Tuesday, November 04, 2008

is your website ready for the 5 seconds attention span challenge


After decades of TV, Radio, Magazines and now Internet, we find ourselves in a society overwhelmed by information begging for attention. As a result of that we have a world with an attention span now shorter than a goldfish’s. How is the media and specially the web facing that? And how can we take advantage on way the human mind works?

read the wonderful post by Mauricio Duque at snap2objects

Thanks!Mao

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Optimizing AdSense using Feng-GUI heatmap

Alex Barbadosa, from http://www.lessnau.com the AdSense blog, twits that
I changed the position of www.riojob.com.br Adsense on my CRT and jumped from 0.5% to 3.50%. Establish in-www.feng gui.com (Heat Map) evolving ...


optimize your AdSense location and style using Feng-GUI heatmap.

API documentation preview

We recently posted a preliminary and small version of documentation for Feng-GUI Services API.
We are very eager to receive feedback from members of the Beta community as they access this documentation over the next several weeks so we can use that feedback to improve our first API version to be released in October.

The API documentation can be found at
http://service.feng-gui.com/api.htm

The API is implemented as XML over HTTP (XML-RPC).
Send an XML Request and receives an XML response.
The XML-RPC Server Endpoint URL is:
http://service.feng-gui.com/xmlrpc/api.ashx
The Server Endpoint also contains automatic documentation of the API.

The guest credentials are:
username:guest
password:guest

Right now, the service API methods are partially-functional and your images appears at Feng-GUI.com MRU list.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Feng-GUI Web API services

Coming Soon ...
Over the last months we are working on a new platform that will enable you to use Feng-GUI attention and attraction technologies through web services.

Members of the Private Beta group will have access to the specifications draft of the API and benefit the option to ask for changes and modifications before we finish the implementation.

Feng-GUI open web Application Programming Interface (API for short) means that anyone (well, right now, only members of the Beta program) can write their own program to integrate Feng-GUI technologies and services in new and different ways. For example, you could automate usability testing, Optimize your Ad placement , create a Photoshop plugin, etc'.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Percentage of Web Page Text Read

useit.com

on How Little Do Users Read?
by Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, May 6, 2008:
On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.


read the whole article at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Brain Scanner Can Tell What You're Looking At

Scientists have developed a computer model that predicts the brain patterns elicited by looking at different images -- a possible first step on the path to mind reading.


Image: University of California at Berkeley
read more at http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/03/mri_vision

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Sergey Brin at GarageGeeks

The GarageGeeks and Yossi Vardi invite you to a special garage party event: "GarageGeeks hosting Google"
Sergey Brin, Co-founder and President of Technology at Google,

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And
Meir Brand / Country Director, Israel
Yoelle Maarek / Director of Haifa R&D Center
Yossi Matias / Director of Tel-Aviv R&D Center
Riki Drori / Country Marketing Manager, Israel

The event will take place on Thursday May 15th, 21:30, Garage HQ (Hapeled 40, Holon).

googlebrin.jpg


Reflections




 


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Thursday, May 15, 2008

DisrupTV convention



Feng-GUI for Videos will be demonstrate at DisrupTV convention (23 May). We will show how to predict people's attention in videos, commercials, and games.

Disrupt.TV is an un-conference intents to bring together Israeli and global Technology, content and creative talents that are taking part in creating the future of TV and media for sharing knowledge, exploring the opportunities and to spark new ideas about how TV and Video will change us and we will change TV.
It is aimed for people who are in the conjunction of Media, Content, Creative and Technology.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Contextual vs Behavior Targeting


An Eye Tracking study designed and analyzed by Next Century Media was carried out by PreTesting and TACODA.
That study shows that Behavioral Targeting averages 17% more Ad Looks than Contextual Targeting, and this average increases to 54% more Ad Looks after the first exposure.
In other words, as frequency builds, the same ad increasingly gets filtered out in the Contextual environment, but apparently as a result of surprise, the level of Ad Looking stays up in Behavioral.




The first Eye Tracking study ever conducted comparing Behavioral Targeting to Contextual Targeting finds that, on average, the same ads receive +17% more Looks when seen in unrelated-content sites, than when seen in sites specializing in the sale of those types of products.

After the first exposure, this +17% advantage for Behavioral over Contextual Targeting increases dramatically to +54%.

