Downloaded the new Wired iPad magazine app

{ Posted on 10:44 PM by JR Erickson }
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This app is way cool, interactive magazine with content that is alive!

Jeremy Erickson
(208) 991-3606
JRErickson.com

Posted via email from Jeremy Erickson Life Stream

Cedar Edge Video Tour

{ Posted on 12:51 PM by JR Erickson }
I just finished this Cedar Edge Video tour, check it out



Jeremy Erickson
208.991.3606
Market208.com

Posted via email from Jeremy Erickson Life Stream

EdgeRank: The Secret Sauce That Makes Facebook’s News Feed Tick

{ Posted on 5:28 PM by JR Erickson }

Yesterday at its f8 developer conference, Facebook engineers Ruchi Sanghvi and Ari Steinberg gave what may be the first thorough walkthrough of the underpinnings of Facebook News Feed, the all-important page that users see when they first log on to the site. After giving an overview of the history of News Feed, which has evolved quite a bit since it launched in 2006, they offered some insight into the algorithms that allow News Feed to show you relevant content, collectively called EdgeRank.

You may not realize it, but News Feed only displays a subset of the stories generated by your friends — if it displayed everything, there’s a good chance you’d be overwhelmed. Developers are always trying to make sure their sites and apps are publishing stories that make the cut, which has led to the concept of “News Feed Optimization”, and their success is dictated by EdgeRank.

At a high level, the EdgeRank formula is fairly straightforward. But first, some definitions: every item that shows up in your News Feed is considered an Object. If you have an Object in the News Feed (say, a status update), whenever another user interacts with that Object they’re creating what Facebook calls an Edge, which includes actions like tags and comments.

Each Edge has three components important to Facebook’s algorithm:

  • First, there’s an affinity score between the viewing user and the item’s creator — if you send your friend a lot of Facebook messages and check their profile often, then you’ll have a higher affinity score for that user than you would, say, an old acquaintance you haven’t spoken to in years.
  • Second, there’s a weight given to each type of Edge. A comment probably has more importance than a Like, for example.
  • And finally there’s the most obvious factor — time. The older an Edge is, the less important it becomes.

Multiply these factors for each Edge then add the Edge scores up and you have an Object’s EdgeRank. And the higher that is, the more likely your Object is to appear in the user’s feed. It’s worth pointing out that the act of creating an Object is also considered an Edge, which is what allows Objects to show up in your friends’ feeds before anyone has interacted with them.

In other, hopefully less confusing words, an Object is more likely to show up in your News Feed if people you know have been interacting with it recently. That really isn’t particularly surprising. Neither is the resulting message to developers: if you want your posts to show up in News Feed, make sure people will actually want to interact with them.

Some other interesting points: Steinberg hinted that a simpler version of News Feed may be on the way, as the current two-tabbed system is a bit complicated. That said, many people still use both tabs, with over 50% of users clicking over to the ‘most recent’ tab on a regular basis.

There were some things that the Facebook engineers wouldn’t talk about — the group sort of punted on a question regarding how stories initially get seeded, explaining that they weren’t going to unveil all of EdgeRank’s secrets. But they did say that there are some signals involved that weren’t detailed during the talk, and that they’re experimenting with more, like analyzing the outbound links users click on.

If you want to watch the video for yourself, click here, navigate to the Techniques sessions, and click on ‘Focus on Feed’. The talk about Facebook’s algorithms begins around 22 minutes in.

For online marketers, it's time to think about what your edgerank is, and not just SEO! A new algorithm created by facebook to see what content shows up in newsfeed.

Posted via web from Jeremy Erickson Life Stream

Did we get your stamp...?

{ Posted on 4:01 PM by JR Erickson }
Did we get your stamp of approval on our new Cypress Parade of Homes model? Today is the last day, come out and see us at Cedar Edge before it's to late!

Posted via email from Blackstead Building Company

The Cypress in Pencil

{ Posted on 2:55 PM by JR Erickson }
Come by the Cypress Parade of homes and take a look. Did we mention that it won 5 out of 6 awards and the best overall in it's class?

Jeremy Erickson
(208) 991-3606
JRErickson.com

Posted via email from Blackstead Building Company

Adobe vs Apple Round 2

{ Posted on 10:54 AM by JR Erickson }
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I love Apple's response to Adobe's Ad... it tell the truth in such a way that words can't express.. or at least that flash can't express.

Posted via email from Jeremy Erickson Life Stream

Drag Race: 2012 Lexus LFA vs 2010 Nissan GT-R

{ Posted on 12:00 AM by JR Erickson }
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This a way cool video, I love the sound of that LFA Lexus!:


Jeremy Erickson
(208) 991-3606
JRErickson.com

Posted via email from Jeremy Erickson Life Stream

Cypress by Blackstead Building co. Is not a negative

{ Posted on 12:51 PM by JR Erickson }
Getting 5 Parade of Homes awards is far from negative. If you haven't seen it yet, come out tonight and tell us what you think

Jeremy Erickson
(208) 991-3606
JRErickson.com

Posted via email from Blackstead Building Company