news, posts by tag: 2007 - LiveJournal

Just like that: Thanksgiving is over and before you've even finished the leftover turkey, ornaments are being hung on trees, candles are going in the menorah, presents are being wrapped, and the over-indulgence that is the holidays is in full swing.

If you want to deck your halls with boughs of holly, or just hand out lumps of coal, we've got what you need to keep your LJ merry and bright.

Give More is Back!
You've waited patiently all year... And finally, the "Give More" promotion is back! Starting Saturday, December 1st, when you buy someone a gift of paid account time, you'll automatically give them the userpic add-on for free! That means when you give the gift of a 12 month paid account, the recipient automatically gets upgraded to 100 userpics for those 12 months. 

The Give More offer is available until December 31, 2007, at 11:59 p.m. PT and only applies to gifts purchased for other users, not paid time you purchase for your own account. 

Finish all your holiday shopping this weekend! Head to the Gift Shop and Give More!

New Holiday Themes
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Eid, or just enjoy making out underneath the mistletoe, there's a holiday theme for everyone. Finally... Festive decor that doesn't require you to vacuum up those pesky pine needles.
From L to Right: Fireplace Brick, Christmas Tree Red, Eid Gold, Snowglobe White, Holiday Kiss Eggnog, Gingerbread Blue.



New Holiday V-Gifts
All we want for Christmas is a Rudolph Frank (shocking, we know), but we've got lots of new holiday-themed V-Gifts for everyone on your list. At less than $1 each, it doesn't really matter who was naughty and who was nice, does it?


While we're on the subject of V-Gifts, we think you'll be happy to hear that we've redesigned the V-Gift Shop! Now it is easier than ever to send a a Virtual Gift directly to your friends' profiles. Clearly designated themes and an easy-to-shop format are sure to put you in the giving spirit.



New Settings & Flagging Tools
We don't want to take away from the festive atmosphere, but we do want to make you aware of a new addition to LJ. At LiveJournal, we recognize that there is some content that may be fine for adults, but not for kids. We don't want kids seeing content that's not meant for them, and we know you don't either. LiveJournal wants to prevent minors from seeing adult content in a way that does not interfere with the experience of users who are 18 and over. The ability to set entries, journals and communities as either "Adult Concepts" or "Explicit Adult Content" is a functionality community maintainers and users have been requesting for a long time. As a result, we're giving you a set of tools that gives you control over whether the things you create and share on LJ are accessible by people under the age of 18.

You can read all about this new functionality, as well as comment with any and all questions you may have, in lj_biz.


Where's Frank? Contest Winners!
Pretty ponies, underwater antics and a trip to The Mission... Frank was lucky enough to go on some amazing adventures recently. The final votes are in though, and we'd like to congratulate our Grand Prize Winner, ytak, as well as our two Runner-Up Winners, the_artiste and robdamnit. Thank you to everyone who entered! Frank is back at the office safe and sound, but we have to admit... He seems a lot more interested in colorful ponies and a lot less interested in chewing on the lawn ever since the contest. We can sort of see why...
The winning entry from ytak.

NaNoWriMo: Over Halfway There

There are only 11 days left until the end of NaNoWriMo 2007. What's your word count? Will you make it to 50,000 by November 30th? Are you struggling with intricate plot points and complicated characters, or finding the words are just flying onto the page?

Whatever your progress, we hope you're finding the NaNoWriMo communities, journals, themes and v-gifts on LJ inspiring and motivational. Having a bit of difficulty sitting down and churning out pages? Adding one of the latest writing themes may help get that keyboard clicking. Or, let us know in the comments about your NaNoWriMo novel and perhaps you'll get an encouraging visit from the V-Gift Fairy.
(From L to R: Typekeys, Typewriter, Inked and Writer's Block.)


Don't forget you can also send your friends one of our writing-themed V-Gifts to show your support. Choose from one of the four ribbon V-Gifts and we'll send 50% of the net proceeds to the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program.



Got All the Answers?
Enter the Answers.com Creative Writing Challenge.

Knowing how much the LJ community loves writing, contests, and prizes, when we heard that Answers.com launched its third Creative Writing Challenge today, we just had to tell you about it. Use your creative genius to feature ten pre-determined words in an original poem, story, or essay, and win a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com, as well as a place in the Answers.com Hall of Fame. Finally, fame and fortune could be yours!

Think you can find a creative way to use words like ataraxia and sapid? All you have to do is create an original written expression (any form you want, 750 words max), link the pre-determined words or phrases to the corresponding Answers.com entry and post your masterpiece on your LJ. Then fill out the entry form for your chance to win!

This is a great way to learn some new words (or visit with old favorites) and get more traffic to your LJ... As well as win $100 to spend at Amazon.com! Read all the rules and enter to win at Answers.com.


