This week we're focused on creative contests and helping those afflicted by the recent natural disasters in the United States. But first, Frank is celebrating May birthdays. If you were born this fine month, please tell Frank your fondest birthday wish (a coordinating userpic is always a treat), and he'll send you a delicious dessert waffle (up through the first ten pages of comments)!
Tornado relief
In April, natural events pummeled the midwest and southern regions of the United States, breaking the national record for most tornado outbreaks in a given month. In response to these catastrophic occurrences, we're offering a charitable vgift to aid the recovery efforts. LiveJournal will donate proceeds from the sale of our 'Charity:Tornado Relief' vgift (we'll cover all processing fees) to Heart to Heart International, a volunteer-driven program assisting people in the area.
We'd also like to give a shout out to helpthesouth, a charity fandom auction created to assist those affected by the recent storms. LiveJournal donated two annual paid accounts to support their efforts.
ONTD newsletter
Hot off the digital press, the new bi-monthly ONTD newsletter is the great way to catch up on all the best entertainment gossip and commentary dished out by the ONTD community! Track down the latest scandal with 'Top Stories of the Week,' check out what the ONTD community is saying about celebs in 'Overheard on ONTD,' or test the limits of your own witticism by entering the 'Caption Contest.' Sign up for the ONTD newsletter today (on the right side, halfway down the page)!
Header design winner
Congratulations to chocolate_coke, who won this month's header design contest with a beautiful floral arrangement! You'll be seeing this lovely design on the top of LiveJournal during the month of May. We'll accept entries for our next contest up through Monday, May 23rd at 4PM, PDT. If you submitted a header after the last deadline, it will be entered into the next contest. Just a reminder: The winner gets 2,500 LJ Tokens. Finalists receive 1,000 LJ Tokens. All other participants get 500 LJ Tokens (a limit of one award per user). We thank you, again, for making LiveJournal your canvas!
Journal theme contest
Congratulations to ina_ami, 70, and fuzps, who won our journal theme contest! We'll be making these awesome themes available to all of our users! Thank you to the all the winners and participants for lending their artistry to our theme contest.
Did You Know?
Want to make the most of those mood swings? Current Mood themes are a great way to share how you feel when you post on LiveJournal. There are many different families of themes to choose from, ranging from Brucie's Pengies and Juicy's CuteAliens to Neko's Kao Kitties. To switch your current mood theme, visit the Customize Journal Style page and scroll down to the Mood Themes section. In addition to the standard Current Mood themes, Plus, Paid, and Permanent users can also create custom mood themes. Once you select a Mood theme, you can pick a keyword (and associated mood icon) to let the LiveJournal world know whether you're feeling jubilant, nauseated, or morose!
For more fun with photos, lj_scribe, and Frank & Meme, we'll catch you under the cut! ( Collapse )
We've had a great week here at LiveJournal. After a long and dreary rainy season, Spring is finally playing peekaboo. The balmier days have left Frank clamoring for the great outdoors. He's itching for suggestions on recreational activities that don't require a whole lot of coordination or endurance. Give him some fresh ideas (a matching userpic is always welcome), and Frank'll send you a pair of anti-gravity boots to keep you walking on air (up through the first 10 pages of comments).
Introducing the Android App!
We're delighted to announce the new Android App for LiveJournal! We know a lot of you have been asking for this, and we're so thrilled to help you enjoy LiveJournal on the go! Once you download the app, you can:
Post entries to your journal and communities
Upload photos
Create and post polls
Edit your last journal entry
Compose and edit drafts
Manage your settings for mobile posting
Just a heads up: We'll be adding access to your Friends page in the next version. Have any comments or suggestions? We'd love to get your input. You can post your feedback to this post. And be sure to join ljmobile for regular updates.
Header design contest
It's that time of the month again! After agonizing review, we narrowed the selection down to 15 finalists. We invite you to vote for the design you'd like to see on the top of LiveJournal during the month of May. We'll begin accepting entries for the next header design contest next week. All submissions that came in after the deadline will be automatically entered into the next contest. We thank you, again, for making LiveJournal your canvas!
Journal theme contest
We're pleased to present ten journal theme finalists for your voting pleasure. The three themes that earn the most votes will be made available to all users for free! Thanks to all who participated, from the talented users who created these fabulous themes to the discerning aesthetes (i.e., YOU!) who will help us determine winners.
Nothing says party like a tinfoil helmet!
