With the advent of Flickr, images have proven to be a powerful way to communicate on the Web—even more effective than words.

Flickr is a massive central repository of images from anyone of anything. By adopting popular interaction concepts such as tagging, feedback and profiles, Flickr has sparked the masses to share, invigorate, and inspire.

There are many different ways of handling a massive quantity of images. Flickr, e-commerce sites, and photo blogs all take different approaches. Some organize images in separate folders, while others name their images according to their meaning. Some don’t concern themselves with image organization at all. The smartest use a database.
Flickr is one of the first major applications to harness the power of a relational database in direct combination with images.

The relational database provides immediate information about the images—dimensions, descriptions and alternative textual representations.

By using a database to organize and manage such information, you create “virtual classifications,” or “virtual folders,” which allow you to interact with your images like never before.

In particular, the types of images handled on Flickr (as well as images on e-commerce sites or photo blogs), are images that represent a concept or idea, and act as a visual aid to the words associated with them.

After all, we can only describe something to a point. Nothing speaks louder than an image.

Behind the Scenes
As impressive as images are to behold, nothing is more detailed and concise than the methods used to manage and maintain those images.

There are many different ways of handling a massive quantity of images. Flickr, e-commerce sites, and photo blogs all take different approaches. Some organize images in separate folders, while others name their images according to their meaning. Some don’t concern themselves with image organization at all. The smartest use a database.

The relational database allows you to store a large amount of metadata (information associated with individual images, such as width, height, alt text and title text) directly in database tables. You can then extract that information (through queries), to form image elements on your Web page.

Information is More Important than Location
Although the actual image files are stored in a single directory, not the database, the metadata relies heavily on the efficiency of database organization.

It’s key to understand that metadata for each image is more important than storage location (directory), because the image files hold no meaning.

The challenge is finding a simple and effective way to relate the images in FTP folders, with the associated image information in the database.

Database Table Structure
The structure for the database tables can vary, but should at least include the following fields:

• Date submitted
• Extension
• Width
• Height
• Alt text
• Title text
• Long description

Each of these fields should be organized appropriately among two separate tables:
CREATE TABLE image_index (
`id` int(10) unsigned not null auto_increment,
PRIMARY KEY(id),
`date` date not null,
`time` time not null,
`extension` varchar(8) not null
);
CREATE TABLE image_details (
`id` int(10) unsigned not null auto_increment,
PRIMARY KEY(id),
`image_id` int(10) unsigned not null,
`width` smallint(4) not null,
`height` smallint(4) not null,
`alt_text` varchar(100) not null,
`title_text` varchar(100) not null,
`description` text null
);

The SQL code above will create the two necessary tables to hold the image information
The image_details table includes the bulk of the image information. The width, height, alt text, title text and description are important informational attributes of each image. By relating the two tables with the id fields, we can combine both tables into one.

Naming the Image Files
Image names should not reflect meaning, appearance, or function. Rather, each name should be a unique set of numbers (or letters), which relate to the associated information in the database. For example, take a look at this sample URL for an image file in Flickr:

http://www.Flickr.com/photos/132375_0ca82ae31e.jpg

The name of the image is a unique mix of numbers and letters and is meaningful to the database. For our example, we should probably use the id field in the image_index table, as the name for each image. This will guarantee uniqueness, no matter how many images we have.

Virtual Classification
If you use an image management application like iPhoto, you’re probably aching for some classification.
With the right queries, you can generate any type of summary or classification you’d like. For example, let’s say we want to view or display all images that share a similar title text. This will help us gather images that are part of the same classification:

SELECT
image_index.id
image_index.extension,
image_details.image_id,
image_details.width,
image_details.height,
image_details.alt_text,
image_details.title_text
FROM
image_index,
image_details
WHERE
image_index.id = image_details.image_id
AND
image_details.title_text LIKE '<span>8×10 Glass Crescent</span>'

This query will pull all the images that have title similar to 8×10 Glass Crescent.

This is our virtual classification (virtual directories) in action.

Instead of using actual directories, you can organize your images by asking the database meaningful questions that return image information that matches certain criteria.

Other Unique Identifiers
Although the id field in the image_index table is unique, there are other approaches to creating a unique set of numbers or letters for your image names. For example, you could use the date and time fields:

20050315_090834.jpg

Since no more than one image can be inserted at a particular second, your image names will all contain a unique set of numbers.

Earlier, I stated that the image names should not reflect their meaning, appearance or function. However, the date and time stamp does mean something, doesn’t it? It’s OK for your image names to hold some meaning, just as long as they are entirely unique.

Conclusion
The most important things to remember are that the location of images is irrelevant, and the names of the images must be unique and correspond to unique information in the database. The summary and classification, through queries, makes our “virtual directory” come to life.

