joi, 6 octombrie 2011

Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics

Alternative Hair Show 2011, in Moscow

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 06:22 PM PDT

Celebrating its 29th year but appearing for the first time in Russia, the London-based Alternative Hair Show event brought together the biggest names in the hairstyling industry to the Kremlin Palace last Wednesday to raise money for charity. Half of the ticket proceeds will go to Britain's Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research charity, and the other 50 percent to Russia's Gift of Life.

The show has grown into the world's most prestigious annual hairdressing event, hosting leading teams and inspirational hair artists from all over the globe. Since it first began in 1983, the Alternative Hair Show has now raised more than £8 million for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

Freaks of Fast Food

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 05:35 PM PDT

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why there are so many bizarre people going to fast food establishments. Now sit back and enjoy this funny collection of pure genius fashion styles, body types and poor personal decision-making.














































































































Source: freaksoffastfood

Steve Jobs Made a Dent in the Universe

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 02:24 PM PDT

Steve Jobs was a visionary, a marketer and a perfectionist, but he was also a quote machine. One of his better lines was this exhortation to Apple employees: "Make a dent in the universe."

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs died too soon Wednesday at age 56 -- only months after his resignation as chief executive of the company he co-founded, but long after he, his colleagues, and those inspired and empowered by their work had pounded a series of dents into the universe.

Fellow internet pioneer Bill Gates said Jobs' "profound impact" would " be felt for many generations to come". Gates added: "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honour. I will miss Steve immensely."

'The face of Apple'
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," Apple said. "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

He was one of the world's best-known business leaders and introduced the iPod and the iPhone to the world. His death came a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model. Jobs announced in 2004 that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant five years later. In January, he took medical leave, before resigning as CEO in August and handing over his duties to Tim Cook.

Russian Motorcycle Band Plays Instruments While Driving Down Highway

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:06 PM PDT



Moscow resident Alexander Ishutin decided things were getting a little too ho-hum around his city, so he did what anyone would do and turned his motorcycle into a concert venue. All it took was a sidecar repurposed as a stage and his friends playing their instruments while they drove down the highway.

It might sound ridiculous, but he manages to fit a drum kit, an amplifier and three people onto this thing and provide a live performance for the other drivers.


18 Clever Facebook Timeline Designs

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:10 PM PDT

On F8 Developers Conference Facebook launched new 'Timeline' profile design. Timeline is a totally revamped version of the old Facebook profile concept. You can use a cover photo which will give totally new look to your profile. Many people already started to use cover photo in a creative way.

Here we have selected 18 clever and mind-blowing Facebook timeline profile designs for your inspiration.





































Related Post:
Awesome Uses Of The New Facebook Profiles Page
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Eye-Tracking Google SERPs - 5 Tales of Pizza

Eye-Tracking Google SERPs - 5 Tales of Pizza

Eye-Tracking Google SERPs - 5 Tales of Pizza

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 12:26 PM PDT

Posted by Dr. Pete

A while back, we got an offer we couldn’t refuse. The good folks at Mirametrix asked if we were interested in custom eye-tracking data (which traditionally costs a small fortune) for any Google searches. Um, does Matt Cutts like cats?

Since I once worked down the hall from an eye-tracking lab, I was the obvious choice to lead this shopping spree at the nerd candy store. So, we picked 5 different Google SERPs, representing the diversity Google has created in the past couple of years, including the newly expanded site-links. This is the story of those SERPs. They’re all about pizza, because I’m from Chicago and was apparently hungry when I made the list.

The Equipment & Methodology

Mirametrix S2 eye trackerFirst, a little bit of background. Mirametrix produces affordable, portable eye-tracking systems for researchers. Our data was collected using an S2 Eye Tracker (shown to the right), which looks a little bit like an Xbox Kinect. Each SERP was shown to 8 subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 for 30 seconds. Subjects were told the search term of interest and then were allowed to view the full-screen SERP freely. All SERPs were de-personalized and localized to Chicago, IL.

Heat maps were created by aggregating the subject data. Subjects saw the full-screen SERP, but I’ve cropped each image below the point that activity trails off. I should note that this is actual eye-tracking data, which should not be confused with “click maps” or heat maps created from mouse movements. These patterns come from people’s direct visual interaction with the SERPs.

(1) Local #1 - "best pizza in Chicago”

I’ll start with a query for “best pizza in Chicago”, because the results are probably closest to what you would expect. I picked this particular SERP because it had strongly integrated Local/Places results, along with maps on the right. The eye-tracking data looked like this:

Eye-tracking data for "best pizza in Chicago"

You can see a modified “F-shaped” pattern here, with most activity centering on the top results and some eye movement toward the map. As you might expect, the top listings attracted the most attention.