The fact that Behavioral Targeting, unlike Contextual Targeting, tends to build with frequency, suggests that there is a Surprise effect and that it does not wear out, and because of this repeat Surprise effect, the ad is given more chances to engage the user.


you can view the full report at
http://www.tacoda.com/success/research.php

TACODA conducted primary research to identify the demographics and behaviors of online 'heavy clickers.'
Who are the "Natural Born Clickers" and what is "the Invisible Hand" ?




The invisible hand is a metaphor coined by the economist Adam Smith to illustrate how those who follow their individual self-interests inadvertently stimulate the economy and assist society as a whole. There has been an invisible hand (or set of hands) that through self-interest have guided the development of online advertising, stimulated it through their innate curiosity and sometimes impulsive natures. This is the tale of a group of people who have had a profound impact on our lives as media planners and buyers. We've never known who they are or where they come from. We just knew that they were there, invisible, hiding within the numbers that make up our campaign report


you can view the video presentation and download the report at
http://www.tacoda.com/success/research.php

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

KinnerNet 2008 personal contributions

By Rafael Mizrahi, Feng-GUI

KinnerNet Un-Convention is always a blast. and this year it was an explosion of geeks, technologies, art, food, humor … you name it.

I will not be able to describe (like last KinnerNet 2007 review I did with the blog WMMNA) in one small post, everything that happened this year. So, please accept my apologies, while I am only sharing my own contribution to this art-tech frenzy.

As an artificial vision explorer at Feng-GUI and a GarageGeeks member, I was invited to KinnerNet2008, and here is my contribution.

WiiMan SuperHero

http://wiimansuperhero.blogspot.com/


WiiMan and DR. Yossi Vardi

WiiMan the Super Hero is a full action figure costume of a super hero that functions as a Nintendo Wii remote.
Having trouble playing Wii? WiiMan to the rescue.
This project combines Gaming, Technology and Useless Activity to the extreme.

The GarageGeeks along with Yael Hertzog built this custom that acts as a fully functional Nintendo WiiMote remote with buttons, Bluetooth, accelerometers, and an IR cam.

Gadgethon

Under the category of Gadget I bought, I showed:

Wearable social bookmarking accessories made by Limor Fried, AKA Lady Ada,

Digg Button , MiniPOV

Under the category of Gadget I made myself, I showed:

* React-a-Baby - A collaborative electronic music instrument for babies


* iLed - Wearable party led lights glasses which flickers between 8-16 Hz and amplitude is based on a microphone input. Hallucinogen state of mind, not included.


KinnerNet Business Card

Hagai Cohen requested my programming skills creating a souvenir for KinnerNet 2008 participants. A business card with a stretched font that is readable only when you tilt the card.


Dove Shit Dove

The garagegeeks built a huge Dove that sense if someone is underneath it and crap a small spit of Dove soap on him. I helped with the sound effects.


MAKE /Face workshop

A workshop conducted by Michael Shiloh (MakingThings, MAKE magazine and OpenMoko) and Hanoch Piven (www.pivenworld.com) I built this Fakir’s hours made out of computer parts.


Skateboard Session

Oren Zuckerman from IDC Herzelia and MIT's Media Lab organized a spontaneous Skateboard session.

It turned into an old dogs session, of myself, Nir Ofir (BlogTV), Meir Brand (Google Israel GM), Ohad PressMan (3D3R) and Gary Shainberg (British Telecom CTO) on the SegWay



Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Feng-GUI at CIL2008


Feng-GUI will be presented at CIL2008 the 23rd annual Computers in Libraries — the most comprehensive North American conference and exhibition on all aspects of library & information delivery technology.
Although the tools and technology available to libraries & information services have changed over the years, the excellent quality and range of both topics and speakers at Computers in Libraries 2008 remain the same.

http://www.infotoday.com/cil2008/

Feng-GUI and a list of web tools including Flickr Photo badge and Photoshop Express will be presented by Speakers: Darlene Fichter & Frank Cervone
In Session B104 – Widgets, Tools, & Doodads for Library Webmasters
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM



Here is the full list of web tools
http://eclecticlibrarian.net/blog/2008/04/cil-2008-widgets-tools-doodads-for-library-webmasters/

Thanks to Frank Cervone, Darlene Fichter, Anna Creech for the information, and to Steve Campion for the photo.

here is the presentation

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Core77 Attack


We are under attack, Thanks to Core77 the Design blog:)

Thank you Arnold Van Bezooyen for sharing Feng-GUI with your readers.

view the post and comments at Core77

Friday, March 14, 2008

The Best Tools for Visualization


ReadWriteWeb published a list of "Best Tools for Visualization"
great applications. sweet animations
and.. ohh.. BTW.. Feng-GUI is there too :)
Thank you Sarah Perez!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

35-50 people for valid eye tracking


Mihkel Jäätma, an Objective Digital partner from Realeyes.it, has created this compelling example that shows you need 35-50 people to draw valid conclusions from eye tracking. However, he holds that useful information can be gained from fewer participants.

