Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSLook down and you'll see a fresh new addition to article and seed pages for Newsvine users. We call it the Wetbar.
The Wetbar is a new tool we're releasing initially to Newsvine users and eventually across other sites powered by Newsvine technology (we're looking at you mothership). It's already on certain Newsvine powered pages like NBCSports and TODAYMoms but we're just getting started.
This handy little bugger should make it a lot easier to point your friends and followers to interesting discussions you're participating in (or fires you're starting) on the 'Vine. Facebook and Twitter have emerged as great ways to include your own social circles in activities you are involved in around the internet and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to accomplish this.
We've also placed a slightly different incarnation of the conversation tracker inside the Wetbar to see if people prefer its format to the traditional conversation tracker. Please let us know what you think in the comments.
E-mailing articles is now more advanced as well with one-click support for mailing via Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL.
Last but not least, if you've decided the Wetbar is not for you, you can click the 'hide tools' link and it'll scamper off into a corner.
Leave a Comment:
Yay. I'm excited to be able to use this.
I know tech would appreciate feedback regarding having two Conversation Trackers available - whatever display and features seem to be most popular and usable could be merged into one super-good one.
All I know is that since this thing popped up, whenever I click on the "final new" comment, it doesn't return me to the top of the page...
Plus, is there any customization available? I don't personally use twitter.
I have the same issue. :(
Get rid of the top one. :)
The final new bug is fixed. Wasn't wetbar related, but rolled out around the same time.
The bottom tracker seems more responsive than the top one ever did.
Can you add a Troll-zapper button?
They already have one. It is the "!" button.
Wow!! I think it's rather cool to the first degree! I love the little avatar as soon as you access the site (just in case I forget who I am, of course!!) and the bar makes the comment actions much easier to see and activate. I love it!
Very snazzy, I have to say. Great addition, guys. :o)
It could use an improvement - maybe an electric shock feature, the current doesn't have to be high... ;)
Love it!! Perfect suggestion. :o)
Care to clarify the bolded text? We don't need more mass gang up flamewars, in my humble opinion. In fact, a cynic* might say you are encouraging CoH violations to drive more eyeballs.
*Who? Me?
The ability to collapse individual threads, and once collapsed, a one line status indicator for the thread showing a "+" to expand the thread again.
Example:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Expand thread Last comment: date/time Status: 4 unread / 25 total Reply
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, it's a pain trying to find the REPLY icon at the bottom of a thread when there are many open threads. I sometimes miss it during a scroll down and find myself replying to the wrong thread. A REPLY icon at the top of the thread would be nice.
I've got a few more suggestions, but I think I've taken this off topic a little, so back to the wetbar...
The wetbar on the bottom is okay, except it just takes another bit out of my valuable screen real estate. Would you consider giving us the ability to have it placed vertically up either side? or decreasing the size of the icons?
Other than than that, I like it!
and... since I see a lot of green (moderators) on here:
Moderators are always needed to 'step in front of the fan when the sh_t starts flyin' and I imagine you sometimes wonder if your efforts are noticed, or appreciated.
I can't speak for everyone here on Newsvine, but I do appreciate your efforts.
Kudos to every last one of you, without good moderators the anarchy would turn this forum into an unworkable mess.
So thank you for your efforts to moderate, mediate and expurgate the reprobates. :)
From a new-user usability perspective, I think the Wetbar is a good step in the right direction. I can't count the number of times I've seen users express either confusion over what the trackers are meant to do or a comment similar to: "Oh, is *that* what the third tracker does? I never understood that one." I'd get rid of the upper one, honestly, and just push everything through the notification system.
Now, if you can just get it so that the tracker doesn't randomly decide *not* to track certain articles, that'd be great. :-)
CarlZup, most of them are tech, not moderator. tyler is the full time moderator, calvin may jump in from time to time. Frankly I don't envy either of them the job. :)
Thanks, I was wondering why I've not seen some of them before. (I don't get out much, lol)
Still, techs deserve kudos too.
Also, it'd be really cool if the tracker could update itself, instead of relying on me refreshing the page.
Clicking on it does seem to update the tracker, even without a page refresh. You do have to click it first, though.