If you have a Paid or Permanent account (or if you've signed up for our free Paid Account trial), you can send five free tinfoil helmet now until Monday, May 2nd, at 4pm, PDT! You'll see both the free and the $0.99 gifts displayed until you've sent them to your friends. If you're not receiving vgifts (from friends and/or Frank), you may have disabled them. To enable vgifts, visit Edit profile (under Profile), scroll down to the bottom of the page, and check your settings. Make sure the box beside 'Disable sponsored only' is NOT checked! Now, go forth and shimmer!
Did you know ...?
If you're the lucky owner of a Paid or Permanent account, you can choose from hundreds of premium journal styles. We just added a premium theme page to make it even easier to dress up your journal, so you can change your theme as often as you change your ... underpinnings. To check out our premium themes, choose the 'Journal Style' link in the 'Journal' drop-down menu, then click the 'Premium' link on the left column under 'Select a New Theme.' If you're participating in our free Paid account trial, you can slip on any of our premium themes (don't worry, we'll save your old settings). If you haven't signed up for a free two-week Paid account trial, we invite you to sign up now, so you can start enjoying an ad-free environment, extra userpics, LiveJournal and Google stats, and more!
For more fun with photos, Frank and Meme, and LJ_Scribe, we'll catch you under the cut!
( Collapse )
Thanks, again, for joining us. We'll see you next week!
Thanks so much for supporting flood relief efforts in Australia. We've already raised $750! In response to your suggestions, we've also added a vgift to aid flood recovery in Brazil. So keep the giving going! Frank was really inspired by your exercise tips last week. In fact, he decided to get a new coiffure to go with his improved physique. Sadly, the barber gave him a fauxhawk and now he refuses to leave the barn. Tell him about your worst hair disaster (a coordinating userpic is always welcome), and he'll send you a high-protein cupcake to sweeten your day (up through the first 10 pages of comments).
Header design contest
What a dazzling display of headers! After hours of aching deliberation, the LiveJournal staff selected 15 finalists for your voting pleasure. Please take a moment and let us know which design you'd like to see on the top of LiveJournal! We seem to have lost step after the holidays, so the winning header will go up in March. FYI: All entries that came in after the deadline will be automatically entered into the next contest. We thank you all, again, for making LiveJournal your canvas!
Brazilian flood recovery
Thanks to your input, we added a charitable vgift to fund flood recovery in Brazil. We'll be donating 100% of the money we raise from the sale of this vgift to Unicef, which is mobilizing efforts to help children trapped in shelters in the flood-ravaged mountains of Brazil. Once again, we thank you for helping us make a difference.
Did you know ...?
When it comes to voting, sometimes the lure of the ticky box is tough to resist. Luckily, your poll responses can be modified even after you've cast that first impulsive vote. So if you no longer think the kitty stuck in a crockpot is as adorable as the puppy snuggling a hydrant, here's how you change your vote:
Click the 'Poll #999999' link that appears at the top of any poll (every poll has its own unique poll number).
Select the Fill Out Poll link.
Recast your vote.
When you're done, click the Submit poll button.
For full information on creating and using polls, please see this FAQ.
Puppy power!
If you have a paid or permanent account, you can send five free puppies now until Monday, January 31st, at 4pm, PDT! You'll see both the free and the $0.99 K9s displayed until they've skedaddled off to your friends. If you're not receiving vgifts (from friends and/or Frank), you may have disabled them. To enable vgifts, visit Edit profile (under Profile), scroll down to the bottom of the page, and check your settings. Happy cuddling!!
For our featured photo and more fun with Frank and Meme, we'll catch you under the cut! ( Collapse ) Thanks, again, for joining us. We'll see you next week!
We're gearing up for an exciting new year at LiveJournal. We have lots of great projects in the works, and we look forward to telling you about them in the coming months! In the meantime, Frank is celebrating January birthdays this week. If you were born this month, tell him your birthday wish (a coordinating userpic is always welcome), and he'll send you over a bouquet of balloons to celebrate (up through the first 10 pages of comments).
Header design contest
Congratulations to spikaleido, who won our January header design contest. FYI: We disqualified the winning header upon learning that it was not an original design and violated copyright law. Remember, any designs or images you use in your submissions must always be your own! You can submit headers for the February contest up through Monday, January 24th, at 4PM, PDT, in remixed. The winner will receive 2,500 LJ Tokens. Finalists will be awarded 1,000 LJ Tokens. All other participants will get 500 LJ Tokens (a limit of one award per user). By the way, we just updated our contest guidelines, so please check out the Remixed profile page for details. We thank you for making LiveJournal your canvas!
