Google’s New SEO Algorithm: ‘Social Engine Optimization’

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 25th, 2012

EDIT: I was listening to an episode of TWiT three days ago and the end result of the controversy is exactly what I outline in the latter part of this post.

As of last week, most of your SEO tactics are rendered obsolescent. Somewhat.

Last year, Google’s top level mandate was “to go social.” And that reflected havily on Google employees with regards to performance so much so that company bonuses were to be directly associated with how Google performed in “social.” So last week, in the week of CES 2012, Google unveiled (secretly) its full blown foray into the new search algorithm making use of your social profile, starting with Google+. Google+ isn’t just a social network then. It does so much more:

- it helps Google see whether the content you post is actually yours and not scraped from somewhere else. How does it know which sites are yours? Well, your G+ profile under “About Me.” See the image on top? It says I contribute to A Bugged Life, NUDI (our SCUBA site), and Geekout (I write there once in a while). I’m not sure if this can be gamed — like I can ask 100 friends to say that they write on my blog to increase SERP, but then again this new tailored search feature will show different results depending on the account you hold. In other words, if you ask an SEO guy to work on your site and he gives you a screenshot of your blog on the first page of Google, that may be true for his or her account, but you may see something completely different. That’s how powerful the implications are for this new method. So be aware.

- it looks at other popular social sites (in this case Twitter and Flickr) and sees whether you own accounts currently signed in to. It links several popular social networks to G+ including Flickr, Twitter, Quora, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo!, and more. I hope it starts linking Tumblr and Pinterest soon. This makes me wonder whether sites like Path and Instagram should have official web versions for showing content (apart from Followgram) so they can get linked and indexed.

- Your “SEO” is only as good as how engaging you are with your content. There you have it — that is still the core ideal of “relevant content” but this time tied to your friends and what they share as well. If you +1 something, it means that you’re going to want more of that in your search results. In the same way, if you spam a friend, he or she can easily un-friend you and that’s it — bye bye social graph. Talk about tailored search.

- This new algorithm allows you to flourish in your preferred social space (as long as you have a Google+ profile HAHA!) whether it be a blog, Twitter, Quora, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. In other words, “blogging” is not the foundation of Web 2.0 (or whatever it’s called nowadays).

In short, for those of you saying that Google+ is useless and boring compared to Facebook, think again. Your site’s SEO will be determined by how much time you’ve invested in G+, the type of friends that you have, and what they share. Welcome to the new search. Now stop selling links.

Here you go –> CONNECT YOUR ACCOUNTS NOW.

That is how I understand it. I’d love to see how social search unfolds in the next few weeks and months. Comments, reactions most welcome.

Student makes 3D version of Arkham Horror. Help her beta test it!

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 25th, 2012

Imagine that, to complete your Bachelor’s degree you design a 3D version of one of the best board games ever made: Arkham Horror.

I’ve been so wanting to get into it, but the sheer number of expansions, time to invest coupled with finding people to actually play with hinders me from this awesome experience. If you ever drop by Hobbes & Landes or Neutral Grounds, you’ll see rows and rows of Arkham Horror core sets and expansions. I really did want it but chickened out for reasons mentioned above and instead got Betrayal at House on a Hill which doesn’t live up to par, but at least doesn’t have a steep learning curve.

Well, anyway.

I emailed this amazing lady (her name is Andi) to ask if I can participate as a beta test and she sent me the game! in exchange for feedback. The game is about 80% polished (as the YouTube vid states) and I’m just so amazed at what she was able to do.

For those asking, this isn’t an official port of the game by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). It’s by a student. She plans to present this project to them and get an official endorsement. If you’re wondering whether this holds as copyright infringement, well .. it doesn’t. Because this is a school project, it falls under Fair Use Policy in Europe. Wow. Just wow.

If you love Arkham Horror but hate the setup process, I suggest you send her an email. She’s accepting beta testers till the 5th of February 2012.

This is the reason why we should demand more from Hollywood

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 24th, 2012

‘Archetype’ is a labor of love directed by Aaron Sim. It was created with a budget of USD $0.00. Maybe he’s exaggerating, but what this technology revolution did for social media, it’s doing its magic to the film industry.

No wonder there is a lot of worry in Hollywood. And I’m not referring to the actual cost to produce things nowadays. It’s merely the fact that Hollywood — and other big businesses have been built under a pretense of an enduring industrial age.

