The Multiply Blog

Happy Independence Day

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:07:00 -0000

Independence Day is considered the birthday of the United States and is also commonly known as the Fourth of July. It commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain.

For many, this is a time to celebrate with fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics, baseball and other U.S. traditions. It can also mean taking a lot of great pictures.

So, whether you are celebrating the 4th of July or just enjoying time with your friends and family this weekend, we hope you are able to share some of your favorite photos through Multiply.

New in Multiply 4.0: Upcoming Birthdays

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:02:00 -0000

Coming hot on the heels of our recent update to Multiply 4.0, which was itself based much on member feedback, we've added something else that you've been asking for: birthdays on the Inbox.

You may remember the birthday list as an aspect of the old Upcoming Events box, but it wasn't a natural fit for the redesigned Multiply 4.0 Inbox, since the left Inbox rail had become a container for filters, rather than an area for information. But we knew how important it was to be notified of upcoming birthdays and found a good way to fit it in.

The rail is now a place for both filtering your Inbox as well as seeing upcoming birthdays. In addition, birthdays have a convenient "buy gift" next to them, making it easy to give a thoughtful gift for someone's upcoming special day.

Announcing the Official Multiply Theme Design Contest

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:37:00 -0000

Want to win a lifetime of Multiply Premium and other prizes?
Announcing the Official Multiply Theme Design Contest

Multiply is a great place to store and share your photos, videos, blog posts and more with your friends and family (and to stay closer to them through the things they share). Multiply members can even express themselves by personalizing their Multiply site with customized themes. And with Multiply Premium you get great extras, like automated backups of all your high-resolution photos and videos, no ads across Multiply, discounts on photo products, and more.

So, for all of you aspiring designers, or those who have created their own themes, now is your chance to win a lifetime subscription of Multiply Premium, a little Multiply fame and glory for yourself, and also a free year of Premium for those closest to you.

Here’s how it works:
All Multiply members are invited to submit a custom theme design. The Multiply team will then select eight (8) themes as finalists, which will t...

Multiply 4.0: Enhanced

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:01:30 -0000

The Multiply service that you know, love and use every day didn't spring into existence overnight; for over five years now, Multiply has become what it is today a little bit at a time, release by release. We started with the notion that people want to share their personal lives through media with more of the people they know in real life, and started innovating from there.

Releases come in all shapes and sizes; often times small fixes or enhancements are added to Multiply as they're ready. Sometimes, the Multiply team works toward a target date, on which a few features are set to be released. And other times, it works just like that... only with a much larger, more ambitious bundle of changes.

Let me tell you a little bit about the process behind larger Multiply releases, including the recent Multiply 4.0.

After major development work had been done on Multiply 4.0 a couple of months ago, we first we started out using it ourselves, and got our close friends and family to try it ...

Summer Savings from Multiply

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:19:00 -0000

It's summer around here, and it's not only the calendar that makes it official; stepping outside also makes it readily apparent. Yesterday was the hottest South Florida day we've had in a very, very long while.

We brave the heat anyway in search of summer fun, going to parks, beaches, picnics, camp and places like those. Wherever we go, we make special memories that we bring home with us, both in our minds and our cameras. And, naturally, we share them with people near and far on Multiply.

With all the memories you'll be making this summer, we're making it easier to share your memories of hot summer fun... with a cool 25% off of any purchase. That's good on photo books, cards, calendars and prints!

What's more, we're also offering 25 free 4x6" prints of summer fun in the sun. (Or of winter fun in the snow, if you're a bit behind schedule.) You just pay shipping.

But you'd need to do so soon, as this won't last forever.

Order Now

Happy Father's Day

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:15:00 -0000

In spite of the day's inauspicious beginnings, and believe it or not, even resistance to its status as a national holiday, supporters of Father's Day persevered and managed to help it become the holiday that we now celebrate.

While dates and manners of celebration vary all around the world (including the most interesting German Vatertag), this Sunday is dad's day in many countries, which makes as good a day as any to remind your dad how special he is to you.

And if you use Multiply and happen to be a father, yourself, have a great day, dad!

Multiply 4.0: The Press

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:34:00 -0000

We've found it absolutely refreshing that, among the groups of people most excited by the recent release of Multiply 4.0 are... journalists! It's difficult to recall another release where the stories came this fast, furious and... well, universally positive!

Here's a selection of writeups that have rolled in since launch:

Multiply: Is There Room For Another Player In The Social Media Space?
It could be that Multiply has found the formula that will cement it as the site of choice for those who want an effective and secure method of staying in touch with close friends and family...

Social website adding tools for digital moms
Multiply.com is taking the best of both social networking and photo sharing websites in its redesign launch...