Thanks to James Breeze for the information.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Feng-GUI Dashboard Revealed

here is a sneak preview of the next version of Feng-GUI



stay tuned ...

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ReadWriteWeb attack


We are under attack, Thanks to ReadWriteWeb :)


"But Feng-GUI doesn’t use real eye tracking, which would require that humans look at each object being measured and would hardly scale very well. Instead, the site uses an algorithm that attempts to guess what a real human would be most likely to look at."


read the full story at ReadWriteWeb
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/feng-gui_visual_attention_heatmaps.php

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

DLD 2008 - Digital gets Physical and Social

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Our made man, Ohad Eder Pressman reached to Speaker level at DLD* 2008, lecturing about connecting the Physical and Digital worlds.

Digital gets Physical session include Kati London, Julian Bleecker (NearFuture), Neri Oxman, Ohad Eder-Pressman and hosted by Kevin Slavin

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IL at DE

DLD conference is a blast of sharing ideas, thoughts and vision.
It was a great opportunity to meet GarageGeeks friends from all over the world:

JB Jean-Baptiste Labrune who creates our next generation of interfaces, Régine Debatty editor of the art/tech blog http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com

Regine and JB Pablos Holman Dan Dubno

Michael Reinboth from Compost records, Munich, kindly had a meeting with us and we discussed about various ways to integrate the GarageGeeks activities with the music industry in Germany.

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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Music Workshop - DIY Toy Music Controllers

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At this music workshop, we are creating modified toys music controllers that send their MIDI or Audio information to central audio and visual stations.

Reflections from this workshop

photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafael_mizrahi/sets/72157603505744930/

videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4z5LKpeLZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri4vpqTnP9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd1H2T5uUqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5raa-XiAFAo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42jX6-n9K4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd1H2T5uUqQ

Date: 3 January 2008
Hosts: Rafael Mizrahi, Eyal ‘Person’ Sachar and Shira Miasnik

Schedule19:00 Garage Open: Prepare your "Basta".
20:00 Workshop agenda: Enough with Baby Einstein, its Baby Clubber time.
20:30 workshop starts

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Who should come?
* Experienced music technicians and interactive designer.
* The event is open for everyone. You can join others (see /write in the wiki http://wiki.garagegeeks.org) by helping take apart and stuff the musical toys with gadgets.

The Garage will be wired with MIDI, and Audio cables. Each station can choose from several methods of communication to the central stations Hub. Your Toy output can be connected to the central stations or to your Laptop, and from there, to the central stations.

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Ingredients: bring one or more of the followings:

  1. A Toy (or some device that you wish to convert into a controller)

  2. Sensors http://www.sensorwiki.org/index.php/Sensors

  3. Sensor interface board http://www.sensorwiki.org/index.php/Sensor_interfaces

  4. Parts - Assorted switches, potentiometers and other parts
    http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/circuitbend/cb04.html

  5. Laptop

  6. Cables:MIDI, LAN, Audio and converter accessories.

  7. Tools: soldering iron, glue, etc’
    http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/circuitbend/cb03.html

  8. USB Keyboard to take apart.


2165006711_e35be9978b.jpgHow to participate with low budget:
Here is a list of ingredients to build a Music Toy Controller for anyone who wish to participate but is not so skilled or equipped. A Toy wired with Keys from a USB keyboard sending keystrokes to a utility (MouseTrap) which translates them into MIDI messages, mapped by MIDI-OX into Ableton Live.
* Toy
* USB Keyboard to take apart (also a mouse can be used).
* Laptop
* Ableton Live Demo http://www.ableton.com
* MIDI utilities:
** Keyboard/Mouse to MIDI: MouseTrap http://www.humatic.de/htools/MouseTrap.htm
** MIDI virtual device: MIDI-OX http://www.midiox.com/?http://www.midiox.com/moxdown.htm
* switches, knobs, sliders to hook on the Toy
* wires, solder, glue gun.
* anything else you wish to do with your lovely musical Toy.

