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  • Albums: Newly Themed and Easily Accessible

    You've uploaded lots of photos and organized them so they're categorized perfectly, so show them off! If you're a themed user, your albums will match your Xanga site now. We've also added links to your albums - just check your dropdown menu and in your navigation links - to make them more accessible.

    Be sure to check out our "new minis" album to see the new ones we've added this week!

  • Thanksgiving and Other New Minis Are Here!

    Here are three new Thanksgiving Minis and four other multipurpose animations that are ready for you to give out to your fellow Xangans - don't worry, these previews aren't animated, but your Minis *will* be!

    Whether you'll be eating turkey, tofurky or turducken this coming Thursday, we've got you covered . . . and more importantly, you can remind your friends and family know that you're thankful for them.

    Happy Thanksgiving from The Xanga Team!

  • By Request: Slashed Mini Prices!

    Here at Xanga, we're holding Black Friday a week early! You asked and we listened:

    "The mini's are great - but really - they should be cheaper."
    -venice

    "[I]t seems like it takes
    forever to collect enough of credits to actually send one."
    -pamperedchef04

    We want to make sure that everyone who wants to give Minis *can*, so we've cut prices 25-75% on almost every Mini to make them more affordable for everyone.

    And just think . . . you won't even have to wait outside a store at 5 a.m. to get these deals.

    (now would be an optimal time to use the "Eruption of Awesome" one)

  • New Minis Are Here!

    Nineteen cool new Minis are ready for you - send one (or all nineteen, if you're feeling really nice) to a friend today! Keep checking back, too, because more Minis will be coming your way each week.

    If we're missing an expression you'd like to use, let us know and we'll get you covered as best we can.

    (P.S. They're all animated, too - these are just graphical previews! You can see exactly how the finished product looks by going through your Minis at the bottom of the page by the comment box)





  • Javascript Support for Xanga Themes! (Premium Beta)

    If you're using Xanga Themes, you can now add javascript to your custom modules!

    A few notes:

    • This feature is still in "premium beta" - it's available only to *premium* users for now - but we definitely plan to enable javascript for all users soon!
    • If you want to copy/paste your old scripts, you can find them on your old "Look & Feel" page here
    • Some of your old scripts might need updating - the html for themed and unthemed sites is totally different, so any script that acted on a specific piece of html on your unthemed site might not work on your new themed site - we are working to update some of the more popular scripts so they work with the new themed sites, and we'll post about them when they're ready*
    • Get friendly with "safe mode" -malformed codes and scripts can really whack out your site. If you're working on a script and your site goes kablooey, just click the little"safe mode" link in your top toolbar... it'll disable all the scriptsand codes on your site so you can click to edit or delete them.
    - Bharat & Marc

    * If you've already converted one of the older scripts to help it work with the new themes system, please let us know in the comments - thanks!

  • Weblog Archive Calendars for Xanga Themes!

    If you've already upgraded to Xanga Themes, you may have noticed something missing*: the Weblog Archives module... it's the one with little pulldown menus that let you jump back to older posts by date.

    weblogarchivesWell, now it's back - and this time it's in a real calendar format!

    You'll see the new Weblog Archives Calendar on your main "weblog" page (just go to your site and click "weblog"). It's also available as a new module in case you wanted to add it to your main Xanga page (the one at http://www.xanga.com/YourUsername).

    Here's how to add it:

    1. Sign in and go to your main xanga page
    2. Click "edit theme" in your top toolbar
    3. Click "Add Modules" to see all the Xanga Modules you can add to your page, and then click on "Weblog Archives" (it should be at the end of your list of modules)

    It'll get added to the top, "maincontent" area of your page... then you can move it wherever you want.

    Special thanks to adam for finally helping us to get this feature back in place.

    Let us know what you think!

    - Marc

    * You may have also noticed that your scripts were missing - we'll be posting about this one tomorrow

    UPDATE: if you're seeing a "big grey box" in the calendar, please try clearing your cache (hold down the shift key and refresh your page). That grey box requires the latest CSS files to transmogrify into its intended look (an opaque background on the << < today > >> buttons). Sorry for any confusion!

  • Get Credits for Xanga-ing!

    From the very start of Xanga, comments have really acted as
    the glue that kept the community together. So when we set out to find a
    way for everyone to get credits just by using Xanga, comments seemed
    like a good place to start.

    Now everyone can get Xanga Credits just for giving and receiving comments!

    Now if you're thinking "awesome, I love comment-spam popularity contests", then this feature is not for you ...
    We've baked in a lot of controls to prevent you from getting extra
    credits for that type of activity... But if you're out commenting like
    a good Xanga citizen, you should see your credit balance gradually
    increase.

    And with more credits, you can give more Minis...

    A lot of you have mentioned that you've had trouble finding Minis that really fit your comments, so we've re-categorized all
    the Minis to help you out...  When you click into the mini gallery,
    you'll see a bunch of new categories - from "Great Post" to "LOL" -
    designed to better fit your actual comments. We also have a ton of
    brand new minis on the way this week.

    So have fun Xanga-ing...
    If you want to get those first few credits, just try leaving a comment
    on this post (and please remember, repeat comments won't really get you
    any extra )

  • Broadcasting Open For All Users

    Starting today, broadcasting will be available for all users. If you've got a webcam, you can broadcast live on your Themed Xanga site - just add the Xanga TV module to your page.

    Some ideas to get you started on your broadcasting:

    • Lifecast! You've seen other Xangans give a 24/7 view of their lives, so why not give it a shot?
    • Hold a Q&A session with your site's readers. Use the Questions tab to answer any pressing quandaries your viewers might have.
    • Have your own mini-concert - take requests and play a short set of original songs.
    • Host a nightly show with your family or friends. Cover news, entertainment, sports or whatever you like.
    • Show your users a different perspective you might not otherwise see - GoldfishCam, anyone?
    As a heads-up for IE users, there's a known bug that may occur when you first add your Xanga TV module. If it looks like the module isn't loading, refresh your site and let it load again - you should be all set.

    For further details, check out our previous post . . . and, as always, let us know what you think of the feature!

  • Photo Server Maintenance

    It seems we're running out of space on our photo servers!  To make sure everybody can continue adding photos to their blogs, we're adding a few more hard drives, servers, and more storage to host more photos.  In the meantime, uploads will be down while we make these additions.  Sorry about this!  We'll get this up asap.

  • Premium Members: Check Out Broadcasting

    Good news! If you're a Premium user with a webcam, you can broadcast on your site - just add the Xanga TV module to your themed page.

    Be sure to take advantage of the cool features included with the video player; you've got all of these built-in capabilities:

    • Chat, complete with ignore and ban options
    • Archives, searchable by day
    • Highlight reel, which shows moments your viewers have selected as memorable
    • A default photo (your profile picture) on your module when you're not broadcasting live

    Check out the questions tab, where your viewers can submit, sort and vote on questions for you to answer. As a broadcaster, you can delete submitted content or select "answer this question" to respond. You also have the option to save your responses as highlights or discard them in another window - it's up to you.

    Try it and let us know what you think - happy broadcasting!