Multiply's play to 'digital moms'
...with its focus on photo storage, the company hopes to appeal to "digital moms" who want to share photos with close friends, maintain a backup of their high-resolution photos and do basic editing online, and turn their pictu...

Multiply 4.0: Individuals Auto-Matching

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:43:00 -0000

If you're familiar with the "Individuals" access setting, or send Personal Messages, you already know how great it is to sometimes post things for only a few people. These features got a last-minute upgrade right before Multiply 4.0 was released, and with this upgrade, became a lot easier to use.

Instead of scrolling through a tiny list of names and clicking people, or having to type user IDs manually, now all you need to do is start typing! A list of matches will appear. Select the one you want with your arrow and enter keys, or by simply clicking.

Not only does this auto-fill individual users, but it even lets you select entire lists of users. (You can create a new list or edit an existing one by clicking "my account," followed by "Friends Lists.") Either type the name of the list, or any individual who happens to be part of it.

Miss the ability to look at your list and select people? Not to worry; to get a list of all of your contacts and user lists, simply type a single space ...

Welcome to the Staff Blog group

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:02:00 -0000

The change may not be immediately obvious, but along with the release of Multiply 4.0, this 'staff blog' account got a big improvement as well: it's now a group, and all are welcome here.

You may recall that prior to this, it was an account to which we would post anything new to share. In previous revisions of Multiply, there was also a place on the Inbox's right sidebar where the latest entry or two would go.

But now it's even easier to stay up to date with the latest news from Multiply; all you need to do is join the group. Not only will all new posts to the group appear in your Inbox, but you can also choose whether or not you want to receive an e-mail alert whenever we post something new. The group will even show you which staff member wrote each post. (Hi guys! :-)

As you can already tell, the blog is still available at the same address: multiply.multiply.com, and all old links will work, including the RSS feed. And of course, with this being a public group, you don't even have...

Multiply 4.0 is here

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 21:52:00 -0000

The long, nerve-wracking, and perhaps even emotional wait is over; Multiply 4.0 is finally here, and is now available for all 13-million-plus Multiply members!

We're thrilled that everyone on Multiply can finally start using this new and — trust us — improved, way to share and connect with the people they know and groups they love.

Not only did we work long and hard on this, but everyone who gave us feedback on the beta provided us with invaluable insights that helped shape 4.0 into the product that everyone can now enjoy.

So, on behalf of all of us at Multiply, I hope that you enjoy using Multiply 4.0 as much as we've enjoyed creating it.

Not sure exactly what Multiply 4.0 entails? We've posted about it rather extensively over the last few weeks; these posts will get you up to speed in no time:

For a comprehensive list of new features, see last week's beta announcement.

&nb...

Three improvements to 4.0

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 01:02:00 -0000

Multiply 4.0 has probably been the most anticipated Multiply release ever, and we're glad to have had the opportunity to get feedback from a wide number of users before the general release. The feedback has been truly valuable; we've listened to all of it, and have made more than a few improvements.

These are a few of the latest changes:

Open notes in new tab When you first tried 4.0, you likely noticed the great speed with which you're able to open Notes and Personal Messages thanks to our use of "Ajax" technology. The downside to this was that it wasn't possible to open these notes in a new browser tab or window. We've made some adjustments so that now, you get the best of both worlds: speed and convenience! (The easiest way to do this is by holding Ctrl while clicking.)

Filter Inbox by guestbooks By popular request, there's now an available filter for displaying only guestbooks in your Inbox. Enable this feature under "Prefs," to see the latest replies to the guestbooks...

Free Card for Father's Day (and more)

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 21:35:00 -0000

As you probably know, the best kind of card is one with a personal photo and thoughtful message, the second-best kind is, of course, any card that's free. The third-best kind doesn't matter, because Multiply photo cards are both personal, and for a limited time, free!

This comes just in time for one of the most important card-giving times of the year. First, there's Father's Day (June 21st), which everyone knows to be the perfect time to thank your dad, or any special man, for his presence in your life.

But don't forget that this is also the time of year when lots of students graduate from school, taking the next big step in their lives. A card with a memorable photo of you and them on the front, and words of wisdom inside, is the best way to tell them how proud you are of them and celebrate their achievement.

There's a limit of one free folded card per Multiply user, and not only are these occasions nearly upon us, but the offer only lasts for a limited time. Get started now

Multiply Father's Day Gift Guide

Tue, 2 Jun 2009 23:20:00 -0000

We all know what an important day Father's Day is for dad... even if he wont admit it. While you have opportunities every day of the year to make him happy, June 21st may be the one day of the year he's actually expecting it. This year, why not exceed his expectations?