This technique is just one of dozens of methods for organizing images with a database. The method you choose should depend on the number of images you need to work with and the goals of your project. I believe this method is the most versatile and well-organized.

TOP ^

“If you build it, they will come” might be the line from Field of Dreams but the same theory doesn’t apply to Web sites. What’s the good of building a great-looking Web site that no one knows about, or can find? Unfortunately, that is the reality of building Web sites entirely in Flash.

It’s not just Web sites that are built entirely in Flash that have a problem. Many Web sites contain an enormous amount of content that can only be seen with the human eye. Think about all the PDF, sound and other rich media files out there. Can this content be indexed by search engines? The answer is yes and no.

What’s the good of building a great-looking Web site that no one knows about, or can find?
Why should you care about search engines? Since the launch of Yahoo (merely a directory of sites) many years ago, and the very first search engines (WebCrawler, Infoseek, Altavista and many more), people have used them to hunt down specific Web sites by searching for relevant content. If your content isn’t optimized for search engines, then it is almost impossible for people to find your site. And without this traffic, all your work in building that site is wasted.

Flash
So what can you do? First, don’t build a site entirely in Flash. I remember a conference keynote, many years ago, by a Macromedia VP. I guess he was tired of being bashed for misuses of Flash and started his presentation with the “Top 10 Reasons Not to Use Flash.” (Of course, the second part of the presentation was on the benefits of using Flash.)

The Problem
While Flash may be a favorite design tool for graphic designers—because of its pinpoint accuracy of design, the ease of animation and its cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility (debatable)—it is merely treated as a graphic by search engines. Search engines read text and ignore graphics. The other problem is not just that the content of a Flash page will be ignored, but that links contained in the Flash animation will also be ignored, and the indexing of the site will stop at the first page.

The mistake of building entire sites in Flash is not just an amateur’s mistake—many leading Web designers, who are paid copious amounts of money, do the same thing. Sometimes the use of Flash is the only way to achieve a specific function (e.g. Web-based games), so you need Flash for that feature—but do you need it for the whole site?

According to Gregory Markel of Infuse Creative, one needs only to look at the movie studio that released the “I, Robot” Web site (in preparation for the movie launch in the summer of 2004) to see the problem with using only Flash. Markel, a Flash enthusiast, pointed out that this site, built entirely in Flash, could not be found in any of the leading search engines (at the time this column was written). While the movie studio may have deep pockets to market the site—and the movie should generate enough loyal fans who’ll link to the site, eventually, thus getting it listed appropriately in the search engines—don’t you think it would have been better if those wanting to find the movie Web site could simply type in the name of the movie in their favorite search engine?

I alluded to one of the benefits of Flash’s cross-browser compatibility. This is only true if the user has the Flash plug-in. While Macromedia and others estimate the penetration rate for Flash may be as high as 98%, it still doesn’t guarantee that everyone has it. If the user is blind or visually impaired, and using a brail reader or Web page voice reader, they see what the search engines see, something that simply says “Flash”.

If you want to see what these people (and the search engines) see, try accessing your site using the old-but-reliable Lynx browser. This original browser dates back to a time when graphics and Flash were not yet part of the Web. Look at your site, do you see content? Can you navigate your site? Ah, the problem of Flash-only sites.

The Solution
First, for the benefit of the search engines, if you’re going to build your entire site in Flash, be sure to add effective title and description meta tags.

Second, when it comes to links, make sure there are some standard links (<a href>) on the page. This way, the search engines will be able to find more than one page on the site.

Finally, where possible, remove text content that doesn’t need to be in Flash and put it into good old HTML. If you want the pinpoint accuracy of Flash, consider using XHTML and CSS. This method works on all modern browsers (IE 5+, Netscape 6+, Mozilla, Opera etc.)

PDF Content
Just about everyone should be familiar with Adobe’s PDF (Portable Document Format). This is a great way to ensure your content always looks the same and prints properly. The problem with HTML is that it was invented for viewing with a browser, not for printing. PDF files can be viewed in most browsers (plug-in required) and the content prints perfectly. PDF also provides an excellent way to publish large documents (e.g. white papers) originally prepared using a word processor.

Other benefits of PDF include font preservation and the fact that it can contain graphics at a much higher resolution than the standard JPG and GIF used on the Web. This is vital for technical specifications and other technical material.

The Problem
While most leading search engines can now read and index the content of a PDF, they have certain restrictions and may only index the first N hundred or thousand characters. Further, the file size of a PDF document frequently exceeds 100K and may take a long time to download.

The Solution
First, make sure your PDF contains text. There is no point in worrying about indexing the content if there are no words.

Second, just like optimizing any Web page, make sure your PDF contains your keywords and phrases. Use the keywords prominently (table of contents, page titles, etc.). If you think the words are important, so will the search engines.

