Our best wishes for a peaceful and happy holiday season from all of us on Team Vox and everyone Six Apart. Thank you for a wonderful 2007, and we look forward to a very exciting 2008 with you.
From the US team (this is all of us who were in the San Francisco office on the day this photo was taken):
and the Six Apart Japan team:
We'll see you in 2008! In the meantime, we thought we'd keep you entertained by revisiting our holiday video from 2006. Enjoy!
Many of you who were brave enough to try out our new features mentioned that you'd like the new beta navigation to color coordinate with the Vox blog themes. You'll be happy to know that we fixed this today, and now your Vox blog (and all of your neighbor's Vox blogs) will no longer clash with the top navigation. After all, style should never suffer for function!
We also included a bunch of bug fixes in this release, and we just want to say thank you for being so patient with us while we work out all the kinks!
If you haven't yet tried out our new features, it's not too late. Just click the "Go for it!" button at the top of the page to see all new changes we've been working on the past few months. (Don't worry. If at any time you decide you want to revert to the old style, you can just click, “Switch me back, please.”)
After you've had a chance to try out the new stuff, please Take Our Survey and let us know what you think. You can also get into detail about the things you love, hate, and would like to see going forward, by submitting your overall thoughts on our Feedback Page.
Enjoy!
If we’ve seemed a bit quiet lately, it’s because we’ve been hard at work on some major improvements and changes to Vox. It doesn’t matter what we think though unless you’re also happy with the enhancements, which is why we want to get your feedback on all the changes outlined below. Some of the changes are currently viewable by everyone, while we decided to give a few of the more dramatic changes some time in beta while we get your comments and work out all the kinks.
First, the changes that are live for everyone today:
Find & Invite
Your Friends
There’s a chance that some of your friends are already on
Vox and you don’t even know it.
Now you can find your friends already on Vox by searching with your web-based email or uploading a contact file. After you’ve added your friends who are already on Vox, you’ll also have the option to invite your other contacts to join. You can access the new features on the “Invite a Friend” page or directly from the beta dashboard on the “Find Your Friends” module.
We’re still working on making it easy for you to find all of your contacts from other social networks (like Facebook or Twitter) who are already on Vox. You can help expedite this process by adding all of your other accounts on the Contact Information page under “Your Accounts Elsewhere.” We’ll let you know as soon as you can search those accounts for your friends.
Rotate Your Pictures
Several of you have been asking for the ability to rotate
your photos, and we’re excited to finally give you the option.
Photos don’t always upload in the direction you want so we’ve made it easy to rotate any photo after you upload it to Vox. Just click on “Rotate Left” or “Rotate Right” in the “Options” drop-down.
Embed Vox Assets
Anywhere
See
something you love on Vox that you want to post
elsewhere? Now all you have to do is click on the “Embed” link on the
right.
When you click that link, the embed code will appear. Then just copy
the code to insert it into another web page. Easy! You can also use
this to post your own content from Vox on another webpage, blog or
profile.
New Features to Try
Out
We’ve added some new features for you to try out, but only
if you’re brave enough to click on the “Go for it!” button at the top of the page. (Don’t worry.
If at any time you decide you want to revert to the old style, you can just
click “Switch me back, please.”) We’re so excited about these changes, we
wanted everyone to be able to try them out, so even if you’ve already opted in as a beta tester, you will still have to click the “Go for it!” button.
New Navigation &
Explore Areas
We’ve spent months designing a navigation that is clear and simple. We know it’s not perfect yet, but with your feedback and more testing, we hope to introduce the final navigation in the next couple of weeks.
One change we’re incredibly excited about is that now, when
you click “Explore Vox,” you will see links to some new explore areas centered around different subjects. For
starters we’ve added Culture, Entertainment, Life, Music and Technology, and you
can also drill down into sub-categories, including Fashion, Food
& Drink and more. (We'll be expanding these in the future.)
Each page features a feed of the latest posts added to Vox that fall
into that specific category. So, if you
want to see all the latest posts that are related to Music, just click on the
Music link.
