Web Data Extraction

The Internet as we know today is a repository of information that can be accessed across geographical societies. In just over two decades, the Web has moved from a university curiosity to a fundamental research, marketing and communications vehicle that impinges upon the everyday life of most people in all over the world. It is accessed by over 16% of the population of the world spanning over 233 countries.

As the amount of information on the Web grows, that information becomes ever harder to keep track of and use. Compounding the matter is this information is spread over billions of Web pages, each with its own independent structure and format. So how do you find the information you're looking for in a useful format - and do it quickly and easily without breaking the bank?

Search Isn't Enough

Search engines are a big help, but they can do only part of the work, and they are hard-pressed to keep up with daily changes. For all the power of Google and its kin, all that search engines can do is locate information and point to it. They go only two or three levels deep into a Web site to find information and then return URLs. Search Engines cannot retrieve information from deep-web, information that is available only after filling in some sort of registration form and logging, and store it in a desirable format. In order to save the information in a desirable format or a particular application, after using the search engine to locate data, you still have to do the following tasks to capture the information you need:

· Scan the content until you find the information.

· Mark the information (usually by highlighting with a mouse).

· Switch to another application (such as a spreadsheet, database or word processor).

· Paste the information into that application.

Its not all copy and paste

Consider the scenario of a company is looking to build up an email marketing list of over 100,000 thousand names and email addresses from a public group. It will take up over 28 man-hours if the person manages to copy and paste the Name and Email in 1 second, translating to over $500 in wages only, not to mention the other costs associated with it. Time involved in copying a record is directly proportion to the number of fields of data that has to copy/pasted.

Is there any Alternative to copy-paste?

A better solution, especially for companies that are aiming to exploit a broad swath of data about markets or competitors available on the Internet, lies with usage of custom Web harvesting software and tools.

Web harvesting software automatically extracts information from the Web and picks up where search engines leave off, doing the work the search engine can't. Extraction tools automate the reading, the copying and pasting necessary to collect information for further use. The software mimics the human interaction with the website and gathers data in a manner as if the website is being browsed. Web Harvesting software only navigate the website to locate, filter and copy the required data at much higher speeds that is humanly possible. Advanced software even able to browse the website and gather data silently without leaving the footprints of access.

The next article of this series will give more details about how such softwares and uncover some myths on web harvesting.



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How Is Data Capture Used Effectively in 2013?

Firstly, a brief introduction for those who don't know what it is, data capture is a method of extracting information from forms and surveys that have been filled out by people either by hand or digitally. So if someone has filled in a survey or form, they can be scanned and captured and the extracted information used for its original purpose, for research, and using an actual data capture service can save a considerable amount of time doing the work by hand.

That's the basic gist of what data capture is whether for forms, surveys or other documents that need their data entracting and although there has been a standard use for data capture since it was picked up as a useful and popular service but it is also being used for many other reasons in 2013.

Along with general marketing and research techniques, the data capture of forms has had to change and adapt to changing attitudes throughout the world. In 2012 and into 2013 more and more business cards are being captured and their details including phone numbers, email addresses and other important are captured and put into databases so they can be used effectively in the future for a mixture of mailing lists and email marketing. However there's another side of business card capture where a lot of restaurants and entertainment establishments are offering a raffle for those who leave their business cards behind in a jar so that the eventual winner wins a prize and they can use all data from business card for marketing purposes. You may think it's a difficult and expensive process to capture business card data due to their different layouts and order, but it's a lot simpler than it seems especially using automated or automatic data capture.

Form data capture has also now been picked up by health organisations such as the NHS in order to survey patients and staff on their opinions on their service. As one of the most scrutinised and monitored service providers in the UK, they need to stay on the top of their game as all times and this is one way of checking up on the satisfaction of their users. However they receive thousands of these feedback forms at any given moment so can't all be input manually so they outsource in order to gather this information into easily manageable data and presentations so they can browse through the data with ease and get down to the bottom of any problems or see where they are exceeding expectations.

As such, data capture has become a service that extends beyond market research companies and marketing firms, but is now an essential tool in order to gain an insight into issues as well as for general feedback. As the businesses across the world are subject to more scrutiny and higher expectations, it's almost become a requirement to be the best you possibly can be and even more besides. Going the extra mile.