Voiceposts
We have heard that voiceposts are no longer cutting off at sixty seconds for Paid/Permanent users in Australia!
Spread some sunshine
We first learned about Randy when we asked his mom, vampirebites13, if she'd consider selling the design she'd submitted to our vgift contest back in December. She said she was delighted that we liked it so much, since her 13-year old son, Randy, had helped her eat the fresh-baked cookies featured in this vgift just a few days before he died. She told us a little about her son: "Within his first hour he had two severe seizures, and I was told he may never do the simplest of things like walk, talk, or even sit up - but Randy never gave up, and he never allowed what he couldn't do, or what he had trouble with the first time, stop him from doing anything." We were so moved that we asked her if she'd like to create another vgift to pay tribute to her son, benefiting a charity of her choice. She picked the Special Olympics, explaining: "They acknowledge that drive and determination that most people with disabilities have in abundance, they celebrate the differences in all of us, and they remind us that with a positive heart we can do anything that heart desires." We hope you'll help us honor Randy's life by sending this sunny vgift to your friends (we'll cover all the processing fees).
Meet Harry Otter!
If you have a paid or permanent account, you can send five free otters now until Monday, January 17th, at 4pm, PDT! You'll see both the free and the $0.99 otters displayed until they've swum off to your friends. If you're not receiving vgifts (from friends and/or Frank), you may have disabled them. To enable vgifts, visit Edit profile (under Profile), scroll down to the bottom of the page, and check your settings. Be sure to keep your otters in the swim!
For our featured photo and more fun with Frank and Meme, we'll catch you under the cut! ( Collapse ) Thanks, again, for joining us. We'll see you next week!
We'd like to thank you for sharing your favorite LiveJournal communities last week. Frank was so inspired that he's itching to see more of your stuff. Flash him a userpic of your favorite celebrity or fictional character (be sure to tell Frank who it is and why you love them), and he'll send you a Rubik's cube to while away the hours.
Important stuff to know
Cross-posting update: We've eliminated the ability to cross-post screened comments and comments on protected entries to Facebook and Twitter for all users (i.e., both Cyrillic and non-Cyrillic). As a result of this change, only public content can be cross-posted through this feature.
LJ Times: If you've opted into Cyrillic services, the display of the new LJ Times bar is now under your control. You can use the Display LJ Times setting here to switch this feature on or off at any time.
Spam update: We're still battling the recent influx of spam. Please remember to select the 'Mark this comment as spam' checkbox whenever you delete a suspicious comment. Maintainers can help by clicking the 'Delete and mark as spam' button.
Custom userheads update: Thanks for your suggestions regarding this new feature. We plan to expand and diversify the availability of custom userheads and add seasonal userheads as well.
m.livejournal.com: We appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback on our new mobile version. We have forwarded your comments and suggestions to our development team.
Blurb exclusive for LiveJournal users
Blurb is extending another exclusive 20% discount to LiveJournal users, good toward the purchase of any books on Blurb until October 31st, 2010 (11:59pm, PDT). For those of you who participated in Blurb's annual photography contest (which LiveJournal helped sponsor), you can view the anthology of winning photos here.
To redeem your discount, please use the following codes at checkout:
FALLBLOGBOOK (USD code), for a maximum discount of $40.00
FALLBLOGBOOK1 (EUR code), for a maximum discount of 32.00
FALLBLOGBOOK2 (GBP code), for a maximum discount of £22.00
FALLBLOGBOOK3 (CAD code), for a maximum discount of $42.00
FALLBLOGBOOK4 (AUD code), for a maximum discount of $51.00
Free pups for our paid users!
If you have a paid or permanent account, you can send five free puppies now through Monday, October 11th, at 4pm, PDT! You'll see both the free and the $0.99 K9s displayed until they've romped off to your friends. Please send only one at a time. In other words, you'll need to complete check-out and start a new order for each puppy you send. If you're not receiving vgifts (from friends and/or Frank), you may have disabled them. To enable vgifts, visit Edit profile (under Profile), scroll down to the bottom of the page, and check your settings. On behalf of Frank, we wish you and your puppies happy trails!
Did you know ...?
This week we're talking about Notes, an internal comment of up to 200 plain-text characters that you can write about another user or community that only you can see. You can create notes to keep track of nicknames, important dates, or other information that you want to remember. Keep in mind that the total text size of all of your notes cannot exceed 64 kilobytes. For additional information, please see this FAQ. Notes are only available to Paid users.
