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.
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
Our church had a mini business meeting after the service yesterday and the people voted (unanimously, i might add) to hire yours truly as Pastor of Family Life . . . ummm . . . or Pastor of Family Living, I can't remember! Let me clear something up right away; I'm NOT a minister / reverend. I'm not going to be marrying, burying, doing communion or anything like that. My job description is mostly made up of preparing children's programs, visiting with families and providing resources to the community. The term 'Pastor' is an affectionate one, meaning 'Shepherd'. I could do the same job with the title "Director of Family (Something)" but the term 'Director' connotes lists, programs, activities, and meetings (which is essentially what I'll be doing!) whereas 'Pastor' connotes vision, care and tending. I mean, look at what a shepherd does: provides nourishment - this might be literal (a meal) or figurative (a Bible study) protects from predators - I could empower through education / be a voice for the voiceless (or maybe carry a big club around! Sweet!) gives direction - this is mostly Jeff's role but I can support him in it All this within 28 hours / week, folks! Seriously, I have a real affection for the people in my little church and I want to serve the families in whatever way they need me. To my non-churchy peeps out there* , I don't know how to say this without sounding like I'm using cheesy buzz words but God has been filling me with so much joy that it's just been spilling out lately (well, not so much when Harry threw his chewed up apple in my face . . . ) and rather than waste the overflow, I'm glad to be able to channel it with this job. Anywhoo, I'll be working my own hours this summer just to get the fall programs up and running and putting my best volunteers up first b/c I know that when I start teaching at Bedford Academy, my family's world is going to be radically changed and I want to be uber-prepared. I'll start working regularly come January and 28 hours / week will be perfect!! Still, I totally am treasuring the lazy days of being on my own schedule and only answering to my family! Anyone who's been to DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible School - a summer day camp) will recognize the glue, the glitter . . . and the awesomeness you can create with tinfoil! And Bruce points out it's a great place to meet Baptist girls! *To my non-churchy peeps: I really hope that this job doesn't make you all weird around me. It just means you can't moon me at my workplace anymore. And if you DO come over to our side, be sure to mention my name as I work on comission. I joke, I joke . . . well, not about the mooning part . . . would be awkward . . . :o)
