2 posts tagged “launch”

It’s been a long time in the making, but the day of the official Vox launch is here.

In anticipation for this event, we asked all of you guys to share what aspect you most appreciate or like about Vox. The answers were varied and personal (just like Vox members) but there was one aspect that really shines: the Vox community. Even though Vox is primarily focused on allowing you to share your life with the people you already know and care about – and, more importantly, care about you -- during the past months of the beta/preview real friendships have developed.

Short and sweet, everyone on Vox really rocks. And since the beginning of June when we first opened up Vox to beta testers, you all have been so welcoming. There are over 85,000 people currently on Vox who are incredibly active (which is what really matters). That’s a lot of people for a gated invite-only system that has had controlled growth. The best thing is that even with a community of that size, Vox still feels intimate and welcoming.

We’re counting on this wonderful community to help welcome all the new folks who will soon be joining Vox. We’re extremely dedicated to growing a diverse and vibrant community so this launch is just the start of Vox, not the end.

To all of you who have just joined Vox, everyone at Six Apart (the company that builds Vox) welcomes you! You’re now part of something great – something that we believe is lively, powerful and fun. The best way to learn what we’ve all been up to is by reading older posts on this blog (team.vox.com). We roll out new features and improve Vox at a very regular pace so be prepared to see improvements big and small to continue. Anyone can now join Vox instantly, but the invitation system is still the best way to invite your friends and family and get connected to them in the same step.

Thanks again to all of you who have made Vox what is is today (our members and our staff). We look forward to you all making Vox the absolute best neighborhood online.

We’re fast approaching the day when we officially launch Vox to the world. It’s coming at the end of the month (official date to be announced soon [EDIT: The launch date is Thursday, October 26th]). The invitation-only beta has been a period of rapid iteration and your feedback has helped shaped Vox into its current form. We’ve been so amazingly pleased with our Vox members and how they’ve embraced the service. Not only that, we have learned so much about what Voxers want moving forward.

The invitation-only beta began with Six Apart employees and grew when their friends and family started posting back in early June. We soon gave those people invites who gave those people invites and so on. Along the way, Vox has become a vibrant community that can only get better. We want to thank all of you who have participated in the preview period (with a special shout out to our LiveJournal and TypePad members who have been with us for so long!)

What does "launch" mean? We will be taking off the invite-only system that requires an invitation from a current Vox user or an invitation from Six Apart (in the case of the Vox request invite page). Other than that, it will be business as usual for current Voxers and we’ll be still rapidly improving the product in the cycles that you’re all currently familiar with.

Of course you’ll still be able to invite people to Vox – this is the best way to get someone onto Vox and connected to you all in one step. So that won’t change at all. And all the privacy options are still intact, so the new people who come to Vox won’t suddenly see new or private content, unless you add them in your friend and/or family group.

As we spend these last days of the preview together, here's what you can do to help prepare for the launch:

• Help spread the word about Vox - now you can generate a Vox badge that can be posted on any blog or website.  
• Invite your friends and family to join, and let them reserve their username before the doors open.
• Celebrate Vox by having a meetup in your city (send Krissy a private message for more details).
• Share your launch day ideas.  Want to suggest a QotD or [this is good] link for launch day?  Have an idea of how to welcome the world to Vox?  Tell us in the comments.
  

Thanks again for everyone’s feedback! More to come real soon.

-Mena