If you have reading my blog, site optimization has always been apart of my development. Techniques like rewriting slow sql queries and in memory caching will boost the performance of your site and reduce the need of purchasing more hardware.
Currently myVidster's growth is at 16% (Source: Google Analytics). While this is great, I have to activity monitor the site to ensure that performance stays optimal. Most pages like the homepage, video bookmark and user profile will load within a second even during peak traffic. Performance starts to take a hit when viewing a collection homepage and user subscription page when the video bookmark count are in the 1k+ range. In this case performance is reduce to 2-4 seconds.
In response I have spent the last few weeks combing though my code and doing some house keeping cleaning up my code and updating sql queries. In the end I was only able to increase performance by 500-1000ms. On the bright side I did reduce the memory consumption of my PHP processes :).
Now we enter the Law of Diminishing Returns. Do I spend more time trying to optimize my code or do I upgrade or add new hardware? I know I can only do so much optimization before I get to the point that the benefits no longer justify the time I am spending (time is money). You also have side affects where an update intended for optimization breaks or limits site's functionality.
With that said, I will most likely add a new server to handle myVidster's growth. I being a geek always enjoy adding a new server to the family. Well that is all for now, take care and keep collecting!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
New Feature: Subscription Viewer
Yo dawg, I herd you like viewing your video subscriptions, so I put an subscription viewer in your chat bar so you can view your subscriptions while you watch videos.
I hope I got that meme right :). As stated in the meme (or lack of), you can now view your subscriptions while you navigate myVidster! Before I started developing this feature I had set 3 goals. The viewer needed to have a simple user interface, fast loading and non obtrusive. Here is a summary of how I accomplished these goals.
User Interface:
The viewer looks a lot like the existing subscription page, but with fewer features (you cannot search/display videos by user). Users are given the option to naviagate though their subscriptions by clicking the prev and next buttons. The state of the viewer (what page its on) is maintain while the user navigates the site. To notify the user of new videos collected by those they follow, the existing video bookmarks in the viewer will fade out and the new video bookmarks will fade in.
Fast Loading:
Smart caching is used to speed up load times and when the data needs refreshing the data is pulled from mysql memory tables. Other features like minify html/js/css are also used to minimize the 'payload' sent to the user's web browser.
Non Obtrusive:
By default the viewer will remain open and auto refresh is enabled. While I feel these features are great I know some users would prefer not to use them. I can see this being the case with users with low resolution monitors (especially older laptops) where the viewer is taking up too much space. With that in mind, users can disable the keep open and auto refresh feature.
I hope you will enjoy this new feature as much as I enjoyed coding it :). That is all for now and keep collecting!
User Interface:
The viewer looks a lot like the existing subscription page, but with fewer features (you cannot search/display videos by user). Users are given the option to naviagate though their subscriptions by clicking the prev and next buttons. The state of the viewer (what page its on) is maintain while the user navigates the site. To notify the user of new videos collected by those they follow, the existing video bookmarks in the viewer will fade out and the new video bookmarks will fade in.
Fast Loading:
Smart caching is used to speed up load times and when the data needs refreshing the data is pulled from mysql memory tables. Other features like minify html/js/css are also used to minimize the 'payload' sent to the user's web browser.
Non Obtrusive:
By default the viewer will remain open and auto refresh is enabled. While I feel these features are great I know some users would prefer not to use them. I can see this being the case with users with low resolution monitors (especially older laptops) where the viewer is taking up too much space. With that in mind, users can disable the keep open and auto refresh feature.
I hope you will enjoy this new feature as much as I enjoyed coding it :). That is all for now and keep collecting!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A geeky explanation on myVidster's growth
It's time to start the new year by geeking out! December was a great month in terms of growth. To give you an idea of myVidster's growth rate I ran a few queries for video bookmarking.
Video bookmarks for the last 3 months.
