Location-Based SM Examples in the Real World ... Whenever I speak about social media I usually field a few questions related to the location-based social media services. These include Foursquare, SCVNGR, Gowalla, Brightkite, Loopt, and now Facebook Places. The questions revolve around who is using them and why. While it's possible to see and explain the potential in these services, sometimes tangible examples are needed, and usually more than just explaining how awesome drink specials can be once you're the "mayor" of a venue. Here are a few...
Google Instant and SEO/SEM ... There's quite the potential for change that this seemingly simple user interface change could have, both on user behavior and money spent on SEM/SEO. The next few weeks may prove to be very interesting.
UX Challenges in Touch Interfaces ... As mobile devices have been taking over the place of the mobile or home computer for basic apps and web access, developers are struggling with letting go of the mouse as the primary interface device.
The Future of Check-ins ...
Last week Mashable featured a post asking if location-based services are all just hype. Continuing the geolocation theme Mashable has a new post, What the Future Holds for the Checkin, by a guest blogger/columnist. I have a reservations about how well this article delves into future opportunities, so I just toss a few out here.
Mapping Location-Based Social Media ... If you have been paying any attention to the social media space for the last few years, then you've watched the rise in location-based social media. Part of the appeal of these tools is seeing where you have been, almost like a travelogue for a person, as well as tracking others (friends or family). It has taken some time, but the rest of the web is finally catching up.
Define "Cognitive Disability" ... With WCAG guidelines, and by extension federal guidelines, referencing "cognitive disability" as one form of disability which developers need to support, you'd be hard-pressed to find a definition of the term anywhere in those guidelines.
Mobile Internet Use Continues Climb ... As mobile devices are more common, and browsing the web on them has gotten even easier, we can expect to see them continue to gain ground on traditional computers for casual web surfing.
Accessible Video and Transcripts ... With HTML5 on the horizon, it is becoming far easier to embed video on a web page than it has been. However, you also need to bear in mind that not only are video (and audio) transcripts good practice, they are required by law for many organizations.
The Latest on HTML5 ... Many of us have been following the ongoing progress of HTML5 for some time now, alternately curious and confused by the nascent specification. How'd we get here and what do we, as web developers, do?
W3C: Contacting Organizations about Inaccessible Websites ... The W3C WAI has just published a document, "Contacting Organizations about Inaccessible Websites," that helps walk users through the steps necessary to contact someone about the accessibility issues you find on a site, along with tips and sample emails.
Lots of Twitter Followers Guarantees... Nothing ... What does it mean to have a huge number of Twitter followers? What does it do for you? The answer to both is: Nothing.
New Tool for Determining Browser Viewport Size ... Nine years ago I had become fed up with trying to explain that screen resolution, browser chrome, and browser size combine to create some unique viewport sizes. Today Google has gotten a little closer to getting the point with its Browser Size tool.
More News in the URL Shortener Market ... Back in October I commented how the list of URL shorteners has gotten even shorter. As bit.ly rose to the top thanks to Twitter, Tr.im and Cli.gs called it quits. Things have changed a bit since then.
How Many Disabled Users? ... There is an article over at Practical Ecommerce titled Accessibility: How Many Disabled Web Users Are There? It is refreshing to see more traditional sites dealing with accessibility, especially when it can so significantly affect their bottom line.
YouTube Will Automatically Caption Your Video ... Google can use its speech recognition technology to parse the audio track of your videos and create captions automatically. Much like machine translation, the quality of these captions may not be the best, but it can at least provide enough information for a user who could not otherwise understand the video at all to glean some meaning and value.