August 2006

Ma.gnolia Monthly 6: Can We Talk? Oh, Yes We Can!

For several weeks we've dedicated much of our work to giving you more voice inside Ma.gnolia. In July we took a big step in this direction by introducing Ma.gnolia Mail. Finally, Ma.gnolia members had a more open way to reach out and connect. So what was the first thing requested after Ma.gnolia Mail? Make public discussions possible! This made us happy, since it was what we wanted to do next. And this month we're proud to announce that Group Discussions have arrived in Ma.gnolia.

Discussions can start about any topic relevant to the group, and don't need to be associated with a bookmark (but of course you can include bookmarks in your discussions). Group members can get involved with their own words, or they can give a wordless cheer or jeer, and see who's talking in a thread.

Alright, enough talk from us. It's your turn, so get to your favorite groups at http://ma.gnolia.com/discussions and be informative, funny, wise, provocative or otherwise — just be yourself, and express it!

- The Ma.gnolia Team (support@ma.gnolia.com)

Tags and Feeds—the Secret to Simple Link Publishing

For most folks grooving in Ma.gnolia, a personal bookmark collection is just that - a collection that is specific to one person. We can feel like guests in someone else's stuff when we draw from someone's bookmarks. And that can make it a bit awkward to share your links in ways that fit your different relationships with friends and coworkers. But what if you could give different people a way to see links that are just for them? You can, right now, and the secret is in using Tags and Feeds together.

Step 1: Give a specific tag that you want to show to a person or group of people. It could be the number for a class you teach, the codename of a project you're working on, whatever you like.

Step 2: Click that tag in the viewer to see all the bookmarks it applies to. At the bottom of that page you'll find links to our RSS and Atom feeds. Give that link to the people you want to see those bookmarks.

That's it. A bookmark feed that fits perfectly for the people you give it to. You can make any number of these feeds and give them out like candy. Your readers will feel like you've made a link feed just for them, because you did! They just didn't know how easy it was.

Tags of Interest for August

Tags can turn up the interesting and unexpected about a given subject. Take a look at how easy it is to find so much with just a single tag in this month's Tags of Interest:

• Design Inspiration

  Sometimes you just need to see what's out there to start stirring your own creative juices. This two-word tag pulls together finds for doing just that. http://ma.gnolia.com/tags/design+inspiration

• Biking

  There's something so peaceful and universal about the bicycle. Get more out of your pedal-powered adventures by checking the sites that members have marked with this tag. http://ma.gnolia.com/tags/biking

• Surveillance

  If you've got that 'being watched' feeling, you'll want to get your eyes onto these interesting sites. http://ma.gnolia.com/tags/surveillance

And remember, with Tags of Interest, once you've clicked them, you can't un-click them!

Featured Groups for August

Hello, We're a New Company When you're starting a new company, your most important resource besides caffeine is your network. This new and novel group puts collective wisdom into action and has just started to build a bookmark collection invaluable to fledgling entrepreneurs. http://ma.gnolia.com/groups/hello.

Street Art Where some see just paint others see creative and sometimes subversive talent at work. Graffiti has the power to startle, confuse, annoy and inspire. Not only is it on the street, it's also one of our growing groups in Ma.gnolia. http://ma.gnolia.com/groups/streetart.

Ma.gnolia Developers Developers are starting to notice the Ma.gnolia API! The Ma.gnolia Developers group is the perfect starting point for your coding project and making contact with others who can help. Check it out at http://ma.gnolia.com/groups/madevs.

This Month's Ma.gnolia Tip: Bookmark Short Name Peekaboo

This one is for the browser power-users. You might have noticed that Ma.gnolia is doing some fun stuff with the bookmark short names. Right now you can add them to blog comments and posts in group discussions, but we've got more uses up our sleeves. Normally you can find short names in the bookmark details page, but you can also hover over a bookmark title and see the short name at the end of the link in your status bar. Nifty!

Get in Touch—now with IRC!

If you need assistance, have questions or feedback, just write to us at support@ma.gnolia.com. We'll do our best to help you out.

And for developers and other geekish folks, we have something special for you. Ma.gnolia now has an IRC channel: #ma.gnolia on irc.freenode.net. Members of the Ma.gnolia team can be found lounging there on a casual basis, and will be happy to answer questions you have or to chat about features. Come by and say hi!