Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

Putting actual user experience and design aside, in my opinion this site is classic example of ignoring critical elements of architecting successful digital marketing. In this case, searchability by enignes - they have ONE word visible to spiders "firstborn". Overall, I love the unique use of typography and no-images... very unique.

That's an interesting point Marc, and I'd love to hear of/see articles on what exactly search engine optimization means these days.
Firstly, static text embedded in a flash page IS visible to search engines, particularly google. It is also possible to expose searchable elements in other ways - I'd need the details of the site to determine if they are being used.
But I wonder...how does one really determine search engine optimization in web2.0? These days, the text exposed by the site pages is only one part of many factors. The contents of a video stream are invisible to search engines - yet every day they generate millions of hits. How?
I found Firstborn through an adAge article - how many hits was that worth? How many links, like the one in my post, are now pointed at their site? Search engines place a lot of weight on how many links are pointed at a site - they are way beyond simply examining the meta-tags and text by now.
Moreover, such rankings tend to be more contextually relevant than hits based solely on the text contained in a site. Do people looking for interactive shops do so through search engines? Or do they go through portals, awards sites, and recommendations? There can be little doubt that social context should be given at least as much weight as the search algorithm.
Is it time yet to suggest that making a really great site is the best way to increase search engine exposure?
(Not disagreeing with ya, I'd just trully like to see more discussion on the search engine topic in a modern context)
-tim.

Let's go the other direction then... how about accessiblity compliance? I highly doubt the site would pass many of 508/W3C/WCAG standards (except for those where users can view Flash itself).

On the search side, I tested it on:
http://www.feedthebot.com/tools/spider/index.php

Hey, search optimization may well not be an objective... who I am to hypothesize about their objectives? :p

I totally agree that the definition of SEO may need examination - but regardless, my opinion is that digital work should be evaluated through a holistic set of lenses regarding best practices... and search/accessibility is one that is often overlooked.

I'm definitely going to have to make another article.
Like search engine optimization, I wonder if regular standards for looking at accessibility still apply. As you point out, Flash can be visible to screen readers - of all rich-media platforms it is the most accessible by far.
Very often though, if a site is flash-based it is automatically assumed it is not accessible or SEO friendly. It need not be the case. That is a choice of the site-maker though, and that same choice gets made by any developer regardless of platform.
I'd love to see accessibility taken more seriously, but not from the regular means (screen readers) that date back to before rich media happened. Given that we have these rich-media tools, could we not use them to design experiences for, say, the visually impaired, that are more outstanding? If you've used a screen-reader for any length of time, the experience is cold and mechanical, and even sites that are "accessible" by standards can be a confusing mess.
I'd love to see tools like flash, that have powerful media capability, be put to use to make this segment's experience more enjoyable, more customized, more humanized.
Anyway, I appreciate your comments Marc, you've got me thinking on my next topic.
-tim.

Nice discussion - designing digital experiences from a holistic/human point of view. Everyone should be enjoying the internet. This can be really tricky for rich media but for usual html/css sites the least we can do it to keep accessibility intact and not break it.

Search engines are not here to play this game with us. They are merely exploiting the collective intelligence that's spread over the internet - and they are gonna change the rules everyday. The idea is to create appealing content and have it available for everyone to enjoy. The search engines will quietly follow - even if they are blind to the content. First born is the perfect case in this context. Their site 4+ yr old, PR7.

Looking forward to your post Tim.