits
• difficult to have the time to search AND to
  evaluate the results

7
Business Considerations

• having the consumer stumble across your site is
  not good business
• business needs a way of getting information to
  you, the user, and to their employees
• push is also known as "webcasting"

8
What is Push Technology?

• the "push" technologies are new services, which
  have created software tools, that learn what
  information you want to receive via the Web and
  bring it to your desktop
• they push (via email or the Web) personalized
  information to your desktop
• webcasting was introduced by the PointCast
  Network in May 1996

9
What is?, continued...

• enables businesses to
• develop a consistent base of users
• target their content and advertisements more
  effectively
• offer end users the information they need

10
Push Agents

• the software which grabs the information provided
  by the content provider or push vendor for you is
  known as an agent
• you download or purchase the software from the
  content provider through a server

11
Channels

• the topic areas are called channels
• a channel is a mechanism for transmitting
  Web-based content and applications
• channels feature selected content from the Web
  sites of services that have affiliated with the
  respective providers

12
Content Providers

• the people and companies which provide the push
  vendors with information are called content
  providers
• content providers and push vendors can be the
  same people
• e.g., Reuters and AP are content providers for
  news services
• e.g., companies which write press releases or
  advertising are also content providers

13
Push Vendors

• provide different content/information because
  they have contract with different content
  providers
• provide access to varying numbers of channels
  (topics)
• usually requires specific software (for
  downloading or caching the content)
• prices free through variable pricing through a
  subscription

14
Selected Push Vendors

• Air Media, AirMedia Live Internet Broadcast
  Network
• Alpha Microsystems, AlphaConnect StockVue
• BackWeb, BackWeb Technologies
• Berkeley Systems, AfterDark Online
• Caravelle, Transceive

15

• DataChannel, DataChannel
• Diffusion, IntraExpress
• Firefly, Firefly
• InCommon, Downtown
• Intermind, Communicator
• Marimba, Castanet

16

• Microsoft, IE 4.0
• NETdelivery, NETdelivery
• Netscape, Communicator
• PointCast, The PointCast Network
• Smartpartner, FirstFloor,
• Wayfarer, INCISA
• Source http//www.torso.com/webcasting.html

17
AfterDark

• is a series of screen savers which brings news
  and information direct to your desktop
• Sports Illustrated Online, USA TODAY, The Wall
  Street Journal Interactive Edition, and ZD Net
  Computing Central, stock quotes and sports scores
• you can customize the news you want, and
  determine how often the news is updated.
• download After Dark Online from
  lthttp//www.afterdark.com/gt

18
After Dark Image
19
AirMedia

• content providers include CNN, Reuters,
  Knight-Ridder, US Newswire, UPI
• offers various service plans running from free,
  PowerUp, to their Premier Plan for 5.95/month
  (plus email notification is 9.95)
• headline news and stories
• uses application software
• notification of updates via animated icons
• lthttp//www.airmedia.com/gt

20
AirMedia Image
21
BackWeb

• has 40 channels (games, online shopping,
  software, etc)
• download program
• gives user multimedia
• can create specialized channels for businesses
• hard disk drive hog (takes up lots of space)
• lthttp//www.backweb.com/gt

22
BackWeb Image
23
Downtown, InCommon

• uses a toolbar, called a channel bar, to deliver
  information
• green square indicates new content
• easy to add channels and to personalize content
• use buttons to enable you to do the personalizing
• lthttp//www.incommon.com/index.htmlgt

24
FireFly Passport

• produces tools which enable content providers to
  register and push information to users
• innovative profile management tool (Passport
  Office)
• advanced collaborative filtering technology
  (Catalog Navigator)
• helps users find others who share their tastes
  while enabling sites to learn about their users
  interests (Community Navigator)
• http//www.firefly.net/

25
HeadLiner, Lanacom

• said to be a competitor of PointCast
• free software from http//www.lanacom.com/Pro/base
  .html
• features the ability to display headlines in the
  conventional manner (news ticker, screen saver,
  and web page articles)
• also uses a unique and extremely nifty display
  called the NewsTitle viewer
• this is a ticker that scrolls news for you in the
  title bar of your applications

26
SmartPartner, FirstFloor

• supplier of web-based document delivery products
  and technologies for application developers
• agents, targeted notification, and off-line
  viewing
• program is called Smart Catalog and is available
  from http//www.firstfloor.com/index.html

27
Individuals HeadsUp

• Is a personalized, interactive news service (30
  day free trial)
• high-technology, business financial services,
  and healthcare
• lthttp//www.individual.com/services/headsup/headsu
  p.htmgt
• scan gt20,000 stories and 700 sources
• delivery by fax or email

