- New TinEye Feature: Contributor Ranking
We have been hard at work on a number of TinEye feature we will be releasing in the coming weeks and months – never a dull moment at TinEye HQ!
Today we are rolling out our TinEye Contributor feature: if an image you search for is a match with an image which was contributed to the TinEye index, it will be displayed at the top of the search results.
If there are multiple contributor matches, the sort order of the contributor images will be the same as your selected search order for TinEye. So if, for example, you have selected the Best Match sort order, all the contributors images will be sorted Best Match first.
And when there is more than one contributor image match – as in the case below – the contributor image matches are group and will need to be expanded.
Why is this sort order important? Because it will:
- help you find out if the image you are searching for is a stock photo (available for licensing for example)
- put a creators details at your fingertip
- facilitate attribution (did you know that Obama’s picture above was shot by Keith Bedford and that his coverage of Obama’s campaign was AWESOME?)
We are continuing to add images to the TinEye index by crawling and accepting large image submissions. If you are interested in having your image collection included in the TinEye index, then you need to learn about our TinEye Imagemap requirements. We would love to hear from you hi (at) tineye.com
So happy searching fans!
- Tineye History Feature
If you are a TinEye fan and have registered to use TinEye (registration is free and comes with benefits – so what are you waiting for?) you have likely noticed the History feature. This feature keeps track of all the previous searches you complete on TinEye. Pretty handy if you are searching for specific images or need to search for the same image more than once. The TinEye History feature is meant to help with that.
We realized that we never mentioned the fact that the TinEye History feature will only keep track of the searches you have completed in the past 365 days. Any searches performed over 365 days are of course not available. So keep that in mind.
And as always, any searches performed while not registered are not stored. Let us know how you are using the TinEye History feature and if there is anything else you would like to see done with the feature. Of course keeping track of searches performed over 365 days is probably something fans would like but what else?
Always happy to hear your feedback, either on the blog or via email at hi(at)tineye.comHappy searching!
- TinEye IE addon
We have updated our TinEye Internet Exporer addon. Our TinEye IE addon already gave our IE users snappy single click searching so what improvements did we make? Well, bug fixes that were bothering our TinEye fans! We:- Fixed a bug where the plugin sometimes failed to work for images from a Google image search in IE8
- Added better handling of background images
- Fixed a bug where our plugin failed to work when searching off a TinEye search result image
This TinEye IE addon is compatible with IE9 as well.
So now: please go and install the new plugin and let us know if you encounter any bugs or would like to see any enhancements. We are listening.
Did you know that we also have plugins for Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari?
- TinEye Image Analytics
At the TinEye headquarters we are constantly thinking about image search features for our reverse image search engine and of course how to make TinEye the best reverse image search engine in the world. We like building useful software for our fans.
So listening to you all sending in feature requests, ideas, suggestions etc. one feature constantly makes it to the top of the request list (after a larger index) and that is what our fans call an image alert. This basically would be a service that would allow TinEye users to find out of where their images are appearing on the web via an automated notification mechanism. Similar to Google Alerts but for images.
So today I would like you to tell us what comes to mind when you (our TinEye fan) think about when you think about image alerts and how would such a feature make your image searches easier.We have heard that as a professional and amateur photographer you would like to find out where your images are appearing and figure out if they are being used according to how they were licensed. But surely you would probably want to use an image alert service for more than just a copyright tracking tool! At least we think so because we believe analytics to be an incredible tool to drive your decision making (why fly blindingly to your destination, when you can get a compass to direct you?).
How we envision an image analytics service is simple (in principle): you would upload a set of images to the service and get a notification each time your image is spotted on the wild web. But as we are gathering data for this service we can’t help but think about what other features could make you love TinEye even more. We have a number of ideas but we would love to hear from you all. So drop us a line in the comments and tell us about your dream features for an image analytics service.
We are listening. And would like to engage in a conversation with you all.
- What features would you like to see in TinEye?
Howdy folks! We are furiously working on the next stage of development for TinEye which will include all sorts of wonderful things:
- Automated image monitoring and image alerts
- User-submitted contributions to the TinEye image database
- A bigger and better index as always
But besides these gems, what would you like to see?
Please answer in the comments–speak and be heard!
Image by Hans_van_Rijnberk
- Extension preferences here for Firefox and Chrome
When we announced our new Safari plugin, we mentioned that TinEye extension preferences were on their way for Firefox and Chrome. And now they’re here!
The new extension preferences allow you to:
- Show/hide TinEye icon in context menu (Firefox only)
- Set sort order preference as best match, most changed biggest image or last used*
- Open searches in background, foreground or current tab
TinEye extension preferences are easy to set!
