Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Hi, folks.

I just wanted to take a moment and inform you that this is my final blog entry on the Social Media Blog since tomorrow is my last day with AOL.

The Social Media Blog will be transitioned into the warm hands of Kelly Wilson. Hang tight for a bit as she irons out the final plans with the blog. If you'd like to stay on top of the Web 2.0 and technology in general, check out Frank Gruber's Somewhat Frank. (In his day job, he's a senior product manager for myAOL.)

That said, it's been my sincere pleasure to help and support all of you via this blog, message boards, e-mail and even Instant Message. If you'd like, you can still find me blogging on my personal blog.

Many thanks and take care. :-)

~Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Users still accessing the legacy interface for AOL Message Boards will be redirected to the Web message board format which offers newer features starting the morning of February 7.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Hi, folks.

I just wanted to let you know that a new version of AIM is available for testing. The newest feature that is being introduced is Real-Time IM.

Real-Time IM lets you directly connect to one of your buddies, and as you type, your buddy reads exactly what you're writing (or deleting, too). This new feature requires both buddies to use AIM 6.8 to try out this feature. The AIM team is interested to hear what you think about this new feature, so be sure to send your feedback.

Here are a few screen shots of this new feature:

Start a Real-Time IM via the Actions menu in an IM Window.

As your buddy is typing, you will see their text.

When your buddy finishes typing, their message will appear.

If you're interested in trying this out, head on over to AIM 6.8 Beta Test and learn more about the features and known issues in this version of AIM.

~Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

I'm often asked about the differences between Profiles, Buddy Info and Status messages from AIM users. It's helpful to understand what they are and how you can manage them.

AIM Profiles (also known as "Member Directory" or "AIM Pages")
AIM Profiles are the public (or private) Web pages that you create that let you show off and tell the world all about you. AIM Profiles let you enter your favorite interests, photos, and Web links -- while also showing your Buddy Info and Status messages -- all in one page.

To edit your AIM Profile, navigate to http://editprofile.aim.com/ to get started or update it as necessary.

Buddy Info
AIM Buddy Info is a small Web page (of sorts) that AIM users can customize. Initially, AIM Buddy Info was only visible between only AIM users, but has since been posted on AIM Profiles. A popular use of the AIM Buddy Info is to post lyrics to a meaningful song, declare your relationship status or host links to your favorite Web sites. Currently, the Buddy Info has been expanded to allow pictures to be posted in it.

To edit your Buddy Info, you will need AIM software like AIM 6.5. From the AIM Buddy List, click the Edit menu then click My Buddy Info... and enter whatever you want (minding the TOS, of course).

Status Messages (also known as "Available" or "Away" Messages)
Status messages are just that -- they tell people if you're online, idle, away or even what music you're listening to. When you put up your away message and walk away from your computer, a message will be displayed informing your buddies that you are not at the computer. Status messages can also be set to serve as an away message if you're offline if you edit it and sign off.

You can manage your status messages by using AIM 6.5 and clicking on Enter a status message here..., located between your screen name and the top of the groups of buddies.

Alternatively, you may also change your Buddy Info directly from your AIM Profile by clicking on the "Edit" next to "Current Status."

Putting It All Together
Now that you know what these features are individually, you probably want to see what's the big deal about all these, right? AIM Profiles aggregates all this information into one page. With all these ways to post info about yourself, you can keep your Buddies in the know, even if you're not at the computer. Here is where everything is located on your profile:

On your AIM Profile, it will display this information for you automatically.

Still puzzled?
Post your questions in the comments below and we'll help the best we can.


~Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Hey folks,

We received a lot of feedback since the redesign of AOL People Connection. Thanks again for all of your comments. The most popular feedback about the changes was about how to join the discussion in AOL Chat rooms.

AOL Chat rooms require AOL Software like AOL 9.1, AOL Desktop or AOL for OS X. This is because AOL Chat rooms use a proprietary language that only AOL software can understand. No worries, though, the AOL software is easy to use and offers plenty of additional features that users have loved for years.