28
Intermind (Software)

• you select which topics you'd like to receive
  from the Web sites you specify
• maintains a database of information on a user's
  hard drive from which it builds HTML pages that
  are presented in their browser
• employs a publish-and-subscribe system
• enables businesses and individuals to easily
  publish customizable channels of multimedia
  content and push it to customers or employees

29
Intermind, continued...

• Communicator 2.0 is due in June or July
• is expected to include a "dynamic publisher"
  option that allows providers with database
  content to generate updates on the fly based on
  users' interests
• e.g., H.O.T. Coupons can provide coupons based
  on your Zip code automatically
• http//www.intermind.com/

30
Individuals Newspage

• requires proprietary software (Headliner) to
  manage the news from this site
• headlines delivered in three formats Ticker Bar,
  Screen Saver or News Title bar
• create a profile of your interests after
  registration
• lthttp//www.newspage.com/gt

31
Newspage Image
32
Newspage Health Topics
33
Marimba Castanet (Software)

• a software tool for content providers
• uses Java-based software and delivers Java-based
  software
• multimedia
• variety of channels of information including
  games, databases, audio...
• http//www.marimba.com/

34
Marimba Image
35
Microsoft's Webcasting

• Microsoft's Channel Definition Format is
  primarily based on XML (eXtensible Markup
  Language), a proposed standard which lies
  somewhere between HTML and SGML in graphic
  flexibility. The World Wide Web Consortium has a
  draft of XML at the W3.ORG"
• Source Vin Crosbie, Webcasting listserv, March
  13, 1997 lthttp//www.pushconcepts.com/microsoft.h
  tmgt
• lthttp//www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/content/cdfben.h
  tmgt

36
Microsoft Active Channel Image
37
NETDelivery

• "Community Marketing" - link people with common
  interests and shared affinities to organizations
  that offer valuable information, products and
  services
• delivery of catalogs and information
• subscriber "Bill of Rights" that protects users
  personal information
• lthttp//www.netdelivery.com/gt

38
Netscape Netcaster

• Netcaster is the new component of Netscape
  Communicator that enables push delivery of
  information and offline browsing
• users can subscribe to the information they want
  and have it delivered automatically
• offline browsing of downloaded info
• background downloading and user-scheduled updates
• Marimba Castanet support
• lthttp//home.netscape.com/comprod/products/communi
  cator/netcaster_frameset.htmlgt

39
Netcaster Image
40
PointCast Software

• is the most well-known push service
• was the first push service to broadcast
  up-to-the-minute news directly to a viewers
  computer
• pioneered the concept of broadcasting
  personalized news and other information tailored
  to the interests of each viewer
• download special software which streams
  information across your computers screen from
  lthttp//www.pointcast.com/products/20.htmlgt

41
Pointcasts Success

• works with businesses to create extranets
• companies create business-to-business extranet
  broadcasts by selecting webcasts from desired
  partners and suppliers
• PointCast is already pulling in an estimated 7
  million per quarter just from ads
• source lthttp//www5.zdnet.com/cshopper/content/97
  05/cshp0048.htmlgt

42
Wayfarer INCISA

• designed primarily for corporate users to push
  information to their employees
• delivers updated information within 15 minutes
• combines businesses content with content from
  outside content vendors
• delivers headlines using reusable Shockwave
  animations combined with custom graphics and
  sound
• http//www.wayfarer.com/

43
Really Personal

• create your own Web page on Excite or Crayon
• Lauras Channel (Excite)
• lthttp//home.excite.com/gt
• Larsson Times (Crayon)
• lthttp//crayon.net/gt

44
Lauras Channel Image
45
Larsson Times Image
46
Larsson Times, continued...
47
Summary of Push Methods

• stand alone programs (PointCast)
• streaming
• program goes out and comes back with headlines
  and information
• wallpaper/screen saver programs (AfterDark)
• Web page programs

48
How Do You Know When New Information Has Been
Delivered?

• push clients notify users
• green lights on your computer
• through E-mail
• playing a sound
• displaying an icon on the desktop
• popping up an application
• displaying headlines on a screen saver,
  wallpaper, or a scrolling ticker tape

49
Who Uses Webcasting?

• religious organizations
• newspapers
• businesses
• universities

50
Questions to Consider before Signing Up to Get
Content

• can you select the content you want and as much
  of it as you want?
• can you decide how you want to get the
  information?
• by downloading a program (agent)
• surfing to a content providers site to get the
  information you need
• do you want a screen saver, a banner, or ??

