The ExpressionEngine versus WordPress battle.

Processing

The core distinguishing factor  between WordPress and Expression Engine is how publishing content is processed.

In regards to WordPress,  a new post includes a content section, however these can include custom fields which are either pre-defined defined (template framework) or built instantly by the author.  As a result when a post is published,  it will be subsquently displayed depending on the category or its sub-category.  In this whole process the author or editor will always see the same input screen.

Expression Flexibility

ExpressionEngine, processes its content on user defined channels.

For every publishing channel, it can be considered as an independent part of framework as opposed to wordpress.

Naturally, this is processing architecture is invisible to most users or well understood by editors or authors.   The site editor/publisher normally only has access to the “Publish” and “Edit” sections of the website, which can also include restrictions on other components like modules.

ExpressionEngine Advantages

Many web designers choose the ExpressionEngine, as this framework allows a wider site control.  It follows that many people don’t have a WYSIWYG editor on their website.  The ExpressionEngine is built on codeigniter php framework which offers excellent API power.

Wordpress Advantages

Most people are capable of  setting up a WordPress blog or website with very little knowledge of PHP, HTML and CSS.

New Version ExpressionEngine 2.0

The new version 2.0, new functionality was added which allows editors to upload HTML and CSS files into folders using naming conventions (blog.group, main.group, portfolio.group, etc.), and thus creating a rendering process much like wordpress.

The new versiong has a a new file named default_content.php, which is required to install a theme.  In this file it specified all components such as default content, channels, custom fields, etc.  The only slight concern is that the file is less logic based code but rather requires editors to understand SQL language in order to successfully build the default_content.php.

Site Theme Flexibility

With WordPress, administrators can easily change or update the design quite fast.  However, the ExpressionEngine only allows a theme to be added at the point of installation.  Subsquently, an administrator of an ExpressionEngine is required to maintain the HTML, custom fields and other elements and only then be able to change the CSS and images, unless they start over with all site definitions but this is an intensive job and most administrators would never do. As a result, themes in WordPress typically all handle content the same way, on the contrary themes in ExpressionEngine are less flexible.

To Sum up

WordPress is considered a core framework for PHP developers as it can be manipulated at their will or even group processes. Furthermore, custom fields can be added and modified.  The other advantage is that most people can can set up a website easily, and the design flexibility allows them to change themes quite fast and easy.  Also, widgets and plug-ins add instant functionality to any site running wordpress.

ExpressionEngine is most useful for designers because as there is no need use a programming language for operational flexibiliy.  It is not diffcult for any competent designer to use HTML and CSS to use the simple framework and its expressions.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, by clicking on title. Thank you.

Redesigning a website, or even a single page, can be a tedious and time-consuming process.  However in this post we present a quick solution for any website owner predictaments, particularly on increasing website conversions from visitors. It is shown a timescale as a guide on how to quickly invcrease and re-design any website.

0 to 5 Minutes

Select a page where you can have the greatest impact

Surprisingly, this may not always be your homepage. Instead of trusting your gut, a little digging in Google Analytics (or your favorite analytics tool) can show you exactly where to start.

Here are some ideas on finding pages that you can work on:

Navigate to your “top landing pages” or “top entrance pages” report (in Google Analytics, this is found under “Content” on the left sidebar).

Use a filter to remove pages with minimal traffic (see the “Advanced Filter” link at the bottom of the table).

Sort your pages by bounce rate.

Select the biggest loser: the page with the most potential for improvement (a combination of high visits and bounce rate).

5 to 15 Minutes

Use free (or cheap) tools to determine which areas on the page need the most attention

If you really want to stick to 45 minutes, you won’t have time to use a lot of tools, but even using one will give you the insight you need to make an improvement.

Here are some tips and tools that you can help up your conversion rates:

Get free advice from the design and development professionals on Concept Feedback. You can find more tools like Concept Feedback in my previous post “10 Excellent Feedback Tools for Web Designers“.

See how people interact with your site using Userfly or ClickTale (extra credit: set up an informal user test with your neighbor, or use a remote testing service like UserTesting or Feedback Army).

Use heat maps to quickly see what’s popular and what’s overlooked. CrazyEgg and clickdensity both provide heat map tools.

Setup a quick survey with Survey Monkey, or a poll with PollDaddy to see what your users want.

Still need help? Here is a quick list of high impact items you could be testing:

• Headline copy
• Buttons (size, color and location)
• Calls to action
• Whitespace
• Advertisement density
• Value proposition
• Text size
• Images
• Color scheme (There are many tools for picking colors)

15 to 40 Minutes

Define the top 3 items from your research and implement the changes

Chances are that you’ll discover a hundred different things you could change, but remember, the key is incremental improvement and not a complete overhaul. So choose the items that you believe will have the most impact, and start there.

Keep in mind that the changes you make don’t need to be perfect—this is going to be a work in progress.

As soon as you’ve narrowed down your list to three, develop the content and code a test page right away. Limiting your list to three items keeps the project manageable. Don’t try to overdo it: you’ll be surprised how much impact just three seemingly minor adjustments can make.

If you get done with three and still want to try new changes—great!—this needs to be an ongoing process. However, don’t let an overwhelming list of ideas prevent you from action.

40 to 45 Minutes

Split test your new page, rinse and repeat

Once your new page is ready, set up a test Google Website Optimizer to track the results. Make sure to select a conversion page that accurately reflects your primary goal for that page.

Depending on the amount of traffic your page receives, you should be able to determine relatively quickly (anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks) what effect your changes made. If you’ve done your due diligence, you’ll most likely be rewarded for your effort with an increase in conversion rates, and sometimes your tweaks can result in substantial improvements.