People as a whole are still more likely to fill out a paper-based form than one sent to them online or if they're given a link to go to. So whilst some things change over time such as the use of this particular service, some things don't, however the results provided are more accurate than ever before, in 2013 and beyond.


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Importance Of Data Mining In Today's Business World

What is Data Mining? Well, it can be defined as the process of getting hidden information from the piles of databases for analysis purposes. Data Mining is also known as Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD). It is nothing but extraction of data from large databases for some specialized work.

Data Mining is largely used in several applications such as understanding consumer research marketing, product analysis, demand and supply analysis, e-commerce, investment trend in stocks & real estates, telecommunications and so on. Data Mining is based on mathematical algorithm and analytical skills to drive the desired results from the huge database collection.

Data Mining has great importance in today's highly competitive business environment. A new concept of Business Intelligence data mining has evolved now, which is widely used by leading corporate houses to stay ahead of their competitors. Business Intelligence (BI) can help in providing latest information and used for competition analysis, market research, economical trends, consume behavior, industry research, geographical information analysis and so on. Business Intelligence Data Mining helps in decision-making.

Data Mining applications are widely used in direct marketing, health industry, e-commerce, customer relationship management (CRM), FMCG industry, telecommunication industry and financial sector. Data mining is available in various forms like text mining, web mining, audio & video data mining, pictorial data mining, relational databases, and social networks data mining.

Data mining, however, is a crucial process and requires lots of time and patience in collecting desired data due to complexity and of the databases. This could also be possible that you need to look for help from outsourcing companies. These outsourcing companies are specialized in extracting or mining the data, filtering it and then keeping them in order for analysis. Data Mining has been used in different context but is being commonly used for business and organizational needs for analytical purposes

Usually data mining requires lots of manual job such as collecting information, assessing data, using internet to look for more details etc. The second option is to make software that will scan the internet to find relevant details and information. Software option could be the best for data mining as this will save tremendous amount of time and labor. Some of the popular data mining software programs available are Connexor Machines, Free Text Software Technologies, Megaputer Text Analyst, SAS Text Miner, LexiQuest, WordStat, Lextek Profiling Engine.

However, this could be possible that you won't get appropriate software which will be suitable for your work or finding the suitable programmer would also be difficult or they may charge hefty amount for their services. Even if you are using the best software, you will still need human help in completion of projects. In that case, outsourcing data mining job will be advisable.


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Data Entry - Short Summary on Home Data Entry Work

One of the most sought after and well promoted online jobs in most visited websites worldwide is online data entry. It is common to read sales promotions of many companies and programs claiming that you will earn not less than $300 in a day in data entry work. There is no question that there is indeed a demand for this job today, but before you make any hasty decisions here is the real scoop about this occupation in a nutshell!

Businesses today require the entry and processing of data in record time to cope-up with our modern times. To answer the need data entry jobs were created. The job requires the entry of information in a computer using a specific program. Three decades ago various machines were used to do the job, but today almost of the job is performed using a personal computer plus software.

Lower level workers in this occupation are assigned to less difficult tasks such as: document scanning for electronic filing, indexing, updating information in a data base, reformatting documents, indexing, copy and paste internet research and filling-up of online forms. Those who are already experienced they are given much more challenging tasks that involves sensible judgment and training such as proof reading, data mining, financial reports in spread sheets, legal and medical transcription and many more.

Online data entry jobs are also being outsourced offshore to countries such as India, Philippines, Singapore, China and Malaysia. Service providers in these countries would only charge low rates they are preferred by service buyers because with how business is fairing now the goal is to lower operational costs as much as possible.

To get a job in this occupation you may apply through free job sites, but if you prefer to do it quick and get professional help you may enroll in acompany that is well established and proven to be effective by service providers such as the National Data Entry. It is risk free to join because this program offers a 30 day refund guarantee if you think that the program is not helping you achieve your career goals.


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Why Outsource Data Entry Service?

Data entry is one of the most neglected responsibilities for any organization. Many organizations can not provide much attention to the data entry departments compare to other departments of the firm. So it is beneficial for them to outsource data entry services to bpo companies. Outsourcing is one of the most cost effective and reliable way to manage your business data entry.

If you think to outsource bpo services, then India is the most preferred country to outsource data entry, data processing, data conversion and many more bpo services at affordable rate. To save money and time, India is the central place in the world to outsource data entry services.

