Discussions

BlogCatalog 4.0

Posted by thegoodknife • 5/29/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Tags: announcement, blogcatalog, layout, navigation, update

By now you should have noticed that we have finally launched our BC revamp. We think it's going to make it much easier to get around the site.

New features include:
- New Homepage
- New Navigation
- New tabs in the groups, account settings, dashboard, and user profiles
- Updated blog listing pages
- and much more!

the question is, what do YOU think?

User Comments

5/29/08

NINE

Its about time, I have been using the layout for about a week now... I finally got used to clicking the dashboard link on the top left instead of the right. Other than that I think I enjoy the drop down menus best. They save so much time.

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5/29/08

jaffermaniar

Love the new frontpage ! Very cool redesign !

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5/29/08

morgantj

The tabs are great! Much easier to navigate. Better organization. I like the improvements. The header looks nicer as does the shades of blue.

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5/29/08

RuinousRight

Nice job guys!

Dashboard >> Discussions tab and Dashboard >> Neighborhood tab very handy. Also, better without both a profile page AND a blog page that look so similar.

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1. 5/29/08
  
  RuinousRight
  
  Oh wait... there still is a profile page and a blog page... but still overall better format. New home page has a nice look!
5/29/08

Svelmoe

Ahhh - noticed something was different, but thought I was just sleepy.

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5/29/08

DeadRooster

Wow! It looks great!

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5/29/08

timethief

I love it! I'm busy exploring it so I can't say more at this time.

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1. 5/29/08
  
  NINE
  
  Most of the pages will work the same as before, we just moved more stuff into the nav and organized things with tabs for better usability.
  
  May take some getting used to from you regulars but overall should be much more user friendly with what we have and for the additions we will be adding in the near future.
2. 5/29/08
  
  timethief
  
  wrong spot
5/29/08

PetLvr

Well, I saw the downtime graphic .. I clicked on the coffee - but, nobody got me a cup.

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1. 5/29/08
  
  thegoodknife
  
  your coffee will arrive in 6-8 weeks provided you completed all the forms correctly.
2. 5/29/08
  
  NINE
  
  They will need to be notarized, stamped, and signed in triplicate.
3. 5/29/08
  
  PetLvr
  
  dang bureaucracy~
5/29/08

momscrazylife

Pretty cool, it's like getting a new house.

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5/29/08

melisasriwulandari

cool

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5/29/08

timethief

I have questions
(1) What is social search for please?
(2) Is it possible to get search results from the discussion search box in reverse chronological order?

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1. 5/29/08
  
  NINE
  
  Popular blogs, along with the other top stuff will be getting its own page in the next few weeks. You will be able to see which blogs are moving up and down as well as which bloggers are most popular... its going to be a fun page I promise!
  
  Social search is just a fun way to search for a particular topic since it pulls from the social networking information that our users share with us. Put a random keyword in there and see what you get, its not always the most informative set of answers but there are some pretty entertaining results almost always.
  
  You have to ask daniel about the discussion search results, I will bring it up at our next meeting.
2. 5/30/08
  
  legbamel
  
  Ha! Listen to you sounding all corporate. We all know you mean, "The next time we go to Denny's for pie."
  
  Seriously, the new home page looks great and I like the easier nav. Thanks!
3. 5/30/08
  
  timethief
  
  @Nine
  Thanks for your replies.
  Will you let me know what Daniel says after the meeting or shall I ask him now?
  
  Attention:
  BTW I stand with Benny when it comes to the front page - popular blogs and new blogs were there now they aren't -- a dramatic overnight traffic drop has been the result. Above all I'd like to see this addressed ASAP.
4. 5/30/08
  
  BennyGreenberg
  
  Dramatic is not the word...
  
  As well - if I were to guess - BC's traffic/interaction must be down as well - just an educated guess from looking at the discussions.
5/29/08

jamesparmis

great job BC! i like it :-)

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5/29/08

bnsullivan

Well I do like the new look, especially the home page. Pretty spiffy!

New nav always takes a bit of getting used to, but my first cursory cruise around the site says it's pretty intuitive.

Rock on!!

Bobbie

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5/29/08

voodooKobra

Looks great!

