Industry News

Earlier this month, we reported Google began testing mobile friendly icons in the mobile search results, again. They did this back in August as well. But now...

A Google patent application explores how Google may answer factual questions from Web pages rather than more structured sources such as Freebase or Wikipedia. The processes described in the patent are pretty interesting, and they avoid a problem...

I’ve decided that it’s time for something of a change at SEO by the Sea, and so I am introducing Patent Free Fridays to the blog. Patent Free Fridays do not always have to happen on a Friday, but they do have to be patent free, at least if they...

Sophie Shepherd introduces some new deliverables in Rethinking Our Prototypical Process, including this one:

HTML prototypes have the potential to confuse some clients. In addressing feedback, I’ve answered questions like: Are we tied to this layout? (No.) Is this real content? (Ideally.) Is this what our website will look like? (Probably not.) The content outline strips any potentially distracting elements from the prototype: no layout, no typography, no links, no things remotely...

(This is a highly personal post so if that isn’t your thing then you should move on.) 

It’s not 2014 yet but I already know what I learned in 2014. I have Follicular Lymphoma. Here’s my story. Stomach Pain



Last year I began to have some stomach issues. The first time it looked like it might have been food poisoning, which I blamed on Chobani. One minute I was fine and the next I was throwing up and had abdominal pain and bloating for the next 48 hours.

I binge-watched action flicks...

As I reported at Search Engine Land, Google may add mobile UX as a ranking signal in the upcoming months.
Here is the statement Google sent me around my questions on mobile UX and ranking in Google...

Craig Mod discusses single-purpose products in his product design essay There is much to learn from the paper towel:

All of these single-purpose tools or philosophies strive towards the same goal: whittle away the cruft around an idea to reveal its most base components, and in doing so, strengthen what is left.

The single-purpose lecture attendee is, in theory, a better student. The single-purpose-sized paper towel makes us happier, is gentler on the earth. Individual tools in...

I really like Alex Maughan’s post In a word, Human. He discusses the dangerous gap between those who make software, and those who use it:

Successful user experiences happen when producer whims get sidelined, and primary focus is placed on that little bit of common sense shared by the majority of humans using your product or service. It’s when you empathetically put yourself in the most common psychological flow of a human using a piece of technology they know almost nothing about....

Bing has a new way of showing you what’s playing in your local theater, a “carousel” format that lets you browse what’s playing. If you think you’ve seen this before, you have. It’s how Google already does it. The Movie Carousel

A search for something like “movie times” will display movies playing near your location in a band — what’s commonly called a “carousel” — at the top of Bing’s results:



It’s exactly how things have already worked at Google, as you can see for this “movie...