Posted by: Lena Shaw on: February 9, 2010
Several trends emerged in 2009 that effected how users search the web, these defining moments have acted as a precursor to search innovations that will be seen this year. A previous post recapped several trends seen in 2009 and this post will expand on several enhancements we will most likely see heading into 2010.
The web is no longer a set of blue links, the web has evolved into a living breathing information source and users now demand a deeper search experience, throwing away the archaic way of searching the web. Users expect an all encompassing on-demand search experience, this has lead to developments in real-time search, social search and the aggregation of social media content providers.
User generated content and social networking has changed the DNA of the web, a web that now belongs to the users. As we all know time is scarce; videos, media, and images will add a certain level of convenience, becoming a primary source of gathering information moving forward. LeapFish started this trend in 2008 when it introduced it’s roll-over video functionality and then expanded on that technology by integrating videos and images into the real-time search stream. Users no longer need to click on a link seen tweeted in real time, the video or image will be displayed in your search results.
The iPhone has created a frenzy enabling users to customize their own mobile experience. A different medium but the same concept applies as apps are beginning to cross over into our browsers, users now demand that same degree of customization online. Applications continue to spring up online providing a certain level of convenience when accessing the social media world around us. LeapFish recognized this as trend before it’s fruition as it is already equipping users with a personalized homepage that harnesses the most popular websites and social networking sites online.
The increasing adoption of real time tactics for socially driven search engines means that tools are hoping to bring the power of social networking and social bookmarking to the search scene, this level of integration will power immediate gratification for our information needs. LeapFish has already begun to integrate said functionality and allows users to share as they search, every piece of content found on LeapFish can be shared on popular social sites with one click of a button, adding another layer of convenience.
Lastly, search will see a stronger emphasis on geo locating technology. As users provide recommendations in real time, it will make further sense to see when and where said recommendations are being made. LeapFish has already integrated business reviews into it’s search experience via Yelp however LeapFish will be integrating check-ins and foursquare functionality in the near future.
The world of search will eventually need to provide a deeper integrated search experience as new information sources become relevant online. Right now we continue to see a back- n- forth between real-time search engines, traditional search engines and social search engines. LeapFish believes that all 3 provide a relevant searching experience and will continue to develop the integration of all three methods of searching the web. This is only the beginning and LeapFish will continue to be at the forefront of this evolution.
Posted by: LeapFish Media Team on: February 4, 2010
As LeapFish continues on it’s growth trajectory, we strive to make each experience as pleasurable and memorable as possible. Here at LeapFish we measure our success by user experience and would like to acknowledge those that have made the success and growth of LeapFish possible, our users and our advertisers.
Users and clients continue to send in testimonials, comment on Alexa and comment within social networking sites, please see real LeapFish experiences below:
“What a pleasure it has been to work with Leapfish, a company I recently learned about and then signed up. Every time I have had a question their response was quick and helpful, friendly and filled with ideas to make my marketing work better. Rather than just answer my question, their client services specialist, Paul, asked if I would be interested in hearing some ways to improve my campaigns. Of course I would! And his ideas were great.”
Hazel W., PHD
“I have worked closely with Leapfish in order to maximize my target words. Before Leapfish I was faced with the choice of spending outrageous amounts of money to have my website hopefully visible; and in the forefront of search pages. Leapfish has given me the ability to market my company for an inexpensive amount; and puts my website in a designated place on each and every page my target words are used. One of my favorite attributes of Leapfish is I can see exactly where and what target words are being used. My second favorite attribute is that Leapfish makes searching so easy, as they gather their information from a variety of sources. I feel they want my business to succeed; therefore, Leapfish makes it easy to contact their offices and always are willing to help. Leapfish is user and business friendly.”
Candy L., Motivational Speaker
“My experience with Leapfish has been unbelievable. Since purchasing two key words from Leapfish, our website is getting quite a bit of viewing. Sales are getting much better and the exposure is larger than I ever expected. The website is extremely user friendly and the service is second to none. We are very thankful for the opportunity to work with Leapfish and would suggest your services to anyone. I honestly don’t know what we would do without Cathleen Mann and Leapfish, Thank You for everything you do!”
Chad L., Entrepreneur
“I only used Leapfish a few times basically fell in love with it today. Love the Facebook integration! #Leapfish rocks!”
Gabriel C., Philanthropist
Do you have an experience to share? Please get in touch!
Posted by: LeapFish Media Team on: February 2, 2010
Executive Post by Behzad Behrouzi VP, Technology
Late last year we released a new evolved search experience, LeapFish. The objective behind the project was to make search more personal, increase social engagement, and most importantly improve content relevancy across a variety of data types. This meant returning content that not only provides the most value, but also displays content in an organized fashion allowing users to quickly obtain information requested without feeling overwhelmed.