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5/29/08

PetLvr

A few suggestions.....

1) Move the LOGOUT to the right of the username/avatar .. it's too close to the Search and could be accidentally clicked in error!
2) Can you put those page #'s boxes at the bottom of the main discussion page - also on top?

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5/29/08

DaneMorgan

sPIFFY. sHINEY. cOOL.

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5/29/08

DaneMorgan

I love the faded tab bar effect. Damn I'm gonna steal that and use it somewhere...

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1. 5/29/08
  
  NINE
  
  its patent pending!
5/30/08

gmoney

HOT HOT HOT...... way to go OSCAR and DANIEL, the new design is SICK, might even win some awards. AMAZING design!!!!

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1. 5/30/08
  
  NINE
  
  Well I don't know about winning awards but thanks for the support! I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.
  
  More tweaks/additions coming soon, this is just phase 1 of the plan.
5/30/08

jsinkeywest

I'm putting that news feed widget on right now
Everything looks great Thanks
The thumbnails on the feed page are tight also

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5/30/08

taosunset

I'm such a dweeb. Am I the only one having trouble with this new interface?

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1. 5/30/08
  
  NINE
  
  It should be more or less the same, what are you having trouble with?
2. 5/30/08
  
  taosunset
  
  I don't know..I can't see the shout outs for some reason, with the dark blue background...I have to play around. Anything different throws me for a loop! It's probably just me and my issues with color and graphics. Maybe it is my browser. I know alot of hard work went into the change...I will try to love it! Okay, maybe it was my browser. It's looking awesome, now...Carry On!
5/30/08

bloggingmix

Wow. I love the new feel and look. Nice work guys.

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5/30/08

crkian

bloody hell

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5/30/08

Teck

I really like the new look.. Nice work guys!!! Thank you...

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5/30/08

earthandeconomy

Well done..."Aint nobody dope as [you, your're] dressed so fresh, so clean (so fresh and so clean)"

www.lyricsfreak.com/o/outkast/so+fresh+so+clean_20103887.html

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5/30/08

fossiloflife

all welcomed!

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5/30/08

elephantine

good improvements! I'll have to explore more to see all the changes...

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5/30/08

acousticguitarist

nice

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5/30/08

EcoInsomniac

Great improvements good job guys and gals!

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5/30/08

alexmcone

Great front page! Am yet to check out the rest of the site.

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5/30/08

flintminds

am new tho, so wouldnt kno wat i'll b comparing it to...but great on its own.

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5/30/08

carlgalloway

looks great, off to try it out now

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5/30/08

DrowseyMonkey

Love it, very cool. Altho I did notice that in settings some new items were added, and were automatically shared, so I had to go make them private ... unless I missed them back a few weeks ago when I made everything private. You know how paranoid I am about being followed

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5/30/08

weemundo

great job its very cool and I M LOVING IT

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5/30/08

GratciaNulis

LOVING IT! Yaiy, it looks sooo smooth! Great job guys!

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5/30/08

lordlikely

Very nice indeed, sirs! The place is looking very spiffy indeed.

It is like there's a party in my eyeballs, and everyone's invited!

(You have to bring your own bottle, though).

Good work!

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5/30/08

kdawg68

ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strain) ch-ch-changes...

Lookin' good guys.

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5/30/08

roentarre

Definitely working well.

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5/30/08

pointlessbanter

looks great!

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5/30/08

Shiley

Nice!

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5/30/08

BennyGreenberg

Honestly the look is great - but with the new design - I now no longer get any traffic from BC. There is no advantage to working it - as the higher ranks no longer get you front page looks, hence traffic. First thing I noticed this morning is little cross over traffic from BC - Which has not been the case for two to three weeks now... So though it looks good. It no longer has much use as a tool - now it is just a place to talk to friends...

Just my thoughts...

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1. 5/30/08
  
  timethief
  
  @Ben
  I agree with you - Holy guacamole - the traffic drop is a killer! www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/blogcatalog-40#comment_387049
5/30/08

Refunite

I think the site rocks, now even more than before! The community is intuitive, welcoming and open to browse and become enlightened on subjects. Congrats to you and us.

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5/30/08

markstoneman

Seeing it for the first time. Initial impression good.

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5/30/08

ekim941

I felt a little lost at first but now I feel like I'm on an adventure

Looks great, good job.

And YEAH!!! There's a "Back to discussions link"
Now where's that Baking soda thread

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5/30/08

markstoneman

What is this "Share a Link" feature in the "BlogCatalog Events" we can make visible via the dashboard?

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5/30/08

markstoneman

The links for Help, Contact, TOS, etc. at the bottom of the page are too small and are almost running off the page on my 12" Mac. This is happening on different browsers.

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1. 5/30/08
  
  thegoodknife
  
  I'm only seeing this problem on Safari. Seems to be ignoring the bottom margin, should be updated soon.
2. 5/30/08
  
  markstoneman
  
  Have you tried Opera?
5/30/08

JillSaxon

Wow... this places looks good.

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5/30/08

ThriftShopRomantic

I'm still figuring it out, but it does look really nice. Clean, and non-distracting.

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5/30/08

barryfromtexas

So far, I like it :))

Good thing you didn't add the cool people filter, I would have been filtered

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5/30/08

n8

Love the new look. Very clean! Easy to bounce around. Keep up the good work BC!

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5/30/08

recyclecindy

Wow the new look is wonderful! Now I just need to get used to using the new tabs and features. Another great job from BC.

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5/30/08

netbobz

I've a question. In the Blog Directories, how are the blogs placed, I mean on what kind of ranking basis?

Good change!
Thanks

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5/30/08

GusGITForestry

*Thumbs up* (is there a smiley for that? )

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5/30/08

Anniepooh

I was a little lost for a sec first thing this morning, but I LIKE IT! You guys are pretty durn good at what you do

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5/30/08

wandadog13

having just undergone our own spring 2008 re-vamp - just a little nip/tuck for added functionality and to make it easier and quicker to find what you're looking for (www.fabulousphotogifts.co.uk) i'd have to say your new design is in a very similar vein - good work guys and gals.

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5/30/08

GuyRCook

I like the new look very much, makes 'sense' of things, lots more user intuitive. I have shared this site with many friends that have blogs.

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5/30/08

CarolC

Spring cleaning! Love it! Thank you! :o)

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5/30/08

exinco

i'm not active for 3 weeks, and when i login today, i was surprise with this enhancement. congratulation to BC team. i really love it, now i can manage my account easily.

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5/30/08

dotartdude

Hooray for more bells and whistles!

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5/30/08

DocKC

Love the new home page and congrats on its launch! Oops...Sorry for duplicating this in another new thread. Can I delete the other one?

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5/30/08

rippinkitten

Very nice! Great job guys!

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5/30/08

offendedblogger

It is nice, will there be a shop to buy BC gear soon as well?

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1. 5/31/08
  
  AngieA
  
  Yes, soon, still working on it. ; )
5/30/08

Darkblaze37

Nice. It looks better now. Web 2.0!!!

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5/30/08

kdawg68

oh the "back to discussions" link ROCKS!!!!

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1. 5/30/08
  
  ekim941
  
  That's what I'm talking bout
5/30/08

ravon

The new design looks cool!

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5/30/08

ArtmodelNYC

Looks great! Love it!

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5/30/08

Norski

This will take getting used to.

I'm with ravon, ArtmodelNYC, and others who like the look of BC4.0.

It's too early for me to have an opinion on usability. But, you guys have a good track records, so I'm not concerned.

And: Thanks!

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5/30/08

davidtamayo

I am happy that I found BC. One of the best things about BC is how easy it is to navigate. I have been able to meet so many great people here and develop friendships that have been mutually beneficial. You guys know what you are doing. =)

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5/31/08

MeghnaK

Yes, I'm glad to see that the new design and improved navigation rocks....

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5/31/08

AngieA

I'ld say, pretty darn close to perfect.

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5/31/08

harvey96

It is a nice design and refreshing facelift. But I would rather see more new features that will benefit BC's users.

