September 16, 2010
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Quick Browse!
Your subscriptions page gives you an easy way to read the latest updates from all your subs, but it has a few drawbacks: 1) it may not show the full text of the updates (because of cut tags), 2) it may not show images (because your sub disables them), and 3) it doesn’t let you read or leave comments.
To deal with any of these drawbacks, you’d normally have to leave your subs page… But starting today, with Xanga’s new “Quick Browse” feature, you can take your subs page with you!
To use the new feature, just click the “Quick Browse” link on your subs page or the new “Quick Browse” button in the chat bar. If you click the link on your subs page, it’ll take you straight to the first entry itself, where you can see its full text, any images it might include, and be able to read and write comments. It will also give a deserved “view” to your subscription (whose view count does not increase when you read the entry from your subs page).When you’re ready to move on to another entry, just click “Next” inside the Quick Browse window (or if you’re feeling adventurous, try clicking “Random”).
The Quick Browse feature also helps you browse through Today’s Top Blogs, Today’s Most Rec’d and even the Latest Updates from all of Xanga (now with much less spam).
So get clicking and, as always, please let us know what you think!
Comments (82)
Thanks.
Great job, Xanga Team.
yuck
Interesting. Not sure if I’ll use it very much, but at least it’s another step forward.
Ah so that’s what this is. I probably won’t use it too often, but I’ll dabble in it here and there.
This is very cool.
Great idea!
How do you get it to stop popping up? It’s kind of annoying to have to keep hitting the minimize button.
not hot.
@toffeenosed - you should only have to hit minimize once? maybe try clearing your cookies (it’s possible you got it mid-rollout so something isn’t kicking in sorry!)
@TheBigShowAtUD - what’s up?
i think i understand what it does, but it doesn’t seem to be an improvement. which click through Top Blogs manually when they’re displayed all at once on the front page? same with Most Rec’d, and Subscriptions. it seems like an extra step and not streamlining.
Ok just two things so far. I don’t see a “1/100″ like there is on the example. It not a big deal to me I just figured it was supposed to be there.
Two, it would be nice to have an idea of where we are going to go when we hit next. Just like a hovertext with the person’s username. Nothing to big or fancy. Obviously Random would just be random, but for Next and Previous it might be nice.
But I like it.
@TheBigShowAtUD - But those are on the front page. And I never go to the front page. And I like not needing to go to the front page.
But that’s just me.
@The44thHour - but if you did, you wouldn’t need a button that shows you the same blogs AND takes longer to use. it’s redundant and slow. i get the idea, but it doesn’t change anything. at least when you see the list of Top Blogs, etc you can choose which ones to read. i guess for someone wanting to read anything, then this works. still.
@TheBigShowAtUD - Yeah, I get the choosing thing.
I guess I like having it right there.
That’s great now bring back AmericanAlien
@godfatherofgreenbay - haha wow, that’s a blast from the xanga past
@The44thHour - ah that’s a cool idea (the hovertext) – will look into that one!
can someone fix the editor? if you enter the sequence æ- ) (without the space) it gets completely screwed up, even with a smiley, even in HTML mode. thx.
This is a cool and innovative idea! Just make sure we’ll always have the option of the regular subscriptions page, because that also has its own advantages. For example, people with slower connections shouldn’t have to wait for each site page to load; it’s also just very efficient to have several subscription entries on one page, and so on. But, this new feature is very cool and useful! Thanks!
Ahhhhhh, I get it now. Thanks for the update, that clears up my initial questions quite nicely.
~V
mm….. not sure it was needed. Maybe i’ll use it sometime. . .
Might we have an option to enable/disable the toolbar from showing up –on our blog pages–?
ie–someone shows up on our blog, the page loads, but the chat bar does not, based on a choice consciously made by the blogger whose page is being viewed?
@FalconsDrummer - thanks! yah, we have no plans to remove the subscriptions page
@theacematt2 - it’s been a really tough question for us – as I’m sure you understand, it’s all about enabling persistence for features that would be crippled by loss of persistence – chat is an obvious example (if you’re actively using chat, it’s disruptive to pop to a page that doesn’t have it). This Quick Browse feature is also a good example…
**begin mollifying example** If I come across one of your awesome posts through Quick Browse ** / end mollifying example**, but you’ve disabled Quick Browse… well, you’ve just stymied me and my browsing. Now you may be able to live with yourself, knowing that I might not like you as much anymore… but let’s back up one click and say that your awesome post *would have been* the next one I visited, but the site I’m on has whammied the Quick Browse feature… you just got robbed of a visit!
I do of course see what you’re saying… At the moment we’re treating these features as quasi-browser add-ons – they even look, intentionally, like they could be part of the browser rather than something you might’ve put on your own site (ideally they would be client side, perhaps, but it’s just much faster for us to develop for one Interweb than tons of different clients).
