September 2, 2010
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Xanga IM! [UPDATED]
EDIT: Wow, you guys are really chomping at the bit to try out the new IM toolbar! We were going to wait a while before turning this on, but so far it seems like most everyone just wants to try it out. So here goes… let us know what you think!
And remember, you can turn it off here:
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx
P.S. We’re working on a way for you to specify a friends group to use as your Xanga IM buddy list. That way, you can set it so that only certain friends can see you, while you hide from others (e.g. parents, exes, bosses, etc.).
Remember when we talked about looking into adding chat/IM to Xanga? Well we’ve made a lot of progress, and we’re ready to test out an optional Xanga IM toolbar to the bottom of your Xanga sites!
The bar is powered by Meebo and will let you IM with your friends on Xanga.
While we prepare for the launch, we wanted to give people an opportunity to opt out of the IM toolbar completely. You can opt out here:
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx
A few things to note:
- The toolbar comes with handy “share page” and facebook “like” options, in case you find something cool on Xanga that you want to share.
- The toolbar uses Xanga’s built-in privacy controls and has some of its own. If one of your friends is bothering you over Xanga IM, you can block them through the bar (which just makes you appear signed out to them), block them through Xanga (which also takes them off your friends list, so they won’t see you in the chat bar at all), de-friend them, or just sign out of chat – we wanted to make sure you had lots of control.
- In the future, we may be able to integrate in neat features like real-time alerts from your universal inbox! Looking into that…
Finally: the current Meebo toolbar doesn’t support group chat, unfortunately. We’ve asked them about it, and they said they may have it by the end of the year! We’ll be looking to add it as soon as it’s available.
The IM toolbar beta will start soon. It’s kind of difficult to test an instant messaging feature without having a lot of people in the beta though (otherwise, there’d be no one with whom to chat). So we’re making the beta opt-out to make sure there are lots of users… but giving people some time to opt out now.
If you’d prefer not to IM with your friends on Xanga, please opt-out here!
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx
Let us know what you think!
Comments (200)
Yaaay it’s like failchat, but hopefully better.
Sweet! Can’t wait to use this!
Very exciting.
This is awesome. I hope it can handle a bunch of people on it at one time. The first day I tried myspace IM, it kept on crashing my IM because I had too many friends. I hope that won’t be a problem on this.
I am looking forward to trying it.
hmmm, interesting… it can be a nice thing.. but hopefully it will not take too much time from actually reading people’s blog…
This is gonna be either crazy…or CRAZY AWESOME.
@TheTheologiansCafe - is that a compliment and bragging put into one? haha JK
Awesome! I’d love to help you test it. I am home all day long so I could be on it whenever.
Hope it works better than Facebook. Facebook chat is pretty screwy
Hmm… we’ll see how this goes.
interesting
where is it?
ewwww meebo does the chat bar a cafemom and i dislike.
How well is this going to work on a mobile browser?
@TheTheologiansCafe - there’s definitely an issue with really long friends lists (it impacts you and about 15 other accounts on Xanga – way to be elite). It’s a constraint with the meebo tech – not much we can do about it on a fundamental level.
But we’ve come up with a way at least to prevent crashing and let you sign on to chat – what’ll happen is that it’ll load a random 1k of your friends or so. The downside is that you’ll be able to initiate chat only with that random 1k friends. But the upside is that 1) you can actually sign onto chat, 2) *all* of your friends should see you online in their chat bars and will be able to initiate chat with you.
We’ll be looking at ways to get around that one remaining downside too. But for now at least you’ll be able to participate.
this is a great idea. good job!
@marc - That is awesome. I really just like to jump on and let people initiate contact with me anyway. So you can make the number significantly smaller than 1000 if you need to in order to make it function. I noticed myspace would crash with only 1000 friends added. So they used that number and it was still too high. So I would rather have a smaller number and just let people hit me up.
Another reason to stalk people now. Har Har. Good job Xanga. Look forward to the Chat IM.
What fun!
@marc - looking forward to this. Thanks.
I’ll be all over this! There are many Xangans I wouldn’t mind chatting with. But I know for some people, giving out IM screennames can be an issue of privacy. This way, the chat is limited to Xanga and doesn’t possess any potential for greater exposure than you desire. Great job XangaTeam! Let me know when the beta goes live and I’ll give it a whirl!