How Are You Getting Your Write-On?
November has un-officially turned into the month intended to inspire writers of all kinds. Whether you're an aspiring Novelist (NaNoWriMo), an avid blogger (NaBloPoMo), or a determined playwright (NaPlWriMo), there's a challenge geared towards helping you create.


Put the Turkey in the Oven... And on Your LJ
Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Why not send a friend our charitable Give Thanks Turkey V-Gift? All of the proceeds from the turkey go to Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending world hunger. Thus far, you've raised $235.82. That's almost two sheep, or four gifts of trees!

Finally, to those of you who are celebrating it: HAPPY THANKSGIVING. And whatever your November writing project, may the powers of creativity, inspiration, encouragement, and excessive amounts of caffeine help you reach your goals.

Whether you're ready or not, November is upon us. That means holidays, parties, and all the fun (and stress) that go with them. We thought we'd get a jump start on the season of giving with some great new stuff on LJ.


We Heard Your Pleas: Comment Editing Is Here!
Ever left a comment and immediately wanted to alter it? Previously, whether it was an embarrassing typo or an incorrect link, once you hit "post comment," your only choice was to either delete it, or leave it for the world to see. Until now.

Paid Members now have the ability to edit comments! Just click on the "edit" button in your comment to make changes. Of course, to be fair to others, only comments that have not yet been replied to may be edited.



Need to Talk in Private?
Private messaging has arrived. You can now communicate with another LJ user directly by sending him/her a private message. Just go to your Message Center, click the "New Message" button and fill out the form. Easy enough, right? Find out about all the ways you communicate with LJ users, as well as relevant privacy settings, in the FAQs.



Notify Facebook Friends about Your Recent LJ Posts
Make sure your friends never miss another one of your moments of genius. Facebook recently announced a new way for you to share the actions you've taken on other sites with your friends on Facebook and we are now offering that functionality on LiveJournal.

Facebook Beacon makes it simple to insert actions into your Facebook Mini-Feed and News Feed from LiveJournal and, in turn, share them with your friends on Facebook. This is an opt-in feature -- you'll be able to control whether or not you want to send your entries to Facebook, and of course we'll only do this when you're creating public entries. If you'd like to opt-in, you may do so within your journal on the Viewing Options page (Additional privacy settings > Facebook).

Get all the details about including LJ notifications on Facebook in this LiveJournal FAQ.


Post On-the-Go with LJ Mobile
LiveJournal Mobile is a free application (developed in-house by the Six Apart mobile team) for your Windows Mobile or Palm device that makes it easy for you to post photos and text to your LJ. Learn ALL the ways to go mobile with LiveJournal so you can post whenever you want, from wherever you want.



"Where's Frank?" Contest Finalists!
Thank you to everyone who entered the "Where's Frank?" Photo Contest. It was  tough work, but we managed to narrow down the entries to five finalists. It's now up to you, the LJ community, to vote for your favorites and determine which entry will win a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com and which two entries will win $50 gift certificates to Amazon.com. The voting ends Friday, November 16, 007, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Which Frank is your favorite?


What's in a Name?
Juliet may have thought a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but look at what happened to her. Which is why we're having a SALE on rename tokens now through December 31st. For a limited time, you can purchase rename tokens in the Gift Shop for only $12 (marked down from $15).

Whatever your account level, this is your chance to rename your journal or community without losing any information. Your account status, profile, entries, and all other account-related information will remain the same, while all existing comments in other journals and entries will display your new username. Check out all the newly available usernames on the purged accounts page.

Comment with "I Want A Rename!" and let us know why you need one. We'll be giving out a few rename tokens to those of you with the most compelling cases.

 New Customize Area
The new Customize Journal area has officially arrived. Finding the theme you want has never been easier. You can now search by theme, layout, or designer. Read all about it in lj_design. Thank you to janinedog and chasethestars who worked on it tirelessly, and to all of our beta testers for their great feedback. Now, go forth and customize! 


Searching for Something?
Aren't we all... Look no further than the control strip in your journal. We've added the search drop-down to all journal pages to make finding what you're looking for a cinch. 


Snap: In the Picture
A few weeks ago, we told you about a new tool from Snap.com that provides visual previews on external links within your journal. Based on your positive response, we've enabled these graphics for Basic and Plus users. (Don't worry: If you already disabled the graphic previews, you will not have to do so again. Also, if you don't want to see graphic previews, you can easily disable them within your journal on the Viewing Options page under "Graphic previews.")


Autumn Holiday V-Gifts (and New Halloween Themes)
Autumn is a time of giving, so we added several new autumnal V-Gifts, including a pumpkin pie, red lantern and Diwali lantern.
 
What better way to give than to send a friend our charitable Give Thanks Turkey V-Gift? All of the proceeds from the Turkey V-Gift go to Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending world hunger.

Not quite ready for November? We understand completely. Which is why we added Bats & Ghouls to our spine-tingling Halloween themes.
 


NaNoWriMo V-Gifts & Themes
Ever dreamed of becoming a novelist? National Novel Writing Month is your chance to make that dream a reality. Participants begin writing on November 1st with the goal of writing a 50,000 word (175 page) novel by midnight, November 30th. 

We know a lot of writers on LJ participate in NaNoWriMo, so we've added some cool stuff to keep you motivated. One of our brand new writing themes may be just what you need to keep writing into the wee hours of the night. 
(fFrom L to R: Typekeys, Typewriter, Inked and Writer's Block.)
 

You can also show your encouragement with one of our new Writers' V-Gifts. Choose from one of the four ribbon V-Gifts and we'll donate 50% of the net proceeds to the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program. You can also send motivation in the form of an inkwell & quill or a typewriter.
 
Find out more about LJ's writers' themes and charity V-Gifts and connect with other NaNoWriMo writers. 
Are you participating? Let us know in the comments! 


Frank's Feeling a Little Grey
So why not put a little color in his life? You still have one day to enter LiveJournal's "Where's Frank?" photo contest. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com, and the Runner-Up winners will both receive a $50 gift certificate from Amazon.com. Go to lj_photocontest for all the official rules on how to submit your photo of Frank. 

Lastly, from all of us at LJ... HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (And keep an eye out next week for a haunting Halloween site scheme.)

Beta Test the New Customize Area
Does your journal need a makeover for fall? We've launched the beta test for the Customize Journal area and now it's easier than ever to make your journal look exactly the way you want it. The new and improved Customize Area has been thoughtfully streamlined into a user-friendly, two-step process, with some pretty significant changes.

Highlights include:

• New thumbnail screenshots for all 600+ theme choices.


• Categorized themes. (Themes can still be filtered by layout name in View "All" or when viewing by specific layout.)


• Consolidation of all sections into a brand-new, streamlined layout.

Read about the exciting improvements in this lj_design post. We know this is a huge change to a popular area of the site and we can't wait to get your feedback. Become a beta tester, then go to the Customize Journal page to check it out. You can provide your thoughts about what's working, what's not working and where we can improve at lj_feedback.

Color Us FRANK Happy - LiveJournal's Very First Photo Contest!
Speaking of makeovers, Frank has been begging us to give him one for a while. But we decided a task of that magnitude is best left to all the crafty, creative people here on LJ.

Here's the challenge: Color in a picture of Frank (with markers, colored pencils, crafts etc. - no digital artwork, please) and take a photo set in any location or background. Frank's a pretty adventurous goat, as you know, so be creative! Your picture of Frank will be judged on your artistic skills and the originality of your photo backdrop. See our creation below:



There will be three winners: One "Grand Prize" winner and two "Runner-Up Prize" winners selected by the members of the LiveJournal community from a list of finalists that we'll choose. The Grand Prize winner will receive a one hundred dollar ($100) gift certificate from Amazon.com, and the Runner-Up Grand Prize winners will each receive a fifty dollar ($50) gift certificate from Amazon.com.

Go to this post in lj_photocontest for all the official rules on how to submit your photo of Frank.

Picture This
We've added a new tool from Snap.com so that you can have visual previews on external links within your journal.



Enable these graphic previews within your journal at the Viewing Options page (under "Graphic previews"). Don't want to see these images on other journals? No problem Click on "Options" in the upper-right corner of any preview to disable previews on "THIS Site" (throughout LiveJournal) or "All Sites" (all websites).

We plan to add more features in the next few weeks, so try it out and let us know what you think.

A Return to Six Apart
After an 18 month hiatus, daveman692 has rejoined Six Apart as the Open Platforms Technical Lead. While he was away, David focused his efforts on moving OpenId forward, and was recently recognized by Google and O'Reilly as one of the recipients of a 2007 Open Source Award... the youngest recipient in the history of the award, we might add.

For those of you who are curious as to what David has been up to since his return, you may want to check out his recent post "We Are Opening the Social Graph" in Six Apart news. At Six Apart, we want to bring the kind of control that, as LiveJournal users, you have over your friend lists, identity, and privacy to all of the sites you use on the web. One of the first concrete steps we've taken is adding support for Microformats to parts of the site. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the tools we can bring to LiveJournal to continue helping you manage your friends and privacy.

EDIT: We're working through some style kinks from the release that may be affecting your journal and community pages. Hang tight!
EDIT EDIT: The S2 errors should now be fixed. Thank you for being patient with us.