At first glance the numbers themselves may seem small, but keep in mind that these are two sites that have tens of millions of users per day. A tiny change in page rendering speed, can have a pretty significant impact over time, especially when your core business is search.

What can we learn from this?

• Speed matters (the obvious one)
• Costs of delay increase overtime and remain persistent (you’ve lost users)
• What you show a user, is more important then it’s actual size

The last point is interesting. What that essentially means is that, it’s important to consider how a page is rendered, and optimize or use techniques, that let you decrease the perceived loading time.

Performance optimizations are important. They are typically neglected, not budgeted for, or done as an after-thought, which can hurt in the long run. However, it is foolish to assume that a particular site can be fast just by doing a couple of tweaks. On the contrary, optimization is a methodical process, which takes small but several aspects into account, which together can bring faster performance and user experience responsiveness.

Architectural shot from Chase Jarvis

I have recently re-ignited my interest in Photography in a big way, by going (almost) all out and buying a big expensive camera. I’ve also immersed myself into learning all that I can about the craft and practicing as much as time allows. The process thus far has been rewarding. Learning a new craft usually is, at least for me.

There is one issue. Kinda. Carrying around a DSLR and a couple of lenses, can at times be inconvenient for those times where you are walking about, and see something that catches your eye that you just have the urge to capture. Sometimes, by the time you get the camera out, what you wanted to photograph is gone. You missed the moment. It’s also a psychological commitment. In many ways you have to prepare yourself, and go through a thought process before taking the shot. Now, mind you, this is the way I believe it should be, but one is not always in “photography mode”.

Enter the iPhone. A few months ago, I started noticing some buzz on Twitter coming from the photographers I follow, as some of them started to experiment with iPhone photography. One photographer in particular stood out. That is Chase Jarvis. Every week, sometimes more then once a week, he posts a new iPhone photograph to his twitter account and by doing so, has inspired a slew of photographers to stand up and notice what might be possible to do with a little iPhone camera and a good eye. Have a look at his portfolio of photographs taken with his iPhone. Now, Chase Jarvis is a very talented professional photographer. He obviously has some mojo going on. But, his creative outlook and hunger to stay creative even when he cannot be, inspired him to start experimenting with his iPhone camera.

He ignores the status quo. He ignores the common perceptions that most people see as handicaps. “The iPhone is not a real camera”, “The resolution of the sensor is garbage”, “No control over exposure, or selective focus”, etc. Instead he sees the potential that these perceived handicaps enable, turns them around, and uses them to create art. And the results thus far, are awesome and inspiring. A slew of other photographers are now following his lead, and are now looking at the iPhone and other small mobile cameras, as creative tools. As a result, there is a proliferation of new creative photography popping up online, that up until a few months ago, simply was not there.

And yes. It has inspired me as well. The awesome part about it for me, is that it presents a different way to look at the world. It’s quick, it’s small so its not obtrusive, and with a couple of little apps, you can actually create some pretty decent photographs. As well, it keeps my desire to make photographs alive when typically I would not be able to.

So what is there to take from this? A few things I believe. Creativity can come from anywhere. Don’t limit yourself to just one way to look at the world or a problem. Use tools that are readily available. Innovation can have unintended consequences, which in turn can create other innovations.