If you'd like to add or edit, here's what you do:
Hover over the userhead of any user or community and select 'Add Note'; You can also choose the 'Add Note' option from the menu of any user or community profile page (in the upper right column of links).
You can also add Notes when you friend, ban, or unban a user or a group of users (you'll have the option to set the same note for all).
You can also edit Notes by selecting 'Edit note' from the userhead hover menu for any user or community for whom you've added a Note.
If you've created a note for a user or community, you will see an asterisk (*) after the linked LJ username. You can view your private notes in any of the following places:
Below the username in the Hover Menu
After the username of a comment poster on a comment page
On the user's profile, immediately after their username
On the Add or Remove Friends page
On the Ban and Unban Users page
On the Manage Notes page
Want us to write about your favorite feature? Just let us know in comments below!
For photos and fun with Frank and Meme, we'll catch you under the cut. ( Collapse ) Thanks, again, for joining us. We'll see you next week!
We've got an exciting new feature that we're officially introducing this week, so we're eager to get started! But before we dive in, Frank is hoping to broaden his social horizons. Tell him about your favorite community on LiveJournal, and he'll send you a tender sapling to nurture and grow.
Alter your ego with custom userheads
If you're interested in shifting personas, custom userheads can jumpstart your transformation. Whether you feel like Batman, Mickey, or a ponytailed lass, you can purchase a custom userhead for 199 LJ Tokens or a $1.99 payment in the LiveJournal Gift Shop for yourself or for another user and enjoy a full year of use. Once you stock up, you can switch to another userhead whenever you like by visiting your Edit Profile page. Please be aware that whenever you switch, all of your posts (past and present) will be display your currently selected userhead. A final note: If you recently enabled Cyrillic services to purchase custom userheads, you can opt out and retain full access to this feature.
So long MSN LJ Messenger
After reviewing our stats, we've decided to cancel MSN LJ Messenger Service, as of September 28, 2010, due to lack of use. If you created a Live ID with MSN Messenger, it will continue to work with the desktop client and other services, but it will no longer work on LiveJournal. For those of you who used this service, we recommend you try out LJ Talk (also known as Jabber) to chat with your LiveJournal friends and post to your journal. We'll be discussing this feature in today's "Did you know...?" tip below.
Other stuff to know
m.livejournal.com: We've relaunched m.livejournal.com. We hope you'll let us know what you think. Please post your comments and suggestions to this post in lj_feedback.
Comment log-in: If you enter your username and password to comment on a post, you will automatically remain logged into LiveJournal after you finish posting the comment.
Spam: We're aware that we've been hit by an unusual amount of spam this past week, which we're currently investigating. We hope you'll help us out by clicking the 'Report spam' checkbox whenever you delete a post.
LJ_Releases: For detailed updates and technical information on LiveJournal releases, check out lj_releases.
Header design contest
Congratulations to maria91bl, who won our monthly header design contest. We'll be accepting entries for the next contest until Monday, October 18, at 4PM, PDT. All participants receive LJ Tokens: 2,500 for the winner; 1,000 for finalists; and 500 for all other contestants (only one award per user). The LiveJournal staff will select 15 finalists and post a poll in the news so you can choose a winner. For more information, please see the Remixed profile page.
Did you know ...?
MSN LJ Messenger is gone, but the joy of chatting lives on. You can use LJ Talk (also known as Jabber) to instant message with your LiveJournal friends and post to your journal. While individual IM clients (such as Yahoo! and AIM) are not compatible with LJ Talk, multi-chat clients that let you integrate the above services into one chat bar, including Pandion, Pidgin and Trillian, will work with LJ Talk! (Pandion is extremely easy to implement.)
To activate LJ Talk, here's what you do:
Select "Jabber" or "XMPP" as the type/protocol in your IM client's menu.
If you're prompted to provide a "JID," "Jabber ID," or"Jabber Address", use "YourUsername@livejournal.com."
If you're asked for both "Username" and "Server", use "YourUsername" and "livejournal.com."
When asked for a password, enter your LiveJournal password.
If you're asked for an optional "Connect Address" or "Alternate Connect Address," you can leave the fields blank. It will default to "livejournal.com," which is correct.
If asked for "Old style SSL," turn that off.
The port number is 5222.