Third, if you have a very large PDF, consider breaking it up into several documents. This will ensure that the maximum amount of content gets included in the search engine’s index. You can also try creating an HTML-formatted abstract of the PDF and linking it to the PDF.

Another way to reduce the size of your PDF is to limit the number of different typefaces. Beyond making the file smaller, this also makes good design sense.

Finally, PDF can be a great lead generator. If you have a very large PDF, simply offer the first section as a free download and then require users to register (create a lead) for the rest of the document. By following this last step, you’ve now turned a potential problem into an opportunity for a measurable Web transaction.

Audio and Rich Media Files
Everyone loves all the MP3s out there on the Web. What about Real Audio or Real Video files and other rich media files? Do you have them on your Web site? Is it possible someone might be searching for them? If you thought you couldn’t search for them as content through search engines, think again.

For over a year, I’ve been using Singfish.com to locate various rich media files. If you haven’t heard of Singfish don’t worry about it, they’ll soon be serving you search results from various search engines. Other search engines, like Alltheweb.com, have also been indexing rich media files for the past several years.

The Problem
The only real problem with rich media files like Flash is that there is no simple text for search engines to index. A second problem is that the producers of this content don’t know that rich media files can be indexed and don’t prepare their files properly.

The Solution
When creating a rich media file, be sure to complete all metadata (your software will prompt you for this) with effective and well-structured content. According to Karen How (General Manager, Singingfish, AOL), missing or poorly-structured metadata is the biggest reason content gets ignored by Singingfish.

Common metadata fields, which should always be used, are:

Title
Author
Copyright
Description

So what does bad metadata vs. good metadata look like?

Beyond completing the metadata information, be sure that the HTML page that links to it also:

has accurate anchor text (on the link to the file)
can be spidered by the search engines
has descriptive page titles
When linking your rich media file to your Web page, use:

<embed ... title="A visual guide ..."></embed>

or:

<object ... title="A visual guide ...">A visual guide ...</object>

Finally, name your files appropriately. Search engines do value file names so give them names like “widgets-html-editing.mov” and try to stay away from names like “wig1234.mov” which hold no meaning.

Since search engines—for now and the foreseeable future—will continue to prefer plain text for indexing, you should follow these guidelines to ensure that your content is spidered by the search engines, and, as a result, will enjoy high rankings in search results. By anticipating the problems and implementing these solutions, you can make your Web site more search engine-friendly and start attracting an audience you might otherwise have never found.

TOP ^

• Cut down on calls asking for information
• Get new members from the Internet
• Showcase the personal trainers working at the gym

User Needs

• Check out the gym online
• Get basic information like operating hours and policies

Goals

Get new members from the Internet
How? Make the site easy to find. When users reach the site, make sure they have clear information on how this gym works, how they can come in for a free fitness test and sign up with a personal trainer.

Cut down on calls for information
How? Make sure that the most requested information (hours of operation, directions, etc.) is easy to find (on the home page).

Photography magazine — informational and e-commerce
A chain of photography supply stores owns this magazine, which acts as advertisement for the stores. The magazine had a Web site, but the implementation was haphazard. The issues weren’t put up when the magazine went out and the look of the Web site was nothing like the magazine.

Business Needs

• Sell more photography supplies
• Reach new potential subscribers
• Sell advertising on the Web site
• Have a site that reflects the magazine

User Needs

• Get information about photography
• Get back issues of the magazine
• Contact magazine staff
• Get links to equipment listed in the magazine

Goals

Put up the Web version on-time each month, create a layout and graphic design that reflects the print magazine and the needs of a Web site and stick to it

Make the site easy to find for people looking for photography supplies
How? Optimize the site for search engines

Guide more people over to the photography supply store
How? Print URLs of equipment described in articles.

Put back issues up
How? Make sure that the back issues are searchable and consider how to organize them so that both readers of the magazine and people just coming in from a search engine can find things.

TOP ^

Album sales in the US continued to struggle last week, dipping below 10 million units. The weekly tally of about 9.6 million units is a near-low for 2005, and represents a significant drop of 11 percent over same-week figures last year. Overall, cumulative 2005 sales are dragging behind comparable 2004 tallies by over 8 percent, part of a pronounced slide. Meanwhile, a greatest hits album from Hilary Duff led the rankings with over 101,043 units, which follows a debut week performance of 207,577 discs. Other heavy-sellers included Mariah Carey, Jim Jones, Black Eyed Peas, and Brad Paisley.

The story of the last few years has been a continued CD sales slide, created in part by heavy file-sharing levels. But despite the drops, CDs still account for a vast majority of total revenues, while digital revenues are growing but modest. While white earbuds may be the norm in metropolitan areas like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the phenomenon is less prevalent in many other regions of the country. That makes it hard for the industry to embrace digital models that could encourage further CD cannibalization, despite the growing and inevitable transition towards digital formats.

TOP ^