As we all know the internet is rapidly changing however search has remained stagnant and fails to evolve at the rate we all need it to. The idea of customizing/personalizing web pages has been around for years (far before LeapFish even existed). Unfortunately, very few if any have been successful at it. Take for example Google with their iGoogle product. It allows registered users to select from hundreds of thousands of “Gadgets” that have largely been created (but not maintained) by 3rd party developers. Users can select to add to their iGoogle start page what seems to be an unlimited number of “Gadgets” that load as independent iframed pages. So where’s the problem and how does it fail?
Since the majority of the “Gadgets” are developed by 3rd parties there’s no single source for support, nor does any standard exists with regard to design and layout. In addition, from a technical standpoint iframes are expensive when it comes to web page performance. Since it doesn’t appear like any restrictions exist with regard to the number of “Gadgets” a user can add, a poor un-scalable environment is created that’s slow, heavy, and unstable , ultimately leading to a poor user experience.
With LeapFish we considered performance and organization to be important factors when giving the ability to customize. We internally developed all the customizable homepage “widgets” (LeapFish’s version of Google’s Gadgets) without the use of any iframes. This in turn allowed us to maintain the integrity of the product both at the organizational and performance level. “Widgets” would no longer look grossly different from one another, and support on any issues/bugs is always provided by us. The development of homepage “widgets” is an ongoing project that may one day be opened to 3rd party developers.
Another concept that held great importance was the idea of socializing content. Blogging platforms and news sites seem to have this concept mastered however its use was rarely if ever implemented at the search portal level. We made the conscious choice to make every piece of collateral on both the LeapFish homepage and search results pages “Sociable”. If your search query returns an interesting piece of content, you can share it with a single click to a variety of sites including Twitter and Facebook.
This leaves us to content relevancy. As many of you have experienced, search engines today focus on providing a single “type” of result to search queries. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing do a great job at finding and delivering relevant pieces of content in the form of web results (hence this is their default search type). However suppose a user searches “how to lose weight” on Yahoo.com. According to Yahoo’s algorithm today, Yahoo will return results in the form of type text media. Unfortunately, given the various forms of media that exist today web/text results most likely aren’t going to be the most relevant or the most valuable. Now if we do that same exact search on LeapFish.com we are immediately provided top news regarding the topic of losing weight. LeapFish also provides shopping results that lists books available for sale regarding that topic, and most importantly the results page provides user generated content in the form of Wikihow, Twitter, and Videos. These “other” data types are certainly valuable if not more valuable than results provided by traditional search engines.
In the end, the variety of data found online is a privilege and a tool. Users now expect to obtain the best and most relevant pieces of content from a single click of a button from a single search. Search is far from where it started and still has far to go in its evolution. LeapFish will continue to build off these goals and focuses to maintain scalability and agility as the internet evolves, providing a tool that harnesses the variety of the web as it becomes readily available.
Posted by: Lena Shaw on: January 28, 2010
With rapid growth of information sources, real time content and conversation streams, users struggle to keep track of multiple friends and interests. LeapFish is providing a solution by aggregating multiple widgets from popular websites into a single interface serving as an internet dashboard for social media content, news, tools and social networking applications.
Your search homepage is no longer just a simple search bar staring up at you, waiting for text to be entered. It’s your start page, your home on the web, the place to go when you want to find what’s going on in the world and in your world, online and off. With Leapfish customizable homepages, users can add and organize their experience on the web in just minutes with a dynamic and efficient interface.
LeapFish was carefully designed with your personal search and browsing needs in mind, with Facebook connect you can easily set up a profile in minutes, once registered users can add and organize widgets with the unique drag n’ drop functionality. 
Click on “Customize Homepage” in the upper-right of LeapFish.com to set your homepage layout to match your specific interests. If you prefer celebrity news, select the US Weekly News widget. If you prefer up-to-the-minute tech news, add the Wired News, TechCrunch and Mashable widgets. Sports fanatics even have a home at LeapFish and can track top sports stories with the Yahoo Sports Widget. For the social media fanatics, users can stay connected to their social web with Yelp Search, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter widgets. The Twitter and Facebook applications provide a single interface to interact with friends and followers simultaneously from one page. Both applications allow users to search and follow friends on specific topics and you can easily tweet or update your Facebook status.
To fully customize your LeapFish experience, set up a LeapFish homepage. It’s an easy way to connect your social web and search. There’s no place like LeapFish.com, your new home on the web.