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1. 5/31/08
  
  AngieA
  
  No law saying we can't have both.
  You will see them soon.
2. 5/31/08
  
  BennyGreenberg
  
  True - but at this point - all the old benefits are gone and not replaced...
5/31/08

ekim941

What is the magic number of replies before you earn your "Back to discussions" link? It appears to be 18.

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5/31/08

Anok

I like it! I haven't explored it all, but so far, so good

I was a little shocked at first though

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1. 5/31/08
  
  kdawg68
  
  wait...an anarchist befuddled by change?
5/31/08

globalgirl

Super job, BC! Lookin' quite snazzy and functional too! Thanks!

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5/31/08

Moonwriter

Well I am new here so I am just beginning to learn how to get around!
Moonwriter

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5/31/08

bbrian017

nice upgrades! sometimes it's make or break and this was a make! Good work and thank god you didn't flop like mybloglog did!

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5/31/08

jafajfer

wow :-)
arabmusique.blogspot.com

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5/31/08

zawadi

Logged in today and saw it all shiny and pretty. Good Job BC !!!

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5/31/08

Majik

Nice job. Really liked the new front page!

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5/31/08

asithi

I gaven't been on BC for a week and look at what I have missed! Looks good though. I am happy to see that the discussions are as lively as ever.

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5/31/08

Mauro

it's great... congrats
i love the new look!

Great job folks

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6/01/08

skomeng13

GREAT!!!!

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6/01/08

Techfox

I found the Homepage to be so crowded and full of stuff and not simple as I used to like viewing!, but about the navigation bar and the new helpful things added like tabs, I find them very helpful since the blog listing in them is more detailed and advanced,but about the homepage, well I don't like the design for it makes Blog Catalog looks as if complex and very hard to use, while actually it is not!

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6/01/08

nardeeisms

Only because you asked...not particularly fond of it, but will not complain. Going along with the program. Change, in general, can be good...- Nards

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1. 6/10/08
  
  BennyGreenberg
  
  I am with Nards!!!
6/01/08

CaesarRomaus

Is there a point to blog rank yet?

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6/10/08

AainaA

I so LOVE it! Would be cool if you had ajax to open / close long discussion threads.... and also a click on the bottom page to zoom up to the top instead of scrolling ;-)

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6/10/08

amtelemarket

I like the new layout. Previous was good also, so IMO, this is a nice facelift.

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6/11/08

urikalish

Like everybody else, I like the new design, well done!

Just a few things...
1. I think the BC logo should link to the homepage and not to the dashboard, just like any other site.
2. I think a link to the BC blog is needed.
3. I think the BC blog background with the user images is distracting.

But other than these small issues, great job guys!

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1. 6/14/08
  
  urikalish
  
  guys...?
2. 6/14/08
  
  markstoneman
  
  I agree on a much more prominent link to the BC blog.
  
  Hadn't thought about the other thing, so I won't comment on that.
6/14/08

nardeeisms

If it is possible, please make the "Related Blogs" section optional, perhaps as a widget that can be selected (or not). The blogs that the "secret ingredient" have chosen to attach to me, seem to be permanent and do not go away . One is about ex-wives, one about adopted children, one about a foundation that I have not endorsed and one is no longer there at all. I would be tickled not to have to see them again at all - Nards

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1. 6/14/08
  
  markstoneman
  
  Perhaps it could read "Possibly Related Blogs (automatically generated)"?
2. 6/14/08
  
  nardeeisms
  
  That would work for me. Thanks Mark...you appear to have the "Secret Ingredient's" 'ear'. I do not - Nards
3. 6/14/08
  
  thegoodknife
  
  thanks nards, I figured out why the related blogs section was pulling up such shady blogs and have fixed it. hopefully you are a little happier with your new related blogs.
4. 7/03/08
  
  nardeeisms
  
  A belated "thank you" goes out to you Daniel. Yes, I am happy now. - Nards
6/14/08

arshad

I love blogcatalog more than anything else ! And the homepage is very cool.

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6/15/08

markstoneman

Thank you for bringing back the preview mode of threads so we can tell what we want to ignore while still in the list view.

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7/03/08

ChicaX

I think I could do without all the images on the news feed from my friends, but I cannot complain. I think the face lift was much needed, and made this very up to date.

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