New to Connect?

Saturday, April 19th, 2008, 4:48 pm

Are you new to iVillage Connect and not sure where to start? There's a lot to see and do, but getting started is really easy. The best place to begin is to take the tour which highlights all the features you'll want to start using. When you're ready to start building your profile, log in and upload your avatar -- which is a photo of you that will represent your profile on the network. Of course you can use any graphic you'd like, but we'd love to see your shining face.  From the "Edit" tab, you can continue to build out your profile and add more information about yourself so others with the same interests can find you. Once you've handled the basics you might have more questions -- the best place to get them answered is by visiting our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact one of our friendly Customer Support team members and they'd be happy to help!

Tags: connect, help, tutorial, how to, getting started

Trying On New Looks

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008, 10:24 pm

Do you ever have those days where you have to try on several different outfits before leaving the house? Or are you like me and have those days, well, every day? That's why I love the new selection of styles that we now have on iVillage Connect to dress up our pages. They're easy to try on -- and easy to change to suit your mood. What? You haven't added a style to your page? Be sure to log in, then check the "Styles" tab in your "my Profile" menu. Word has it that the fabulous folks working behind the scenes have even more styles to add soon, so keep checking back to see if there's a style that is so very *you*.

Tags: style, connect, updates

Join the Club

Friday, July 20th, 2007, 3:21 pm

Okay, I admit it: I love gossip. I'm not one of those people who has an actual subscription to Life & Style or People, but if they're sitting around at the salon? Oh, yeah. I'm reading that.

So, in the spirit of confession (and of helping my fellow gossip-lovers help each other), I just wanted to point out some really fun groups on Connect that help me get my fix -- check them out!

The Soap Divas: Revenge and passion and back-stabbing and great lipstick...mmmm, my favorite...

The Movie Insider: This group just started but I've already got it bookmarked--fun polls, reliable movie reviews, and movie industry trends.

Simon Sez: The American Idol gossip group! Even in the off-season, we can still dish about Kelly Clarkson... (Ah, Kelly. So wholesome. So talented. So trying really hard to be a bad girl, in that really charming it'll-never-work way. Call me, girlfriend, we'll discuss.)

Daily Blabber: What's not to love about these hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is ladies? Answer: Nothing.

It's kind of like beach reading, only for your computer... Any other good gossip groups out there? Let's hear about them!

Hope you're all doing well and staying cool this summer...

Hey, look at that

Friday, April 6th, 2007, 2:26 pm

Notice anything different? No, I haven't changed my hair. (Although maybe...someday...) But you may have noticed a few things have been changing 'round these parts. Here's the basic 411:

• Look up! The Connect header has been redesigned, so you can get around the entire iVillage "universe" more quickly. I like the pink. I think. My sister says there's no such thing as too much pink. And she's usually right.

• With the handy new search bar, which is also at the top of every page, you can search just Connect or all of iVillage. (My spies in the field tell me that the search function is constantly being worked on and improved, too, so it's going to get easier and easier to find cool stuff around here.)

• Have you seen the featured pages for Photos, Videos, Groups, Blogs, and Members? Check them out -- you might find somebody you know. Or a great new group. Or just a really fun way to waste time at work...

• "The Wall" has been renamed "Guest Book." Which I for one think is a MUCH nicer name for it. :)

• You can now access the main page of iVillage Connect from the Connect Home link at the very top of each page.

• Remember when you used to log in and see all those tabs that said "My Site," "My Hub," and "Profile"... and it was kind of hard to tell what each one was for? Well, all the stuff in the old "Profile" menu has been moved to the new "My Page" menu. It's just a little more streamlined. Whew.

• More group categories! If you've been playing with the idea of starting a group on Connect, check out some of the new categories and get inspired.

More changes to come -- I'll report back about anything new and noteworthy in the coming weeks. And don't forget to stop by the Welcome group to share your ideas for how to make Connect even better.  (Oooh, I just had one, actually: Automatic free ice cream for everybody who tags a friend! Okay, not possible, I know. I'll try to accept it and move on. But we've really got to get our best scientific minds on that whole ice-cream-dispensing computer screen thing.)

New around here?

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007, 7:44 pm

Me too. I'm an iVillager much like any other: I've got a family I love, friends I'm devoted to, and a bunch of hobbies and interests I'm always trying to scrape together time for. And I like playing around online. So I'm really excited about iVillage Connect. (I actually can't stop playing with it -- I spent a whole hour this morning prowling through the Friend Finder search and checking out other people's profiles.)

What I really like is how it's all about creativity and connection. You can blog (or, um, try to, like I'm doing...), and upload photos and videos (finally, I'll get all that stuff off my digital camera!). Your MyHub page keeps you automatically up-to-date with all your friends' latest blog entries, pictures and comments. And you can upload cool widgets for your page (it's kind of like our old iVillage member profiles on steroids). And the best part -- to me, anyway: Any one of us can also create a group of our own, and every group profile has all the same features that an individual member profile has, like a group blog and group photo albums. Plus group forums where people can meet up and talk.

You could start a public group for women who love to knit, or own their own businesses, or live in your area (I'm TOTALLY going to do this). And a semi-public group for an offline book club (I'm definitely doing this too!). And you could start a private group for your family, so you can stay in touch with your MIL (I maybe-might do this. Heh).

iVillage has set me up as a sort of one-woman welcoming committee for new members -- as you may have noticed, I'm automatically your first friend on the network, and I'll try to live up to the privilege. :)  But you can take me out of your friend network any time you like, and I promise not to be offended.

I hope you'll keep me in your list of friends, though, because I'm going to devote my blog and my page to all the ways you can make the most of this new social network. If you have ideas (or questions) for future blog entries about cool stuff to do on iVillage Connect, let me know.

Welcome to the neighborhood!  I'm glad you're here.  

PS: If you want to get a really good sense of just how much you can do with the network, check out iVillager CMCaryn's profile.

Tags: start, welcome