Once you set up LJ Talk, any LiveJournal friend who has enabled LJ Talk will be automatically added to your contact list. You can also use this feature to post to your journal. To post an entry, address a message to "frank@bot.services.livejournal.com" to Frank with the text "post: Your entry here." To add a subject line, use "post: [Subject line] Your entry here." For additional information, check out this FAQ.
If you have other favorite features that you'd like us to write about, please let us know in the comments below. We'll be back next week with another fun tip.
For our featured photo and more fun with Frank & Meme (as told by LJ writers), we'll catch you under the cut! ( Collapse ) Once again, we thank you for joining us. We'll see you next week!
This week, we're all about getting creative. Whether you're a writer, photographer, or designer, you can put a competitive spin on
your talents with LiveJournal contests (more details below). Speaking of which, Frank and Meme are awaiting your inspiration on their next awesome adventure.
In the meantime, Frank lost a bet to Meme on whether Sam would visit Lindsay in the slammer (Meme rightly believed in the power of prison
love). Frank was forced to wear a pair of spiky sandals on a trip to the mall. This has led him
to wonder if you, too, have ever suffered extreme toe woe while breaking in new set of hoof stompers. Send him your best blistering tale, and
he'll slip you a pair of pink platform stilettos.
LiveJournal iPhone App
We're pleased to announce that the new LiveJournal iPhone app is available for free in the Apple store! Be sure to download the application labeled "LiveJournal Inc." Our new app lets you:
Read your Friends page
Post to your journal or communities
Add and respond to comments
Read and reply to personal messages
Upload images
Access advanced setttings, like custom view options to speed load times
Join ljmobile to discuss the new LiveJournal iPhone app.
Other stuff to know
Rickshaw ad design contest: Our neighbors over at Rickshaw Bagworks have selected ad design finalists for your review. Please help them choose a winner by voting for your favorite entry here. The poll will
remain open until Tuesday, August 3rd, at 4PM, PDT.
Header contest: Congrats again to delightedly for creating the stunning header that graces the top of LiveJournal.
You can continue to submit entries to remixed for next month's header contest until Tuesday, August 3rd, at 4pm, PDT. The
winner will get 2,500 LJ Tokens. Finalists will receive 1,000 LJ Tokens. All other participants will get 500 LJ tokens (only one award per
user). For more information on this contest, please see the Remixed profile
page.
Orbit vgift contest: We're excited to announce a brand new creative contest. Orbit gum is sponsoring a vgift design contest that is open to all LiveJournal users. The winner will receive a $500 Amazon Gift Certificate plus 2,500 LJ Tokens. Finalists will get
2,000 LJ Tokens, and all other participants will receive 500 LJ tokens (one award per user). Best of all, the winning vgift will be free
for all users to share with mutual friends. For more information, please check out this entry in remixed.
Daily poll: Just a reminder to check out our new daily poll question on the LiveJournal homepage (bottom right corner). The
general theme is "Have you ever...?" Please use the spotlight suggestion
form to submit questions.
For our featured photo and more fun with Frank and Meme, we'll catch you under the cut! ( Collapse )
Frank & Meme
Frank and Meme have finally returned from their kayaking trip down the Russian River. Thrill-seekers that they are, they'd like you to pen the next chapter of their lives. Keep in mind that they've been asked by a secret agent to pose as honeymooners in Vegas and get matching tattoos from a spy who is planning to seize control of the Moon, Mars, and/or the lost city of Atlantis. Please post your stories of around 400 words with or without one image to frankandmeme. We'll use a combination
of comments, +1 ratings, and staff input to choose entries and post a poll in the next newsletter. An excerpt and link to the winning
entry will be published in the following newsletter. The winning author will receive 1,000 LJ tokens. All other participants will get 500 LJ tokens. We can't wait to see what happens next!
Thanks again for joining us. We'll see you next week!
helpthesouth, a charity fandom auction created to assist those affected by the recent storms. LiveJournal donated two annual paid accounts to support their efforts.
chocolate_coke, who won this month's header design contest with a beautiful floral arrangement! You'll be seeing this lovely design on the top of LiveJournal during the month of May. We'll accept entries for our next contest up through Monday, May 23rd at 4PM, PDT. If you submitted a header after the last deadline, it will be entered into the next contest. Just a reminder: The winner gets 2,500 LJ Tokens. Finalists receive 1,000 LJ Tokens. All other participants get 500 LJ Tokens (a limit of one award per user). We thank you, again, for making LiveJournal your canvas!