These new explore sections also feature a spotlight area where a Vox Editor will feature different content and blogs. Do you write a lot about fashion or technology? This is a great way to have your blog featured in a prominent way, attracting more visitors and perhaps some new friends and neighbors! In the coming weeks, we’ll let you know how to nominate great content from you and your fellow Voxers.
We’ve worked incredibly hard to make these areas as relevant as possible, and we hope you’ll be inspired to click around and discover new posts and neighbors who share your passions.
Re-Designed Homepage
We’ve redesigned the logged-in homepage to bring you the stuff you want to read, all in one place.
At the top of your screen you’ll find a new area that features new information from your neighborhood. Click through the links to browse posts, comments, media and updates. Below that you’ll find editorial sections highlighting some of the great posts on Vox. The Question of the Day is now in the right-hand column above the “Recently favorited” module.
We hope that the new homepage will allow you to not only get a quick glance of what your neighbors are up to, but will also help you discover new people and content.
Improved Performance
Our engineers have been working tirelessly on all of these
changes, but somehow they’ve also managed to find time to make some awesome
performance enhancements which will improve page loading times and your overall
experience on Vox.
We Want Your
Feedback!
After you’ve had a chance to play around with the new
features, we’d love you to Take
Our Survey and let us know what you think.
If you’ve clicked on the “Go for it!” button, you’ll see the link to the
survey just below it. We also encourage you to submit overall thoughts and
suggestions on our feedback
page. You can always check out our known issues list as well to get
a sense of the items we’re aware of and working to fix.
It’s really important to us that we find out what you think about these changes. If you love it, hate it, or have ideas for other things we should add, we want to know. So please don’t be shy! Share your feedback and help improve Vox.
There were two great Vox meetups on Saturday night, one in Palo Alto, California, and the other in London, England.
The Bay Area Voxers gathered for a fun night of bowling on lane 23 at Palo Alto Bowl, thanks to seasoned meetup organizer Reesie. At one point the bowling alley announced over the loudspeaker: "Attention we have a birthday! It's Kat's birthday on lane 23!" and played her a birthday song, even though it wasn't actually her birthday. Hmm, sounds like we have a league of troublemakers on our hands.
The bowlers included: (L to R, back row) Ken, Denise, (middle) Steve, Kat, Reesie, Patty, Dave, (kneeling) Miss Scotch, Deb, Ben, and Laurel. Beau was there too, but he left early. Read recaps of the event from Reesie, wirehead, rouma, Deborah, Abject and Beau.
Across the globe, London Voxers attended a night of music organized by Indieboy.
Read recaps from The Picture Show who said "The atmosphere was electric and very intimate at the same time and the line-up of bands were a cut above the rest" and This Morning Call who were delighted to perform "in an ideally sized bar that [they] could fill, but also in such a welcoming atmosphere, and most importantly perhaps, a 'listening' atmosphere."
Huge thanks to Indieboy and Reesie for their hard work in getting Voxers together for a night of fun. If you'd like more information on how to put together a meetup in your city, send me a message.
- Krissy
Back in September we told you about Me.dium, a cool, free browser add-on that lets you surf the Web with your friends in real-time. It gives you a personalized map of the Internet that updates as you and your friends move around. When we're both signed in to Me.dium, you can see which website or blog I'm reading and join me there with one click.
One of the coolest ways Me.dium is used is for online events, where a bunch of people can tour around a series of sites all together, chatting along the way.
This week over at Me.dium HQ they're celebrating Me.Fest, and all week long you can tune in for online events covering music, politics, shopping and much more. Head over to the Me.dium blog for a listing of all the daily events.
Tomorrow at around 2pm EST, I'm going to lead a short tour around Vox using the Me.dium technology. If you'd like to participate in this tour of Vox and preview of Me.dium, here's what to do:
- Be sure to download Me.dium. If you have already downloaded Me.dium but haven't logged in lately, you'll want to install this quick update.
- Sign up for an account on Me.dium account using this URL: http://me.dium.com/from/1a265c19b/ (You'll automatically be added as my friend).
- Log in to Me.dium and "meet" me here at the Team Vox blog (just go to http://team.vox.com in your browser) at 2pm EST tomorrow, Thursday November 29th.