51
Questions...

• do you know anything about the content providers,
  i.e., are they well known providers?
• how often is the content updated?

52
Questions, continued...

• is the content free or worth it if I have to pay?
• how much time do I have to read the content?
• is the program I have to download easy to install
  and use?

53
Advantages of Push Technology

• designed to enhance the information processing
  and collection abilities of knowledge workers
• they allow us to determine (customize) what is
  delivered to our desktops, and to choose when and
  how we want to view it
• we can schedule updates when we want them

54
Advantages, continued...

• a time saver because you dont have to spend the
  time looking for information it comes to you
• because there are two different flavors of
  "push" one for consumers (individual users) and
  another for businesses you can tailor information
  to your needs at home, and at work

55
Advantages, continued...

• each information pusher makes different deals
  with different partners which means you have
  access to different newspapers and sources of
  information
• the next versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer
  and Netscape Navigator will have channel changers
  built in
• will eventually enable offline browsing

56
Advantages, continued...

• users dont have to fool around with Boolean
  logic
• You assign an electronic agent to seek out
  information that falls under a predetermined
  topic and return it to your desktop

57
Problems with Push Technology

• may require a separate program
• lack of standards for channels
• Setting up a profile can be a problem
• With some push technologies, you can only have
  one "must contain" word or phrase per topic. An
  "OR" version would help a lot
• Still too much dross in with the good
  information i.e., push technology may never be
  precise enough to be truly useful

58
Problems with Push Technology

• You will likely never see the kind of valuable
  information that only a manual search can uncover
• Can we trust filters or profiles to provide the
  most relevant information?
• Users may require some help setting up a profile
• It can be a big drain on a users Windows system
  resources

59
Problems, continued...

• Push technologies don't always work the way youd
  like them to work
• e.g., a minor interest may assume major
  importance through no fault of yours
• When you click on a newspaper article from the
  New York Times, you may be asked to pay to read
  it (SURPRIZE!)

60
Problems, continued...

• no overarching table of contents or search engine
• All the newspaper/magazine/newsfeeds need to band
  together to produce a comprehensive searchable
  current events database
• if you subscribe to more than one service, you
  may end up with duplicate articles

61
Problems, continued...

• Users may have to register with a content
  provider which then determines which content goes
  to that viewer
• The user may also be required to pay for segments
  of the information on particular sites

62
Problems, continued...

• Some of the vendors only archive information for
  short periods of time (as little as 6 months)
• links wont work after awhile which means you
  cannot link to that information
• The lines between technology providers and
  content providers will become increasingly blurred

63
Problems...

• Philosophical - and method of working - question
  
• Do people want tools to find information
  themselves, or are they content to have it served
  to them?

64
How Do You Prevent PushGlut?

• dont sign up for more than two push services
• limit the number of channels you select
• watch how often you schedule updates
• dont forget about using email updates instead of
  desktop push
• reevaluate often since new players are coming
  online all the time

65
Preventing PushGlut...

• ask yourself ...
• if the data you see streaming across your desktop
  is really valuable enough to use up your precious
  time, i.e., is it valuable?
• is it exactly what you want?

66
Preventing PushGlut...

• how many clicks does it take to get to the
  information?
• do you have to drill down to get it or does the
  whole story display
• sometimes its easier to be your own filter and
  go out after what you want through the search
  engines

67
The Future

• personalization of information
• channel-surfing may well replace Web-surfing as
  the pastime of choice on the Internet
• likely to be lots of opportunity to be informed

68
The Future, continued...

• businesses will make money
• 36 percent of all advertising revenues on the
  Internet will be generated by push
  technologies--a 5.7 billion piece of a 19.1
  billion Web market pie
• source lthttp//www5.zdnet.com/cshopper/content/97
  05/cshp0048.htmlgt

69
Summary...

• weve defined push technology
• weve looked at a few examples of companies doing
  Webcasting
• weve seen how they push their information at us
• weve discussed some of the problems
• weve peeked at the future

70
Appendix Definition of Push Model

• A data distribution model in which selected data
  is automatically delivered into the user's
  computer at prescribed intervals or based on some
  event that occurs. Contrast with the pull model,
  in which the user specifically asks for something
  by performing a search or requesting an existing
  report, video or other data type.
• Browsing the Web is an example of the pull model,
  while PointCast and Castanet
  are push models. PointCast was the first Internet
  service to become extremely popular due to
  pushing selected news and stock quotes into a
  user's machine at prescribed intervals. Marimba's
  Castanet provides a push model delivery system
  for updating applications as well as distributing
  publishing content.
• source lthttp//www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defin
  eterm.cgi?sstringPUSHMODELgt