Just wanted to make everyone aware of few recent updates on Amplify...
1. You can now include up to four photos in microblog posts by clicking the Attach Photo link below the microblog form.
2. We have added Flickr to our list of supported sites for autoposting (currently works for images included in microblog posts and posts sent by email). To enable autoposting to Flickr go to Settings >> Autopost and then choose Flickr on the left side of the page.
3. Clicking on any image in a microblog post or that was included in a post by email will expand the image to a much larger size.
4. If you would like to use Feedburner for your Amplog you can now enable it by going to Settings and under More Settings click the Feedburner RSS link.
An update on mobile: The mobile version of amplify.com is just about ready to go and we have made enormous progress on apps for iPhone, iPad and Android phones. We expect to release all of them right around the new year.
You can now see how much traffic your Amplify posts are getting and where visitors are coming from by adding Google Analytics to your Amplog.
Whether you already have a Google Analytics account or not, the process is quick and easy to setup. On Amplify, just go to Settings >> Google Analytics and follow the instructions provided.
Keep in mind, that while Google Analytics will provide metrics on traffic to your Amplog and permalinks, it will not include views your posts receive in the live feeds on amplify.com.
We are very excited to announce that autoposting from Amplify to your Facebook Profile and Facebook Pages now includes the full content of your posts. To enable this feature, the next time you post something on Amplify you'll simply need to click a link that grants Amplify permission to update your Facebook stream.
Following on the heels of our recent addition of scheduled posts, we're confident that Amplify has further distinguished itself as the web's premier service for sharing things you find on the web to Facebook, Twitter, your blog and beyond.
Enjoy!
This afternoon, we introduced some major changes on amplify.com. As we've often said, the primary purpose of Amplify is to give people an opportunity to engage in conversation around shared content and original ideas without being limited to 140 characters. Every change introduced today is aimed at further accomplishing this goal by simplifying the user experience.
1. Latest Posts: The first thing you'll notice is that comments are no longer shown in the default feed. Instead, the main feed on Amplify now solely includes the latest posts by people you follow. At first, while this may seem counterintuitive to our objective of sparking conversation, we've come to believe that including the latest comments in the main feed creates a confusing interface for newcomers and has the unintended, but not surprising, consequence of giving each new post less time to be seen. By only including the latest posts, and tweaking the design a bit, we expect more people will find it easier to read and comment upon a higher number of posts. As a result, a greater percentage of posts should end up being talked about, and the conversation should spread across more people and more posts, instead of being concentrated amongst those that quickly generate attention.
2. The Conversation: The second tab on Amplify now provides a mash up of the latest posts, comments and recommends by users you follow. For people who are interested in and adept at keeping up with multiple conversations, this is the place for you.
3. Email notifications: For all users, new and old, email notifications for comments on your own posts as well as follow up comments on posts you previously commented on are now turned off (anyone who would like to turn them back on can easily do so by going to Settings >> Email Notifications). Though it is common on the web for services such as Amplify to email comments to users, we believe this can be annoying and overwhelming, and that it puts the needs of the service provider over those of users. We want you to be able to read and reply to comments on Amplify at your own convenience, when you feel like it. Alerting you via email that there is a new comment just doesn't seem necessary. Anytime you want to check, you know where to find Amplify. And we've got a nice prominent tab that says "@Mentions of me" that includes a numerical indicator telling you when there are new comments directed at you. So you're free check it as often or as infrequently as you like.
Also keep in mind that there are links on the right side of each feed that let you see the latest activity on your posts and and all follow up comments on posts you previously commented on. We also send a daily email that gives each user a summary of action on their posts over the past 24 hours. If that's not enough, then for anyone who prefers to get emailed in real-time when there are new comments, you can easily turn notifications back on. But that should be your choice to make, not ours.
4.Comments and Recommends: In all feeds, the number of comments and recommends on a post are no longer joined together, but are instead displayed separately. Clicking on the number of comments will open the comment thread and clicking the number of recommends will open a window showing you the names and faces of people who have recommended that post. By handling recommends like this, we think you'll find it a helpful way to meet and follow new people who recommend content you like.
5. Bumping into people: We really love the new "bump into" feature on Amplify and have received very positive feedback about it. To make it easier to notice, we've slightly redesigned the site header and moved it to a more prominent location.
We hope you enjoy these changes and thank you for joining us in this great experiment (maybe not as great an experiment as democracy, but... :) ) to enable conversation on the web to flow naturally and serendipitously without being confined to the limitations of 140 characters.
