I admit it; I love the TV show “Vegas”. One of the things I always found fascinating in that show was the facial recognition tool they use in the security room. It is great the way they scan through a database of faces and find a match to someone they just video capped from the security cameras. It’s basically a search engine for faces.

What if everyone had access to this database, what if you could search for a face online or even the opposite, find a face and click it to get detailed info on who it is. Well, you’re not going to have to wait long. A new search plug-in coming from Polar Rose will allow you to do just those types of searches.

The plug-in is due to be launched in beta during the first quarter of 2007 and will be available for both FireFox and Internet Explorer. According to Polar Rose, you will be able to click on a persons face and find out who they are and some data about them or enter a name and see a collection of photos of the person. They claim it will work on any photograph publicly available online. I can already imagine the outcries of the security zealots out there, but that is a topic for another article.

Looking at the big picture however, I think challenging the basic notion of how search works is the most interesting aspect of this new tool.

Read the rest of this entry »

Its almost the new year and time for the major engines to publish the search statistics for the outgoing year. While not to be used as serious data research (I believe the results are highly filtered) it is still fun to see which terms people are searching for and how they compare to your own top searches. Here they are the top search results for 2006 from the big three engines…

Google Zeitgeist - They were first to do the end of year list and still a fun read today.

Yahoo! Buzz Index - Technically available all year round, the “overall top searches” is a great read

MSN Top of Live Search - They are the new kid on the block, but are not to be out done.

Let us know if you think any important searches are missing or if you are just plain shocked at something on the list. Personally, I have no idea who or what “bebo” is but it made the top of both Google and MSN. Can anyone help me out with this?

Usability of your website is very crucial to its success and often sites make mistakes which have a negative impact on the website. I have comprised a list of top mistakes made today when it comes to usability.

1. Poor categorization and labeling of information
Issues with site structure and the naming system of the main categories are among the most damaging problems for a website. Too often websites reflect the internal structure and labels used by the organization, rather than those of their customers. This can cause the customer to become confused and frustrated, ultimately leaving the site.

2. Poor navigation
Even if a site is well organized and information is in clearly labeled categories, the design of the navigation elements can undo all the good work. Developing a navigation which is easy to use and clearly showcases its sections is key.

3. Cluttered page layout
Many pages are difficult for users to scan because the design is cluttered. Information isn’t aligned and there is too much unused space. The most important information on a page isn’t clear at a glance. Few pages make effective use of section headlines and sub headlines, so that it is obvious how the information on a page is structured.

Read the rest of this entry »