We’ll keep this discussion going, for sure, but we’re hoping this might be a workable compromise?
I am usure whether or not I like the quick browse.
@marc - I get what you’re saying about being easier to develop one interweb–but I’m happy with the views that I get from those that check the page through their universal inbox / a facebook link / an IM / my mentioning it in conversation / reading a subs email / someone -recommending- the page to them with any of the aforementioned methods [or pushing the "rec" button!]. Personally, people that find me, find me. If they don’t *snaps fingers* darn… but I’ll live.
Writing for myself helps much and feels better than writing for the community, and I’m sure I’m not the only one out there that feels that way, though it isn’t always a ‘friendly’ view, either.
I’m … wondering what was offered in terms of a compromise for my “can we have option to not display toolbar on our own blog pages” suggestion? It still doesn’t show up on http://hkblog.xanga.com/ – though it indeed does show up within the blog sites of users there. NonUnited interwebs ftw? O_o
@theacematt2 - Oh, I just mean that we created a setting to let you decide whether to, “Show chat bar on public pages (your site).” That setting determines the default visibility of the chat bar, but then we take into account the issue of persistence…:
http://www.xanga.com/private/chatsettings.aspx
Nobody asked me whether I wanted this shit. I DON’T! Why don’t you consult your users when you’re going to add bullshit. Maybe we don’t want it! Quit forcing your whims on us and start fixing what’s wrong with the site. Don’t add to it.
Keep rockin’!
Can we just have the option to turn off Chat/Quick browse without it being a premium option? I hate having to mimimize so many things so I can read my blog at peace.
I try to embrace change. I am wondering what is the purpose of the feature? I just can’t understand what it will do except slow up the page. Are you going to keep adding features to the tool bar? Is this a better way to add ads? I am just curious because I don’t understand why someone would browse it at the bottom when they have it at the top. It just moves in a bulky manner and I tried clicking and it does not move from page to page smoothly. So it does not look like it adds anything to the toolbar. But perhaps I am missing something. I am not being critical. I was just curious.
@EricKYR3 - If I wanted a spam-heavy blog, I would have went elsewhere. I’ve been happy with my blog for the last seven years and I’d hate to stop using it because of all of this nonsense.
I think it’s kind of kewl. I don’t know if I would use it very much, but still. It’s a good try at adding new features that other sites don’t have and I already see people using it in my footprints.
AWESOME! I love this! It’s just what I’ve been wanting. I wasn’t sure how it’d work, but I wanted something like this…and now it’s here! Perfect!
Ok. You can send out friend request pretty fast using the link if you friend request through the recent updates. I have not timed it but it may be a faster way to send out friend request.
@TheTheologiansCafe - the purpose is described in the post? We’re trying to make it easier to slam through the sites on your important lists (primarily your subs) – it’s like StumbleUpon, but with more focus… or it’s like Google’s Fast-Flip (in spirit anyway – their implementation is obviously different). I’m surprised you of all folks wouldn’t recognize a potential traffic-enhancing feature…
Is your confusion over the placement? The New York Times recently added a similar feature and placed it on the bottom of the page as well (if you click the link, you’ll see a browse box eventually appear on the bottom). But much more significantly for Xanga, that new chat bar is the *only* interface element that is consistent across both themed and unthemed (old “look and feel” themed) xanga sites. So it made sense to use for a feature that required consistent placement as you were browsing. (And to answer your other question: no we don’t have any current plans for more features or development for the chat bar – we’re moving on to other things after this roll).
might not be of great use, but still its good to have such option avaliable
keep up the good work xanga team!
It reminds me kind of like tweetdeck…I’m not sure if I want to leave footprints everywhere though, at least in subs, I can read and no one will know ever.
@marc - Sorry, I was not trying to offend with my comment or bash a new product. I was just giving an initial thought. I have tried to embrace all new products that you have added to xanga.
I don’t use stumbleupon or googlefastflip so I didn’t know about their features.
@TheTheologiansCafe - feedback and first impressions are always helpful thanks. We might try indicating in footprints when a click arrived through Quick Browse… maybe that’d help show whether it has any impact?
@TheBigShowAtUD - @marc - I think it’s a good idea, will have to use it awhile to get the full extent of its capabilities (pros and cons).
On the surface, I like it. It allows us to surf without going back to our subs page, or to the main page for top blogs.
Interesting to see both of your conversation.
Is this going to slow down page loading even more?
So are all of the new features that have nothing to do with chatting going to be tied to the ridiculous chat bar now? Way to force your users to use ANOTHER COMPANY’S service. Smart business move… NOT!
when i click next for recent updates.. the next 5 or 6 pages were the same as the previous couple of pages.
but i still like it.
@marc -
that
new chat bar is the *only* interface element that is consistent
ROTFL….
epic, Marc. Epic.
@radicalramblings - what is epic, marc epic about it, your ramble-ness? (Are you laughing at the lack of consistency?)