Alternatively, if you don't wish to use the AOL software, you can participate in our Web-based AIM Chats. These rooms are still pretty new, so grab some buddies and join in the discussions. You can access these rooms with your AOL or AIM screen name and a Web browser that includes the latest version of Adobe Flash.

How to Access AOL Chat Rooms, if You Don't Have the AOL Software:
1. Make sure you have an AOL screen name. If you don't have one, you can create yours for free.
2. Download and install the latest AOL software to your computer. You only need to download it once and will take several minutes over a high-speed connection.
3. Sign on to the AOL service as "Existing Member." Click Sign On to connect to AOL.


4. Enter your AOL screen name and password, then click Next and wait a moment for your Welcome Screen to finish loading.


5. Along the top, click the Community menu, click Chat Room Listings.

6. Select the room of your choice and click Go Chat.



How to Access AOL Chat Rooms, if You Have the AOL Software:

1. Click Sign On to connect to AOL with your AOL screen name and password.
2. After you sign in, click the Community menu located at the top, then click Chat Room Listings.


3. Select the room of your choice, then click Go Chat.

---

Now, just sit back and enjoy the variety of discussions that are going on. If you aren't down with the chat lingo, check out some common acronyms that are used in Chat rooms and Instant Messages.

If you need help connecting to AOL, or have a question about your AOL account, visit AOL Help for further assistance. Also, you can learn more about the features on AOL anytime by stopping over at Discover AOL.

~ Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Hey folks,

Do you know anyone who is a hardcore Google Mail (GMail) user? If so, spread the word that they can now sign into AIM, when checking their GMail.

GMail has included Google Talk (GTalk) into their e-mail product for quite some time, but it's been expanded to let you sign into AIM easily. This means all you need to do to enjoy AIM, is sign into your GMail to access your e-mail and chat with your buddies.

All this is made possible with the Open APIs available from AIM Developer (AIMcc), and the friendly folks over at Google who worked with us to provide the best user experience.

I tried this out yesterday and today, and it works flawlessly. Go ahead, try it out!

Learn more about this announcement from Google. Also, if you need help with this new feature, read up on it at the Google Help Center.

~ Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the new People Connection site! Don't see what you're looking for? A bit confused by the new look? We're here to shed some light on the subject. People Connection brings everything together. Boards, featured blogs, chats, hot topics and fun products are highlighted to help you express, connect and share.

The message boards tab at the top of the page guides you to your favorite message boards -- old and new. Just choose a topic and run with it!

Blogs are easy to find, browse through and create. We keep you updated with the most commented on and most recently updated blogs, so it's easy to discover people and points of view.

We love all of the pictures you've sent us through the years, and our photo galleries showcase your photography skills and once-in- a-lifetime experiences. So, check it out!

Last but not least -- the Member Directory. Search for friends and family, or meet a whole new group of friends. Fill in the blanks, and you're good to go.

We hope you enjoy the new and improved People Connection!

If you have any comments or questions, or if you'd like more details about any of the new features, leave a comment below.

[UPDATE 12/20] -- If you want to learn more about to Chat on AOL, check out my follow-up entry titled, How To Join Chat Rooms on AOL.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Now that AIM Profiles are here, many of you wanted to know how to customize them. I'll cover the basics and show you around eight different sections of your profile including how to add videos, music and slideshows.

The Basics

We couldn't have the fun of advanced stuff without understanding the fundamentals. You can manage your profile from one easy to remember address: editprofile.aim.com. Once you get there, you will have eight areas in your profile to fill in. Everything is all optional, of course.

o. About Me -- This section is self-explanatory. Enter anything you want, except for fancy HTML codes and stuff. You can put just about anything you want here.

o. My Photo -- You can upload your favorite picture of yourself, a favorite pastime time or hobby. This will become the "minipic" which is the picture that will be displayed along the upper left corner of your profile.

