Flash and Google/Yahoo! Sitting in a Tree
July 1st, 2008 by Ben

Slowly but surely, Flash is hacking away at the reasons people hate it. Flash has crossed a big bridge with the recent news that both Google and Yahoo! can now search content in SWF files. Yeah, I’m as suprised as you. Here’s a quick breakdown of the news, based on this article from the Flash team.

Q: Why is this news important?
A: Because all SWF files that may have had relevant and informative content were essentially invisible to all search engines before this announcement.

Q: Why is Adobe doing this?
A: To legitimize Flash sites as a viable, search friendly option and to give the Flash haters one less reason to complain.

Q: Which versions of the SWF file format will benefit from this improved indexing and searching?
A: All of them. Yeah, every single one. Yup, that kind too.

Q: What do content owners and developers need to do to their SWF content to benefit from improved search results?
A: Zip, Zilch, Nada. Now go have a margarita and tell your clients how much of a genius you are.

Q: What technology has Adobe contributed to this effort?
A: A custom Flash Player that returns links and text from within the flash file.

Q: How are Google and Yahoo! using the Adobe Flash technology?
A: To deliver improved web search capabilities for SWF applications.

Q: When will the improved SWF searching solutions go live?
A: Google is rolling them out now and Yahoo! is hot on their heels.

Q: How will this announcement benefit the average user/consumers?
A: You can now sit through garish animations knowing that the content your about to see is, in fact, relative to your search.

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