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That sounds like the specifications for the NSA + the CIA on a shoestring budget. As others have pointed out, the actual, unstated expectations may be far more modest. The data mining can be automated once you decide on the criteria to apply. You can google your way around the net or set up your own web crawler. Sorting through the resulting information overload would be less trivial and ultimately require warm-blooded analysts.

Oh btw, did we not think of patenting the ET autoFran engine?

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 07:01:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
<crrrk skrrr>PATENT that autofran???<stranglll>huh whatever next!<squiik crash>

autofew

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 08:53:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
See the deliverables now translated.

Asking for all that for €220K means they'll get crawler data by the ton and precious little well-informed analysis, in other words noise not signal.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 08:57:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's not that hard to make crawler noise look like informed analysis, especially if the recipients aren't particularly net aware.

But really they seem to be looking for advance notice of plots and schemes, and not more general online trends. Since there aren't that many genuine plots and schemes online - although I did hear of one community which wants to builds its own windmill - most reports will be fluff and padding dressed up in a consultant's suit.

More worrying would be evidence of a contract to infiltrate communities and networks - which is ferociously easy to do online.

Perhaps they haven't realised this yet.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 09:05:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Perhaps they have.

<glances suspiciously around him>

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 09:08:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Where do you think I got the specs?

Oops...

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 09:11:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes. What's they are really asking for is a couple consultants reading teachers' blogs and forums and write regular reports about potential troublemakers.

It should be noted a principal got very strongly reprimanded, and suspended for six months, because of his blog...

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.

by linca (antonin POINT lucas AROBASE gmail.com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 09:11:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
This kind of activity is well established amongst PR firms serving large corporations.

And 220K would probably be taken on by one of these firms to do the job, but not with any great coverage/dedication.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 09:26:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I think it's broader than that. They're interested in teachers, no doubt, but in student protest yet more. In other words they want to monitor ideas and their propagation among young people. That's more than a few teacher blogs.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 at 02:54:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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