We've done this once before and it was really fun. It will
help you learn how to use Me.dium and then you'll be ready to check out the rest of the Me.Fest events. I hope to see you tomorrow!
- Krissy
Back in April, we announced a really cool partnership between Vox and SonyBMG Music Entertainment UK. Instead of accepting demos from new artists on physical formats such as CDs, the only way RCA and Columbia Records UK now accept demo submissions is via Vox!
Over the past several months, tons of artists and musicians have signed up for Vox to share their music and be heard by the record labels. Indieboy has been on the front lines as a liaison between the labels and artists, communicating with the bands and taking note of the best music he hears.
In addition to giving feedback to the artists and regularly posting to his blog, Indieboy has set up a showcase event in London featuring five bands he's found via Vox.
As you can see, the event will be held in London and is open to the public (although you do need to be 18 or older since it's at a pub). The lineup includes Fox Cubs, The Picture Show, Susie Wilkins, D-Finitive and This Morning Call.
Since all of this came together via Vox, we're considering this a Vox meetup in London, which means we'll be sending over a box of Vox t-shirts and goodies for the Voxers in attendance. If you're in the London area, it will be a great chance to meet your fellow Voxers and see some up and coming musicians. Indieboy is having the event filmed as well, so be ready for your closeup. For those of you who aren't anywhere near London, hopefully we can share some of the filmed footage after it's edited together.
If you think you'll be able to attend, let us know in the comments, and be sure to spread the word to any of your Vox neighbors who live near London!
- Krissy
This time of year, just about every place you go to is decked out in something festive. So why not spruce up your blog too?
We've just added new holiday themes for Christmas and Eid al-Adha, as well as wintery themes with gingerbread houses and mistletoe to celebrate baking and making out, respectively.
Has anyone decorated their blog with a new personalized theme for the holidays? If so, comment with a link so we can check it out, and let other Voxers know if you're willing to share it.
- Krissy
Enter the Answers.com Creative Writing Challenge.
Fame and fortune could be yours! Use your creative genius to feature ten pre-determined words in an original poem, story or essay, and win a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com, as well as a place in the Answers.com Hall of Fame.
Answers.com launched its third Creative Writing Challenge today. Think you can find a creative way to use words like praxis and mantic? All you have to do is create an original written expresssion (any form you want, 750 words max), link the pre-determined words or phrases to the corresponding Answers.com entry and post your masterpiece on your Vox blog. Then fill out the entry form for your chance to win!
This is a great way to learn some new words (or visit with old favorites) and get more traffic to your Vox blog. You might also win $100 to spend at Amazon.com! Read all the rules and enter to win at Answers.com.
Let us know in the comments once you enter! We're very curious to see how you fit "a lick and a promise" into your submission.
It's been too long since we last had a Bay Area Vox meetup, so mark your calendars because another one is coming up!
BoVox is love
Reesie knows how to throw a great Voxer meetup -- the photos above are from a meetup she threw back in Boston. Now that she's in the Bay Area, she brought her mad meetup skillz with her and is inviting Voxers to come bowling!
How to RSVP: Read the post in Reesie's blog and send her a private message with your email address so she can add you to an evite.Bay Area Voxer Meetup with bowling!
When:
Saturday, Dec 1, 8:30PM - 10:30PMWhere:
Palo Alto Bowl
4329 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94036Cost:
$17 per person for unlimited bowling from 8:30PM - 10:30PM. That's two hours of bowling!
It also includes shoe rental, prizes, snack bar, and bar specials
Members of Team Vox will be there to bowl with you and hand out some Vox goodies.
See you in December!
We are well into November, and though it's sunny and 70 in San Francisco, I imagine for some of you a brisk chill is in the air, the trees are almost bare and thoughts of snow-blanketed winter mornings and hot cups of cocoa are starting to creep into your head.
But before we hunker down for winter, we should celebrate the successful harvest (Thanksgiving) and the victory of good over evil within every human being (Diwali, or "Festival of Light). We thought the best way to do this would be to give you some great new seasonal themes. (And a green city. Just 'cause.)