Sounds awesomeeeeeee.
I definitely like all the control options. It looks very up to date too. I look forward to it.
Group chat would be an interesting option to look into in the future. I guess for now there’s always Xanga Zombies!
ugh! can sum1 tell me how 2 undo the opt out? i clicked it by accident and dont no if i can still b part of it. plzzzz hlp. thnx
@Roadlesstaken - would love to integrate all this with the BFN toolbar…
@princebeantoes - heh, just change your settings back and click “Save Changes” again… that settings page will remain in place for you to change your settings at any time.
ooooh!
@marc - aw thx marc. wen will the chat thing b on my main page? do u no yet?
fucking sweet
Kudos
way cool!
So it’s like facebook? Hmm…
I still say we need Xanga TV back. Please?
Dear Team,
I always hated chat and don’t even download IM programs to my puter, but I have wondered if you guys would ever do this. I’m interested and will “opt in” definitely.
Now add a two way video chat feature to XTV, and enable us to upload HD videos to our video section and Xanga would REALLY be sweet. (Although I’m a life member, I’ll be sticking around anyway.)
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
Great. Now I’ll never get off Xanga.
Yay! I think that is WONDERFUL! Can’t wait!
kooo!
It sounds like you’re giving users a great deal of control over the new feature. That’s great.
@TheTheologiansCafe - Looks like it’s time to start deleting dead sites…
I’m looking forward to this, sounds cool!
I am not a big one for using a chat facility but will give it a try. Thank you for your continuing effort to expand Xanga functionality.
omg AWESOME.
welcome to the 21st century xanga… lets do this
Isn’t that going to add more strain on your servers which periodically suffer from overload already? How is that a good idea?
That’s nice.
I like this…now I can talk to people privately without getting on aim, yahoo, or skype.
I disabled messages because I kept getting mostly mass-messages.
*Xanga’s Batman Out*
@marc - I was wondering when Xanga was going to have IM, thanks man.
Yay! I’d been hoping for this. Good work!
YES!
That’s so exciting =]
Hear too much from xangans already. I hope you’ll include an opt out feature, unlike you do on everything else. Some of us don’t appreciate communism.
schweet dude
One of the controls I’d like to see is the ability to only chat with certain people of my choice, not all this blocking or signing out. I want all the control without all the work. You got it backward.
Sounds interesting. No group chat – so we can only chat with 1 person at a time, but at least we can chat live !
When chatting, can other visitors to your site see the discussion that is going on or is it a private chatroom ?
Will it work with ‘all’ browsers ?
Will we non-premium users get it and with all the same features as the premium users get and will non – premium users have ads stuck on it ?
It sounds great, unless we non-premium members may not get the same benefits as the premium members and/or have even more ads stuck on our sites.
yayy
@explosive - If you read the post, you can see they included an opt out feature. Or you can have someone else read the post to you if that is necessary.
welll yay hope it works out well.. it will be nice to have..
@radicalramblings - “Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.”
@Da__Vinci - working on it!
eh i’m opting out on this one. i like xanga mainly cause it does not have the IM chat
Good job.
Hopefully this will get featured in the news, Xanga is still alive.
Sounds like a great idea!
Absolutely! Gracias, Xanga!
good idea, I’d like to see how this works out!
but I don’t have one, and I have it enabled in my settings
OK not really into IM but it seems like we already have a BFN? toolbar that does that? It seems kind of sad and a little on the rude? side to go with another when the guy who set that up has worked so hard on it? If I’m going to use one I’d probably do the BFN one.
@raspberryjade - it isn’t actually live yet… it should go live soon
@tsh44 - Good point.
What I wish you guys would work on is how crappy your weblog and comment editor has gotten. We don’t need anymore Facebook junk.
I would love to have IM! Hurry, I look forward to it
Any hope for a smartphone app in the future? Please, please, please!
@radicalramblings - Thanks, though I’m not even sure I have a right to an opinion since I very seldom IM. I only knew a little about the BFN toolbar because someone told me about it.
@explosive - The post mentions that you can opt out: If you’d prefer not to have access to a built in IM toolbar on Xanga, please opt-out here!