They never saw this revolution coming. And it’s the same reason why we should demand more from Hollywood. Because they need to change too.

Take your iPhone 4s underwater (up to 300 meters!!!) with Patima

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 19th, 2012

As a guys who likes to take photos underwater, I tend to keep my choice of camera brands within the confines of the “1-Way Test” … which simply begs the question “Can I take it underwater?” So I’m more inclined to invest in photography equipment which you can wet. The geeky appeal of it all is trying to figure out how to keep electronics from staying dry at 100 ft below the surface and the concept is challenging. Well, we did it for an iPod, so what’s stopping us from taking the iPhone down?!

So when I got an iPhone 4s from SMART, I really had no intention to take it down. Well, I knew it could be technically done with a special consumer-rated case from Lifeproof (Howard did a review on it on Technoodling recently) and Gabe Mercado did give me a demonstration at 5ft deep in salt water.

But the question is, can you take the iPhone 4s down to recreational SCUBA depths of 60-120ft? Well, Patima’s new casing exclusively for the iPhone 4s allows you to do so. Not just into recreational depths … but up to 300 meters folks.

Exclusive for camera or video functions of the iPhone 4S
- Rated to 300meters, anti-moisture and anti-dust purposes
- Simple operation with 4 buttons
- Compact Size and light weight
- Material – CNC milled Aluminium Acetal, Stainless Steel
- Finishing – Anodized after Barrel, Sanding and coating
- Color – Silver
- Size: 185 x 70 x 40mm
- Weight – 400g on land
- Available controls: Rec Button, STOP button, Program Confirm Button, Camera/Camcorder mode Button and Power Button

PRICE: PHP 15,000.00 via Splash UW Imaging located at the 2nd Floor Greenhills Shopping Mall (across Krispy Kreme)

OK looking at the shots, I’m really wondering how exactly will you unlock the iPhone with the three buttons? The three buttons + home is obviously used for the camera, gallery and photo / video switch (again not sure how you’re going to switch). I’ll probably get an explanation how it works and hopefully a run-through. I don’t see any slots for strobes or video lights so you pretty much have to do a DIY config to get this thing working 100%. Nonetheless, I don’t think Patima designed this to be your primary underwater camera, but still. It delivers.

This Patima case doesn’t seem to be compatible with other iPhone models.

Jollibee brings NFC technology to their stores with the ‘happyplus’ Card

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 17th, 2012

I laud Jollibee for being the first retailer pushing for fast adoption of NFC technology in the Philippines.

Geeky Explanation: (warning, nosebleed)
NFC stands for “Near Field Communication” and is a prevalent piece of technology similar to Bluetooth or QR codes and is based on the current RFID technology. The difference is that the “near field” in NFC means that as soon as you point your device (in this case a card) to the kiosk sensor within 4 centimeters, the “tag” is recorded. The not-so-recent Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade enables NFC for several of their models like the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Non-Geeky Explanation:
Your mobile phone (or any device with NFC) is now a debit card.

The HappyPlus Card seems to be Jollibee’s way to condition the minds of Filipinos to adopt NFC as a part of their daily lives. This is a bridge. It is no secret that the final product will be to use NFC-enabled smartphones (many Android devices already have it built in but aren’t being used by Pinoys) but the cards are a good way of pushing the market to familiarize with this tech. Essentially, it’s something Filipinos have been doing for a while, claiming rewards points with their load, using Passa Load services, etc. Jollibee’s move makes sense as they already have staked their claim in a mobile app for smartphones (aka Netphone).

The service will be available starting January 23 2012. The card itself will cost PHP 100.00 and will enable rewards points to accumulate. You can use the points to purchase from Jollibee, Chowking, Red Ribbon, Greenwich and soon, Mang Inasal. In essence, NFC eventually replaces the CBTL Swirl Cards and SM Advantage cards we have come to love.

Current Phones that support NFC:

Android
Nexus S
Google Nexus S 4G
Samsung Galaxy S II (not all versions)
Samsung Galaxy Note (not all versions)
Galaxy Nexus

Meego
Nokia N9

BlackBerry
Blackberry Bold 9790
BlackBerry Bold 9990/9930
BlackBerry Torch 9810/9860
Blackberry Curve 9350/9360/9370

The iPhone does not officially support NFC technology.