(2) Local #2 - "pizza"

Next up is a local search for “pizza”. These results were more varied, with a couple of organic results followed by an integrated 7-pack that more clearly separated Local/Places results. This data got a bit more interesting:

Eye-tracking data for "pizza"

The impact of the Local 7-pack appears to be very powerful, drawing attention from the top 3 organic listings. Even map fixations appear to be toned down from the first SERP. Whether this is because people are familiar with Google’s local results format or are attracted to the distinct formatting, it’s clear that they were biased toward this part of the page.

(3) Video Thumbnails - "how to make a pizza"

This one was a special request from the Big Boss – Rand was interested in the impact of video thumbnails in organic SERPs. I found that the query “how to make a pizza” brought up video thumbnails for the #2 and #3 spots. Here’s what the data had to say:

Eye-tracking data for "how to make a pizza"

Although individual results are a bit hard to separate, it does appear that subjects’ eye movements focused on the first video thumbnail, possibly even at the expense of the #1 organic result. Especially with something as visual as a pizza (who doesn’t love pizza?) the attraction of an image could really tip the click-through scales.

(4) Product Images - "pizza cutters"

The next search was for “pizza cutters” – this brought up brand and store searches at the top, along with images for shopping results after the 3rd organic listing. The eye-tracking data looked like this:

Eye-tracking data for "pizza cutters"

There’s definitely some pull toward the product images, although the top organic results still do fairly well. The “Related Searches” seem to get relatively little attention, even though they appear where the first organic result would usually be.

(5) Expanded Sitelinks - "Pizza Hut"

Finally, we decided to test-drive the new site-links. A search for “Pizza Hut” brought up 6 expanded site-links. Not surprisingly, this search also triggered some local results. Here’s the visual:

Eye-tracking data for "Pizza Hut"

Although the Pizza Hut listing gets some fixations, there seems to be a strong pull toward the local listings. Even with a full pack of expanded site-links, the main Pizza Hut site got much less attention than I would have expected. When you want pizza, you want pizza, not a corporate history.

Some General Implications

I think the first and most obvious implication is that, as Google moves away from 10 plain listings for more and more searches, it is definitely having an impact on search users. You need to be familiar with your competitive space and take advantage of SERP enhancements, like video thumbnails. Ranking #1 might not be pulling the weight it used to if your competitors down the page have more visually interesting results.

These results also suggest that the in-page Local/Places results are having a strong impact, even if they fall in the middle of the page. In these limited cases, they seemed to pull attention away from the top organic spots. If your query has a local flavor, you need to be aware of how your Google Places page is competing.

Of course, these are exploratory results, and more data would be needed to back up any given finding, but I hope the general observations are interesting. I’d like to thank Ben Yoskovitz for setting up this opportunity, and Anton and Amineh at Mirametrix for managing and running the eye-tracking studies.


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Watch Live at 11 a.m. EDT: President Obama Holds a News Conference

The White House Your Daily Snapshot for
Thursday, October 6, 2011
 

Watch Live at 11 a.m. EDT: President Obama Holds a News Conference

Today at 11 a.m. EDT President Obama will hold a news conference in the East Room of the White House. Watch it live at WhiteHouse.gov/live.

Photo of the Day

Members of the Boys and Girls Club of America look at a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation during a meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office to congratulate the winner and national finalists of the Youth of the Year Program, Oct 5, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog.

A Big Vote to Protect Consumers
The Senate Banking Committee today votes on the nomination of Richard Cordray to become the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a critical step towards implementing Wall Street Reform so that it fully protects consumers from hidden fees and abusive practices.

President Obama on the Passing of Steve Jobs: "He changed the way each of us sees the world."
President Obama remembers one of "the greatest American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

The White House Kitchen Garden Fall Harvest and Grilled Garden Pizza
First Lady Michelle Obama is joined by local school children for the third annual White House kitchen garden and a taste of the vegetables they picked.

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

9:30 AM: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing

11:00 AM: The President holds a news conference WhiteHouse.gov/live

1:00 PM: The Vice President presides over the military retirement ceremony for U.S. Navy Captain Mark Kelly

1:45 PM: The President honors the 2011 NCAA Champion Texas A&M University Women’s basketball team WhiteHouse.gov/live

2:00 PM: The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of State Clinton

WhiteHouse.gov/live  Indicates events that will be live streamed on WhiteHouse.gov/Live

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