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx
I think I will probably put the time into trying to figure it out. Once I figure it out, I think I am bound to regret it, as it might cause me to spend YET more time on Xanga. Oh no! LOL
@TheTheologiansCafe - haha.. you know you’re gonna get 10000 instant chat msgs everytime you log on right lol.
Looking forward to it!
@tsh44 - Same here, and I never use it. But I do think it is a really low-blow for Xanga to (once again) take an idea that a user worked hard on & replace it with their own “official” version – from someone else.
Has it been launched or when will it be launched. If it is already in use – I can’t see it.
Looking forward to it! I enjoy utilizing the chat function on FB, so this will be nice.
love love love love love
yeah
Is this supposed to be open for everyone now, then? Because I don’t see it. Is it only for certain browsers or OS?
I am excited.
@SeeBeeWrite - It should be for everyone, but it looks like there may be an issue with Personal URLs (we’re looking into it – in the meantime, do you see the bar on your private/login pages? Do you see it no the xanga frontpage? Thanks!)
@marc - I can see a blank space under the other toolbar stuff, where I assume it would go, but I don’t see chat on any pages, including the front page.
nope i don’t see it
@SeeBeeWrite - Yeah, I’m not seeing it either…
@SeeBeeWrite - hmm… could you please try a “hard refresh” of your browser on the xanga frontpage (hold down the “shift” key and click to refresh the page). If the bar doesn’t show up, please let me know what browser you are using. Sorry for the trouble.
<3 yayyyy i’d love to test it out!
@spicycajun - @repressedwriter - http://thexangateam.xanga.com/732363035/xanga-im-updated/?page=4&jump=1516220669#1516220669
Haven’t commented on Xanga for ages. The IM sounds like a valuable safety tool of protection.
It’s not Chrome friendly.
@sexyskinandbones - Tried that and it didn’t work. Where am I supposed to be seeing it? Maybe I’m just dumb.
I’m using Firefox.
@LyricallyCharged - I’m using Chrome right now and it works fine – what specifically do you see (or not see)? What version of Chrome are you using?
@repressedwriter - hmmmm… You should be seeing it almost everywhere – I see you logged into chat too. Try restarting the browser? That seemed to work for seebeewrite…
@marc - I opened it up in IE and it worked. Hmm. I’ll try restarting Firefox.
i’m on safari and i can’t see ANYTHING
Showing up in IE, but not FF.
@sexyskinandbones - should work on safari too (what version are you using? have you tried restarting the browser?) Sorry for the trouble!
@NikBv - which version of FF? (thanks)
@marc - 3.6.8. I’ve refreshed the page, and restarted the browser, too.
The only place I can see it is on safari and I can only see it on safari when I’m on the xanga.com main page.
it doesn’t show up on either firefox or chrome.
awesome idea!
@marc - Not seeing it within Firefox version 3.5.11 … Should I opt for the Firefox4 Beta?
Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its not showing up on google chrome
I LOVE THE NEW IM!!! You guys are amazing. <3
WOO! Thank you for rolling the chat out so soon!
@NikBv - do you have any add-ons installed?
Does this work with Firefox?
@bob - Ad-block, but even when I disable that and restart the browser, it still doesn’t show up…
nope, nothin. oh well.
I’m not seeing it either – I’ve got the space under the stuff (Xanga icon, terms, privacy etc)
but no chat and I’ve checked my settings. I’m using Chrome.
@NikBv - Do you see the bar here, using FF? http://blog.meebo.com/
the bar is really annoying. i think it’s stupid that i can’t make it disappear from my private pages unless i pay for premium -__-
so it is true *like*
@bob - yup
FINALLY! Thank you.
@marc - The latest version: 6.0.472.53. And I see nothing.
Interesting.
okay, working now.
s-h-a-sha @ xanga.com suggests we have an “invisible” option. Is that do-able/impossible to add?
@Lady_Kelacy - appears to be as of now–if it wasn’t before, try again?
Interesting!
Caaan’t say it’s showin’ up on mine, and I’m usin’ Firefox 3.6.8
@theacematt2 - lol Matt!
yay! yeah that be cool beans thank you 
I still don’t see it !