There's plenty of things out there that you can get him, but the most thoughtful gifts come from the heart. That's great, because Multiply's Shop features thoughtful photo products that can include the memories of your choosing. Pick a photo (for cards, or many photos for other products) and make something he'll not only love, but will treasure forever, such as Multiply's Daddy and Me photo book.

And since we have such a large selection of products, we've put together a gift guide to make picking the right gift easier. It features a few of our top photo gift items, one of which is sure to be perfect for dad.

Get started now

Multiply 4.0: Favorites

Fri, 29 May 2009 19:52:00 -0000

In the new Multiply 4.0, there's a rather useful reason to mark certain contacts as a "Favorite" (aside from remembering who your favorite people are): doing so is useful for better keeping in touch and up-to-date with these people.

See, contacts marked as favorites will always appear in your Inbox's left rail, so you'll always see when they've posted something new. Otherwise, depending on your Inbox preferences, you'll either see your first few contacts, alphabetically, or a selection of all contacts who have recently posted new content.

So, to 'Favorite' some contacts, click "View Contacts" and check one or more. Your list of favorites is private, and none of your contacts will know whether or not they are one of your favorites.

Fun fact: Groups work the same way! You can click "View Groups" and mark one or more groups as Favorites. Like contacts, these groups will always appear in your Inbox's left rail, under "Groups."

Coming Soon/Now: Multiply 4.0 Beta

Wed, 27 May 2009 20:30:00 -0000

Over the coming days we will be slowly making the new Multiply available to all members. We're considering the initial rollout somewhat of a "Beta" phase, and as we gradually move beyond Beta, we'll make these features available to more of our members.

Here's a bit of what you can expect to find in Multiply 4.0:

Redesigned Inbox Multiply's Inbox has always been the best place to find out what the people you know are up to, but with this release, it's become even better. Here's a bit of what's inside:
PMs made clear Personal Messages, by their very nature, are one of the most important types of posts that appear in your Inbox. That's why we've given them their own section: so you can quickly see when you have new ones.

Add/remove content type filters In addition to Personal Messages, you have the option of adding filters for other content types. For instance, if you're a fan of Photos, add a dedicated Photos filter and never miss another album.

Favorite 'Friends &...

Coming Soon: Media Locker enhancements

Wed, 27 May 2009 02:56:00 -0000

With our preview of the Multiply Inbox out of the way, let's look at another aspect of this exciting upcoming release: the new Multiply Media Locker.

You already know and love the Media Locker, most likely because it serves more than one purpose: not only is it the storage area for the content that gets sent directly from your computer by the Multiply AutoUploader, but it's also an easy way to manage all of the content you've already shared on your Multiply site.

We've redesigned it to make even more sense with the way you share. Observe:

The first thing you may notice is the look of the left rail. If it looks familiar, that's because it looks a lot like the Multiply Inbox that we showed you yesterday. This is the new visual style we're going with, and we think it perfectly balances the need to display a variety of options, with the space constraints inherent in the designing for the Web. We made sure it does so in a way that keeps all the important controls at your fingertips a...

Coming Soon: Inbox Redux

Tue, 26 May 2009 03:53:00 -0000

Over the course of the last few days, we've been showing you useful bits of great things that are part of our upcoming release, things that will soon be helping you better share your lives with the people you know best. We started with a broad overview, followed that with a look at flagging, and yesterday, showed you how custom filters would become an important part of the way you use Multiply.

At this point, we'd like to share with you Multiply's brand-new, simplified and enhanced Inbox... which happens to contain the custom filters, as well as a bunch of other significant enhancements.

In other words, this:

We've redesigned the Inbox to better place the latest stuff from the people and groups you know, directly at your fingertips. Practically everything you need to do is available with only a single click.

Here are a few things of which you may want to take note:

Inbox Easily view all Recent Updates from people or groups, your latest Personal Messages... or another specific con...

Coming Soon: Enhancements to Custom Filters

Mon, 25 May 2009 00:03:00 -0000

Yesterday we showed you an upcoming improvement to the way you'll keep track of great posts from your contacts and groups, using your Multiply Inbox: by flagging, not pinning. But as we alluded to, there's also a new way to make better use of Inbox items you've pinned.

How filters work today
Multiply has always made it possible to slice and dice your social network into whatever particular view you want to see at the moment. You can view posts from your contacts, their contacts, one or more groups you're in... or a combination of these! And when you've found a useful view, you can give it a name, save it and come back to it whenever you want.

There's room for improvement
While custom filters are useful, we've been thinking about how we can make them even better. For one thing, currently, once you create a filter, you can't edit it; you'll need to delete it and start a new one.

Also, applying a saved filter requires clicking "custom" link and then selecting the desired filter. While two ...

Coming Soon: Flags, not pins

Sun, 24 May 2009 01:25:00 -0000

Yesterday, we announced our upcoming release. We're intent on making connecting to people you know easier and sharing your media with them even better.

While we're making improvements of all types (big and small!), let's work our way up. Know how you can currently "pin" items to the top of your Inbox, to keep them at the top of the first page? We're removing Inbox item pinning.

Wondering how that could be an improvement? Simple. We're replacing pinning with something even more useful: flagging.

Flagging is more useful because it doesn't clutter the first page of your Inbox, yet still allows you to easily find your favorite posts at any time, just by clicking a new "Flagged" Inbox filter. This will display all of, and only, your flagged items.

More details on improvements to filters, which you will undoubtedly love, are coming soon.

You won't need to do a thing, either. We'll turn your pins into flags for you. :-)

Coming Soon: New features (and other great things)

Sat, 23 May 2009 03:08:00 -0000

If we've been quiet lately, please forgive us, as we've been hard at work on a great big bundle of new features and other great things, coming to you in the near future. The team has been spending long nights at the office in our conference room (the new home of the Awesome Table), the friendly confines of which makes being at the office well past midnight not nearly as bad as you may think.

This is shaping up to be our biggest release yet! It will feature a pretty significant redesign and a bunch of new features... all of which will help you do even more with your media, and get even more of your real friends and family in on the fun.

The coming days seem as good a time as any to show you a few of the coming improvements. Be sure to check our staff blog daily for all the details.

Multiply featured on the local news

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:35:13 -0000

Last week, the crew from CBS 4 news interviewed a local Multiply user about the way Multiply helps her share her life. The segment appeared on the evening news on Friday, with Peter even making an appearance! You can view the clip below (recommended!), or read the transcript at cbs4.com

Peter again on Computer America

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 20:36:25 -0000

Longtime Multiply members may recall the time a few years back when our fearless leader Peter was interviewed on Computer America ("America's longest-running nationally-syndicated radio talk show about computers"). Hosts Craig and Carey seem to have enjoyed talking to Peter so much that, last week, they invited him back for more! Click the link above to hear the broadcast. The segment with Peter starts about 4 minutes and 30 seconds in, and runs for about 20 minutes. Topics discussed include Multiply Premium, the AutoUploader, what makes Multiply so special... as well as the upcoming significance of the number

Multiply named Open Web Awards finalist

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:35:11 -0000

We at Multiply are thrilled to announce that Web 2.0 blog Mashable has selected Multiply as a finalist in their 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, under the category of "Mainstream Social Network."

Voting is open to anyone, and you can vote once... per day.

Voting ends on November 30th, so get out there and vote early and, perhaps, often for your favorite mainstream social networking site. Whichever that may be. :-)

If it's Multiply, you can use the widget to the right to instantly vote for us, but be sure to visit the post on Mashable to cast votes for other categories. (And you can, apparently, vote someone else for best "Mainstream Social Network" by visiting the post. But why?)

Help theme CustomizedThemes

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:21:46 -0000

We break today, from our regularly-scheduled telling-you-about-stuff-about-Multiply, to tell you about something cool that a few Multiply users are doing.

Many of you are familiar with the Customized Themes Group, a place where many Multiply users share customized themes they've created (over 8,000 so far) for use on Multiply sites. Just visit a theme, copy the included CSS code and apply it to your site!

We just thought we'd let you know that the group administrators are currently holding a contest to find a new theme to replace Meg's classic Peacock Theme as the new face of the group.

For more information about the contest, including the rules, see the official announcement... which, by the way, says that you only have until October 10th to submit your themes. So, if you've got the skills, hurry up and get

"Underrated: Multiply"

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:55:15 -0000

As many of you may have noticed (and some definitely did... thanks!), Multiply got quite the nice press mention a couple days ago, comparing us quite favorably to one of our competitors, albeit one with a considerably different focus.

It's always great to see stories from journalists who "get it," and PC World's Darren Gladstone fits the bill. He even summarized us pretty well:

Ready for a little quality control? Try Multiply.com, a social networking site that's less a landing page (à la Facebook) than a series of feeds. Share various aspects of yourself with people in different spheres of your life.

Web 2.0 Expo

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:29:50 -0000

Speaking of tech events, a few of us will be at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York City for the next few days.

The expo...

is a conference and tradeshow for the rapidly growing ranks of designers and developers, product managers, entrepreneurs, VCs, marketers, and business strategists who are embracing the opportunities created by Web 2.0 technologies.

(And, actually, we're a few of those things!)

If you're going to be in the area, why not stop by and say hi?