o. Personal Details -- You can choose to let people find you by name, display your first name on your profile, list your age and birthday, specify who you're looking for, your hometown, occupation, three favorite hyperlinks and up to four different quotes. If you really liked the old Member Directory format, this section is for you!

o. Interests -- If you love lists like I do, then you'll like this. You can list your favorite music, TV shows, books, activities and more. The terms you enter are turned into links. You can click on these to search for other users with similar interests.

o. Pictures -- You can upload all your favorite fun, wild and crazy pictures here. Do us all a favor and make sure they fall within the AIM Profiles product guidelines. This area uses the newly refined AIM Photos service instead of the AOL Pictures product.

o. Themes -- No one wants to be plain and boring, that's why we have over 190 different themes that you can choose from. No complicated codes to mess with, just point, click and save to see the changes.

o. Code Snippet -- This is where you are can add Web-based widgets like videos, music, slideshows, Wimzi's and much more! This is the only section that accepts plain-text HTML code.

o. Privacy & Settings -- You can manage your profile settings to make your profile private (the default is public), display the date that you became an AOL or AIM user, latest updates you made to your profile, hit counter, comment and buddy request preferences. Additionally, if you want to delete your AIM Profile and start again, you can click the "Reset Profile" button at the bottom.

As you can see, AIM Profiles are easy to customize and offer you the ability to add cool things. You can check out my profile, where I'll always be tinkering around.

If you have questions about how to do something on your profile, let us know in the comments and we'll help. :-)

[Update: 12/5 4:24PM] I've responded to a lot of comments you've posted below in this follow-up entry. Thanks everyone for posting their thoughts and concerns.

~ Joseph

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

AIM Groups will make an appearance on your computer soon. AIM Groups took the best features within AOL Groups and made them better with the best of AIM.

This release of our Groups product will make it easy to create private and public online groups and will allow you (as a group owner) to manage the Web page for the group, as well as integrating an improved message board where everyone can discuss topics. With

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Smarter moderation and enforcement tools: Two things have occurred to help speed the way to completion of this task. First, our team now "owns" the support and fix functions as well as the development of these tools. This means that we control prioritization of both feature development and support rather than having to vie with other teams for time and resources.

Second, all the MESH Team members sit near one another now, so the people responsible for policy, process and technology can toss requests, suggestions and feedback back and forth all day long. Prairie dogging and trips to the "war room" have increased exponentially. In fact, I think I heard them yell "war room" and clomp over there just a few minutes ago.

Easy to understand community standards: Once everyone has signed off on these, you will be the first to know when they'll be rolling out. There won't be any surprises except that you'll actually understand the standards if you couldn't before. And, those who did understand them (but claimed not to in attempts to worm their way out of a legitimate, well documented block) will have no excuses.

I'm tempted to call the new standards "The Seven Deadly Sins." We're aiming to have these done this week. Short of fires or floods, it should be so. In the meantime, remember that community standards are all based on Terms of Service and we all know those by heart.

New training for our teams: Though we review and train our teams on a weekly basis around here, we have done a thorough review of our curriculum. This resulted in expanded definitions and better processes related to the review and removal of user-generated content. Most of the changes were driven by a focus on our users' experience. First, we referred to all the mail we receive from users via our various feedback boxes. Then, each time we made a decision, we asked ourselves: "Can we explain this to our users? If not then why are we doing it this way?"

Clear channels for user feedback and escalations: Okay, this is a big one, especially since there are fewer of us and we want to be able to respond as quickly and effectively as possible. We've discovered that folks write to a multitude of mailboxes, some of which are appropriate and some of which don't even exist. I think many people just slap TOS in front of any old screen name and think it will go to the right place. Others write to 10 different TOS e-mail boxes each time they raise a concern. This is neither efficient nor effective if we want faster turn around times.

We want your e-mail to get to the right person and for that person to handle it quickly. When the community standards roll out we'll include the correct mailboxes to write to. We'll post that information here and in other areas, too, to get the word out. In the meantime, if you send things to AOLPeopleMGR@aol.com your mail will definitely get to the right person.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments