People Connection Blog

Welcome to the New People Connection Redesign!

Kelly Wilson — 2008-08-11T15:28:00+00:00

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the new People Connection redesign. We've kept everything you love -- including chats, message boards, blogs and Pixnay and made them easier to find, while showcasing some fun new content like our What's Hot? section and Music.

We welcome your feedback and questions so we can help you find the places you're used to finding on People Connection. Please consult our Help Section which we will be adding to as the site grows. We hope you enjoy the new and improved People Connection! Stay tuned for more updates!

Sincerely,

The People Connection Team

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Attention AIM Groups Users

Kelly Wilson — 2008-06-09T16:52:00+00:00

Filed under: People Connection

Hello,

As of July 24th, 2008 the AIM Groups product has officially retired. The AIM Groups team will update this message if any changes occur in the future.

Sincerely,

The AIM Groups Team

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Choose Your Chat Room Experience

Kelly Wilson — 2008-04-08T08:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Chat

As you may have noticed ... there are two different chat experiences to choose from across AOL. Whether you've been chatting with the same groups of friends for years, or want to get back into the whole chat thing -- we've got a couple of options for you.

AIM Chat is full of awesome chat rooms, with new and improved features. From the AIM Chat listings page you can view the most active chats, the most recent chats or take a look at random chats and jump into the conversation. Of course, you have the ability to create your own chat room. Simply go to chat.aim.com to get started.

Hooked on the old AOL Chat experience? If you're used to chatting in these AOL Chat Rooms you can continue to get there by signing into AOL, going to People Connection and clicking on the Chat tab. Voila!

Now that you know your options, choose the Chat experience that is right for you.

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Boards Migration - All Clear

Erin Bush — 2008-02-11T16:12:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Other Stuff, Community Info, Marvelous Mob, Community Management

Hello Boards Users. We are finished with our database migration. Access to all your favorites and preferences should be readily accessible now.

Thank you for your patience!
Happy Posting!

~Erin

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Boards Migration on Sunday

Erin Bush — 2008-02-08T14:04:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Status Updates, Other Stuff, Community Info, Community Management

Hello Boards Users. Wanted to give you a quick heads up that this weekend, we'll be migrating our boards database behind the scenes, which may cause strange behavior between 10PM ET on Sunday, 2/10 and mid-Monday 2/11.

This is what you can expect. Your saved preferences, favorite boards and signatures will be unavailable during the migration. You will also not be able to save any preferences changes during this time. Rest assured that they all will return as soon as the migration period is over on Monday -- at least that's what they tell me.

You will be able to read and post while all this is going on.

We're sorry for the inconvenience!

~Erin

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As They Say In Community, It's Never Really Goodbye...

Nancie Meng — 2008-02-08T11:47:00+00:00

Filed under: Off Topic, Status Updates, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info, Marvelous Mob

After nine years and three months, today is my last day at AOL. It's been a wild ride, lots of fun, and a tremendous learning experience. Besides working with such great folks, where else could one have the opportunity to run such a large community operation and get to know some of the most interesting, savvy, and committed community members in the world? I will miss you, more than you know.

But... other opportunities, both personal and professional have been calling and the time is right for me to move on.

My AOL e-mail box will not work after today, so if you want to stay in touch, feel free to write to NYMeng@aol.com. You can also keep track of my daily activities by reading Hummingbird Mind.

Before you ask what I'll do with myself, I have some plans. Here's just a short list:

* Sleep
* Exercise
* Read
* Play with my new granddaughter
* Fish with my father
* Walk the beach
* Focus on the youth oriented non profit I started last year with some other parents
* Take many road trips
* Complete a book I've been writing

That's just a start. I plan to take off at least a month before starting some consulting work I've been offered.

I'll also still visit AOL communities, so if you see me online, feel free to ping me.

It's not goodbye, it's so long and see you soon.

-Nancie

P.S. Be good!

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This Is My Last Blog Entry.

Joseph Manna — 2008-02-07T17:37:00+00:00

Filed under: Status Updates, Social Media, Other Stuff, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info

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

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Upcoming Important AOL Community Changes

Joseph Manna — 2008-02-06T11:38:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Status Updates, Community Info, Community Management

Hey folks,

In the next several weeks, you will notice some changes as it pertains to AOL Community. Specifically, the AOLPeopleMGR mailbox will be decommissioned and all message boards will be migrated to a Member-Managed experience.

For a while now, we've informed you to write to AOLPeopleMGR for any concerns relating to AOL Community. As of February 8, we'll consolidate AOLPeopleMGR into the TOSGeneral@aol.com mailbox. Rest assured, you can still let our team know of any egregious Terms of Service violations or general questions relating to the enforcement of the Terms of Service and we'll handle it within 48 hours.

In the next several weeks, we'll no longer moderate "AOL Managed" community areas. We provide tools (like message board filters) that empower the user experience, as well as the ability to report inappropriate content to us for further review via Notify AOL.

~Joseph

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Classic (Old) AOL Message Board Format Retires

Joseph Manna — 2008-02-04T12:13:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Status Updates, New Features, Community Info

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.

What can you expect with these changes?
Hyperlinks that point to the classic boards (like ones you might have saved in your favorites) will automatically redirect you to the appropriate Web message board. At the same time, all "backdoors" to the format will no longer function.

Within the Web format, users are presented with more formatting options, including the ability to add pictures. With pictures, signatures can be customized and take advantage of the other aspects of HTML. Web boards also offer the ability to subscribe to boards and be alerted via AOL Alerts to any new messages.

Some important notes that you should be aware of:
o. If for some reason a link does not automatically direct you to the right place, look at your old link and look at the new one. Here's an example that illustrates what you would navigate to within your Web browser:

aol://5863:000/mB:555062:0123456
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=555062

o. Some users may need to re-add their favorite boards by clicking the "Add to My Boards" link located along the top of a message board.
o. The Notify AOL button is in the form of a link located directly below a message. It requires that you have pop-ups allowed so you can properly report content that violates the AOL Terms of Service to our team.

You may share your thoughts and concerns on the message board for AOL Message Boards or in the comments below. The Community products team will review the feedback provided.

~Joseph

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Fix: Windows Vista and AIM 6.5 'Connection Status' Issue

Joseph Manna — 2008-01-30T18:20:00+00:00

Filed under: AIM Help, Status Updates, AIM 6, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info

For a while now, those of you using the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows Vista, have reported a unique problem with AIM 6.5 and Vista where the network connections icon says you're disconnected, but you're not. Admittedly, it stumped us for a bit as we investigated -- but now we have a fix that should remedy this problem in just a few steps.

We posted the details regarding the fix on the AOL Help Web site, with an easy to remember URL so you can share it with your other buddies who use Windows Vista:

http://help.channels.aol.com/topic.adp?topicId=aim-6-windows-vista-fix2

Essentially, you will need to uninstall the AIM software, enable the User Account Control (UAC) security setting, download some Windows Updates, download and install AIM again. All these details (including pictures) are available at this help article. There's also a more colorful version of it available here, too.

We understand this can be frustrating and AIM and Microsoft teams are currently working on providing a long-term solution. In the meantime, be sure that you are using the latest version of AIM and install updates that you might receive in the future.

We'd like to know if this fixed the problem! Please feel welcome to leave feedback in the comments below, or drop on by the message board to discuss it with other avid AIM users.

~Joseph

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AIM 6.8 Beta is Now Available, Offers 'Real-Time IM'

Joseph Manna — 2008-01-10T15:37:00+00:00

Filed under: New Features, AIM 6, AIM Beta, Featured Items, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info

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

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5 Ways to Better Organize Your Buddy List

Joseph Manna — 2008-01-03T13:03:00+00:00

Filed under: User Experiences, AIM Help, AIM General, Other Stuff, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info

Many popular AIM users have a common problem -- figuring out how to organize their Buddy List so it's functional and useful for them. I'll describe five ways you can better organize your Buddy List, so not only is it useful, it's cool, too.