Some of other reimbursements of outsourcing like:

- Reduced operating cost
- No need to hire and train employee
- Make able you to focus on your core business
- Take advantages of bpo professionals
- Saved money and time can be invested in the other areas of business

Outsourcing is the profitable option available for any businesses because it has maximum benefits which boosts up your business performance, increases productivity, smoothly and effectively running your database management system and work flow.

Outsourcing services make available addition benefits such as integrating high quality processes, the advanced technology, well established infrastructure and expert professionals are capable to achieve better and cover the entire range of data entry services at lowest rates with 99.98% accuracy.

So, outsource your requirements to a reliable bpo company who is accomplished to complete data entry needs with successfully and provide ideal customized solutions for your entire organization requirements.

BPO industry engaged in providing absolute services give quick, well-organized and secure solutions to retain their place in competitive outsourcing market. Many organizations provide high level of accuracy with complete confidentiality. These companies also utilize the services of proofreaders in an effort to give high accurate service.


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Data Mining's Importance in Today's Corporate Industry

A large amount of information is collected normally in business, government departments and research & development organizations. They are typically stored in large information warehouses or bases. For data mining tasks suitable data has to be extracted, linked, cleaned and integrated with external sources. In other words, it is the retrieval of useful information from large masses of information, which is also presented in an analyzed form for specific decision-making.

Data mining is the automated analysis of large information sets to find patterns and trends that might otherwise go undiscovered. It is largely used in several applications such as understanding consumer research marketing, product analysis, demand and supply analysis, telecommunications and so on. Data Mining is based on mathematical algorithm and analytical skills to drive the desired results from the huge database collection.

It can be technically defined as the automated mining of hidden information from large databases for predictive analysis. Web mining requires the use of mathematical algorithms and statistical techniques integrated with software tools.

Data mining includes a number of different technical approaches, such as:

    Clustering
    Data Summarization
    Learning Classification Rules
    Finding Dependency Networks
    Analyzing Changes
    Detecting Anomalies

The software enables users to analyze large databases to provide solutions to business decision problems. Data mining is a technology and not a business solution like statistics. Thus the data mining software provides an idea about the customers that would be intrigued by the new product.

It is available in various forms like text, web, audio & video data mining, pictorial data mining, relational databases, and social networks. Data mining is thus also known as Knowledge Discovery in Databases since it involves searching for implicit information in large databases. The main kinds of data mining software are: clustering and segmentation software, statistical analysis software, text analysis, mining and information retrieval software and visualization software.

Data Mining therefore has arrived on the scene at the very appropriate time, helping these enterprises to achieve a number of complex tasks that would have taken up ages but for the advent of this marvelous new technology.


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How Your Online Information is Stolen - The Art of Web Scraping and Data Harvesting

Web scraping, also known as web/internet harvesting involves the use of a computer program which is able to extract data from another program's display output. The main difference between standard parsing and web scraping is that in it, the output being scraped is meant for display to its human viewers instead of simply input to another program.

Therefore, it isn't generally document or structured for practical parsing. Generally web scraping will require that binary data be ignored - this usually means multimedia data or images - and then formatting the pieces that will confuse the desired goal - the text data. This means that in actually, optical character recognition software is a form of visual web scraper.

Usually a transfer of data occurring between two programs would utilize data structures designed to be processed automatically by computers, saving people from having to do this tedious job themselves. This usually involves formats and protocols with rigid structures that are therefore easy to parse, well documented, compact, and function to minimize duplication and ambiguity. In fact, they are so "computer-based" that they are generally not even readable by humans.

If human readability is desired, then the only automated way to accomplish this kind of a data transfer is by way of web scraping. At first, this was practiced in order to read the text data from the display screen of a computer. It was usually accomplished by reading the memory of the terminal via its auxiliary port, or through a connection between one computer's output port and another computer's input port.

It has therefore become a kind of way to parse the HTML text of web pages. The web scraping program is designed to process the text data that is of interest to the human reader, while identifying and removing any unwanted data, images, and formatting for the web design.

Though web scraping is often done for ethical reasons, it is frequently performed in order to swipe the data of "value" from another person or organization's website in order to apply it to someone else's - or to sabotage the original text altogether. Many efforts are now being put into place by webmasters in order to prevent this form of theft and vandalism.


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