Visual Summaries - Your Visual Knowledge Building Blocks

We are very busy. In real life situations we may not be able or willing to read and assess the full-text of articles and documents. The materials may be lengthy, we may have time restrictions or the initial query may have retrieved a poor set of documents.

Automated summarization of web pages and documents is one of very helpful applications that can be added to our bag of tools. The purpose of summarization is to provide a quick insight into what is the essence of the document without the time consuming effort of carefully reading the entire text.

Why are we appreciative of summaries?

When we talk about summarizing such well-known phrases come to mind:

•  In short...
•  In brief...
•  In summary...
•  To summarize...
•  In a nutshell...
•  To conclude...
•  In conclusion...
• The bottom line is...
• To sum up...

We use these phrases to clearly communicate and signify what key points we are making. We want to to help our readers and listeners by giving them a clear and concise summary of what we have said or written.  In short, we want to make sure that we are well understood.

However, in the majority of  the materials we read there are no keywords and summaries provided. This is a case where automatic summarization, especially Visual Summarization is of great help.

Here is an example of a Visual Summary produced by WebSummarizer. The summary shows the keywords in order of relevance; this gives readers an instant table of contents by topics. The Short Summary provides the most important summaries in a clear visual manner.

Visual Summary to show keywords and the most important summaries - produced by WebSummarizer

In addition to summarization of single articles, summaries can be generated from knowledge bases. An example of a knowledge base is a Wikipedia Knowledge Base generated by WebSummarizer. Over 3 million Wikipedia articles are summarized and stored as a handy knowledge library. Over 5 million keywords are available to access about 30 million summaries. This gives users an extraordinary ability to benefit from  Wikipedia using visual knowledge maps.

Here is an example of a Visual Knowledge Map. In this case the summarization is used to discover related topics for "Solar System" based on the content of multiple articles related to the central topic. The Visual Knowledge Map is build on the fly. The related topics are handily extracted from the knowledge base. This is a very convenient way to brainstorm and  explore subject's context.

Visual Knowledge Map - generated from Wikipedia Knowledge Base by WebSummarizer

Knowledge bases sources

Adding knowledge bases can be done for variety of content sources. For example BlogSummarizer automatically generates knowledge bases for Blogger and WordPress blogs.

The application reads all the posts, generates summaries, generates knowledge bases and provides BlogSummarizer widgets so all blog readers gain access to the knowledge base.

BlogSummarizer widget - provides access to  the blog knowledge base

With the BlogSummarizer widget users simply selects any keyword to generate Visual Knowledge Maps and related summaries. Blog readers greatly benefit from exploring the blog content using the companion knowledge base.

In practice, almost any content source could be used for creating knowledge bases. Blogs, websites, digital libraries, corporate drives, content management, search engines, Intranets, RSS feeds are some of the examples of content sources for creation of knowledge bases.

Knowledge Base Sources 

Here is an example of a Visual Knowledge Base created by BlogSummarizer. The knowledge base source is Google Research blog

Visual Knowledge Base created by BlogSummarizer

The Visual Knowledge Map gives a clear and comprehensive overview of subjects in the blog that are strongly related to the central topic: Google.

The sooner we can see the key ideas the more informed we are. The contextual map provides GPS-like guide to follow the topics of interest to us. The Visual Summaries and Visual Knowledge Maps are valuable relevancy feedback about documents documents and knowledge bases.

You can try  WebSummarizer and BlogSummarizer  for free!


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About WebSummarizer:

WebSummarizer is a powerful text mining and visualization application.  It offers rapid summarization of web pages and documents, creation of personal and corporate knowledge bases. 

The summarization results are presented as: 

•   Visual Summaries

•   Visual Knowledge Maps

•   Tree Views (structured text)

•   Keywords Cloud, and

•   Visual Summaries and Visual Knowledge Maps can be exported to HTML, word editors and mind mapping applications. 

You can summarize text in English, French, German and Spanish.

VISUALIZE and SUMMARIZE web pages and documents with WebSummarizer and BlogSummarizer.

BlogSummarizer, WebSummarizer and WikiSummarizer are products of Context Discovery Inc.

A Case For Knowledge Base Driven Information Mining – A WebSummarizer Use Case

We use terms like “knowledge economy” (Peter Drucker) , “knowledge as the fuel for innovation” (Nonaka) to emphasize the value we put on knowledge.