@spankmemememe - u could minimise it to the bar at the bottom
So, basically, you’ve invented a link to our subs, that we already had? And gave us a pop up thing that takes up room in the window and won’t stop popping up? Great.
IF I wanted to load a site, wait for all of it to load, read it all and comment, all I’d have to do is go to the site. THAT gives them ‘views’ too, as it always has, and doesn’t annoy me with that pop up thing.
IF I wanted to ‘chat’ there is YAHOO, Gmail, AIM, ect. I do not want to chat here, I do not want everyone on my list to know if I am ‘on’ Xanga or not, and I don’t need another bar to take up room in my browser space, I am using a netbook and it’s already crammed together too much. The chat thing used to mostly disappear. Now it’s back, and more annoying than ever.
Sigh.
Whatever.
@moniet - just close it once – it should stop opening for you?
This reminds me of the old subscriptions browser. Thank you so much!
@dreamfordream - Yeah, every time I go to another page. Why can I just get rid of it if I want to?
@marc - It doesn’t. Why can’t we just opt out of it once and not worry about it again? Same with that nuisance of a chat bar at the bottom of the screen. I don’t want to see it.
@explosive - sounds like a potential bug… it should stop popping open after you close it (just like any other window on the chat bar). Could you maybe try clearing your cookies, re-opening your browser (you should see the Quick Browse open up) and then closing the Quick Browse window. If you then refresh the page, the Quick Browse panel should stay closed.
If that doesn’t work, please let me know your browser (type and version) – and we’ll see if we can fix it – thanks
@marc - Firefox 3.6, Chrome 2.3, and IE 7.0
@explosive - the Quick Browse window stays open in all three browsers, even after you click to close it on, say, the xanga frontpage and then click refresh?
@marc - No, the chat bar does when I go to another page on xanga. I don’t want it to. And I’d like to opt out just once for the quick browser so I don’t have to hide it every time I log in.
@edlives - i dunno if it’s a “good” idea more than it’s just an idea. it’s a feature to have, but it doesn’t enhance anything. it doesn’t do anything the Subscriptions tab doesn’t already do. there’s a list of the most recent blogs, Top Blogs and Most Rec’d are already listed at once. if this new thing replaces that, then that’s one thing, but having multiple ways to access the same information that’s already easy to find anyway doesn’t make blogging or connecting to people any easier.
not having to return to your subs page or front page isn’t much more than a marginal enhancement, unless you’re saying it takes so long you don’t read as many blogs as you want.
awesome.
hate it.
didn’t we have something similar to this already?
@TheBigShowAtUD - an alternative form a viewing may be preferable to some. Still working with it on my end before I pass judgement on how well it works for me. Might work very well for others…so…well see.
@CaKaLusa - years and years ago we had the ‘subscriptions browser’ yah. Same idea, just updated and available to everyone (subs browser was a premium-only feature).
It doesn’t stay shut. Everytime I go to my private page there it is. I’m using IE 8.
it’s pretty damn annoying, to be honest.
I am not sure why it is a bonus. With the chat box, ( which i love) it makes for a noisy bunch of stuff when i already know how to read my subs and top blogs. I try to minimize it and it keeps jumping back at me. It’s great you’re trying new stuff, and I am sure some people will love it. I’ve actually had a ton of traffic from it today. I’ve always loved Xanga because it’s a low key place to hang out with people. Too many bells and whistles kind of make for head ache.
I used this quick browse a lot earlier today, and I like it. Good job, Xanga Team.
@godfatherofgreenbay - lol.
It’s a pretty cool feature, I’ve tried it out a few times. I’ll probably still browse Xanga how I was before, though.
@ItIsAllGravy - He will lead us to the promised land…many people came to Xanga because of AmericanAlien, not myself but some.
hm…
I don’t like it so far, as the bottom of the screen now has more and more unnecessary thing that’s talking up space and it’s becoming annoying.
Thanks for the True badge. Got it just now. Saw the Quick Browse, don’t like it when it keeps popping out, but I find it useful.
And NOW the stupid bar ispopping up ‘games’ to play for free. Really, do we NEED this???
I wish there was a way to hide the whole bar together. I like Xanga because it isn’t facebook or myspace! A chat client is an awesome idea, but it should be optional, the bar is kind of annoying to be honest.
I love it.
When does the counter reset on the quick browse? Do you really have to go through all 100 first?
I don’t like it. I find it distracting. Also the arrow to minimize is not always there. I just don’t want it. How do I get rid of it?
Re: quick browse, in addition to all the options for quick browse (subs, recent updates, top blogs, most rec’d), how about adding an option to browse around the website you’re currently visiting? (I just posted this as an idea here.)
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Not a big fan of the quick browse. And I saw an Ad on the left hand lower corner of my screen – a big turn off!
hmm Looks easy enough to use. I’ll check it out.
cool idea……Thanks.