Katelyn M. Thompson’s Blog

I recently was discussing some of the search engines of the past with colleagues. This infographic from WordStream shows a timeline of the search engines of the past and present. I myself am a Google girl, although I haven’t yet converted to Chrome. And we all know my thoughts on Bing, don’t get me started.

Hit the jump for the full image.
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Researchers at the University of Utah have been working on a way to determine if someone is lying based on their eye movements and pupil dilation. Now, for anyone who watches Lie To Me, they won’t be surprised by this, since Lightman could read a guy who was paralyzed completely (not sure how he couldn’t blink, but this is TV). He used his pupil size to determine if he was telling the truth, yes or no. Although, we can’t believe everything we see on TV it seems like these folks have a real-life solution in the works.

In terms of the implication for usability testing, I wonder if people would be less likely to agree to being “eye-tracked” if they’re aware that the technology can be used to determine if they’re lying. Then again, for usability practitioners, we could use this to determine if users are telling the truth when they say the site is easy to use.

via @therealmasoud via @customerexplabs

There are a lot of cool things you can do with photography. As I mentioned I can’t wait to have the time to do some stop/motion animation. Also, I’ve been wanting to paint with light for a long time. It just requires the right tools, and some patience, and the ability to see things as a  mirror. Check out this cool Batman photo by minamac88.

For those of you interested in this, here are some tutorials: DIYPhotography.net, Instructables, and Amateur Snapper. Most of the ones I’ve seen suggest using a flashlight, or a LED colored light. I thought it was interesting that Batman is done using a sparkler, which for many people, are readily accessible at this time of year.

via Gizmodo

These are some of the most awkward portraits I’ve seen.

If you haven’t discerned, these are photos of people upside down! It’s called Upside Downy Face by Bruton Stroube. There are many more photographs, each unique/funny in their own way. It also seems like he offered a photobooth for this type of photography. Check them out!

Bikers are everywhere these days! In Denmark they’ve installed these railings at stoplights for bikers who are waiting at the lights. It even works great for people clipped in who might not want to unclip at a light, they can just grab onto the handrail! Great design for a problem! Speaking of the problem, the article at Copenhagenize.com highlights some examples of creative ways the bikers used to employ to keep from falling over.

via Core77

With wedding season upon us, I thought this would be a great video to share. Thankfully I only have 2 weddings this summer and they aren’t on the same weekend (but they are back to back). There are certain “traditions” when it comes to weddings. One of those is sending out invitations, and before that “Save the Dates”. A recent trend is the magnetic ones, since you’re likely to stick them on the fridge anywhere (yup, that’s where mine are).

However, Chris and Laurel have strayed away from the traditional paper-based saved the date (however they note that a “proper snail-mail invite” will be arriving soon.

Watch the video over on Vimeo.

I’m sometimes amazed at the interesting stuff that Urban Outfitters has. I usually find the really cool stuff to be way out of my price range, but these wireframe letters at $10 each are great, unless you have a really long name.

via SwissMiss

I’ve always been interested in stop-motion animation, but haven’t found the time or the patience to try it out very well yet. Sarah Yates took the time to do some stop motion for her friend’s engagement.

Check out the video over on Vimeo.

via @PetalPixel

WARNING: This video contains very vulgar language!

I couldn’t help but share this video here, because it showcases the love that some people have with the iPhones. I may or may not be one of those people if I had enough money to continually purchase these and also afford the insane AT&T plan that goes with it. But, I’m happy with my Droid, and can’t wait until I get a phone that supports video chat. But alas, I must wait about a year and 3 months until I’m eligible for an upgrade.

via Kat

Recently I had a need to create some tag clouds. I came across a number of different tools. As I discovered each of them, I kept finding a better alternative. Below I’ve provided some information about 3 different tools which will allow you to create tag clouds. Happy creation!  

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