Manage Your Groups
One of the most overlooked features of the Buddy List is the groups. You can create many more groups to sort your buddy list into categories more than just Family, Co-Workers and Buddies. Inside AIM 6.5, you can create a new group for your buddies by clicking on the +/- button and clicking Add Group. Make up a name for this group -- it's alright, only you can see this group. Here is where that menu is:
Use Friendly Names
Instead of "Buddy024453," you can name your buddies with Friendly Names, which makes it easier to see who they are without thinking about it. It can also save you from sending IMs to the wrong person by mistake. To do this, right-click on a screen name in your Buddy List and click Edit, then enter a nickname for your Buddy. Illustrated below is an example of my screen name turned into a Friendly Name:
Change Your Buddy List Display Settings
If you don't want to see your Buddies' status messages, you don't have to see it. You can adjust the view of your Buddy List anytime by clicking on the View menu and select Status Messages to hide or show status messages (small text below buddies), Offline Buddies to hide, show or group buddies who are offline into a group and more. You can also sort your Buddy List alphabetically or continue to separate it in groups.
Control those Buddy Notifications
The key to multitasking effectively while doing the things you love -- like updating your profile, sending an e-mail or posting a blog entry -- is to manage your distractions. One of the ways you can prevent your buddies from interrupting you, is to choose which Buddy Notifications you'd like to receive. To change your Buddy Notifications in AIM 6.5, press F7 (top row of your keyboard), click Notifications on the left side and select just the type of notifications you'd like to receive.
Link Those Names!
You most likely have more than one screen name, so AIM offers the ability to link up to seven different screen names together so you only need to sign in once to all of them simultaneously. Screen Name linking works with AIM Mail, too. To link your screen names, you can do it via the Web or a link within the AIM software by pressing F7:

There are probably more ways to organize your Buddy List, but it's clear that AIM 6.5 makes it easy and offers plenty of tools to help you chat with your buddies in an organized cool way. Got any suggestions or tips for organizing your Buddy List? Share them in the comments below. :-)

~Joseph

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What are AIM Profiles, Buddy Info and Status Messages?

Joseph Manna — 2007-12-28T14:45:00+00:00

Filed under: AIM Help, AIM 6, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info, AIM Profiles Blog

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

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Latest Photos Not Showing Up on AIM Profiles

Jeremy — 2007-12-22T11:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Status Updates, AIM Profiles Blog, Profiles Status

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately, we have a problem with the system that is making the latest photos not show up on the profile like they normally do. We estimate that we'll have it fixed the first week of 2008. Don't worry, your photos are still there!

You can see your photos or anyone else's photos by going to:

http://photos.aim.com/photos/SCREENNAMEHERE

You can also upload photos by going to http://photos.aim.com/photo/upload. We're very sorry for the inconvenience. We wish you a wonderful holiday and happy new year.

1/4 - Update - We fixed this! Thanks for your patience.

Thanks,
AIM Profiles Team

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How To Join Chat Rooms on AOL

Joseph Manna — 2007-12-20T10:26:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Tutorials, Community Info

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

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Responses to Your Feedback on AIM Profiles

Joseph Manna — 2007-12-06T16:14:00+00:00

Filed under: Status Updates, New Features, AIM General, Community Info, AIM Profiles Blog, Profiles Status

Hi, folks.

As many of you probably know by now, AIM Profiles is now the official AOL and AIM public profile product. I've received hundreds of comments and Instant Messages from users who want to know where their old profiles went as well as tips for customizing the new ones.

I'd like to point out that one of the huge benefits of the new AIM Profiles product is performance. It's incredibly faster to load and even quicker to save changes.

The team is still ironing out any profile migration issues that have arisen. The most common error messages are "Action Canceled," "Page Cannot Be Displayed" or "Redirecting Improperly" when you attempt to view a profile. Please send the AIM Profiles team an e-mail to MemDirReports@aol.com. They will be able to fix profiles that haven't migrated correctly. Note: This e-mail address is intended for reporting technical issues with AIM Profiles.