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Examples of participation (there can be more variations):

  1. Toy+MIDI board->central station.

  2. Toy+USB Keyboard->laptop->MIDI device or Audio->central station.

  3. Toy+phidgets->laptop->Audio->central station.

  4. Toy->laptop->MAX/MSP with MIDI module->MIDI device->central station.

  5. Toy+ Arduino with MIDI module->laptop or central station.


Recommended boards:

  1. MIDISense (MIDI) http://www.ladyada.net/make/midisense

  2. MIDITron (MIDI) http://eroktronix.com

  3. Arduino (Multi Purpose board USB) http://www.arduino.cc

  4. Phidgets (Sensors to USB) http://www.phidgets.com/index.php?module=pncommerce&func=itemview&IID=85

  5. Pocket Electronic (MIDI) http://www.doepfer.de/pe.htm

  6. Make Controller Kit (USB and OSC) http://www.makingthings.com/products/KIT-MAKE-CTRL


notes: Don’t buy a board without understanding what you are buying and how to operate it.
The board kits are pretty easy to build, but prepare them at home because it takes several hours to assemble a 50$ kit.

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Home Preparations:


  1. Get a Toy, disassemble it at home and look for ways to attach the sensors or potentiometers onto it.

  2. Decide how the toy will function? (MIDI, USB, Phidget, OSC, etc')

  3. Prepare your board and test it with the sensors or potentiometers.

  4. A handful of parts (knobs, slides, etc') that you can hook on the toy, bring extra, maybe others can use them.
    tour some electronic shops for such parts, or just take them from electronic junk you still didn't throw away.


Links

  1. List of electronic shops which also sell sensors http://www.garagegeeks.org/blog/?p=78

  2. List of music shops that sell music instruments http://www.act.co.il/index.php?action=shops


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Reading material


MIDI
Essential MIDI toolbox
Use to monitor midi messages, send midi from your keyboard, map midi devices and more.
MIDI-OX
http://www.midiox.com/?http://www.midiox.com/moxdown.htm
MIDI-Yoke
http://www.midiox.com/index.htm?http://www.midiox.com/myoke.htm

OSC – Open Sound Control
OSC is meant to supersede the MIDI While MIDI requires a MIDI USB device, OSC communicate via a standard home or studio network (TCP/IP, Ethernet) or via the internet.

http://opensoundcontrol.org
http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/OpenSoundControl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSound_Control

OSC to MIDI utilities
OCCAM (MAC OS) http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/~c.ramakr/illposed/occam.html
OSCulator (MAC OS) http://www.osculator.net/wiki

USB keyboard or Mouse to MIDI or OSC

MouseTrap - MouseTrap lets mouse and keyboard act as general purpose Midi / OSC control hardware.
http://www.humatic.de/htools/MouseTrap.htm

More Links for Muse

http://www.act.co.il
http://createdigitalmusic.com
http://createdigitalmotion.com

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Comparing Eye and Mouse tracking with Computational Attention


Matei Mancas, PhD focus his research at the Faculty of Engineering, Mons, Belgium (FPMs) on Computational Attention.
His research demonstrates several interesting applications that employ computational attention.
The proposed applications are from various areas such as signal processing, data optimization etc'
Matei Mancas Computational Attention page

Matei also developed with two of his students Simon Wallerand and Fre'de'ric Lavis, a mouse-tracking technique he used as a a validation tool for his thesis.
You can participate online in his research by adding your own mouse (that follows your eyes) movements to the research results.
You can upload your images and get the mouse-tracking results on these images. You may also upload entire sets of specific images and than ask for the top-down model to the website administrator.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Exploring human eye behaviour using a model of visual attention

Oyewole Oyekoya and Fred Stentiford presented at the 17th International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR) 2004:

It is natural in a visual search to look at any object that is similar to the target so that it can be recognized and a decision made to end the search. Eye tracking technology offers an intimate and immediate way of interpreting users' behaviors to guide a computer search through large image databases.

This work describes experiments carried out to explore the relationship between gaze behavior and a visual attention model that identifies regions of interest in image data.
Results show that there is a difference in behavior on images that do and do not contain a clear region of interest.

the rest of the article at ieee