@marc - 5.0.1…..refreshed restarted….EVERYTHING
good job!
AND … if it at all is XMPP-supported… can we have info that’ll let us use it within MirandaIM? I like to have individual windows to alt-tab with… rather than all chats within ONE tab within a browser.
I know Facebook supports it, hence the question. . .
alas, a worthy xanga upgrade!
@sexyskinandbones - Give FF4 a try, and lmk what results you get?
@Chatamanda -
Give FF4 a try, and lmk what results you get?
cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
@deflat - @LyricallyCharged - @Lady_Kelacy - Give FF4 a try, and lmk what results you get?
@theacematt2 - Yeah, it works in Firefox (v 3.6.8, I’m using). But I don’t use Firefox.
@LyricallyCharged - hm…. hopefully it’ll get to wokring elsewhere, too.
–Facebook’s XMPP support–
1.
* Start your instant message program and locate the menu where you can add a new account (usually in preferences or settings).
2.
* Create a new account by entering the following info:
* Protocol: XMPP or Jabber
*
Username: Name
* Domain: chat.facebook.com
* Jabber ID: Name@chat.facebook.com
* Password:
3.
* Enter the following server info, as requested:
* Port: 5222
* Server: chat.facebook.com
* Use SSL/TLS: no
* Allow Plaintext Authentication: no
Where might we find the #’s for xanga, if we can?
you guys have done an amazing job with this. i feel a bit of an upswing for xanga coming. congrats!
@theacematt2 - yayyyyy for firefox! thanks guys!
@sexyskinandbones - glad to hear that helped
Sorry if someone’s already asked this, but I came onto this post really late.
Do you know of any browsers this won’t work with? I’m currently not seeing the chat bar on my Firefox and Firefox says it’s completely updated.
@rafi09 - check a few comments higher: “Give FF4 a try, and lmk what results you get?”
It doesn’t seem to work with my browser.
 Opera 10.6
Cool, Xanga Team. And now we can all have fun!
@theacematt2 - Never mind, it started showing up on my version. Thank you for the suggestion though.
Irritating that I can’t remove it from my private page without paying to do so.
And I still wish the basics on here worked right.
I cannot use my photos from photo manager, they disappear when I cursor over them.
I finally have enough credits to change my user name, but when I tried to do so, it told me the names ( i tried several) were taken. But, a xanga search for any of those names said there were none in existence.
My homepage caches a stale/not updated page.
I have friends request turned off but i still get requests.
Your help page is no help.
Bottom line: I’m less and less happy with this site.
this is great, i’m still hoping that “related post” kicks in!
So do “Meebo’s” ToS apply or Xanga’swhen using this service?
Don’t know if anyone else feel me, but I just feel the need to voice myself.. err.. I’m not trying to be a party pooper when everyone else is psyched about this.. but.. it’s just that…
I really dislike this
It’s like FaceBook all over again. I thought this is Xanga, not FaceBook :/ …
One of the reasons why I dislike FaceBook is because of the chat thing. It’s nice and convenient and all, but not everyone wants/likes it? Or is that just a minority of us? .. I mean, right, we could always just “sign out” of it … but.. … I personally just don’t like seeing that bar at the bottom of the page. I also don’t like how it follows me everywhere.
But alas, I’m not even given a choice to turn it off completely……
no, not unless I’m a premium member.
… and I guess, because I’m not a premium and paying user/member, I should probably just shut up and stop complaining right about now.
but I have to say, I am rather disappointed.
… I felt Xanga used to give me choices over these kind of things,
regardless if I’m a new/old/prem/etc member … but not as much now.
I mean. I guess I’m just one of the quiet members that still prefers the
classic/old system over the new… I liked how they let us keep using
the old system if we wanted and doesn’t “force” us into the new system
and layout and such. idk. also, did the blog posting/editor changed? or have I just been forced into using the new system’s editor… hmm.. /shuts up now
but I do hope everyone else is enjoying the new chat!
Sounds like it’s fairly well received … which is great! Because it makes me happy to know that Xanga still cares about its community and make changes that makes the community happier, unlike other places… thus why I prefer Xanga over many other places, always. I usually love the changes and add-ons that Xanga make, because it’s usually for the better… but I’m just not as thrilled over this one.
