It’s the end of the year and we here at 10e20 have a tradition of sharing our top stories in search and social media. This year is no exception. Without further ado, here are the top 50 stories in search.
50. Twitter microblogging tool goes mainstream (November/December)
49. Alibaba goes IPO (10/29)
48. Server downtime plagues Yahoo Stores on Cyber Monday (11/26)
47. Bodog online casino domain name frozen (8/28)
46. Porn.com sells for $9 million (5/15)
45. Jason Calacanis launches Mahalo human powered search engine (5/30)
44. Google starts to publish AP news in new partnership (8/31)
43. Digg partners with Microsoft for ads (7/25)
42. MySpace and Facebook study discovers different social class divisions (6/25)
41. Microsoft comes out with Silverlight to compete with Flash (4/15) and then launches Silverlight-powered search engine, Tafiti (8/20)
40. Google acquires Zingku mobile service provider (9/27)
39. Bloglines comes out with AJAX beta (8/27)
38. Google Checkout crashes eBay party, eBay pulls Google ads (6/13)
37. Yahoo acquires MyBlogLog (1/8)
36. Google acquires Postini (7/9)
35. Social image site Flickr gets its 2 billionth upload (11/13)
34. Google founders Sergey Brin gets married (May), and Larry Page follows (December)
33. Fox serves YouTube a subpoena after unaired episodes of 24 show up on the social video network (1/26)
32. Yahoo! Mash social network launched (9/17)
31. Business.com is sold for $345 million (7/27)
30. Yahoo appoints click fraud czar (3/22)
29. Yahoo announces Pipes (2/8)
28. Conferences, conferences, and conferences
27. Wikipedia adds nofollow to all its links (1/22) prompting much controversy to “reduce Wikipedia’s PR to zero” (1/23)
26. Google announces Android and joins the Open Handset Alliance (11/25)
25. MySpace hoax leads to suicide (11/16)
24. Digg drops its top 100 users list from the site (2/2)
23. Gmail is now open to everyone (2/14) and gives out 6GB of storage (12/25)
22. Digg’s HD-DVD revolt shows that the community owns (5/5)
21. Ask Eraser launches (12/11)
20. Google announces Knol, the Wikipedia killer (12/14)
19. Vanessa Fox leaves Google for Zillow (6/17), and then gets joins Ignition Partners and Search Engine Land (11/14)
18. Google acquires Feedburner (6/1) and later gives Pro options for free (7/2)
17. Microsoft invests $240 million in Facebook (10/24)
16. Threadwatch closes down (5/25)
15. eBay acquires StumbleUpon for $75 million (4/18)
14. Microsoft comes out with Webmaster Portal (11/7)
13. Yahoo’s Terry Semel resigns as CEO (6/18)
12. Google OpenSocial launches (10/30)
11. Facebook Beacon creates serious privacy concerns (11/23)
10. Yahoo! Panama becomes a reality in the US (2/5)
9. The paid link debate continues (4/13) and sites lose PageRank for selling links (10/25).
8. Michael Gray creates a controversy in his SES San Jose presentation when he declares “Google is not the government” (8/20)
7. Yahoo introduces Search Assist (10/2)
6. Facebook rolls out applications with F8 initiative (5/24)
5. Google goes over $700 a share (11/1)
4. Ask 3D is launched by Ask.com (7/5)
3. Microsoft acquires aQuantive for $6 billion (5/18)
2. Google acquires DoubleClick for $3.1 billion (4/13), a move that is harshly criticized by Microsoft (4/16). The acquisition is reviewed (5/29) and then approved (12/20)
And the biggest story of the year? Well, think blended search, because that’s what it is:
The #1 story of the year: Google comes out with Universal Search (5/16)
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Creating Linkbait Graphics: Dissecting the Creative Process
Dec 31, 2007 by Patrick Winfield | Design
When it comes to an article having a few eye catching graphics tied in with it or one that has none- I tend to favor the one that can support or add to the content visually.
If I see a cool header graphic on an article or piece of content I may already be interested in then that keeps me on and reading that much longer.
How are these graphics made?
The creative process can be a mysterious elusive creature. The best idea often comes from deep in the unconscious and when you are asked how you came up with it, you are not %100 sure.
But there seems to be a fusion of imagination and analysis that when combined allow the designer or artist to create and therefore be creative. A bit of the left brain and a bunch of the right brain.
Some steps are critical for me, like brainstorming and stepping away from a project if time allows- even if it is just for a few minutes which can be just enough time for ‘me‘ to stop thinking about the work and let the other ‘me‘, my unconscious, to churn the information over and see the work with fresh eyes.
When beginning a new project I follow a routine. This keeps me on track and primes me to think in a certain way.
