Hey guys, this is John with a few updates on the True program (I had hoped to post this earlier, but a personal emergency kept me offline most of last week).

OPTOUT

We added a TRUE opt-out to the site.  You may have seen it already - but if you are a true member and would like to hide your badge, you can do so here:

• http://www.xanga.com/private/editaccount.aspx

MAKING IT MORE OBJECTIVE

We got a lot of the feedback around making the true program more
quantitative and objective (kinda like Option 2 here).  So we're going
to work to make it much more clear and transparent exactly how you can
qualify for TRUE.

There will be a page showing exactly where you stand and how you can get there.  The TRUE program has always been objective, but this way it would also become totally transparent.  How does that sound?

THE NAME

We went through all the suggestions and brainstormed like crazy, but ADDICT, SUPER, LOYAL, NUT, etc. - every substitute name has its own issues.  And the random/funny names were just confusing to people when we tested them out.

Given this, we would like to stick with the TRUE name but maybe consider changing the badge to look more like the Xanga logo - basically using the Xanga rainbow:

Or not.  Let us know which badge you would prefer - the TRUE badge or the RAINBOW badge.  (Please pick one)

We've tried to build optouts and transparency into the True program as much as possible.  Our earlier tweaks made a big difference, and we're hoping to close the final gap here.  Let us know what you think!

You've been racking up Credits since we introduced them last year, spending them on Minis for friends and family.  But now there are new ways to spend all those credits.  Starting today, you can get premium with credits - you can get any of the regular service plans... or even try for Lifetime with 100,000 Credits!  Also, for those of you who don't think hottieangelbaby74000 is such a great username, you can now change your username with credits. 

So now that you know how to spend your Credits, here's how to get them.  Keep commenting on friends' pages and stay active on the site by inviting friends to join and encouraging friends to send you Minis, too.

Thanks to Joe, the sky's the limit when it comes to your Credits (well not the entire sky - now you can get up to 100k!).  This is our way of saying thanks for being such active members on the site. 

This is just the first round of many opportunities you'll have, so keep checking back for more ways you can spend your Credits!

Happy Thursday!

This week's features designer is InGodzHndz, whose bright and cheerful themes will add fun to anyone's site.
Below are a sample of her themes; if you like what you see, you can find more here:
     

 

                                                
                                Flowers and Stripes                Leaves

X: How long have you been a Xanga user and how did you find xanga?

I've been a xanga user since 4/8/2005. I found Xanga after my cousin e-mailed
me her link, and then after another friend shared her site with me. From then
on, it's pretty much just been Xanga.

X: How do you come up with your themes? What’s your inspiration?

I had decided that I wouldn't do themes until I got a new computer...which
I finally did. (Windows 98 just couldn't handle much!) After that, I started
sorting through all my scrapbook paper and found some great ones in there. I
scanned them in and started using some of them. I've also used some of my own
photos, or photos that were sent to me.

X: What’s your favorite theme, out of the ones
you made so far?

My fav theme would probably be the elephants. I'm a Realtor, and my catch
phrase is "Taking the Jungle out of Real Estate"....with an elephant
on my card. AND I took these pics at the zoo a few years back. I like most of
the others that I've done, too. Everytime I get bored with my own layout, it's
time to make another!

X: What’s your favorite xanga feature?

Modules! I can add or remove whatever I want!

X: What do you
like most about xanga?

I love that Xanga is free without
inappropriate ads. (unlike MySpace where I have to make sure my kids aren't
around when I pull it up...)

X: What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time, I like to hang out with my kidlets & husband, read, sew,
and sell houses!

Thanks to InGodzHndz for being our featured designer of the
week. Keep the great themes coming!

Tune in for the Xanga Team Office Hours show live today on Xanga TV from 5-6 p.m.

The goal of our Xanga True program is simple: we wanted to thank our most active members for using Xanga so much.  We chose the word True because it means, "firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast".

We got some feedback on the TRUE name, and I wanted to share it with you guys.  This comment pretty much sums it up:  I was one of the ones who knocked you guys a little... not because the badge exists, but because I don't agree with calling it "TRUE," as that gives the impression that others are UNTRUE.  Or as another Xangans put it, I'm one of the NONTRUEs. And I feel just like I did when I was a sophomore in high school, and the girls I ate lunch with asked me not to sit with them anymore.

We definitely don't want the community to feel divided!  We just wanted to recognize our most active users for contributing so much to the site.  In retrospect, recognizing some members means not recognizing others... I should've anticipated that one.

Well nothing is set in stone, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.  We got a lot of interesting suggestions for possible name changes, which I've grouped into categories.  Rather than paraphrase them, I figured we'd use direct quotes so you can hear the ideas directly from your fellow Xangans.

