First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!
The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.
A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.
Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.
On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.
And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!
~ daisy
As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.
The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.
When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.
It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.
Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.
As always, thanks for your patience.
FLY ABOVE ALL THE DRAMA (AKA THE SINCE EVERYONE IS MAKING POSTS...POST)
AND THE MOD ELECTIONS ARE BEING HELD UP I'D FIGURE I'D GIVE MY $.02
I WAS IN NO WAY INVOLVED WITH THE SEKRIT COMM, AND MORE THAN LIKELY NEITHER WERE ANY OF THE OTHER APPLICANTS WHO I'M SURE HAVE ALL BEEN ACCUSED ALSO. I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT WHEN IT WERE OPEN THEY'D PROBABLY BE TALKING ABOUT ME, BUT I'M PROBABLY NOT ON THEIR RADAR.
THE PEOPLE ON THEIR RADAR? LOUD, OPINIONATED, SMART, BEAUTIFUL, SNARKY, AND UNFEARING. IF YOU WERE TALKED ABOUT IN THAT COMM IT'S BECAUSE YOU WERE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING THAT THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMM HATED AND THAT WAS TAKE THE ATTENTION OFF OF THEM FOR MORE THAN FIVE SECONDS.(
(EDIT: I JUST HEARD I MAY HAVE BEEN PROMOTED, BUT WHEN IT'S AT SOMEONE ELSE'S EXPENSE? NOT PROMOTION, JUST DEMOTION OF THE OTHER. I'M STILL NOT SURE ON THE DETAILS, BUT THAT'S THE INITIAL REACTION)
AND DON'T COME AT ME WITH "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT" BECAUSE IN KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. SOMEONE ASKED ME ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU IT.
SOME OF
YOU KNOW TWOP, BUT DO SOME OF YOU KNOW ABOUT TWOP SUCKS (NOW BITTER BUT
BRILLIANT)? I WAS A HUGE JACOB SUPPORTER AND WOULD KISS HIS BUTT ALL UP
AND DOWN THE TWOP BOARDS. ONE DAY A FRIEND SENT ME A LINK TO TWOP SUCKS
AND I SAW PEOPLE SAYING THE MOST HATEFUL AND HURTFUL THINGS ABOUT YOURS
TRULY.
IT WAS BAD (REAL BAD MICHAEL JACKSON) AND THEN I GOT MAD (REAL MAD JOE JACKSON) AND THEN? I REALIZED THEY HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS! THEIR OPINION OF ME WAS BASED ON A FEW STATEMENTS MADE ON A SITE THAT I BASICALLY LIVED AT, BUT IT WAS COMPLETELY ONE DIMENSIONAL. SO I JOINED, ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE HATERS, AND MADE SOME REALLY COOL FRIENDS THAT I STILL TALK TO THIS DAY.
DURING MY TIME THERE WE BEGAN TO QUESTION THE REGIME. THE VERY THINGS WE WERE HATING ON TWOPPERS FOR (OH YEAH, I JOINED IN AFTER A WHILE, SHUT UP, I WAS YOUNG! BESIDES, IT WAS MOSTLY TO HATE ON JACOB HATERS, HEH) WE WERE DOING OURSELVES. SO I GOT AN INVITE TO TWOP SUCKS SUCK AKA LYLE LOVETT'S NEEDS (INORITE). THERE, THE JACOB LOVERS HATED ON THE JACOB HATERS THAT HATED ON THE JACOB LOVERS (DON'T THINK IT CAN'T GET MORE META PEOPLE, CAUSE IT GOT EVEN MORE META BUT THAT COMES LATER) AND WE TALKED ABOUT GASBAG MEMBERS WHO WE DIDN'T LIKE.
LATER IN I'D CREATED A JACOB FAN FORUM (DID I MENTION I WAS CRAZY FOR A WHILE? AND YOUNG? AND MAY HAVE BEEN WELL INTO MY 20'S WHEN THIS HAPPENED?) AND A FEW SPLINTER MEMBERS FROM TSS/LLN WERE MEMBERS. WE HAD A HIDDEN FORUM WHERE WE JUST TALKED TRASH ABOUT THE ENTIRE SITUATION. IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF FUNNY HOW SIMLAR ALL OF THIS IS, THERE WAS A SOUTHERN SASSY BELL, A GAY GUY, A MOMMY BLOGGER, A RESPLENDENT FOREIGNER, AND A DISGRUNTLED HOUSEWIFE!
WE MOSTLY JUST RAN AROUND BEING JERKS IN THE PRIVACY OF OUR OWN FORUM WHEN SOMEONE IN THE GROUP HAPPENED UPON SOME CACHED PAGES FROM THE MOD COMM OF TWOPSUCKS. THEY EXPOSED THE MEMBERS AS HAVING GHOSTNICS AND SOCKPUPPETS ON THEIR OWN BOARDS! THEY WOULD POST AS THEIR SOCK AGREERING WITH SOMEONE AND THEN COME IN AS A MOD BANISHING EVERYONE. INSANITY, RIGHT?
