The New BigBlueBall.com

We designed the new BigBlueBall.com with you in mind, making it easier to use, navigate, search and find the information you need. You no longer need to register to leave a comment, and you can easily subscribe to keep track of responses. If you use Facebook, you can sign-in directly using Facebook Connect.

Here is an overview of the changes

We’re still putting the finishing touches on things, so if you find something that looks amiss, please let us know!

Ch-ch-ch-Changes at the BigBlueBall

I am currently preparing a major update to BigBlueBall. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s almost here. And you can get a sneak peek right here at blog.bigblueball.com!  The front-end of the site is moving to WordPress for content management. This new interface will be used fo all our news, tutorials and reference pages — the stuff currently found on the BigBlueBall homepage and in the various IM Centers (and very hard to find!). 

What you’re looking at right now is a work-in-progress. The logo, fonts and colors are still in flux, but the basic layout, site structure and the concept of featuring content on the home page is pretty well defined. My goal is to make the home page more informative, more visually appealing, more accessible for participation (no login required to post comments!), and just plain better! 

The stuff in the right column has not yet been defined, but the basic layout of the front page has. You will see that we have a new section where we an very clearly and vividly feature content. We also will show recent news from the three major categories: instant messaging, mobile communications and social networking. And we’ll have links that take you to everything else, including our most popular section, the forums. 

I’d like your feedback. Please leave a comment and let me know if you’ve got feedback or ideas. Love it? Hate it? I want to hear from you. Look around, and leave a comment below.

Updates to BigBlueBall

I’m in the process of some fairly substantial updates to BigBlueBall. We will be revamping our IM Centers, revealing a new design and updating the software that powers our forums.

The end result should be much cleaner, easier to use and navigate (with some new content, too!).

You’ll see us testing out the designs here on the blog first. Shhh… don’t tell!

Office Hours: Saturday and Sunday

The office will be open this weekend! I’m opening office hours Saturday from 1-3pm, and Sunday from 2-4pm (Pacific time zone).

What in the world am I talking about? You can join me in our BigBlueBall chat room to say hello, ask a question, or find out what’s coming at BigBlueBall. I’ll be in there while I’m working on the site, so stop in and say hello!

If you have your own IRC client, you can connect to irc.bigblueball.com and join the #bigblueball channel.

Not sure what the heck IRC is? No problem. Just click here to open a new window with our java-based chat room. It takes you to the same place.

See you online!

Expanded Forums for Social Networks and Mobile Devices

For seven years, BigBlueBall has been one of the few reliable resources on the web for coverage of all instant messenger networks. In those seven years, we’ve seen IM products come and go, and been here with you all the way. Your instant messaging contact list was then, and still is today, the original social network.

Today, technology gives us lots of choices for connecting with our friends, family and associates. Social networks like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter let use keep our friends up-to-date with a persistent that isn’t matched by IM. Mobile technology helps us stay connected no matter where or when.

To help you sort out the veritable plethora (gawd I’ve wanted to say that for so long!) of connection options, we are expanding BigBlueBall to cover all the ways you can stay connected. To begin, we have added two new forum sections.

The new Social Networks section has forums for Myspace, Facebook and other social networks.

And the Cell Phones, Mobiles & PDAs section includes forums for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Apple’s iPhone, Google Android and others.

Thanks to Philip for getting the ball rolling with his poll, and thanks to all of you who shared your view of where BigBlueBall should be moving.

Now join me in the forums and bring your tips, links, and questions.

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