June 2009
Microsoft’s Photobucket has gained enormous popularity as an image-hosting and slideshow-creation site since it was launched in 2003. Today it hosts close to 8 billion photos, with dozens more pouring in by the second.
Browsing through those photos, however, was a challenge. But now Photobucket’s new Visual Search feature gets site users to the photos they’re looking for–fast.
Developed in collaboration with the Denver-based user experience agency EffectiveUI, Photobucket Visual Search is a new Silverlight and Windows Live Services application that makes browsing through all those pictures a breezy experience.
There are no wide-open white spaces, words, file names or other clutter to wade through. Photos can be shared instantly through Windows Live Messenger with a single click. Another click allows you to enter the photographer’s library or search for more pictures like the one you’re looking at.
“After five seconds in it, it feels different,” says Will Tschumy, a member of Microsoft’s User Experience Evangelist Group who has been working closely with Photobucket on the project.
“It removes a lot of the text and reloading time that users have had to wade through. Presenting results as images and then using a given image as the next query to find another set of images is really just a different way of interacting with the content.”
Realizing the limits of throwing up a static grid of images on an HTML page, Photobucket began working with Microsoft and EffectiveUI more than a year ago on a variety of projects to explore how Microsoft technology might help them create something entirely new and compelling for their customers.
Perhaps best known for their work in developing the eBay desktop, EffectiveUI’s team are experts in developing ‘rich Internet applications’ (RIAs or “ree-uhs”) that treat Web pages more like dynamic desktop applications than static HTML displays.
By integrating Photobucket’s already-rich interface with Windows Live Messenger and wrapping it into a fluid Silverlight application, the trio was able to create a unique new service for Photobucket’s 70 million registered users worldwide.
Michael Clark, Photobucket’s SVP Technology and Partnerships, says it’s all part of making the search for new photos more engaging for users: “We’re interested in bubbling up good content,” he says. “Our users conduct more than 40 million searches a day. We think the browsing of photos is real entertainment, and this is another way to help our users be entertained by what they find.”
According to Rebecca Flavin, EffectiveUI’s CEO, that entertainment value is a key differentiator for the competitive Web services market. “Photobucket saw a really great opportunity to bring a better search option to its customers,” she says.
“The Silverlight platform enabled us to create a robust visual search engine that not only engages but draws multiple users into the application. We think this intuitive, enjoyable experience will really help differentiate Photobucket’s offering and keep people coming back.”
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