So, a week ago I announced that we were giving ourselves 1 week to put aside current priorities so we could do something special with check-ins. Well, it's been a week, and here's the deal:
What a week it was (a bit painful actually). We went all the way with it, exploring many different approaches; brainstorming, mocking up several new interfaces and coding up new ways of communicating within the existing amplify user interface. But when push came to shove, we just couldn't get it done "right" in time.
We now have three choices: (i) devote additional time to the project to really get it right (probably a couple of weeks); (ii) squeeze it into the existing site today, but do so in a way that really messes with the the way things flow; or (iii) shelve it for now so we can get back to work on the mobile version of amplify.com.
Somewhat sadly, especially given how hard we tried to do something great, we have chosen to shelve it for now. We're still going to leave the check-ins widget on the side of the main feeds, as we think they're cool and have great potential. But regrettably, we're going to have to wait a bit before taking check-ins to the next level.
For what it's worth, despite it turning out to be somewhat of a wasted week, I don't regret giving it a try because I believe strongly in the spirit of taking a chance to create something new and we definitely learned some important things about the Amplify user experience by being forced to dig into it from a new perspective. So, I wish I had more exciting news to bring you, but that's the latest on check-ins.
We're very excited to announce that one of the most often requested features is now live on Amplify. All clips, URLs, microblog and blog posts now include a "Schedule" button that lets you choose a day and time in the future to publish your post.
For example, if you're doing a lot of reading in the morning and want to sprinkle your clips throughout the day, you can easily do so. Or, if you come across something you want to post on Amplify but want it to coincide with a certain event in the future, you can easily schedule it for later.
If you use Amplify to autopost to other services such as Twitter, Facebook, Buzz, Posterous, etc., please keep in mind that whatever day and time you schedule a post for will also be the time that it gets posted to those services.
Scheduling posts does not yet work for posts-by-email but we plan to add support for that soon.
Enjoy!
You know when you go to bar, cafe, party, movie or any other event and randomly bump into someone and end up striking up a #conversation with them? There's something really cool about it, as you unexpectedly find yourself talking with someone you may know but haven't seen in a while, or perhaps even someone you don't know at all but who shares a common interest with you.
Well, we think you should be able to #serendipitously bump into people on #amplify too. It may be someone who is very active on amplify, or perhaps someone who once passed through but hasn't been here in a while. Either way, if you find someone who interests you, you can engage them in conversation or even follow them. And if you don't find someone interesting the first time, you can keep bumping until you do.
To try it, click the little mystery person button in the header and see who you bump into. #BumpIn
Today we're excited to introduce check-ins on #amplify. Unlike most #check-in services that are primarily aimed at telling people where you are, check-ins on Amplify are aimed at sparking #conversation about anything that's on your mind. Maybe it's a sporting event or tv show you're watching, or a new technology or scientific breakthrough you're curious about, a political issue or perhaps something a bit more random. Whatever it is, check-ins give you the opportunity to spark conversation with people who are interested in whatever's on your mind.
To check-in and see the latest check-ins by your Sources, visit amplify.com and check out the right side of the page.
At this point, we're viewing check-ins as an early stage experiment that will evolve over the coming days, weeks and months. We hope you enjoy it and look forward to seeing it in action!
Just a quick note to let you know that you will now see a red circle with a number inside it in the "@Mentions of me" tab any time you have been @mentioned since you last checked that feed. Now you won't ever have to visit that feed to find out if you've been mentioned, and as long as you give a peak at the tab every once in a while, you'll never miss a @mention of yourself.
Today we're very excited to bring the social clipping power of Amplify to web sites and blogs!
By adding the brand new Amplify it! button to your site, instead of just sharing links, you can empower visitors to clip and spark conversation about your content throughout the social web (including on Amplify.com, Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress, Google Buzz and many other social networks and blogs).
In addition to making it easier for your content to be the topic of conversation, all Amplify posts include a link back to your entire article, helping your content be found by interested readers and search engines.
For all web sites and blogs (except WordPress) get your Amplify it! button at http://amplify.com/goodies/amplify-it.
For WordPress and Wordpress.com blogs, get your Amplify it! button at http://amplify.com/goodies/amplify-it-for-wordpress.
For more widgets, badges, logos and other Amplify related goodies, check out http://amplify.com/goodies/.
Enjoy!
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A few recent updates on Amplify (support for Flickr, Feedburner and more)