Hmm.. indeed. Maybe set it on a timer, since it's in javascript (yes, I'm a geek who likes to dissect NV code from the dev tools).
Oh irony:
Guess which thread is apparently not tracking for me?
I really like it. My only problem with it is if I forget to hide when I go to print something it shows up on every page. And maybe it can vertical instead of horizontal?
You print to paper?! Why not just copy/paste to a text documents if you want to save something? Set up a file naming convention, makes it so much easier to find and retrieve.
Plus it saves paper...
I really hate this. Is there any way I can disable it? I don't use facebook/twitter and the conversation tracker (as it is) works well enough for me. Unless I can customize it, this thing isn't very useful to me at all.
alkimija #1.22 - Wed Mar 3, 2010 9:47 AM CST
Ditto. And, the Conversation Tracker doesn't always update right, and the items in the tool bar of the comment box don't all work.
It's easier on my eyes to read long discussions without a screen
I like the print function they set up in recent months
Ah but speaking of that print feature since the toolbar arrived it's having a problem i thought had gone away namely it will print a few pages that are the long list of the groups and friends i have - that wasnt happening before.
i'll go send that as a bug report too
The comment tracker feature of this seems to be working well for me now, although the first couple of days were a bit sketchy. At this point, I mostly use the comment tracker at the bottom of the page, and find it to be very convenient. I have not used any other feature however.
my comment tracker on the bottom of the page disappeared a week or so ago.....I prefer it to the one at the top.
how do I get it back?
I like it.
Although, I'd kind of like to have more than just social tools, or to have more useful social tools. I'm not adverse to a bigger, better toolbar floating at the bottom.
Seems like just another trinket meant to appease the MSNBC overlords.
*hide tools*
edit: should be completely removable.
Good call, we could put that in Account Settings.
It's not so much about msnbc.com, but more about the fact that more and more conversations occur away from source destinations these days. I've noticed this on my blog too. I get just as much traffic as I used to, but my comment counts are significantly down due to the fact that some people would just rather tweet about your stuff to their followers or share your stuff with their Facebook friends. I can't say I particularly like this shift -- and it may only be temporary -- but it seems wrong to ignore it.
One good thing is that we don't have to go back to the top to look at our tracker, but I am not sure why I need my picture down here - I already know I take a poor picture and do not need the reminder.
Speaking of picture, I haven't been able to update it lately.
It's a good reminder that you're actually logged in, though. :)
I actually LIKE having the pic. Sometimes Rebecca is logged into the vine on this computer. Having the pic right there tells me at a glance, which one of us is on.
Brian,
Yeah? Like I need "Hey ugly, your logged in!" ROFL ;0 p
PatN,
I guess I can see that when two people use the same system.
Use a picture of someone pretty, then. Give you something to look at. ;)
I just looked at your pic, USAF. You look rather...um...'kitten like'. You need to shave the beard though. BTW...there's an odd looking creature whispering in your wife's ear. =)
Hmmmm....now there is an idea! ;0 )
Did Rebecca sneeze on the screen again?
LOL. Isn't that you in the back?
Naw.....I am the one showing off my hairy legs. LOL ;0 p
I second (or third, or whatever) the request to be able to disable this entirely. It's just a waste of space IMO. It gets in the way. Even if I hide it it still takes up space, and it seems to pop up again when I visit another page anyway.
I would much rather see a simple button somewhere near the top of the article to share something in facebook or twitter or whatever (like every other site does). I don't need something constantly floating at the bottom of my browser. It just doesn't seem to add any value.
I like it and I think with continual improvements to functionality and the ability to customize it, this toolbar will be a very nice addition to Newsvine. Keep up the good work.
Is there a way to disable this entirely (not just collapse it)?
On Firefox, it causes the page to load, then refresh the display with the bar on the bottom. Hiding it does not prevent this. Since the bar does nothing other links don't already do, I'd appreciate a way to simply prevent it from appearing, when I'm logged in.
It's fun in theory, I suppose, but I already know how to navigate the site, and it's just one more thing to load.
Ack! Also, it's causing pages to die if I try to load them on my phone. The articles will load, but it stops loading the page before comments appear (On a Palm and, yes, I know Palms suck, but it's what I've got and I'm too cheap to buy a new phone).