In Firefox, go to Tools>Add-ons in the Firefox menu bar. Locate ‘TinEye Reverese Image search’ in the Add-ons window list and click the ‘Options’ button.
In Chrome, go to Tools>Extensions in the Chrome menu bar. Locate ‘TinEye Reverese Image search’ in the extensions list and click the ‘Options’ link.
We hope you enjoy! <3
* The sort order set in your extension preferences will take precedence over your browser’s last remembered sort order.
- Safari extension is here!
The TinEye extension is now available for Safari, allowing you to conveniently search for any web image straight from your browser.
Once installed, simply right-click on any web image and select either “Search Image on TinEye” or “Search Page on TinEye”. Results are displayed for you at tineye.com
We are also introducing preferences to our family of extensions, starting with Safari. Preferences allow you to:
- Set the default sort order for your search results
- Open searches in background, foreground or current tab
Firefox, Chrome and IE users: Don’t worry! Preferences are coming for you soon (keep an eye on our updates page).
Safari users: Get the new TinEye extension while it’s hot!
- Remember sorting preferences
They say a robot never forgets–or is that an elephant? Well in any case, TinEye has been doing his memory exercises because he now remembers your sorting preferences!Whether you’re logged in our out, and even if you’ve totally shut down your browser, TinEye will remember your last sorting preference. For example, if you searched for the biggest version of an image the last time you used TinEye, you will get the biggest results first the next time you use TinEye.
Enjoy, and happy searching!
Image by matsuyuki
- Unveiling our TinEye redesign
Hello folks! If you haven’t noticed, things are looking quite different over at TinEye. We have been working on the redesign with the great folks over at silverorange, and we’re sure they’re just as excited about the launch as we are!
Aside from a whole new look, the navigation and layout of the site has changed. And of course there is the addition of our new mascot! This robot-on-wheel will need a name soon… do I smell a contest?
Back to business. What exactly has changed? Well…
We’ve prettied-up the way results are displayed
The sort order is now clearly visible on the left side of your results, along with some easy ways to share your results with others. For image matches that appear on multiple domains, we’ve added a little orange count in the corner of the image thumbnail.
We’ve made it possible to share individual match results
Unlike the ‘Share Results’ column on the left side of the page which shares your entire set of search results, clicking ‘Link’ under an individual image match will allow you to view and share just that image match (anyone you share with will have the option to see the full set of results, as well). You have asked and we have delivered!
We remember what you were looking for
A small but important update! Now when you look for a web image, TinEye links back to that image in your search results so you don’t have to keep another browser window/tab open.
We’ve introduced badges
Share the love! Embed one of our cool new badges on your website and help get the word out about TinEye.
We’ve introduced content partner images
If you haven’t heard already, TinEye is officially accepting image submissions from online contributors. We have added a form to contact us if you manage a large online image collection and would like to submit them to the TinEye index. We have already indexed iStockphoto, Photoshelter and Clustershot and we have some further announcements to make very shortly.
We have also started identifying our various content partners in your search results. This makes it even easier to attribute the original author or source of an image. Just click on the URL in the ‘TinEye Contributor’ box to get to the official page for that image on our contributors’ website.
There’s plenty more to see on our new website, so do hop on over and have a look. Better yet, say hi and tell us what you think, or drop by our Facebook page. In the meantime, we are going back to work on the next update!
- TinEye API
We are excited to officially launch our TinEye Commercial API.
Since we launched TinEye, your most requested feature has been an API. For the non developer community: an API is an ‘application programming interface‘. It is a tool that allows you to access and interface with an existing web-based service, and enables you to develop programs that interact with this service. Our API allows you to develop programs that utilize the TinEye search engine.
We have seen great interest for the TinEye API from the user-generated and photography communities, developers, our clients and TinEye users. The API can be used in so many ways:
- Websites with user-generated content can check all incoming images against the TinEye index
- Content owners can queue up image batches to be searched automatically or at regular intervals
- Mobile applications can search incoming photos to identify content
- And lots of other solutions from copyright compliance to profile verification to brand monitoring!
Just remember: The TinEye API allows you to interact with TinEye the same way you are currently doing it via the web. You send TinEye a search request via the API and it provides you with a list of results. Our new API website provides complete documentation for everything you need to know about implementing the API. It provides pricing and allows you to make purchases online. There is an FAQ and a brand new TinEye forum for questions.
A few words about what the API is not: It is not installable software. It does not have a user interface. It will not do anything on its own, automatically. It will not make you breakfast (even though it would really like to, trust us). A knowledge of programming is required to implement the API. If you are not technical, maybe bake a batch of bribe-cookies for your programmer friends or co-workers?
Get started with the TinEye API today!
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