1) Choose a name that is less of a label

a) Choose a silly name: "I'm thinking that the name should be something that's more positive-goofy than positive-sincere-potentially-divisive. Why not something like "Xanga Nut" or "Xanga Addict"?"

b) Choose something that doesn't have a name: "I personally favour using an image instead of a word - a Xanga rainbow or something."

c) Choose a more literal name: "I think that "ACTIVE" or "OUTGOING" might be better, more appropriate tags since they're given based on the amount of comments given, not the truth or community-based opinions that a "TRUE" tag may imply."

2) Create more badges, but make them sound more objective:

"[Perhaps] a ranking system like they do on message boards: Newbie, Seasoned Member, Addict...etc. You can set up ALL sites to have tags based on the number of posts we've made over time. ... Figure the tags change every so many posts; make it after 50 posts to go from Newbie to Nut; another 100 posts to go to Pro; another 200 posts to go to Addict; and maybe after 750 posts they become Seniors. "

3) Stick with the word True

"I like the idea of the TRUE program and I like the name. I think its nice to recognize people in that way. I think its smart to have the opt in and opt out part too though."

So what do you guys think?  Do you like the name TRUE... or should we try some of the other names/suggestions mentioned?  Or do you have any other ideas for names?  Let us know what you think!

Thanks!
John

ps We're moving forward on the other tweaks we mentioned earlier - adding optouts, expanding the program, and adding a nomination process...

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week, we're trying something a little different - instead of picking out one awesome designer, we thought we'd feature some of our favorite themes.

Some of the designers of these themes have been longtime designers and have large theme portfolios. For others, the featured theme may be their only one or one of a few.

Under our favorites are some cool Valentine's Day themes to try out - we hope you like our picks!

Awesome fridge by T_sasa_YH                           Penguins by ilinas
                        

Binary Blue by carriep63

=) by eternity_ting                                            coffee by jaydelilahh

Love me Pink by my_picture_picture      Valentines
Bows and Balloons by Rayray714a

St. Valentines by messymarvinus              Vintage Pink by Themes_by_Kris

"I discovered Xanga.com when I was in high school nearly four years ago or more.  I can't manage to write in a journal any more, I'm a little defective.  When I feel alone or need to feel aware of myself my little weblog box is always willing to open up and listen. 

It doesn't tell me no or turn me away, it doesn't judge or feel the need to give me its point of view unless asked.  It properly reflects me upon myself, if I walk away and forget about it, it's always there when I come back...

Xanga has given to me the opportunity to publish writings I am not sure about and gain genuine feedback.  It has brought to me the love of my life and given me a chance to have more.  It has helped me learn about myself and those around me. 

You see, I Xanga because there is no truer friend."

-nightshadegloom

Submit your own at xanga.com/why!

Hey guys, this is John.  You've given us a lot of great feedback on the TRUE program, and we've been making adjustments like crazy over here.

OPTINS AND OPTOUTS

The LIFE badge was so popular that I thought everyone would love the TRUE badge too!  But while most of you loved it, some Xangans rightfully pointed out that they had had the *choice* to opt into LIFE, but not so much with TRUE. <-- me hanging head in shame

So two changes coming up (tomorrow!) to address that:

• Optin - In the near future, we will *invite* people to join the TRUE program.  If you don't want to, just ignore the link.
• Optout - Some of our TRUE members would prefer to hide their badge.  We'll provide a way to hide it tomorrow.

INVITING MORE PARTICIPANTS

We're going to grow True (slowly but surely):

• Some of you have been on Xanga for years!  You guys have supported us for years, and we want to honor you for that.  We're gonna look at ways we can expand the true program a bit, especially if you've participated a lot in Xanga over the years.
• Also - any sites we couldn't consider cuz of Friends Lock... we're going to friend you from the Xanga Team account.  That way, our team can check our your sites and invite you to join the program.
• Finally, we're going to setup a nomination process so that the Xanga community can help us decide who should be true.  We certainly don't want to be in charge of this forever!  We'd like to turn it over to the community .

NAME

Some of you expressed concern around the name TRUE.  So we'll be posting about that tomorrow, and asking for your collective wisdom there.

Thanks for bearing with us while we work out the kinks here!  What do you think of these tweaks so far - a useful start?  Anything you'd like to add or subtract to the list?  Please let us know!

John

We just rolled out a new program called Xanga TRUE.

We already have a LIFE badge that we display for our lifetime premium members.  We *hugely* appreciate the support of all of our premium users - especially those who have committed to Xanga for Life.  It's an incredible honor, and we hope that the LIFE icon recognizes our lifetime supporters for all their support.