However, you may find that your new page performs about the same, or in some cases, worse. But that’s the beauty of testing! Every test, whether successful or not, provides you with new knowledge about your site: what works and what doesn’t.

About the Author

Andrew Follett is the founder of Concept Feedback.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, by clicking on title. Thank you.

Following Adobe’s acquistion of Omniture last year, it has now been announced a newer partnership with the popular site  Facebook.  As a result, marketers are now capable of analysing user data with better optimization tools to be used on Facebook .

Subsequently, marketers will have the capability to automate Facebook media and deeper access to analytics in order to provide quality analysis on Facebook’s user activity, following this development it has also been announced that further oportunities for collaboration will be available.

This new announcement follows the developments back in May 2009 Facebook (and FB apps) analytics capabilities.

From this development, Omniture customers are now able to benefit from its new SearchCenter Plus solution.  A solution where customers can take advantage of marketing management enhanced with the capability of purchasing Facebook Advertising.  As a result, better analysis on running Facebook advertising campaigns metrics as well as other media channels optimization.

In addition, Omniture customers can also generate detailed data reports produced from Facebook Pages and applications.

To sum up, this new deal is a great way for Facebook to work together with  marketers, and therefore open a new channel for increased revenue on the site as well as allowing better data intelligence to the benefit of both companies.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, thank you.

We tend to rely heavily on our favorite desktop applications like Photoshop, GIMP, Audacity, Adobe Premier and so on when it comes to dealing with multimedia files. What if we are on a public machine that doesn’t have the software we need, or worst, what if these public machines prevent users from installing applications? That is where web applications are advantageous.

Web applications have gained much attention and popularity over the pass few years. Below a list of free web services that allows editing of multimedia files (photo, audio and video) online.

Photo Editors

1. flauntR

   flauntR is rolling out a unique online imaging service that combines photo editing, printing, sharing and storage in a single seamless service.

   

2. Picture2Life

   Picture2Life is a powerful, but simple and easy-to-use online image editor which also allows you to create collages and animated gif’s (or animations). It works great with your pictures that you already have online!

   

3. Improve Your Image

   Improve your images free online tool.

   

4. LookWow

   The LookWow service is a feature-rich offering that includes basic editing functions, such as Crop Photo, Resize, Clarify, Remove Red-Eye and Sharpen Photo.

   

5. MakeAGif

   Create animated gifs the free and easy way!

   

6. Photoshop.com

   Photoshop.com is your online photo sharing, editing and hosting resource. Upload, organize, edit, store (up to 2GB free) and share your photos.

   

7. Online Photo Tool

   On Onlinephototool.com you can edit and save your images, screenshots and photos online.

   

8. PicMagick

   PicMagick is an online photo editor that enables you to make ordinary photos look wonderful within a few clicks.

   

9. 72Photos

   72photos lets you do amazing things with your photos and store them in a safe space online where you can access them from anywhere.

   

10. Dr.Pic

    Crop, Resize, Add Text, Special Effects, and Host your pictures online for free at DrPic.com.

    

11. EasyCropper

    EasyCropper is a simple way for you to crop any image for use on the web. It’s a free tool, so use it at your own risk.

    

12. FotoFlexer

    FotoFlexer is the world’s most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software.

    

13. Picnik

    Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Tweak to your heart’s content, then get creative with oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames.

    

14. rSizr

    rsizr is a Flash application that lets you resize JPG, PNG, and GIF images online intelligently.

    

15. Splashup

    Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. It’s easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once.

    

16. Sumo Paint

    Sumo Paint is a full featured photo editing / painting application, which works right in your favorite web browser!

    

17. Web Resizer

    Web Resizer helps you optimize photos for web or email. Easy to use. Amazing results!

    

18. Aviary – Phoenix Image Editor

    Aviary – Phoenix Image Editor is a powerful creative application for image editing that you can use right in your web browser.

    

Audio Editors

1. Electro-House Blender

   Electro-House Blender is an amazing online music mixer that allows you to create your own music tracks by blending variety of provided sound loops.

   

2. Aviary Myna Audio Editor

   Use Myna to remix music tracks and audio clips. Apply sound effects and record your own voice or instruments!

   

3. Looplabs

   Looplabs is the web’s premiere online music mixing application and platform.

   

4. Jamglue

   Jamglue allows users to upload music in multi-track format for others to remix.

   

5. Mad Creator

   Mad Creator is a free service that lets you create a ringtone from your favorite song or YouTube video.

   

6. Chirbit

   Chirbit enables users to record, upload, listen to and share sound bites easily.

   

7. Soundation Studio

   Soundation Studio is the web based sequencer that enables you to make music, ringtones and audio clips directly from the internet without downloading any software.

   

Video Editors

1. CaptionTube

   With CaptionTube you can create captions for your YouTube videos. It’s easy to use and it’s free.

   

2. Animoto

   Animoto automatically produces beautifully orchestrated, completely unique video pieces from your photos, video clips and music.

   

3. Photobucket

   Set up a Photobucket account and start remixing video instantly!

   

4. JayCut

   Online video editing, unlimited upload. Create your own movies, for free!

   

5. One True Media

   One True Media helps you turn your photos and video into awesome slideshows and video montages for free.

   

6. EditorOne

   Editor One is a full-featured, timeline-based video editor can be used for online or floor exhibits, video contests, or for experiential Websites.

   

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, by clicking on title. Thank you.

‘Creative’ is the most popular adjective in the design world. Everybody wants to be a creative individual, find a creative solution, or discover a creative book. There are many synonyms for the word ‘creative’: ingenious, clever, prolific, innovative, gifted, inspired, inventive, original, stimulating. But what does this word really mean? And how can we activate our own creativity?