2012 is the year NFC will be introduced and will grow. Smart has started pushing it as well for bazaar entrances. You can use your smartphone (w/ NFC) to enter bazaars. Who knows what’s next? Concert tickets? MRT tickets? Endless!

Wait a minute, this isn’t a survival kit!

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 16th, 2012

Someone dropped off a “special package” in front of my doorstep a few days ago. And I found the insides rather intriguing because the components resembled stuff you usually find in a board game. And, well … you know naman how I love board games (!!!) It’s definitely something for their “end of the world” theme .. because as the Mayans predicted, we call it quits this 2012.

So anyway, whatever. Here it is.. AXE END OF THE WORLD SURVIVAL KIT. Mmmkay. Cool. Let us proceed.
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Download the “It’s More Fun In the Philippines” Android App

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 15th, 2012

Developed by Lester Bambico, Android users can now create their own “It’s More Fun In the Philippines” meme with this easy to use Android app. It’s free!

[DOWNLOAD HERE] or do a search for “It’s more fun in the Philippines” on the Android marketplace.

More details and screenshots after the jump.
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If I were to choose ONE product to take home from CES it would be the Samsung Smart Window

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 14th, 2012

Samsung’s Smart Window marries the utility of a window and their Internet-capable Smart TV. I had been chatting with some folks from Samsung Philippines and they hinted about something really exciting for 2012, apart from more apps and video streaming to support their line of Smart TV’s. Looks like this is an upgrade. Touch screen too (though I don’t know how they’re going to solve smudging). The best piece of news is that this isn’t a prototype and it will ship this year. The Smart Window is one-way which means that the people behind won’t be able to see what you’re watching.

Do you want it? I sure as hell would. Because it brings us closer to the concept of a truly digital home without having to look geeky.

Components Breakdown: Battleship Galaxies

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 10th, 2012

Genre: Simulator
Players: 2 or 4 players co-op
Play Time: 45 minutes – 1 hour
Learning Curve: Medium

OK geeks, a copy of Battleship Galaxies was gifted to me by Chie over the holidays (OMG it’s exactly what I wanted!) and I’m here to do a series of posts on this amazing board game that draws nostalgia from the original Battleship game by Hasbro. With the new Battleship movie coming to theaters pretty soon, I found it timely to showcase this 2011 release of the next-generation game that uses grids and pegs … in outer space!
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Smart Online Store: iPhone4s delivered to your home

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 10th, 2012

SMART Communications recently launched their online store. The deal here is that you can order your iPhone4s (+ other devices) without having to wait in line. In the case of the iPhone, you can choose your color and capacity then have it delivered to your place. This applies to prepaid purchases. Free delivery until June 30 2012.

How to make your own “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” Meme

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 7th, 2012

Hot Air Balloon Festival, Clark Pampanga (Every February of the year)

UPDATE V: Lester Bambico has programmed and uploaded an “It’s More Fun” app into the Android Marketplace. More details here (with screenshots!)

UPDATE IV: Looks like some of my work is featured in SPOT.PH. Three of them. Including the tutorial.

UPDATE III: Someone made a DOT Philippines now has an official “More Fun” maker over the weekend. You can visit the site at http://www.morefunmaker.com/. It allows you to upload a photo, add a caption and choose whether to place it on top or at the bottom of the image. If you’re not comfortable using Photoshop or any other photo editing tool, this is the easiest way to get your “More Fun” meme out!

UPDATE II: The amazing Arnold Gamboa (@arnoldgamboa on Twitter) used his coding skills to build a living Twitter wall where you can view the crowd-made “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” photos. Nice one! The site is: http://www.itsmorefuninthephilippinespics.com/. To be included here, all you need to do is Tweet your photo + include the #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines hashtag. The site grabs photos every 5 minutes.

UPDATE: Added an extra step to focus on SEO for image search and added more examples below. Enjoy!

It’s More Fun in the Philippines. You know the new DOT online campaign works because it really gets netizens involved. Most are using the hashtag (#ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines) but others are getting their creative juices flowing and making their own DOT-inspired images based on their personal experiences around the 7,000++ islands.

Now I’m pretty sure BBDO Guerrero will provide an easy to use web tool where anyone can upload photos and add text from the new It’s More Fun in the Philippines site. But in the meantime, here’s one way you can create your own “Philipp-FUN” memes.

Are you ready? Let’s go!
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