As the former MSN Group members can see, the migration went pretty smooth for the most part but there is a lot of work to complete the full migration to Multiply. I wanted to update yous on how it's going.
Pages and Messages: All the forum posts and custom pages from the msn site are in the blog. Here (multiply), they are one in the same. This is cool because everyone can create a custom page for themselves and projects for others to view. All the custom pages from msn need to be reformatted I've completed a good share of them but the remaining can be viewed by clicking on the "custom page" tag. All the original posts from the forum are tagged "general". I have re-tagged some of the posts that have similar topics. For example: You can click the tag "paint" and all the posts I have found related to paint will display on one page. This is very cool and makes it easier to find all the information we've collected through posts over the years. I've also deleted all the "welcome new members to msn groups" messages I could find because they no longer apply.
Tags: This is a very cool feature we didn't have before. All similar information can be tagged so as to make it more easier to find. This was nearly impossible on msn. You can find the current tags on the home page, just below the Boat Building Ring control. After exploring other group sites on multiply i've come to realize that tags can get out of control. Some of these groups have thousands of tags which is ridiculous. When creating blogs there is a tags bar below the compose box and a "click to insert:" Please look for an existing tag that may suit your post. Use your best judgement when inserting tags and creating new tags and remember that every post does not necessarily need a tag.
Photos: Near as I can tell, all the photo albums came over. However, the ownership may belong to your former self. If you used the original invitation from multiply to join the group here then you still own it and can edit the album. Otherwise, you can not. Not to worry as we can download the photos delete the album and upload them to a new. As the admin here I can only edit my own photo albums as well but I think we can all add pictures to the existing albums. Also, the photos in all the custom pages and old forum posts are still being "fetched" from msn so they will need to be replaced by the same photo in the photo albums here. I've been working on this for the custom pages. I created custom pages on msn for some of your projects like Bogsdolics Grawl, CB's Jezebel, J-Star's Tess, etc. I will update them in due time. The cool thing is that anyone can create there own by posting a blog. You can also edit your blog post at any time and simply change the date and time to send it back to the top of the list and even change the title so people will see it as new.
The blog: Not much more to say than jump in and post. Give it a try. It's way better than msn and you can add and import just about anything as well as cut and paste just about anything. If you know a bit of HTML click the "Edit HTML" box and you are almost limitless. The multiply flavor of HTML takes a bit of getting used to but once you hit save and publish, it fixes and re-orders your code. Which ultimately is a good thing.
Comments: Almost every form of content posted by users can be commented on. If for some reason you do not want comments you can un-check the "Allow replies" box in the compose. I urge you to comment on posted content. If you are thinking "this video or photo is cool" comment that. It only increases the communication and information.
Headshots: I encourage all members to update your headshot. You can do this under "my account" at the top of any page. It does not have to be a picture of you. I prefer to see whom I'm taking to, however, it can be any image, your boat, project, favorite caricature or your best "Arnold Schwarzenegger".
Inbox and My Site: All the comments and posts will be sent to your multiply inbox. There is a handy tool to the right that identifies messages specifically too you or about content that you've posted. You can control what gets sent to your home/work inbox via email under the "My E-mail Alerts" in your account settings. Your My Site is all about you. The only thing I ask is that if you post content related to this site on your My Site. Duplicate it over here or direct us to it with a link. Most of you have other places that you post content on the web. Share your links and if you have the time, duplicate some of that here too. You can change the "who can see" settings for all of your my site content. It's also a great place to experiment how to post here because it's all the same multiply engine.
Asst. Admins: Anyone interested in jumping on board with this? Once you get used to multiply, and you have some time here and there. I'm pretty easy to work with.
More: Multiply is always upgrading the features of their interface. If you discover new features, something nifty, or a better way, do share with the group.
Final note: MSN Groups was part of microsoft and msn. I can not remember msn issuing any new features or enhancements to msn groups in all the time I spent there. Multiply's business is Multiply, they really do this thing right and are interested in enhancement requests and your experiences here. If you communicate with them, you will find that they have your best interest in mind.
Comments are always welcome...
Enjoy,
Kruez
PS: The "Preview & Spell Check is sweet"
No comments:
Post a Comment