AJ Magnuson
I Love Designers
Legendary designers are experts at harnessing creative chaos into a disciplined, consistent, productive process, and the rest of us at Viewzi get to benefit from that expertise in the form of an uncluttered feng shui office, coherent and cohesive keynote presentations, and a well partitioned production process. As the paradigm in consumer internet shifts from data to presentation, the composition of small tech start-ups will be more heavily weighted towards design guys. That is a very good thing for the rest of us. Continue reading...
Ninja Turtle Office
Last week, while chomping down burritos at a nearby restaurant, myself and several members of Team Viewzi™ were discussing the concept of super heroes, and what type of work environment would be conducive to various personalities. I must credit my coworker Stephen Anderson for starting us down this line of thinking, with some of the tidbits from a book he’s been working on. Continue reading...
Hallelujah! A Viewzi Conversion Story.
Months ago, when I first got an invite to the closed beta program to take Viewzi for a spin, it still had some wrinkles to iron out (and, admittedly, it still does). I remember thinking, “Well, this is gorgeous and all, but Google is way faster.” And now I work here. Something must have changed my outlook, huh? Continue reading...
6 Things Not To Do With Your Viral Video
Thinking of making a viral video to advertise your company or product? Viral videos are the flavor of the week and can be very successful marketing tools. You have probably heard about what you need to do to make a good viral video, make it funny, keep it short, don’t be boring, and all that jazz. You should also know what not to do or your viral video will never take off. So, what do we take into consideration when we produce & promote viewzi with video? I'm glad you asked. Continue reading...
Photoshop tip: Layer Comps make your life easier.
What are Layer Comps? Simply put, Layer Comps are a 'snapshot' of your Photoshop document (PSD) that you can easily flip between. Read on to learn all about creating and using Layer Comps to maximize your inner Photoshop ninja. Continue reading...
Are You Engaging in Recreational Search?
I’ve long believed even the most ruthlessly task-focused activities can also be emotionally engaging, but my mental model of search is (or has been) that it is a means to an end. The overwhelming response to Viewzi is making me rethink this...
People are clearly having fun using Viewzi. And in the process I’m seeing a new form of search begin to emerge, one that is more recreational than utilitarian. Continue reading...
Under the Hood
To be a View, the data presented has to be search results. We are not merely making data look great, be more functional, etc. We are doing that for search results. Thats a lot harder than simply making a great looking static web page. Search results can be messy, and sometimes thwart attempts at prettying them up. Here's one small example. Continue reading...
Playing Midfield
I have just rounded my second month working at Viewzi as a front-end developer, and wanted to share why I enjoy this position. I was trying to decide the best way to describe my job function, for friends and family who might not think in terms of web lingo, and I think the simplest way to say it is: "I am a midfielder." You know those players on a soccer team who run back and forth on the field, in the realm between defense and offense? That would be me. Continue reading...
Press Release: Viewzi Brings Fresh View to Online Search
DALLAS, June 11 (PRNewswire) — Viewzi Inc. (http://www.viewzi.com) this week launched a new type of search engine, providing Internet users a way to visually experience the best results from top search sites and other online content sources making search more fun. Continue reading...
Viewzi Search Is Live!
The first public version of Viewzi search is available today. Starting at around 7:00 am, Viewzi was available via a special link from TechCrunch and then 12 hours later at 7pm tonight, you will be able to come in the front-door via http://www.viewzi.com. Lots of buzz today. A ton of work has gone into making today a reality. From the "napkin" that started it all back in December of 2006 when Chris and I started talking about ways to change the search experience....until last night at 2am when things were officially "done", life has been a roller coaster. Continue reading...