Wow, that Firefox flash was really annoying. Thanks for pointing it out. Should be fixed now.
It is, thanks. :)
I'd like to be able to disable it entirely too. I don't use facebook or twitter so the wetbar isn't adding anything to the Newsvine experience for me. If, however, the wetbar was customizable, so that we could choose what we wanted on or off the wetbar, then it might be useful.
I don't suppose it's possible to create an option to run it vertical, off to one side?
I have plenty of unused space on the sides of the screen, and it would be just as accessible there, but without forcing me to read comments/articles in an ever narrowing window.
I agree, being able to customise it so that it's vertical off to one side would be a benefit. That is, if we could customise it so that it's useful for those of use who aren't facebook or twitter users in the first place.
It was a nice try guys, really. I suppose some people who are big fans of fb and tw are getting a big kick out of it right now.
I just wish the tech guys had put some more effort into creating a NV app instead.
I'd go for that. Sometimes I read stuff on my netbook with a monitor that is only 7.5' - the font isn't reduced, so the comment box sometimes nearly fills the screen. There would be enough room to the side even of that on which to place the Wetbar.
Hallelujah, finally some Twitter integration!
Is that the same thing as a mixed bird flock? ;)
Twitter needed some more green feathers. Newsvine has no shortage of featherheads. ;oD
Cheepcheepcheep.
Does this have anything to do with why I no longer have the 'your history' link on the left hand side anymore?
Admittedly, I'm computer illiterate...so it might be me.
Like the toolbar. Not too threatening to this old chick. LOL
I wish the Wetbar would appear on all the pages (my column, history, etc.). I like the old tracker; it shows more at one whack than the one on the Wetbar. I wouldn't mind if both were kept, but if there is only one, then make it the original.
Actually, if the Wetbar appeared on all the pages, it could just be there forever and load only once, on login, and stay there rather than increase the page-load time because it has to load each and every time a new article is viewed.
Also, that"Final New" button is dead. Others have mentioned it, so I'm just agreeing with them.
Overall, though, I kinda like the little thing (the Wetbar).
I believe the "Final New" now brings you to the top. I reported it and they responded that it was fixed. It is working for me.
I still prefer the top conversation tracker though.
Hey hey! The "Final New" button works! Yaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!
Get it off! GET IT OFF! There's a slug on my dial-up. It's leaving its sticky, slimy trail all over my 40Kbps. I just got a consistant speed and less line drops on Monday. This has to be an option until us rural folk get DSL or something.
I do seriously want to disable, not just hide, the Wetbar. It does screw up my page loading and with dial-up as my only option, 60+ seconds to post a comment is unacceptable. Besides, I don't have friends outside of Newsvine.
I empathize, to a degree, but honestly: Do you get speedy internet *anywhere* with a 40Kpbs connection?
A feature-rich social media site like Newsvine is bound to test the patience of anyone still using dial-up. It's just the nature of the beast.
I was working at times at 21Kbps. I just got the phone number that routes me through another set of lines and I'm getting consistent 40. If I open fb in its own tab it slows me down but Twitter doesn't. Now the wetbar has too many add-ons(?) causing a real drag on page load time. Maybe my squirrels are getting tired.
LOL! Ladies, you are too funny! I understand, though, when I go to my mom's in rural MN, it is outright rediculous how long everything takes--and she's not even on dial up! I don't know if the problem there is flying turkeys or buzzards :) She doesn't have any friends either...just relatives like me ;)
It is hard to get used to it being there, but I appreciate the article to help us deal, instead of the usual surprise problems. I think I may actually use some of this new thing!
Twitter (ptui!)
Love everything but the new font used on articles. Too small and a major eye sore.
uhhhh I have my screen thingy on 125% maybe you could up yours? easier on the eyes
I don't like the new font either! I had to increase the screen size to 125% just like you suggested, but it doesn't carry over to new pages. I would like to see the old font back!
What browser are you two using? I'm using Firefox. They are trying to figure out what's up with this now.
This "new font" thing is definitely an oversight of some sort, but nobody in the office can seem to see it. The font looks exactly the same as it always has to us. For those of you who are noticing this, can you please visit this page and let us know if the text looks similarly too small or if it looks normal:
http://www.newsvine.com/_sports/recap/46793
Thanks.