The Latin word creatio was originally applied solely to deeds of God. Only later, in The Renaissance Period – when man first recognized his own ability to create something new into existence – the word creativity became used for describing human accomplishments.

Creativity is a mental and social process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts. It is the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new that has a value – be it a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object, form or idea. Either way, the end result of creative thought is both original and useful.

A number of personality traits have been shown to be associated with creative productivity. A high degree of self-confidence is a basic need for an individual that aims to create something new, so is unconventional thought and curiosity. In order to practice creativity, one must be a master of his particular domain, while also having the autonomy to explore and the flexibility to step outside of the box.

However, having the right characteristics and even the most inspiring work conditions doesn’t guarantee a creative result. Creativity techniques are thought processes or methods used to generate divergent thinking – a form of thinking which aims to produce many different ideas in a short period of time. Creativity techniques are used to release the creativity out of our brains and put it into a practical solution. Let’s imagine them as “output techniques”.

Three well-known techniques for igniting creativity:

Brainstorming

A term invented by Alex Osborn, and first used in his book “Applied Imagination“–Brainstorming works best in small groups of people, but can also be done individually.

The Brainstorming process starts off with the problem clearly stated and recognized by all participants. One person out of the group is chosen to write down all the ideas that are suggested in order to make them simultaneously visible to all others.

The Brainstormers suggest solution to the problem, starting from very obvious answers, and often going to the extreme.

Criticizing suggested solutions is not allowed. Every idea is accepted and written down.

Participants are to build on and develop each others’ ideas.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, an American artist and the first painter of African descent to become an international art star, depicted his own identity struggle using various symbols from Haitian, Puerto Rican and African American cultures in a brainstorming manner. Staring from simple elements – colors, shapes – later adding the more developed ones followed with words and lines connecting them.

Lateral Thinking

Lateral Thinking is a creative technique that encourages reasoning that is not immediately obvious, and ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. It is about finding a solution to problems through an indirect approach.

Edward de Bono, who coined the term Lateral Thinking (acknowledged in the Oxford English Dictionary) is regarded by many as the leading authority in the field of creative thinking, innovation and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. De Bono claims that it is important to disrupt the conventional patterns adopted by the brain. In notes from definition on Lateral Thinking, De Bono states: “Lateral Thinking is used for changing concepts and perceptions instead of trying harder with the same concepts and perceptions“.

To demonstrate this form of thinking, take for example a simple problem like opening a door. Now think of some new solution except the doorknob. This forces you to think about creative solutions that are close to or the extreme opposite of a doorknob. It promotes thinking outside of the box.

Albert Einstein, whose name is a synonym for genius of originality and creativity, once said: “The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place“. It is obvious that Einstein had used lateral thinking to go around existing paradigms. He used Lateral Thinking in coming up with his theories to explain the physics world to us.

Problem Reversal

In his book “What a Great Idea”, Charles Thompson suggested that the only way to truly understand this world is to learn from positives as well as from negatives. Ying-Yang, Summer-Winter, Day-Night are just some examples of that.

Problem reversal method is based on stating the problem in reverse. Change a positive statement into a negative one. Next, try to define what something is not, change the direction or location of your perspective. This will give you the opportunity to look at your problem from radically different point of view, which might lead to completely new and unexpected practical solutions.

Rene Magritte, a famous Belgian surrealist painted this picture that shows a smoking pipe.

Below it, Magritte wrote – “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe). By explicitly stating that this is not a pipe, Magritte tricks the observer into posing a question to themselves: if it’s not a pipe, what is it actually?

Naturally, the answer comes: it is a painting. Magritte used the problem reversal technique to emphasize the real subject of his work: a painting, rather than what that painting is supposed to represent.

Conclusion

Sir Ken Robinson, a 20th century thinker in the development of innovation and human resources, claims that by the time kids became adults, most have lost their capacity to be creative; they have become frightened to be wrong – they get educated out of creativity.

Why does this happen? Is there a downside to being creative?

Encouraging creativity means encouraging departure from society’s existing norms and values. Creativity’s main goal is to question old ways and to find new and better ones, which is not always fitting to the world we live in. Conformity and creativity run in separate directions.

People working in the Creative industry know very good how big of a fight that is. However, don’t let it beat you, keep strong and keep demanding your freedom. Arrange your environments so that they encourage freethinking. Expand your mind and give it lots of input. Apply “output techniques” and let it all out.

Creativity is waiting to be awakened, enjoy it!

Sources

• Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
• The World Centre for New Thinking
• Mind Tools
• Techniques for Creative Thinking
• creativity — Britannica Online Encyclopedia
• The de Bono Group

Image credits

• The Vitruvian Man
• Brooklyn Museum: Exhibitions: Basquiat
• scifair.org
• My Free Wallpapers – Magritte – Pipe

About the Author

Martina Skender You can take a took at here portfolio at mskender.info.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, by clicking on title. Thank you.

User interfaces—the way we interact with our technologies—have evolved a lot over the years.

From the original punch cards and printouts to monitors, mouses, and keyboards, all the way to the track pad, voice recognition, and interfaces designed to make it easier for the disabled to use computers, interfaces have progressed rapidly within the last few decades.

But there’s still a long way to go and there are many possible directions that future interface designs could take. We’re already seeing some start to crop up and its exciting to think about how they’ll change our lives.

In this article are than a dozen potential future user interfaces that we’ll be seeing over the next few years (and some further into the future).

Brain-Computer Interface

What it is: In a brain-computer interface, a computer is controlled purely by thought (or, more accurately, brain waves). There are a few different approaches being pursued, including direct brain implants, full helmets, and headbands that capture and interpret brain waves.

Army Mind-Control Projects

Image source.

According to an article in Time from September 2008, the American Army is actively pursuing “thought helmets” that could some day lead to secure mind-to-mind communication between soldiers. The goal, according to the article, is a system where entire military systems could be controlled by thought alone.