- I get the specifications for the work
- Time needed to spend on the graphic or graphics/Deadline
- Main idea or purpose of article/content
- Call to action/What is the problem?
Brainstorming is one of the first things I do if the idea doesn’t immediately jump out at me.
Simple techniques like writing a word down in the center of a page, mind maps, and then coming up with associations or analogies and ideas that come from those- nothing is wrong in this stage. After I have a few solid things I get into revising that list and making it stronger.
When everything is clear and I know what it is I need to get started on I will then pick up the trusty old pencil and paper and simply start doodling.
This can never be used too much. Sometimes fleshing out an idea on the screen can be clunky and slow, even if you have been doing it for years.
The pencil and paper, for me, creates a shorter route for my brain to travel through and get that idea down. I think quicker this way.
After the idea is sketched out I then bring that into the computer. Set up my document and color palette and whatever text I will be working with.
I like to use photography in most of my graphics. I have a few stock photo sites at my disposal. If the article is about luggage and the best way to pack for a trip then certain images pop into my mind and I will seek out similar looking photos.
Some are obvious and hard to stay away from, while others can can be cliche and used to the point of saturation.
When I find a photo that I like I almost always take it and isolated the parts I will be using from the whole. This is where the ability to being open to change works to my benefit.
For instance, if I isolate a man carrying a suitcase and my idea is to convey fitting all of your things into one piece of luggage then I could replace the suitcase with the mans house or closet with some digital cutting and pasting.
I try to push the idea just enough so that it is fresh and not played out, but not too much so that it requires a lot of thinking. The response ideally should be immediate and obvious as well as contribute not take away from the article.
After the graphics are completed I evaluate them.
This is an objective and subjective analysis. I ask myself certain questions about the graphics and their relationship with the text. If something doesn’t work for whatever reason I remove it. Less can be more!
- Is the text saying the right thing and is it spelled correctly?
- Are the colors and photos used evoking the response I would like?
- Did the graphics solve the problem and help, or directly, relay the information?
- Was it useful or just fluff?
- Would the images appeal to the targeted audience?
Ideas never just come to me, well maybe they do, but they are derived from somewhere in the real world first.
I am always keeping everything I see or come in contact with as fodder for my creativity.
Being adaptable and open to change also allows for the chance that variation and new ideas can be used in the best way possible. So next time put down the mouse and pick up a pencil and paper first to get your wheels turning.
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Are you looking for the next Facebook or YouTube? Chances are you may find it on this site before it blows up, cause that is what they are doing over at KillerStartups.com.
Came across this little gem the other day after receiving one of my many Google Alerts. The alert was for ‘Polaroid‘ and led me to a review of a site that is striving to be the largest online community of Polaroids called Polanoid. Then I started looking deeper and found some great sites and ideas! They claim to review 30 plus startups per day.
Who are these talented content foragers? Well, it could be you, me or your co-worker in the next desk. It is all member based submissions and reviews.
KillerStartups.com is a user driven internet startups community. Entrepreneurs, investors, and bloggers are staying informed on up-and-coming internet startups using our blog platform, where internet entrepreneurs submit their startup to see what others think about it.
It has a voting system, called ‘killers‘ instead of digg’s or point’s. You don’t need to be a member to ‘kill‘ something, thats a good thing, or even to leave comments. You do need to join to submit a startup.
They have a bunch of categories from ‘Blogging Widgets’ to ‘Web 2.0′. The ‘Killers of the Week’ section has sites that got the most votes…hmm what happened to ‘kills’?
When a site is reviewed a short description is entered by the reviewer. Then a short ‘in their own words’ description. A reason ‘why it might be killer’ is addressed followed by a question like, ‘will it generate enough traffic to keep it going?’.
Then there is a spot for ‘Killer data’ which gives information about the company and the sites statistics. This is available for ‘only’ $499 a month to Gold members.
Another cool feature they have going for them with these reviews is a user poll. They ask ‘the main’ question about the site, how do you think they’ll do? Users can pick the best answer and see the results immediately.
Lastly, on the bottom of the review, are the comments by everyone as well as some other similar sites that may interest you.
I think this is a great idea and will surely keep checking back. I am interested to see how this will shape out. Now I am going to take a few minutes and submit KillerStartups.com to the site!
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If you’re at Pubcon in Las Vegas today, I’ll be speaking at 2:45 on the Social Media and Search panel.
Is the intersection of search and social media a train wreck waiting to happen or is it the “not search” based traffic we have long been seeking? This session will look at that intersection from the webmaster/site owner/publisher point of view.
My presentation will be on Google & Digg and how they differ but work so well together. If you’re out in Las Vegas please be sure to say hello!
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