Oct: 300,460
Nov: 308,709
Dec: 357,149
Now lets take the daily average for December which gives us 11,520 video bookmarks a day! We also have over 163,000 registered users.
To manage our growing community and to keep the site running smoothy I have added another server to the family :). Currently myVidster operates on 4 servers, now lets break down what each server is doing.
Server1: Web Server
Server2: Database
Server3: Chat/Messaging
Server4: Search
The servers do other important tasks, but the ones listed above are their primary tasks. I have also been hard at work with code optimization for the search, chat/messaging and database services. I will like a make a side note that chat/messaging performance has been improve greatly, so please message away!
Well that is it for now, take care and keep collecting!
Video bookmarks for the last 3 months.
Oct: 300,460
Nov: 308,709
Dec: 357,149
Now lets take the daily average for December which gives us 11,520 video bookmarks a day! We also have over 163,000 registered users.
To manage our growing community and to keep the site running smoothy I have added another server to the family :). Currently myVidster operates on 4 servers, now lets break down what each server is doing.
Server1: Web Server
Server2: Database
Server3: Chat/Messaging
Server4: Search
The servers do other important tasks, but the ones listed above are their primary tasks. I have also been hard at work with code optimization for the search, chat/messaging and database services. I will like a make a side note that chat/messaging performance has been improve greatly, so please message away!
Well that is it for now, take care and keep collecting!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
New updates: sorting search results and power user recognition
Greetings Vidsters! In my ongoing efforts to make myVidster your first and primary destination for viewing and sharing video content I have pushed out two updates based on your feedback.
Sorting search results by most recent.
This feature was requested by a user a few weeks ago and I was 100% on board with adding the sorting option. There was one small issue, the search index was storing the post date as text and not as a date field. To fix this I had to rebuild the entire index which contains over 3 million documents. It took my server 3 days to complete the update. I also took the opportunity to make some minor styling updates to the search page, lets see if any of my power users can determine what changes I made ;)
Power User Recognition!
The key to the success of any social network/sharing site is its power users. They are activity engaged on the site by providing content (ie bookmarking videos), commenting, tweeting, inviting their friends to join and follow them, etc. With that said I wanted to give them some recognition. On myVidster's homepage I have replaced the Top User Collections section with Power User Collections. To be highlighted as a power user you need to link or upload a profile photo and are activity collecting videos. This list updates every 15 minutes with randomly selected users that meet the required conditions.
Please continue providing me with your feedback and keep collecting!
Sorting search results by most recent.
This feature was requested by a user a few weeks ago and I was 100% on board with adding the sorting option. There was one small issue, the search index was storing the post date as text and not as a date field. To fix this I had to rebuild the entire index which contains over 3 million documents. It took my server 3 days to complete the update. I also took the opportunity to make some minor styling updates to the search page, lets see if any of my power users can determine what changes I made ;)
Power User Recognition!
The key to the success of any social network/sharing site is its power users. They are activity engaged on the site by providing content (ie bookmarking videos), commenting, tweeting, inviting their friends to join and follow them, etc. With that said I wanted to give them some recognition. On myVidster's homepage I have replaced the Top User Collections section with Power User Collections. To be highlighted as a power user you need to link or upload a profile photo and are activity collecting videos. This list updates every 15 minutes with randomly selected users that meet the required conditions.
Please continue providing me with your feedback and keep collecting!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
New Features: Chat Toolbar and Profile Photo Uploading
While general administration and break/fix has been consuming a lot of my time I still manage to allocate time to push out requested features!
Users have been wanting a way to communicate with other users on myVidster. Some suggested an inbox. which is a great idea, but I decided to go with a chat toolbar solution instead. The chat toolbar should be more effective because you are able to see if the person you want to communicate with is online and you will have a better chance of the user reading your message. Who really wants to have another inbox anyway? To chat with other users, you will need to follow one of their video collections. When the users you are following is online they will show up on your buddy list. Chat away!!!