While this kind of technology is still far off, the fact that the military has awarded a $4 million contract to a team of scientists from the University of California at Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland means that we might be seeing prototypes of these systems within the next decade.

The Matrixesque Brain Interface: MEMS-Based Robotic Probe

Image source.

Researchers at Caltech are working on a MEMS-based robotic probe that can implant electrodes into your brain to interface with particular neurons. While it sounds very The Matrix-y, the idea is that it could allow for advanced control of prosthetic limbs or similar body-control.

The software part of the device is complete, though the micro-mechanical part (the part that actually goes into your brain) is still under development.

OCZ’s Neural Impulse Actuator

Image source.

The NIA is a headband and controller that incorporates an electro-myogram, an electro-encephalogram, and an electro-oculogram to enable it to translate eye movements, facial muscle movements and brain waves. The most interesting part of the NIA is that it can be set up to work with virtually any game; the controller simply translates input into keystrokes.

Biometric and Cybernetic Interfaces

What it is: In computing, cybernetics most often refers to robotic systems and control and command of those systems. Biometrics, on the other hand, refer to biological markers that every human being (and all life forms) has and that are generally unique to each person. These are most often used for security purposes, such as fingerprint or retina scanners.

Here are a few current biometric and cybernetic interface projects.

Warfighter Physiological Status Monitoring

Image source.

The Military Operational Medicine Research Program is developing sensors that can be embedded into clothing to monitor soldiers’ physiological well-being. These can be used not only to monitor real-time health, but also to input additional variables into predictive models the military uses to evaluate the likely success of its missions.

Fingerprint Scanners

Image source.

Fingerprint and hand scanners have been seen in movies for ages as high-tech security devices. And they’ve finally become readily available within the past few years.

In most cases, fingerprint scanners are used to allow or deny access to certain users for a computer system, vehicle, or controlled-access area. Because fingerprints are unique, this is a nearly-foolproof way of determining who is gaining access to something, as well as a way to track who accessed what, and when.

Digital Paper and Digital Glass

What it is: Digital paper is a flexible, reflective type of display that uses no backlighting and simulates real paper quite well. In most cases, digital paper doesn’t require any power except when changing what it’s displaying, resulting in very long battery life in devices that use it. Digital glass, on the other hand, is a transparent display that otherwise resembles a standard LCD monitor.

Transparent OLED Display

Samsung showcased a prototype of a new, transparent OLED display on a notebook at CES 2010. The display is unlikely to appear in notebooks in its finished form, but it might be used in MP3 players or advertising displays in the future according to the company.

LG 19″ Flexible Display

Image source.

Flexible e-paper displays might replace paper one day. Unlike their rigid counterparts, e-paper can be nearly as flexible as real paper (or card stock, at least), and almost as thin. LG has created a 19″ e-paper display that’s flexible and made of metal foil so it will always return to its original shape. Watch for this type of display to become popular for reading newspapers or other large-format content in the future.

E-Ink

Image source.

E-Ink technology is an interesting technology that has many interesting implications in the packaging and media industries. E-ink is a proprietary paper technology that’s already seen some real-world use (such as on the Esquire cover from October 2008). While it’s currently only available in grayscale, it’s likely to be available in full color before too long.

E-Ink is famous for its integration into many popular eBook readers, including the Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and the Sony Reader. And while in these instances it’s put within a rigid display, there’s no reason it can’t be.

Telepresence

What it is: Telepresence consists of remote control of a drone or robot. They’re most commonly seen in the scientific and defense sectors, and vary considerably based on what they’re being used for. In some cases, those controlling the device only get visual input, but in others (such as medical telepresence devices) a more complete simulation is created. Below are some of the best telepresence projects currently underway.

Telepresence Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery can now be conducted via telepresence, using a robot to perform the surgery on the actual patient, while a surgeon controls it remotely. In fact, this method of surgery can actually work better than using long, fulcrum instruments to perform the surgery in person.

The technology combines telerobotics, sensory devices, stereo imaging, and video and telecommunications to give surgeons the full sensory experience of traditional surgery. Surgeons are provided with feedback in real-time, including the pressure they would feel when making an incision in a hands-on surgery.

Universal Control System

Image source.

The Universal Control System is a system developed by Raytheon (a defense contractor) for directing aerial military drones. The interface is not unlike a video game, with multiple monitors to give operators a 120º view of what the drone sees.

Raytheon looked at the existing technology drone pilots were using (which consisted of standard computer systems—a nose-mounted camera and a keyboard) and realized that there were betters systems being used by gamers. So they set about developing a drone operation system based on civilian business games (and even hired game developers). The finished system also incorporates augmented reality and other futuristic interface elements.

Space Exploration and Development

Telepresence could be used to allow humans to experience space environments from the safety of earth. This technology could allow people to remotely explore distant planets without having to leave our own planet, and for a lot less than an actual manned mission.

The biggest hurdles to this technology at the moment are delays in communications over long distances, though there are already advances happening in those areas that may make it a non-issue within the next few years.

Augmented Reality

What it is: Augmented reality consists of overlaying data about the real world over real-time images of that world. In current applications, a camera (generally attached to either a computer or cell phone) captures real-time images that are then superimposed with information gathered based on your location.

There are a number of current augmented reality projects in the works. Here are some of the most interesting ones.

Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens

Image source.

One of the more interesting current projects with augmented reality consists of a display contained within a contact lens. The conduit between the eye and the brain is much faster than a high-speed internet connection—and the eye can perceive more than we realize— including millions of colors and tiny shifts in lighting.

Because of this, it makes sense that an interface that works directly with your eye would catch on.