Mike, The font I see on Newsvine is smaller. I just used this article to compare with.
I got smaller and a pop-up! I've been getting them on a few NV pages in the last couple weeks.
That page looks normal size to me. This article and rottlady's link shows a small font.
Mike, I made a screen shot of the two articles mentioned and sent it to Lance just now. The font is different, there is more space between the letters and it's just a little bigger and easier to read on the MSNBC article.
oy. rottlady, that looked exactly the same to me! I haven't noticed anything yet, but then again, I went to the eye doctor today because of screaming eyeballs. Who knows...maybe it's so subtle, the pain in my head is the only indicator. (rolls eyes for relief:-)
Mike D.,
Now that I looked at that page, the new stuff is definitely smaller!!!!!
Well, when you put the two together on the same screen there is not a lot of difference, but it seems there is more space between the letters in a word. Makes it easier to read for me.
The new font is smaller for me too. I thought I was sitting too far from the monitor all of a sudden, I'm glad it's not just me!
Aha, got it! Should be fixed momentarily. I blame Lance...
And you all thought I was crazy....*smiles*
I think you did get it fixed, at least on this article. Thanks!
Wait, that doesn't mean you're not still crazy...
What! Ik, I already knew that...
*rottiegrins*
I think I like the Twitter integration best. Save me a lot of trouble. I used to do all that manually, which meant copying the link, shortening it with bit.ly, pasting it in, copying the headline, pasting it in, etc.
A pending invites to groups I moderate would be a nice little app, though. :)
That would be nice.
Yep. Think of the "New Comments" tabs as more of a "new notifications" tab, where comments are the first thing to appear in there. Eventually other things will as well.
I've encountered the different sized font thing on a couple of seeds.
Like, when my laundry is done?
Or, like someone has shown up willing to do my laundry?
When I click 'hide tools' it pops back up when I switch to a new page. I went into 'login & settings' and clicked the MINI button, but it's just still there.
And there is no friends tracker . . . but I'm not being picky. :)
The problem with hiding not carrying over to other pages should be fixed now.
Great!! All better now!!
It still seems to keep coming back. I hid it yesterday and today it's back full size again.
That's what she said.
Nice Brian, congrats Josh your wetbar got she saided...
(I initially thought you said "hit it yesterday" which would have made more sense with my retort, but it still kind of works.)
Hand still raised for bestest website...
Seconded...especially now that I can search my own archives! :o)
No fun it was trying to find articles when one has written hundreds!
Huh? Have I missed something? How do you do that?
Easy, rottlady. I have discovered that if you wish to search your articles just put a keyword or tag at the end of your address, like this: http://rottlady.newsvine.com/dogs, and it will bring up all the articles you have on dogs in your column, both articles and seeds. I haven't found out yet how to separate the two sets in the search!
Hope your weekend is wonderful! :o)
Okay, thanks for the hint. I knew that I guess but just hadn't used it. I love it when we learn how to use Newsvine better. Thanks Ms Cyprah, I hope you have a good weekend also!
That feature has been a feature since the day Newsvine was launched.
You can also search for multiple tags by searching for:
http://brianford.newsvine.com/meta+newsvine
(Adding as many as you like.)
You can search www.newsvine.com the same way, and then add the resulting pages to your watchlist, and create a very specific watchlist page, if you don't like the front page.
Thanks Brian
It might have been a feature but no one told us about it because I have had great problems searching for my articles until now. The usual search just brought up everything on Newsvine!
You can also use Google to search your subdomain.
E.g. in the Google toolbar enter:
site:mscyprah.newsvine.com happy
i used to be able to more easily search via tags
I tag all my interviews as sbutki-interviews, all reviews as sbutki-review, etf
For the first year or two i was here that worked great to find old stories - it would show all of them (more than 100) but for the last few months when i try that it only shows ten or 20 of them
when i just tried it it shows me maybe 30 or so and then acts like that's all there is
is there now a limit to how many results are shown via a tag search or is this some glitch?
i've tinkered with the idea of writing my own index of my reviews and interviews but that can sound so pompous and self-promoting of a move that i'd rather not.