So eh. I’m not exactly… bashing this … just simply stating that I don’t like it… or rather, don’t like the fact that I can’t turn it off unless I’m a premium member.. …. eh… I’ve got nothing more to say now… since I know that not everyone can be satisfied; it’s just the way things are in Life… :X
Now get started on a mobile app.
Wow, I was surprised with my first msg, and it was cool!!
FUCK THIS SHIT. and i want the old weblog editor back.
@omigosh_music_is_my_life - agree 100%
@Uek - lolololololol….
So glad you can turn it off!
I feel dumb…I turned it “on” in my settings and still don’t see it. I even restarted Firefox…hhmmm…
To elaborate on my previous comment:
I think you should have an option that removes the bar completely, so that it doesn’t mattter whose site you’re visiting and whether or not you’re on your private page or public page. I really dislike it and I know I’m not the only one. I should have the option to turn it off completely.
The new weblog editor is complete crap. Please reinstate the option to use the older rich text version. The new one takes forever to load and sometimes doesn’t even load at all. Reinstating the option to use the old beta private home would be nice as well.
Changes are good…sometimes, but options are better. You’re alienating members of the Xanga community by forcing them to comply with your experimental ideas. Give us a choice…please.
yay!
I’m using Safari 5.0.1. The toolbar does not work at all. However, the meebo bar works fine on the meebo website. This appears to be a problem with the xanga code.
Does this not work in Google Chrome?
THIS IS AWESOME! thank you!
My, the wonders of today’s technology.
Cool
is it compatible with firefox? because it sure isn’t working for me
Like the idea of xanga IM, but the toolbar is a little intrusive.
I can tell you guys are really busy and probably already on it, but if you happen to see this and haven’t heard about it yet, it would be really cool if we had an option to either allow or not allow auto viewing of IM’s. I love the feature but it’s tough to comment when they keep popping up.
Either way, good work guys. I’m glad we have it!
Woohoo! Y’all rock.
it doesn’t show up on my safari browser
I would like to try that, but shall wait till others have tried and all the bugs are out.
If I opt out, I do not want the toolbar to be available to anyone while they are on my site. I don’t want it available to anyone while on my site! I do not want my xanga link shared with all of blog land! This is not good and not why I am on Xanga. Remove the tool bar for all users while they are on my site. Even then I’m not comfortable with this! This is madness!
Whaaaat?? Other people are saying they’ve used it, I have all the settings turned on for it, but how come I don’t see it on my screen at all? D:
Why can’t we ever opt out PERMANENTLY to anything on xanga? I have to hide the bar at the bottom whenever I go to a new page. I thought I opted out yesterday. Why is the IM still harassing me?
@Kyuketsuki_no_Megami - Maybe you should try opting out, since opting out doesn’t seem to work for those of us who DON’T want it. :p
@artbyrizzy - I agree. I really hate how xanga imposes things on us without consulting us. Why can’t we choose which one we want to use?
If you want a messenger that really works, use MSN, yahoo, or AIM.
*Hate* it! I want to be able to opt out of an annoying bar at the bottom of my page, period.
Now you just need to team up with Digsby so that I can have every single IM client I use hooked up to the same place. =D
The IM toolbar is now working on my xanga, but the subscription page seems to have stopped working…. sigh, if I have to choose between the two, I need the subscription page more.
And what is the procedure to turn off the toolbar if you want it to go away?
Thanks.
@theacematt2 - Thanks for your reply – I tried it with the firefox I already have on my laptop, although I don’t use that browser now since I got Chrome, as it is the IM works with Firefox, so that means I’m now going to have to change browsers whether I want to or not or keep jumping back and forth every time I want to use IM. I’m wondering if it’s worth the hassle. Lol – I don’t understand how some can get it with chrome but others can’t !
Thanks for not helping again, xanga team! When I opt out, that means I don’t want to use it, so stop forcing it on me! It’s obnoxious as hell and really a huge turn off. Stop alienating your users.
@artbyrizzy - the older one -is- still there, no? at http://edit.xanga.com/editeditorsetting.aspx under “Rich Text – Classic” ??? (unless there was one BEFORE that one… in which case I may be mistaken).