I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS FAIR TO HAVE THIS INFO AND NOT GIVE IT TO THE BOARD AND ONE OTHER GIRL AGREED WITH ME. WE WANTED TO RELEASE IT. THE REST OF THE GROUP (ABOUT 5 OTHERS) DIDN'T WANT TO AND THEY WERE VOCAL BUT NOT REALLY BEYOND "YOU GUYS WE SHOULDN'T DO THIS, THIS IS BAD!" WHAT TRANSPIRED NEXT IS WHAT I SEE HAPPENING HERE AND BASICALLY RATTLED MY WORLD.
INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO TALK ABOUT IT, THE SPLINTER GROUP DECIDED TO START A GMAIL THREAD (TOLD YOU, MORE META!) WHERE THEY CALLED ME EVERYTHING BUT A CHILD OF GOD. DURING THIS TIME I HAD A LOT OF PROJECTS IN THE MIX AND THEY ANALYZED EVERY ACTION I TOOK AS SOMETHING TO OUT THEM AND DERAIL THEM AND SELL THEIR SECRETS TO THE KGB OR WHATEVER. ONE OF THEM EMAILED ME THE THREAD (AND THEN LATER ONE OF THEM ACCUSED ME OF HACKING INTO THEIR EMAIL ACCOUNT TO GET IT) AND WHEN CONFRONTED ONLY ONE GIRL DECIDED TO TAKE THE HEAT OF MY WRATH (Y'ALL, IT WAS ON MY BIRTHDAY Y'ALL!). SHE ASKED ME TO EXPLAIN MY ACTIONS AND I DID TO THE VERY DETAIL AND SHE BELIEVED ME. SHE ADMITTED SHE GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE CRAZY AND I FORGAVE HER AND WE'RE STILL E-COOL TO THIS DAY. SOME OF THEM APOLOGIZED AND WE'RE GRAVY, AND SOME I HAVEN'T TALKED TO SINCE.
DON'T
THINK ALL OF THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. HONESTLY, I GET WHAT
IT'S LIKE TO HAVE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOU, BUT YOU HAVE GOT TO GET A
THICKER SKIN ON THE WEBS. WHO CARES? THEY DON'T KNOW YOU AND 9 TIMES
OUT OF 10 THE THINGS THEY SAY HAVE NOTHIN TO DO WITH YOU! I HAD A GIRL
SAY I CAUSED HER TO GET A REPRIMAND AT WORK BECAUSE SHE WAS TAKING TOO
MUCH TIME WADING THROUGH MY BS! UMM... INTROSPECTION MUCH?
FLY ABOVE THE HATE! STRUT! SOME AWESOME LYRIC FROM A KRIS SONG! FRIDAY I'LL BE OVER YOU!
BUT WE NEED TO HUNKER DOWN AS A COMM AND DECIDE WHAT WE WANT TO BE AND HOW TO GET THERE. AND WE CAN'T DO THAT IF WE CAN'T GO THROUGH A SINGLE NIGHT OF PETTY DRAMA. BREATH BEFORE TAKING ACTION. LEARN TO LOOK AT AN ENTIRE SITUATION AND NOT JUST THE PART THAT EFFECTS YOU. LEARN HOW TO PUT YOUR PERSONAL FEELINGS AND FRIENDSHIPS ASIDE FOR THE GREATER GOOD WHEN NECESSARY. LEARN HOW TO BE HATED, HOW TO LOSE FRIENDSHIPS, HOW TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS AND HOW TO STICK BY THEM.
I'M GOING TO FLOCK THIS, SO PLEASE, OTHER APPLICANTS USE THIS AS YOUR WAY TO CLEAR YOUR NAME IF NECESSARY. MEMBERS, USE THIS AS A WAY TO VENT AND GET OUT WHAT YOU WANT. SAY WHATEVER, I DON'T CARE, BUT SAY IT AND THEN LEAVE IT SO WE CAN MOVE ON. NO, I'M NOT A MOD AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE AT THIS POINT, BUT I LOVE THIS COMM TOO MUCH TO SEE IT BURN DOWN. I'VE SEEN THAT BEFORE AND IT'S NUTS, BUT IT IS PREVENTABLE. LET'S PREVENT IT.
I LOVE YOU GUYS. NOW I'M GOING TO SHOWER!
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.
We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.
I will keep you posted.
Thank you for being so patient.
Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.
This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!
Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.
Can't wait to read your posts!
~ daisy
The Amazon Conduit will be working again on October 15, 2009. Thank you to everyone for your patience.
Have a great weekend,
daisy, Team Vox
In my last Team Vox post, I let you know that we're aware that the Amazon conduit is broken and that we're working to fix it. Many of you want to know when it's going to be fixed and I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you about that sooner.
Unfortunately, I don't have an exact date to give you, but rest assured, the Amazon conduit will be fixed in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, I'm about to finish my latest book and I could use a few suggestions as to what to read next, so... if you don't mind, let me know in the comments what's on your nightstand and/or what book you think I absolutely must read next.
Thanks! :)
Some of you may have noticed that right now you cannot add books from Amazon to your Vox library. Giving people a glimpse into what's on your night stand is important to many of you, so I just wanted to reassure you that we are doing our best to get this bug fixed. I'll keep you posted.
So sorry for the inconvenience.
Hope you have a great weekend!
daisy