I'd like to respond to some of the comments and questions that you've shared with us:

"Give us back the Advanced Editor, I spent a lot of time creating my page."
Right now, we don't have any plans to integrate the older advanced editor into AIM Profiles. We understand this does limit one's creativity a little bit. However, you can still use plenty of other features such as AIM Photos, the status messages, code snippets and the additional sections on your profile.

"Help! My page doesn't look right." or "There is nothing there."
A large number of profiles have already been converted, but there are many more to go. All AIM Pages will be migrated to AIM Profiles as we informed users earlier (see here, here and also on the top of every AIM Profile page).

"How can I customize my profile with my ?"
AIM Profiles allows you to embed Flash-based widgets in the Code Snippet section. That is, you can copy and paste the "embed" code found on a lot of video and music Web sites. You can also find many other widgets on WidgetBox. However, at this time, JavaScript is not allowed so that we can provide a safer and secure experience.

"How can I add my own background or themes to my profile?"
The AIM Profiles Team is looking into offering additional ways you can customize your profile in the future.AIM Profiles currently offers a wide selection of over 190 themes you can style your page with. You can change the theme of your page by clicking on the "Themes" tab, then just choosing the one you want.

"How do I get that IM thing like you have on your profile?"
To do this, create a Wimzi, then copy the Flash code that it provides, and paste it into your Code Snippet section.

The AIM Profiles team very much appreciates your comments. Please continue to ask us questions, provide us constructive feedback or suggestions about AIM Profiles we'll help you the best we can. :-)

~ Joseph

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GMail Now Includes AIM!

Joseph Manna — 2007-12-05T16:51:00+00:00

Filed under: AIM Help, New Features, AIM General, Developers' Corner, Featured Items, AIM Buddy Blog, Community Info

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

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Message Boards: Updated Layout for Greater Usability

Joseph Manna — 2007-12-05T16:47:00+00:00

Filed under: AOL Help, Status Updates, New Features, Community Info

Hey folks,

The Message Boards product team informed me that they will be deploying an update to the Boards product tonight. This will bring significant changes to the layout of the page. Many of you will probably enjoy these changes since it also adds more usability to the product overall.

The new layout will boast a wider 980-pixel wide format. (To get an idea of what that looks like, check out AOL People Connection or AOL Money.) Also, they will move the Message Board Search from the bottom of the page, to the right side of the boards.

On smaller note, for channels that don't have a newer header, the team will provide a default, "AOL Message Boards" branded one, so it should look nice no matter what board you're on.

The team anticipates that between midnight (tonight) and 4AM tomorrow, the boards will be updated. Let us know how it goes and what you think of these changes in the comments below.

[Update: 12/5, 10:01AM] At this time it appears that the board servers are not accessible. We've notified the board team and they are investigating it and should be back up shortly.

[Update: 12/5, 11:18AM] Board update complete. Took a little bit for all the servers to be updated, but the team and I confirm that the boards are now functioning and have been updated. :-)

~ Joseph

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AIM Dashboard: Pardon Our Dust!

Carol Orsini — 2007-11-30T16:45:00+00:00

Filed under: AIM General, AIM Today, AIM Buddy Blog

To Our Loyal AIM Users:

Since our goal is to give you the best experience possible, AIM Dashboard will be on a short vacation for construction so we can bring you some great new changes. Don't fret, though -- AIM Today is back, giving you the same up-to-date news, buddy info and fresh content that we love bringing to you. We'll be back before you know it.

Thanks for bearing with us!
The AIM Team

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Pictures Have Been Enabled on All Boards

Joseph Manna — 2007-11-28T17:28:00+00:00

Filed under: Status Updates, New Features, Community Info

Hey folks,

We've enabled images to be posted on all AOL Message Boards.

This means you can add a picture to your messages easily. You can upload your image anywhere -- like AIM Photos, AOL Pictures, Flickr, ImageShack, Photobucket and many more.

Remember that all images must adhere to the AOL Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, regardless of where the image is hosted.

To learn how to use this feature -- check out my earlier entry explaining how to post images on boards. If you can't post images yet, please clear your cache and cookies (footprints in AOL software) and try again.

~ Joseph

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