The current proofs of concept include contact lenses being developed at the University of Washington. They’re crafting lenses with a built-in LED that can be powered wirelessly with Radio Frequency and other simple electronic circuits.

Eventually, these contact lenses will contain hundreds of tiny LEDs that can display images, words, and other information in front of the eye. It’s likely that these contact lenses will be the display for a separate control unit (such as a smartphone).

Wearable Retinal Display

Image source.

The Universal Translator made communication between species possible in the Star Trek universe. And while a Universal Translator like that is likely a long ways off, NEC is already working on a retinal display called the “Tele Scouter” that will translate foreign languages into subtitles for the wearer.

The device is mounted on frames from eyeglasses and includes both a display and a microphone. The sound is transmitted to a separate device that sends it to a central server for translation, and then the subtitles are sent back to the device and displayed on the retinal display.

The best part is that the text is displayed within the user’s peripheral vision, which means they can keep eye contact with the person they’re speaking with.

Heads-Up Display

Image source.

There’s one type of augmented reality that’s been around for years, first seen in military applications and then eventually in the commercial airline and automotive industries.

Heads-up displays (HUDs) are used to display data on the windshield of a car or plane without requiring the operator to look away from their surroundings.

In cars, HUDs are helpful at night to driving conditions on the windshield of the vehicle. This allows drivers to keep their attention on the road ahead.

In the future, HUDs will be used for synthetic vision systems. In other words, everything a user sees in their viewport would be constructed from information obtained in a database, rather than an actual real world-view. This type of system is still a long ways off, but could change the way vehicles are designed, and can make for safer aircraft and automobiles because the driver/operator wouldn’t need a direct line-of-sight to their surroundings.

Privacy Concerns with Augmented Reality

Of course, privacy specialists will have a field day with Augmented Reality applications. After all, what happens when you can easily look at a person and gain access to their personal information via facial recognition. The technology to do that isn’t too far off. You’ll simply look at a person across a crowded restaurant and their name, Facebook and Twitter accounts, phone number, and any other available information will be at your fingertips.

While this could certainly come in handy (such as those times when you find yourself confronted with someone who seems to know you, but you have no clue who they are), it could also make it near effortless for just about anyone to access your information. In fact, technology like this is already starting to pop up.

Voice Control

What it is: We’ve seen voice control in various sci-fi movies and novels for years. Just like its name implies: this technology relies on voice commands to control a computer. Voice control has been around in some form for a few years now, but its application is just recently being explored. Here are a few current projects.

BMW Voice Control System

Leave it to luxury automaker BMW to develop a new voice control system that allows drivers to control their navigation and entertainment systems. A single voice command lets drivers get directions to their destination or play a specific song.

While other automakers have tried similar voice recognition systems, this one appears to be the most advanced.

Google Voice Search

Image source.

If you have a smartphone running Android, you’re probably already familiar with Google’s Voice Search feature. While it’s not foolproof, it’s definitely a great way to look something up without having to spend a minute typing in a complex search term. The best part about Google’s Voice Search is that it’s not just restricted to the Android platform. It will also work with your BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile phone or Nokia S60.

Voice search is handy if you’re trying to look something up in a hurry or while driving. The Android platform will also interface with navigation, which is handy if you’re behind the wheel.

Gesture Recognition

What it is: With gesture recognition, movements with the hands, feet, or other body parts are interpreted by a computer (often through the use of either a hand-held controller, a camera that captures movement, or some other input device like gloves) as commands.

Gesture recognition’s popularity is due to the video gaming industry, though there are a number of other potential uses.

Acceleglove: Gloves that Recognize Sign Language

Image source.

Researchers at the George Washington University have created a glove called the “Acceleglove” that will recognize American Sign Language gestures and translate them into text. It works by using a series of accelerometers on each finger of the glove along with other sensors on the shoulders and elbows to send electrical signals to a microcontroller than finds the correct work associated with the movement. The unit determines signs based on starting hand positioning, intervening movements, and the ending gesture, eliminating phrases at each step along the way. It takes milliseconds for the computer to output the correct word after the sign is completed.

Gesture-Based Control for TVs

Image source.

Television, because of its simplified user interface, is a perfect candidate for control by gesture recognition. And examples of gesture recognition control for TVs are already available. At the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show there were a few examples of gesture control for TVs. Panasonic has developed a remote control that has touch screens where finger gestures control various things. But Hitachi has come out with a TV that uses a 3-D depth camera to recognize gestures on a much larger scale. It lets you use hand gestures to change the channel, control the volume, and even to turn the TV on and off.

Nintendo Wii

Image source.

The Nintendo Wii’s controller system is probably the first widely-adopted gaming system that uses gesture recognition for at least part of its control method. Of course, the Wii’s gesture recognition system requires that you hold the special Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to have your gestures recognized, but it’s still a pioneering system within the gaming industry. And in the future, it’s likely that other systems, not just for gaming but in the computer industry in general, will adopt similar control systems.

Xbox Project Natal

Project Natal takes the Wii’s gesture recognition a step further. No remote or controller is required; users simply interact with what’s on screen as they would in the real world. In other words, to kick a ball, just perform a kick motion. It eliminates the need for controllers and makes gaming more immersive.

Head and Eye Tracking

What it is: Head and eye tracking technology interprets natural eye and head movements to control your technology.

Gran Turismo 5

Image source.

Gran Turismo has long been heralded as one of the most realistic racing games out there. But with Gran Turismo 5, they’ve gone a step further. The newest version of the game will include head tracking capabilities. The PlayStation Eye camera will track a player’s head and control the view within the cockpit of the car. This will make the overall experience much closer to what you actually experience while driving, where you can glance to one side or the other quickly without entirely losing sight of what’s in front of you.

Pseudo-3D with a Generic Webcam

Chris Harrison has come out with a head tracking system that works with a standard webcam. It’s available for Mac OSX (not including 10.6) and can be used with any number of 3D interfaces. The most interesting thing is that this kind of technology can easily be made to work using existing technologies.

Artificial Intelligence

What it is: Artificial Intelligence (AI) consists of creating inorganic systems capable of learning from human input. While we’ve already created systems that are decent at mimicking learning behavior, they’re still limited by their code. Eventually, computers will be able to learn and grow beyond their programming. It’ll only be a matter of time before we see The Skynet Funding Bill passing (it’s already 13 years behind).

Below are some of the more interesting AI projects currently being considered and undertaken.

Cyber Security Knowledge Transfer Network

In the UK, police are looking into how AI can be used to for counter-terrorism surveillance, data mining, masking online identities, and preventing internet fraud. They’re also looking at how intelligent programs could capture useful information and preserve images of hard drives over the web.

Digital forensics could become much more efficient with the assistance of artificial intelligence, so expect to see a lot more projects in the coming years that incorporate AI with law enforcement.

AI for Adaptive Gaming

Image source.

Artificial intelligence will create more realistic and engaging gameplay. Rather than relying solely on pre-programmed interactions, AI can allow games to adapt to their player’s mid-game. While there are some technologies being employed that simulate artificial intelligence in video games, true AI hasn’t yet been achieved. Newer technologies, like dynamic scripting, could bring game AI to a new level, leading to more realistic gameplay.

AI for Mission Control

NASA and other world space agencies are actively looking into artificial intelligence for controlling probes that might explore star systems outside our own. Because of delays in radio transmissions, the further away a probe gets, the longer it takes to communicate with it and control it. But AI may eventually make the need for direct control nearly disappear.

These probes would be able to react intelligently to new stimuli, and could carry out more abstract orders rather than having to have every minute movement preprogrammed or transmitted on the go.

Virtual Assistants

Image source.

The need for an assistant to handle the mundane tasks of everyday life is growing greater for many people. However, your current options right now are limited, especially for the majority of us who can’t afford a personal assistant.

But soon, we’ll have virtual assistants available that will be able to make a reservation for us, find a gift for your grandmother’s 75th birthday, or do all the research for your next project.

While the degree of actual AI and just extremely intelligent programming will vary, there are definite potential applications for a true AI system in all this.

Multi-Touch

Image source.

What it is: Multi-touch is similar to gesture recognition, but requires the use of a touch screen. A traditional touch screen could accept input from only one point on the screen at a time. Multi-touch, on the other hand, can accept input from multiple points simultaneously.

There are already a number of products that include multi-touch, though the technology still has a lot of untapped potential.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft’s Surface technology is a large-scale multi-touch system that’s particularly suited to being built into things like tables or retail displays. Surface is in use in a variety of places, including Disney’s Tomorrowland resort and during MSNBC’s election coverage.

Because of Surface’s large scale and likely uses, it accepts input not just from multiple fingers at once, but from multiple users at once. This makes it particularly suited to public spaces. In addition to multi-touch, Surface also has object recognition capabilities, which allow users to place physical objects on the screen to trigger different digital responses.

Apple Products

Image source.

Apple has been a leader in implementing multi-touch technology for a few years now. The iPhone was the first mainstream consumer product to use multi-touch, and it has appeared on the iPod Touch, MacBook track-pad, the Mighty Mouse and soon, the iPad. Multi-touch has become a key part of the Mac OSX user experience, and the iPhone OS. Everything from scrolling to zooming in and out, to custom gestures can be carried out using the multi-touch interface.

Mobile Phones

In addition to the iPhone, a number of other mobile devices have multi-touch capabilities. The Palm Pre and Pixi, the Motorola Droid (though multi-touch is disabled in the U.S.), and the HTC Hero and HD2 all have multi-touch capabilities.

For the most part, these phones use multi-touch for simple tasks like zooming in and out when browsing the web. Usability is greatly improved in most cases because of the inclusion of multi-touch, especially when it comes to manipulating on-screen graphics and images.

About the Author

Cameron Chapman Cameron Chapman On Writing.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, by clicking on title. Thank you.

Ten years ago, web companies didn’t generate much revenue. These days, web companies are some of the most profitable around. Online video is where the Web was ten years ago: in investment mode as video companies that are generating high revenue are not necessarily the most profitable.

Are those companies suffering low margins because they’re investing in the future or are they fundamentally lower-margin businesses?

Ad Networks Are Low Margin Businesses

This week, video ad network Brightroll raised $10 million from Scale Venture Partners. Ad networks aggregate audiences and sell ads to marketers, sharing the proceeds with publishers/producers. Scale’s Rob Theis’ argues: “the most strategic Internet investments are those that compete not with other Internet businesses, but with the much larger amount of money still being spent offline.”

Brightroll’s CEO Tod Sacerdoti added: “I think by this time next year the majority of the top five to ten video properties by any measure will be aggregator networks. The best example for this is display advertising.” Indeed, networks have an unmatched ability to scale but can also crash to the ground awfully fast.

The low margin is the least of their problems; differentiation and defensibility are. Blue Lithium and Right Media hit jackpots by selling to Yahoo! But those who didn’t sell (Tribal Fusion, Valueclick) suddenly found themselves under pressure from search advertising on performance and video on branding.

Content Networks Have Little Differentiation

Similarly, aggregators gather videos from content providers, sharing ad revenues. iFilm (sold to Viacom, renamed Spike), Guba, Grouper (sold to SONY, renamed Crackle), Revver, YouTube (sold to Google), Veoh, DailyMotion, Metacafe, Viddler, blip.tv, are all vying for content, audiences and dollars.

YouTube is master of this domain. Hulu is giving YouTube a run for its money, but the business model is anything but certain and its long term exit strategy is murky (Disney, News Corp. and NBC Universal/Comcast are shareholders but also competitors).

Ultimately, ad and content networks operate in a high-risk, winner-take-all game. For publishers, it’s a lower risk world. Consider the two acquisitions News Corp. made in 2005: Rupert Murdoch paid more for IGN ($650M) than for MySpace ($580 million), but MySpace’s subsequent growth made him look like a genius (for a while). Today, MySpace is searching for its raison d’etre while IGN treks along as an unstoppable force in its sphere.

The Myth of Hyper Distribution?

In online video, producers are agnostic to distribution channel or platform. To reduce risk, they diversify distribution, but the jury’s out on whether hyper distribution bears fruit. Hyper distribution refers to syndicating one’s content as broadly as possible with little or no restrictions.

When it comes to generating revenues, is hyper-distribution wise? Not according to Chris Pirillo, a prosumer video producer who leverages video to promote his empire but only counts YouTube as a commercial platform: “YouTube offers the largest audiences and generates most the revenue. If you’re not YouTube, you have challenges in creating value for content producers”. If that changes, look out for Freewheel, which according to CEO Doug Knopper allows “media companies and content owners to be able to monetize their video libraries across multiple channels and devices”.

Advertisers Follow Audiences…

Ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner doesn’t pretend to know how the industry is going to play out, but he’s got no doubts what the end result will be: “I don’t know if the growth in content made for the Internet will be evolutionary or revolutionary, but it can’t not happen: a death march has been going on for other media who are in trouble because there is a more efficient way to share content around the world with the Internet.”

Business Models Take Time to Develop

Eisner made his fortune in television. One VC who’s made his online has another opinion. In Fred Wilson’s influential 2005 post “The Future of Media (aka Please Take My RSS Feed)”, he suggests to:

1 – Microchunk it – Reduce the content to its simplest form.
2 – Free it – Put it out there without walls around it or strings on it.
3 – Syndicate it – Let anyone take it and run with it.
4 – Monetize it – Put the monetization and tracking systems into the microchunk.

In theory, in the future when video streams monetize the way search queries have (whereby a search query is always associated with some kind of paid listing) then perhaps Wilson’s thesis will prove right. But in practice, at least in the five years that have passed since the post, it’s been a recipe for financial disaster.

Hyper distribution is great for promotional purposes but not necessarily for commercial purposes. Marketers do pay more attention as an audience grows, but they also pay a premium for scarcity and exclusivity.

This is the fundamental conundrum facing new media producers who rely on hyper-distribution to build brands and audiences but who weaken their pricing power and ability to secure guaranteed dollars by giving away their videos. This can work if you can build ad-supported businesses, but that takes time and money.

Today, a few new media producers have managed to build ad-supported businesses, namely Revision3 and Next New Networks. But between the two, they have raised over $30 million in venture capital. Most producers don’t have that luxury. For those others, I recommend creating content that other media companies will pay for, to buy them enough time to build a syndication business and eventually, a fully ad-supported business which commands the large ad dollars.

An imperfect but useful analogy I use is the banking model, where retail, corporate and investment banking fees can create a large business.

This diversified strategy provides:

• a safe income stream: licensing, like retail banking, provides a recurring and non-volatile revenue base.
• a growth business: syndication, like corporate banking, requires other companies in the ecosystem to do well. This can provide higher CPM rates by placing content in the right context.
• a wildly lucrative stream: advertising, like investment banking, takes time to develop, is speculative and seasonal, and risks drying up abruptly. Notice how advertising revenue spikes each fourth quarter, for example.

The reason why I place content producers in the highest Profitability circle over time in the first chart above is because only they can build such a business. (The Profitability Index represented in the chart takes into account operating margins and total return on investment, including likelihood of a liquidity event). And, yes, I am completely biased, since this is the kind of business I am trying to build with WatchMojo. Aggregators and networks are solely advertising based businesses; just ask YouTube who generated $10,000 in a paid model test, even though it can generate billions in simpler ways. Video advertising will be a bigger business, but not necessarily a higher-margin business.

Video will be Everywhere: on all Websites

Video on the Web is no longer just about entertainment. It is also about marketing, instruction, and conveying information of all kinds.

• Content bellwether Wikipedia announced it will be rolling out videos soon enough.
• e-Commerce leader Zappos encourages users to submit their video experiences which increase sales 6% to 30%. In 2010, it will create 50,000 videos.
• It won’t be long before organizations feature their accountants, lawyers, management, VCs in videos too.

Video will be Everywhere: in Ads

Videos won’t simply be on all websites; video ads will converge with rich media and display banners. Publishers and ad networks will swap out low yield ad placements for videos that sell at a premium. Rupert Murdoch is right to say that there isn’t enough advertising to make all publishing online profitable, but if you insert a video-enabled ad where a display banner exists today, maybe it will become more profitable, as video rates tend to generate a tenfold premium over display banners. Of course, the flip side of that argument is that if video ad inventory lost all scarcity as display banners have, then it rates would also see a steep drop.

Video is the Anti-Search

Google’s dominance of the Web today stems from a perfect storm. Search benefitted from low expectations. Whereas Google’s competitors threw in the towel to focus on portaldom (or outright handed them the business), online video companies’ war chests seemingly have no bottom as they wage the war for the online audience.

With YouTube being a unit of Google, it’s hard to compete being a pure video aggregator. Those who have tried are flailing badly. Yet video’s expectations have always been high and will only get higher.

History Repeats Itself

Video will follow search in two ways though.

Search is software and Google is the only successful ad-supported technology company. Video is media, which has a natural disposition to embrace ad-supported models. As such, advertising will monetize video streams. In fact, as large ad agencies and marketers shift online, they’ll embrace branding campaigns and push video advertising could eventually top search advertising. Once that starts, online advertising will surpass television, it’s already happened in the UK.

Search for The Leading Ad Format

Everyone agrees that video advertising will be huge but what will the prevailing ad format be?

Stakeholders are obsessed with finding the ad format likely to follow television’s 30-second ad spot and search’s paid listings.

What might lead the way?

Pre-rolls are the equivalent of pop-ups (and mid/post rolls the equivalent of pop-unders) in that users hate them, but unlike pop-ups, I actually think pre-rolls won’t disappear, mainly because

• They’re the most in-demand ad format (according to Brightroll CEO Tod Sacerdoti)
• It is easier to include a pre-roll when you’re syndicating to other websites and platforms (says blip.tv co-founder Dina Kaplan)
• But largely because they’ll get more user-friendly: the 30-second ad will make way for 5-10 second interactive pre-rolls (SpotXchange CEO Michael Shehan).

However, there will always be properties which will forego pre-roll revenue to improve the user experience in order to build audiences, and all else being equal users will migrate to those sites. So I’m not sure the pre-roll will remain all that ubiquitous. The other problem with pre-rolls is lack of attention. When a pre-roll starts, I tune out and look for my headphones or go grab a coffee.

That’s why I like the contextual display banner (and not necessarily the companion banner). A companion banner comes bundled with the video pre-roll, but sits alongside the video A contextual banner comes without the pre-roll. Whereas most banners disappear quickly next to text with one downward scroll of the mouse, alongside a video player, that banner becomes quite valuable and top-of-mind since people are just staring at the video.

We’ve also seen the rise (and fall) of overlays, which is basically an expanded Picture-in-Picture (PIP) format; we know how that fared.

Of course, content producers are also salivating over branded content (more than product integration and product placement, the brand becomes central to the story) or outright sponsorships.

Finally, there’s the Web’s favorite offspring: the viral video. Viral video is not an ad format, of course, but it is not quite branded content nor is it supported by ads. As these become more common, achieving success with content alone becomes a sure-fire recipe for failure. All content will need to be supported by a media buy or some kind of promotional push. After all, on TV you spend millions creating an ad but you need to buy media spots to promote it. It’s not going to be that different online. Yes, it’s a meritocracy, but it’s a loud, cluttered one.

Sum up

There won’t be a single dominant ad format but the holy grail will prove simpler than expected. It always does.  Remember Don Lapre’s infomercials? He would go on and on about placing “Tiny Classified Ads” in newspapers.

Article by Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, the founder and CEO of WatchMojo. First published at crunchbase.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, thank you.

Microsoft has detailed all the new improvements to Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

The new OS is basically something WinMo fans have been wanting for years, with capacitive screen support meaning the styluses can finally be thrown away.

Gestures are also present in the OS now too, which seems like it’s finally taking the threat of Android and the iPhone seriously. While multi-touch has been available in some WinMo programs before, it’s good to see it finally appearing across the system.

Some of the main new features are:

• Capacitive touchscreen support

• Multi-touch enabling

• Finger-friendly touch system

• Horizontal scroll bar instead of tabs

• Drag and drop icons on the home screen

• Internet page loading time decreased

The Sony Ericsson Aspen is the first phone running the new WinMo 6.5.3 OS.

Please feel free to add you comments to this post, thank you.

The Realtime Web is difficult to analyse as it includes data from feed readers, desktop clients and mobile phones.  Furthermore, socialmedia applications like Twitter and Facebook are also just a component where third party applications like  TweetDeck and Seesmic can produce realtime search on Google and Bing.

Following Twitter’s CEO Evan Williams,  the data is not extensive enough.

However from the Twitter data, it can be  noted that about 50 percent of Twitter API calls are outside Twitter.com.   This percentage represents data going back and forth, not people, and includes data from bots and machine clicks. In order to get a better estimate of the size of the overall reach of Twitter, we need to take Google Trends data for Twitter and “key clients”.  As a result,  the chart above follows, where it is shown the Twitter ecosystem reaching about 60 million people, with 20 million coming from Twitter.com and 40 million coming from elsewhere. From this data, the ecosystem is twice as large as Twitter.com itself.

Applications like TweetDeck can surpass 4 million updates in a single day.  Furthermore, twitterfeed now supports more than 800,000 feeds from more than 400,000 publishers.

When we add other data points into a single chart (as it can be seen below) it shows the relative growth of the Realtime Web compared to the established Web as represented by Google and Amazon.  The chart also includes Facebook and Meebo, both of which are growing much faster.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, thank you.

Since Facebook redesigned their privacy settings, many users have become confused with the difference between wall posts, tagging, commenting and how to control the visibility. In this post, it is explained the best practices for posting updates.

Wall Posts Public

Wall posts are a form of public message. When you visit a user’s profile, you can leave them a note which they will see as well as all of their friends.   Any mutual friends that you have will also receive a news feed story which notifies them of the wall post. It´s not possible for wall posts that are made on friends’ profiles to be private, as they are intended to be public. If you want to make the message private, there are two alternatives: send a message or post a private update to your wall and tag your friend.

Private Updates

Many users do not fully understand how to control the visibility of  posts especially private updates.  However, you can play with the settings so that the posts will have limited visibility so that your friends won’t be able to read them.  Furthermore, the news feed story generated by your wall post will not be visible to others on the customize option link.

The visibility of generic wall posts on your friends’ profiles right now cannot be hidden, however the purpose of wall posts was originally to make them public. If you have something that you want to keep private, you can use the publisher privacy settings or you can send a private message directly to your friend’s inbox.

Please feel free to add a comment to this post, thank you.