Putting knowledge to work requires tools enabling the gathering and structuring relevant information as factors driving innovation, creativity, and  invention.  In practice tools and techniques are tangible instruments of applying knowledge to solving real life challenges.

This is especially important in modern information society “where the creation, distribution, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity”. (see here)

Both concepts - knowledge economy and information society - are closely related by its emphasis on increasing technological capacity to store,  analyze and compute information as bases for data mining and discovery.

In our daily practice we can see the that a direct impact of knowledge economy is measurable in the explosion of scientific and medical discoveries, technological  patents and rapid research progress.

Information overload and information wealth

On a practical human scale we are facing information overload – a condition described as “the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information.” (see here)

Clay Shirky operationally defined information overload rather as a case of filter failure in his famous talk at  Web 2.0 Expo NY:  "It's Not InformationOverload. It's Filter Failure"

In reality we should rejoice and take advantage of the fact that we have unprecedented in the human history access to information wealth. And to cope better with information wealth we need automated  smart tools allowing us to take advantage of this unparalleled access to information.

Let’s take a practical case from our daily work. Research tells us that we spend almost  one third of our time searching for relevant information.  Of course finding relevant data is critical to our productivity but  spending one third of our productive time on searches leaves not much time on the actual creative usage of our findings.

On one hand we have the challenges with large data sources that includes capture, storage, and search of relevant information and then we need effective tools for sharing, analysis, and visualization. On the other hand all of us can benefit from knowledge mining tools allowing us to concentrate on applying knowledge instead of using our precious time on inefficient searches. 

Knowledge Base – practical tool set for discovery

In short knowledge base allows us to see how different pieces of information are inter-connected! This is the principle of how the Web works: it is all about linking web pages.

However, what is even more useful is to link the topics that are discussed on those web pages with related topics on other pages. This allows are to purely look at the relationships as a family of connections without the distraction of seeing the the unrelated information.  This allows us to focus on the topic in context of its relationship, correlation, influence, meaning, to other topics and contexts. Such information filters help with understanding and conveniently provide facts and insights to form our judgment and decisions.

Here is an example of Visual Knowledge Map. The topic is "Learning". The sources for generating the Visual Knowledge Map are numerous articles in Wikipedia that address the subject of learning in rich context. The Visual Knowledge Map was generated by WebSummarizer.

The Visual Knowledge Map is interactive. You can click on the + and - signs to zoom in and zoom out.

 

Visual Knowledge Map - Topic: Learning - Generated by WebSummarizer from Wikipedia knowledge base

Visual Knowledge Map - Topic: Learning - Generated by WebSummarizer from Wikipedia knowledge base

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About WebSummarizer:

WebSummarizer is a powerful text mining and visualization application.  It offers rapid summarization of web pages and documents, creation of personal and corporate knowledge bases. 

The summarization results are presented as: 

•   Visual Summaries

•   Visual Knowledge Maps

•   Tree Views (structured text)

•   Keywords Cloud, and

•   Visual Summaries and Visual Knowledge Maps can be exported to HTML, word editors and mind mapping applications. 

You can summarize text in English, French, German and Spanish.

         VISUALIZE and SUMMARIZE web pages and documents with WebSummarizer.

BlogSummarizer, WebSummarizer and WikiSummarizer are products of Context Discovery Inc.

BlogSummarizer – your blog knowledge base companion

Blogs are invaluable information resources and great communication tools. They allow you to share and learn as you go and reach out to interested people outside your regular circles. 

As useful as blogs are, a great deal of accumulated information is lost in the growing archives. 

Blogs are structured to provide only the most recent information. It is far less convenient to find what you need when you have to dig back for information from older posts. This is especially significant when you have authored hundreds of posts over a period of time. In this case, having a tool to organize your information into a handy knowledge base will give you easy access to all of your blog posts in the context of your search.

This is exactly what BlogSummarizer provides.

All your blog post are summarized and indexed and the summaries and keywords are organized  into powerful and easy-to-use knowledge bases. 

To display the content of a knowledge base, BlogSummarizer uses a powerful visualization engine. This engine generates on-demand visual summaries and visual knowledge maps. The visual summaries display the most relevant keywords with summaries, and the visual knowledge maps  provide you with a comprehensive network of related blog posts based on the entire content of your knowledge base.

All visual summaries and visual knowledge maps are exportable to browsers, word editors, and mind mapping applications. You can publish your visual summaries and visual maps simply by embedding them in your blog and web pages. 