Lately though, we've been looking for a way to also recognize our most active members: members who blog and comment a lot, who help out in our help forums, and who help us test out new features.  We heard from our lawyers that giving out free lifetime to helpers might create legal issues.  So we came up with a TRUE program, which lets us recognize our most active members without any legal issues.

We're still working out the details of the program.  For now, we've only given out 4476 TRUE badges - and only to sites that we've personally inspected.  (Another 5k badges are on their way - feel free to drop us a line about this!). We're still working out the details of the program, including:

• Will TRUE status ever be available to Friends Locked sites?
• Will a site ever lose their TRUE status if they stop updating?
• Will TRUE members get any benefits?
• If you don't have a TRUE badge, can you appeal or apply for one?

But while we work out these details, we wanted to recognize the people who contribute so much content and help to Xanga.  All of us Xanga users depend on you guys!  If you didn't update, we'd have nothing to read... and if you didn't comment, we'd all get fewer comments.  So thank you to everyone who is TRUE!  You make the site better for all of us.

John

Expensive roses and reservations at posh restaurants can leave you broke, but when it comes to Minis, we've slashed prices.

Starting today, Valentine's Day Minis are marked down so you can show love for more of your Xanga buddies - they're waiting for you in the "Valentine" section and you may want to check out the "Love" category for even more warm fuzzy greetings.

Come Thursday, you may be celebrating with your sweetie or lamenting that it's Singles' Awareness Day, but either way, we like you *blush*.

This week's Themes Thursday featured designer is jasminedelilah. Her delightful themes caught our eye and have started to catch the attention of other Xanga users as well. You can see a sample of her themes below and find more here.

 drawn on a rainbow          patches of green

     brown spring                 (pink) city carnival 

X: How long have you been a Xanga user and how did you find
xanga?

I've been on xanga since the fall of 2004. Some friends in
my first year of college were hardcore xangans, and I pretty much just jumped
on the bandwagon.

X: Do you have a design background or any previous
experience in making layouts?

I don't have any professional training or work towards my
credit; however I've always loved improving on things to make them more unique
and creative. I've designed a couple of webpages, I've done some photography
and photo editing, but it's no where near what I do for a living  I've told that I just have an 'eye' for these
kinds of things.

X: How do you come up with your themes? What’s your
inspiration?

When xanga switched to the easier-to-use themes, I started
creating them basically because there weren't many out there that suited my
tastes. Most of the time, I'll stumble upon some individual graphic (from photobucket
or other image sharing websites) that will catch my eye, and usually save it to
my own computer. From there, I will incorporate it into the theme, usually
trying to match colors and placement to make it tasteful, yet not draw away
from the blog completely. Sometimes I will just want to 'create' layouts, and
three or four will surface at a time. It's almost an act of worship [to God] to
me, I've been given this gift of being creative, and this is one way I use it
for other people's benefit.

X: What do you like most about themes?

I love the themes because you don't have to use or know a
lot of HTML or other coding in order to make a sophisticated page design. I've
helped others with the theme system, and it's easy enough that once I direct
them to the simple things, they can grasp a hold of how to fix the rest. And I
was never all that amazing at the whole blogging thing, I'm much better at
designing.

X: What’s your favorite xanga feature?

I love the blogrings, mainly because it helps me personally
to connect with a lot of people from my church. The improved image hosting and
messaging system is a big help as well.

X: What do you like most about xanga?

Well. . . for myself personally, it's been a way to connect
with and get to know people on a different level than on the normal real world
limited contact basis. Its a good way to keep in touch with friends and family,
and keep them in touch with what's going on in your life, and also to just air
out thoughts, and process.

X: What do you like to do in your spare time?

In what spare time I have, I play saxophone, and am in the
process of learning bass guitar; and playing both in my church's worship
[music] team. I also volunteer as a youth sponsor with a high school church
youth group. Photography and photo editing are other interests I enjoy as well,
along with all the other things that come along and capture my attention.

X: Mac or PC? Firefox or Internet Explorer?

I've never really had a desire to switch to Mac, I've used
PC most of my life, and have just gotten used to its workings. Internet
browsers on the other hand, I'm particular about. I'm a diehard Firefox fan.
After dealing with too much junkware with IE, I decided to try Firefox, because
I had heard that since less people use it, less viruses are targeted towards
its systems. And since I've started using it exclusively, I really haven't had
any problems with junkware. It's a lot faster with most pageloads, and there
are a great many different add-ons that help out a great deal.

Thanks jasminedelilah for being our featured designer of the
week. Keep the awesome themes coming!

Tune in for the Xanga Team Office Hours show live today on Xanga TV from 5-6 p.m.