You can now upload a profile photo as well! Before you could only use your Twitter or Facebook photo. To upload your profile photos go to your user options page.
I take user feedback seriously and around 60% of your suggestions are implement and one way or another. Please continue providing feedback by contacting me via email, twitter, or commenting on my blog.
Thanks and keep collecting!
Users have been wanting a way to communicate with other users on myVidster. Some suggested an inbox. which is a great idea, but I decided to go with a chat toolbar solution instead. The chat toolbar should be more effective because you are able to see if the person you want to communicate with is online and you will have a better chance of the user reading your message. Who really wants to have another inbox anyway? To chat with other users, you will need to follow one of their video collections. When the users you are following is online they will show up on your buddy list. Chat away!!!
Thanks and keep collecting!
Monday, September 19, 2011
myVidster Android and iPhone App goes Public
I am pleased to announced that the myVidster Android and iPhone App is ready for the public!
Android
Version: 0.6
Version date: 22-Sep-2011
Download/Install:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phonegap.myvidster (Andriod 2.1 and higher)
iPhone
URL: http://www.myvidster.com/mobile/
Note: Bookmark this link to your Home Screen
The app is still in beta, but is stable for the public to use and enjoy. The reason why the iPhone version is a web app is that I do not owe a Mac. I am planning on purchasing a used one so that I can provide a native version for the iPhone. Please use the comments to provide feedback and to report issues.
Thanks and keep collecting!
Android
Version: 0.6
Version date: 22-Sep-2011
Download/Install:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phonegap.myvidster (Andriod 2.1 and higher)
iPhone
URL: http://www.myvidster.com/mobile/
Note: Bookmark this link to your Home Screen
The app is still in beta, but is stable for the public to use and enjoy. The reason why the iPhone version is a web app is that I do not owe a Mac. I am planning on purchasing a used one so that I can provide a native version for the iPhone. Please use the comments to provide feedback and to report issues.
Thanks and keep collecting!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
myVidster Android and iPhone App Private Beta!
Here is a video demonstrating both the myVidster Android and iPhone app.
I was working on a shorter video but I kept messing up and I rather get the app to the beta testers then to worry about posting another video.
Android
Version: 0.5
Version date: 18-Sep-2011
Download/Install:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phonegap.myvidster (Andriod 2.1 and higher)
iPhone
URL: http://www.myvidster.com/mobile/
Note: Bookmark this link to your Home Screen
This is a private beta, only users with a PRO account can access the app. PRO users can report any issues by commenting on this blog post or by contacting me directly. When providing feedback please be descriptive of the problem. Saying 'it does not work' does not help me much. Include detail information like what version of Android/iPhone you are using and any error messages. Also provide feedback on what additional functionality you would like for me to add.
OK that is all for now, I am exhausted! Building a mobile app is not an easy task and I hope you all enjoy it!
Update: Issue Tracking
30-Aug-2011: I discover a possible memory leak which causes the video page to load the same video even if you select a different video. I am working on a fix.
I was working on a shorter video but I kept messing up and I rather get the app to the beta testers then to worry about posting another video.
Android
Version: 0.5
Version date: 18-Sep-2011
Download/Install:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phonegap.myvidster (Andriod 2.1 and higher)
iPhone
URL: http://www.myvidster.com/mobile/
Note: Bookmark this link to your Home Screen
This is a private beta, only users with a PRO account can access the app. PRO users can report any issues by commenting on this blog post or by contacting me directly. When providing feedback please be descriptive of the problem. Saying 'it does not work' does not help me much. Include detail information like what version of Android/iPhone you are using and any error messages. Also provide feedback on what additional functionality you would like for me to add.
OK that is all for now, I am exhausted! Building a mobile app is not an easy task and I hope you all enjoy it!
Update: Issue Tracking
30-Aug-2011: I discover a possible memory leak which causes the video page to load the same video even if you select a different video. I am working on a fix.
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