NexopiaIdeas - 20, Male, Edmonton
NexopiaIdeas's Blog9,740 Hits
Sketches for New Blog Features
Hey guys, we're working on some new additions to the blogs that will make it much easier to post content like videos and polls without BBCode. The default freeform block will still be there.

Here are a few cool features we're excited about:
  • Upload photos without leaving the blog, no need for sites like Photobucket
  • Easier video embed with the ability to search YouTube videos in the new entry page
  • New content on blogs like Polls and Battles

Check out the early sketches below and let us know what you think.

-- The Nex Team








 

COMMENTS
AetherealMeadow - 19, Female, Toronto
08:11pm | Feb 03, '09
Looks pretty nifty!
I'm looking foward to it!
darcywalsh - 22, Female, Vancouver
09:09pm | Feb 03, '09
Battles?
cl14 - 28, Male, Edmonton
10:19pm | Feb 03, '09
Battles are something that we are looking at doing. Basically it would be like a poll but you could pit content against each other. E.g. Which music video do you think is better - and you can post two music videos from youtube. We are still figuring out how it would work, but that's the concept.
BbGzSoFiine
09:49pm | Feb 03, '09
BbGzSoFiine
Hi , you should think about putting a place on user' s pages for a playlist , so they can put whatever music they like on their page .
it would be way better then always going to a different website like imeem , youtube .
*;-Will - 62, Male, Victoria
03:14am | Feb 04, '09
I'm sorry... but the entire concept of music anywhere on personal profiles is stupid.
I'm sure most of us have iTunes or whatever else open and we're listening to our own music. The chances are, I do not care for the music you do... so again I reinerate, stupid idea.
Kyo. - 22, Male, Calgary
10:15pm | Feb 03, '09
It's good and all, but it seems lacking. I like the idea in general though.
sinanmaani - 27, Male, Edmonton
10:17pm | Feb 03, '09
In what way do you think it's lacking?
Kyo. - 22, Male, Calgary
10:22pm | Feb 03, '09
I'm not sure. It's one of those things when you know it's missing something but you can't quite figure out what is missing.
speakeasy. - 18, Female, Greece
11:14pm | Feb 03, '09
i like it a lot
but i kinda agree with Kyo.
if i figure it out ill let ya know
cause it awesome right now
but could be epic.
[R]ock.Star*
11:41pm | Feb 03, '09
[R]ock.Star*
I think it would be cool if you guys would integrate it into the page a little more, without it being so box-ish.
sinanmaani - 27, Male, Edmonton
11:53pm | Feb 03, '09
Thanks, good point. it's an early sketch, one of the things that's probably gonna change a lot is the icons and the tabs.
[R]ock.Star*
11:57pm | Feb 03, '09
[R]ock.Star*
What I enjoy most about Nexopia, is the skins, and having things integrate so well and being stylish, without everything conforming. Just putting that out there!
hatchetwhore - 19, Female, Edmonton
06:33am | Feb 04, '09
Merely judging by the screenshot previews users will be aloud to upload pictures now.
How exactly will this work? Will it be like files where you can upload a certain amount and manage the photos you have stored, etc. But then again that's why the file feature is there, is it not? However that feature is only for Plus users, will uploading direct photos also be for Plus only? If Nexopia is going the same direction with this direct upload as they did with files I can see some users feeling like you're taking away yet another plus only feature.

But that's just my two sense, in a way I get the feeling this whole new direction the staff is going with is a bit too much. This is not Livejournal, Blogspot, etc. It's Nexopia, make it as simple as it can be. And although these updates might be nice it is far from being simple.

One must hope though, if this is put out you'll still give users the option of using codes over shortcuts/options.
hatchetwhore - 19, Female, Edmonton
06:35am | Feb 04, '09
Re-thinking what I just said: *Or will photos that get directly uploaded just be stored in the users Gallerys?
cl14 - 28, Male, Edmonton
05:10pm | Feb 04, '09
The process of uploading a picture, video, or other content is extremely intimidating to new users (and many users that have been on the site for a while). The majority of people don't know BB Code, how to embed content from other sites, how to upload pictures, etc. What we are hoping to do is make it easier for those people, and make the process a lot quicker for current users. The current way of imputing information into the blogs will still remain, we want to maintain our users ability to do what they want with blogs, but we also want to open up blogs to other users. I'm curious as to what you don't find simple about this? The thought was that we would make it straight forward so people would know exactly how to create different types of content. Did we miss the mark on that somehow?