Most importantly,  the visual summaries and visual knowledge maps run on all computers and devices: PCs, Macs, Linux, tablets and smart phones. 

What do you need to do to create your blog knowledge base? 

To create your blog companion knowledge base, you just need to provide your blog information to BlogSummarizer. 

After you submit your blog, the BlogSummarizer will read and analyze all your posts, will automatically create a companion knowledge base, and create a widget for you to include in your blog. The widget will allow all your readers to easily access, navigate, and benefit from your knowledge base.

Here is how the BlogSummarizer widget looks when you place it in your blog:

BlogSummarizer widget - based on the Communities and Collaboration blog 

Let’s review the widget functions since this is your key to unlocking the hidden knowledge in your blog.

In the drop-down list, users can select topics of interest. The system will then suggest the top 10 keywords from your blog:

10 top blog keywords drop-down list suggestions - based on the Communities and Collaboration blog 

The Knowledge Map button

The Knowledge Map button displays a visual knowledge map based on the entire body of writing in your blog. This map is interactive and sharable in any browser. Here is an example: 

Visual Knowledge Map - based on the Communities and Collaboration blog

Blog Keyword Knowledge Index

The Show All Keywords link -- instantly displays the list of all keywords in the blog. There is an alphabetical listing and a frequency listing by the blog's most important keywords. This way, it’s easy for you to see what the predominant topics discussed in the blog are and you can also find any topic alphabetically.

Here is an example of Official Google Blog Knowledge base:

Showing All Keywords Index - Official Google Blog example

As you can see, the BlogSummarizer Index provides Alphabetical and Frequency listing of keywords. The Frequency listing groups the keywords into 3 categories:

1. Strong - The most important topics discussed in the blog
2. Normal - Common topics addressed in the blog
3. Weak - Less frequently discussed topic

Blog Knowledge Base Keyword Search

The Keyword Search button - - allows you to search your knowledge base and instantly display the most important blog posts with summaries related to your search term. Here is an example of a visual summary:

BlogSummarizer Knowledge Base Search Results - based on the Official Google Blog

How BlogSummarizer makes your knowledge easy to publish and share

BlogSummarizer provides powerful and easy-to-use publishing and export tools so that  you can share your knowledge with the entire world.

To publish your visual summaries and visual knowledge maps in blogs and web pages, use the Get HTML Code button: 

                          

To export your visual summaries and visual knowledge maps to browsers, word editors, and mind mapping applications, use these export buttons: 

               

Here is an example of  using the HTML code to publish the Visual Summary and Visual Knowledge Map in your blog: 

Get HTML Code - example for publishing Visual Summaries and Visual  Knowledge Maps in your blog

In short, BlogSummarizer creates knowledge bases from all your blog posts that are immediately ready for research, learning, discovery and, of course, publishing so that you can share your knowledge with your readers. 

How the blog knowledge base can used

Using BlogSummarizer for creating companion knowledge bases is not limited to a single blog. A powerful way of leveraging a community knowledge is to aggregate personal blogs from several authors into a group’s knowledge base to give the benefit of shared and aggregated knowledge to all users. There are many associations and groups where several bloggers passionately share their views, work, and experiences.

Aggregating multiple blogs into a single knowledge base provides the added benefit of having easy access to rich and valuable points of view. 

Examples of such blogs are professional association blogs, community of practice blogs, academic blogs, and consumer blogs. These and many other types of blogs represent tremendous sources for creating collective knowledge bases.

How can you create your blog knowledge base?

Signing up is really easy. Just go to the BlogSummarizer site: http://websummarizer.com/blogsummarizer,  register and enter your blog credentials. Then sit back while the system creates the companion knowledge base, provides you with an widget to insert it into your blog...and you’re all set!

About BlogSummarizer:

BlogSummarizer is a powerful knowledge base companions for Blogger and WordPress blogs. It rapidly creates blog companion knowledge bases to allow users easy access to all blog posts in a visual map format. 

The results are displayed as interactive and easy to navigate:

1. Visual Summaries
2. Visual Knowledge maps

The Visual Summaries and Visual Knowledge Maps can be exported to HTML, word editors and mind mapping applications: Mindjet MindManager, XMind Pro, MindGenius, iThoughtsHD

BlogSummarizer, WebSummarizer and WikiSummarizer are products of Context Discovery Inc.