@vixen_with_a_cause - ”an option to either allow or not allow auto viewing of IM’s” good idea.
@Kyuketsuki_no_Megami - Check -here- and see if anything does/doesn’t help?
You should definitely make the chat disposable to non premium members too or xanga will start losing people that don’t want a chat bar there!! Why should a chat bar be there if you don’t want it? You don’t want to know what I’m thinking now!!!!
@omigosh_music_is_my_life - Agreed. So there’s an option to “opt out of the IM toolbar completely”, but not really completely. What a lie. I don’t like this Xanga-Facebook morph at all.
@theacematt2 - Actually she’s right. For some reason my editor switched to the new one even though I’m still using the classic version. I message Justin about it, just waiting to see if that gets fix. I still want the option to usertag, which the new one doesn’t have.
@Roadlesstaken - well, the “NEW” new one it switched to initially (months ago), but… my phone wouldn’t blog with it… so i went back to the “Rich Text – Classic” after a few days/tries.
She stated that: “The new weblog editor is complete crap.
Please reinstate the option to use the older rich text version.” –thus implying that there is/was no way to access the older blog, which simply isn’t true.
@theacematt2 - Yeah that’s the issue right now. Even when change the option back to classic or even plain text it doesn’t change the editor to those types. It just stays on New.
@theacematt2 - Yes, the option is there in the drop-down but it still sets up the new weblog editor when you select it.
@artbyrizzy - @Roadlesstaken - oh sheesh. T_T ::headdesk:: “it works fine for me? -_-”
@artbyrizzy - good to see I’m not the only one with that issue. Hopefully one of the Xanga Team folks can get back to us on that. It’s probably pretty easy to fix.
@theacematt2 - Thank you
that’s really good:) I was looking forward to seeing who’s online ,now that become a truth:)
Upon further inspection, I’m really hating this toolbar. The ability to disable it completely being a premium only feature is very uncool.
GOD DAMN IT! TAKE THIS THING OFF MY PRIVATE PAGE.
I DON’T WANT CHAT ON MY SITE. AT ALL. ANYWHERE. PERIOD.
I USE MY CELL WHEN I WANT TO CHAT. I’M 58 YEARS OLD. I AM NOT INTO THE LITTLE IM FEATURES THAT MYSPACE, ETC. HAVE.
I ENJOY WRITING AND COMMENTING AND RECEIVING COMMENTS HERE.
I DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO REMOVE IT FROM MY PRIVATE PAGES UNLESS I HAVE PREMIUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY?!!!!!!!!!
NOT TO MENTION THAT IT SLOWS DOWN MY LOADING TIME.
PLEASE GIVE ME THE OPTION NOT TO HAVE IT AT ALL, ANYWHERE, IF I CHOOSE. I REALLY DON’T APPRECIATE HAVING IT IF IT DON’T WANT IT. AFTER ALL, SHOULDN’T IT BE THE OTHER WAY ROUND?????????????????????????
OH I GET IT. STUPID ME. THE INABILITY TO REMOVE IT IS SUPPOSED TO SLOW DOWN MY PAGES AND DRIVE ME NUTS UNTIL I PAY FOR PREMIUM AGAIN.
CLEVER…BUT VERY, VERY SNEAKY.
Please make this toolbar optional for everyone.
If I want to chat, I’ll do so on aim, msn, yahoo, meebo, text, facebook,
myspace–the incessant list of other providers. I came to xanga because
it used to be so unlike everything else.
I’d like to be able to add my Xanga ID to my meebo account also. I’ve been using meebo for a while and like it otherwise.
“While we prepare for the launch, we wanted to give people an opportunity to opt out of the IM toolbar completely. You can opt out here:
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx“
I am NOT able to opt our COMPLETELY.
@piqued @Touc - ugh. I’m with you. I’m not paying just to have an ugly chat bar removed from my pages. that’s ridiculous. If I hadn’t had my xanga site for 4 years now, I would be permanently switching to my blogger site. damnit.
you can’t opt out completely unless you have premium. I can’t afford to pay to blog, but I don’t want chat either. I just want to write.
why must you make it so difficult? and the bar looks ugly following me around everywhere.