A second issue is that it is not that easy to add different types of content to the blogs, for instance polls. If we want to add those, and possibly others, we have to look at whether that is going to work with the current blog setup, or if we need to do something else.

In regard to your concern about plus, we don't know what we are going to do for pictures, whether they will end up in files, galleries, etc. We are looking at options. We are also looking at some ideas for new plus features, keep your eyes tuned to this blog we are going to post some ideas here to see what people think.
hatchetwhore - 19, Female, Edmonton
05:42pm | Feb 04, '09
I'm curious as to what you don't find simple about this? The thought was that we would make it straight forward so people would know exactly how to create different types of content. Did we miss the mark on that somehow?
Oh no, if anything you're right on the mark with simplicity. I won't doubt for a second that you guys will find a way to make it as easy as possible for the average user. I was just speaking personally that shortcuts/etc. would be more complicated than simply typing out a code. But as agentdave and yourself said, typing the codes will still be an option so really I have nothing to complain about, lol.
agentdave - 32, Male, Edmonton
09:00am | Feb 04, '09
hatchetwhore, I believe the "freeform" tab would be the option you're looking for if you didn't want to use the shortcuts. We're definitely not going to be taking away the ability to enter your own bbcode. From the development perspective, we might even end up simply generating bbcode from the shortcut screens that could be edited later in a freeform view. It still depends on the final version of the feature. We've thrown around a lot of ideas in the office and I'm sure you guys will be throwing in a few too. I promise to be your office avatar and personally yell and scream if anyone suggests eliminating the ability to enter raw codes That said, even though I know the bbcode, I'm looking forward to only having to take one or two steps to post a picture.
hatchetwhore - 19, Female, Edmonton
04:51pm | Feb 04, '09
I promise to be your office avatar and personally yell and scream if anyone suggests eliminating the ability to enter raw codes

Sounds good, lol. Thank-you.

Last quick question: Again, I know this is only in thoughts now but will the way blogs are posted change? As it stands currently when you want to post a new blog it sends you to a new page. If this idea is put into effect will blogs turn into a pop-up box, like how the profile sections are to edit?
sinanmaani - 27, Male, Edmonton
05:06pm | Feb 04, '09
We wanted to make it a pop-up but decided to keep it as it is cuz that would have slowed down the blogs page too much.
beating,HEARTS
05:41pm | Feb 04, '09
beating,HEARTS
Looks like it would take a really long time to load...
kees - 48, Male, The Hague
05:47pm | Feb 04, '09
The photo upload thing is a good idea. The "video embed wizard" looks like overkill to me. If I want to find a video, I'd rather search directly on a video site instead of using some portal thing on nexopia. I also think it could be a monster to maintain, with updates needed every time youtube or vimeo changes something.
CHCIAO4NOW - 19, Male, Edmonton
11:50pm | Feb 11, '09
so i hope you guys are adding that feature where you can subscribe to others' blogs without
having to friend them

[= of course so i could subscribe to this blog
NexopiaHelp - 20, Female, Edmonton
08:11pm | Feb 15, '09
Why not Natasha?
Boyfriend? - 18, Female, Calgary
11:34pm | Feb 20, '09
i like it
DO IT
*;-Will - 62, Male, Victoria
06:26am | Feb 22, '09
Can you explain "Grabbing" ?
sinanmaani - 27, Male, Edmonton
05:37pm | Feb 23, '09
We're looking into something that would let you quickly grab something you like and post it in you're blog.
*;-Will - 62, Male, Victoria
06:43pm | Feb 23, '09
Good stuff.
disguise,
06:11am | Feb 27, '09
disguise,
Thats a really good idea,
I find that a lot of users are switching to facebook, and lots of users now use their blog frequently, so its a way too keep users on this site, by making it more like live journal, although I'm sure making it like another site werent your intentions, but it simplifies blogging. I really like this update. I really like most of the new site updates. And I dont think this should be just a plus feature, I mean I have plus, but its a site update, no a feature update. I say do it.
Guillaume - 17, Male, Calgary
02:08pm | Feb 27, '09
I really don't like the tabs, I like the idea of the blog system being simple, by click post blog enter.
this is just confusing when i look at it. I like the idea of being able to put a poll on your page but it
shouldn't be on a tab. I agree with ^ it does kinda look like face book. The options shouldnt be on the right.

Guillaume - 17, Male, Calgary
02:32pm | Feb 27, '09
Poll on your blog *
iDori
07:56pm | Mar 13, '09
iDori
Whens this blog bit supposed to happen?!

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