Scott, I've noticed that there seems to be an upper limit to the number of tags, or at least to the number I can view. I'm wondering if this is a bug or something. I can only see tags I've used 18 or more times. And for all I know I'm not seeing all of those.
Its a nice addition to the column if you are Facebook and Twitter users. Sooo
sorry I am not.
Yes, I think they should use it for other things (like posting articles) rather than just for facebook or twitter!
I'm not either, but I assume it is a way to get Newsvine exposure through Facebook and Twitter. The selling of Newsvine, so to speak.
Dueling conversation trackers!
Yeah, the trackers definitely aren't on the same page right now.
Mine are not clearing the bottom tracker after reading.
Not to sound ungrateful, but is this all that's going to be there in the wetbar?
What else would you like to see?
Lolcats! If the wetbar opened up with lolcat pictures on one side, I'd use it all the time.
Or is that a really dumb idea?
Post an article?
Search one's column?
Cook some supper?
Dance the boogie?
Date a fella?
I think the options are endless!! :o)
Zap a troll.
Whack a mole.
Fill a hole.
Cheer a goal.
Save a soul.
Train a foal.
Climb a pole.
Fill a bowl...
I LOVE the rhyme, bitemore. I dread to think what follows after us! :o)
Oh yeah! its endless time from here to nowhere. Too good to be true.
I mentioned this somewhere else, but given that Mike was recently talking about learning how to say "no" to features, chances are, they will / you will have to make a pretty strong case for the necessity of a feature, before its dropped in as an app.
I think if you want something, it's going to need to be a functional suggestion that is directly related to making the Newsvine experience easier or better. I'd like an option down there to easily report content or spam, for sure. And, my earlier suggestion about accepting group requests.
A way to vote for articles might be nice, too, given that it would be visible no matter where you were in the article. A lot of people come to articles through the comment tracker, and never see the top or very bottom of the article.
Great idea. I also like your group request thoughts.
I think most people vote for a seed or an article when they comment, but there are a lot of people, myself included, who read but don't comment, and having the option to vote up what I'm reading right there in front of me would be helpful.
All that said, I do like the simplicity of it. I certainly wouldn't want the WetBar to be any bigger than it is, and if they start adding functionality to it, it could get more crowded.
Ooooh... don't make me turn my brain on... :-)
Also, while I don't want them to get rid of Facebook or Twitter sharing, they seem like they could be consolidated into one "share this story" tab, and then the option is there for sharing it to either, or both. The Email this story tab could fit in there, too. So, I see three main tabs that could could expand (as they do now) to offer more functions:
Very useful ideas, Brian, that would make a noticeable difference.
I noticed the comment (notifications) button at the bottom is missing the detail of the tracker. Could this be added? [i.e. Friends vs. others comments, source and date]
The problem with combined things into one item (which I'm a huge fan of visually) is that any time something is more than one click away, its usage drops dramatically. We may end up doing it anyway, but having only one level of navigation and exposing explicit actions at that level generally gives you the most clicks.
Found this site by accident. This is how I find a lot of sites. How many do I miss? Sometimes the same site scrolls multiple times by different seeders.
I don't use these options, yet. Maybe when I learn more?
I don't use either facebook or twitter and I like the convo tracker on the top so...
On another issue: When going to a thread for the very first time, it would be nice if it opened at the top of the page so you can read the article before the comments.
As it is now, it takes you to the comment that threw it into your tracker and you must scroll all the way to the top from somewhere int eh middle of the thread to read the article.
That's because you're not linking to the article, you're linking to a conversation.
It would be a very good comment tracker if it didn't track comments, would it?
With that said, it wouldn't hurt for there to be an option to link to the article (the little icon could do that) *as well as* an link to the comment the person made, which initially tripped the tracker, but if it's going to be one or the other, I prefer the way it is now, based on what the point of the feature is.
Good idea. It might also help to add a "green dot" at the end of the article to take you to the comments that are in your tracker.
So what, Brain?
If I am going to that conversation for the first time - surely the software can figure that out and take me to the TOP of the page.
After that, it can take me to the last comment.
Yeah. Why bother making something that is meant to track one thing actually track that thing?
I guess you're right.
what's the point of being taken to a comment if I don't know what the damn conversation is about?
yes, I am. Thanks.
Too many options...Too many people...Too much input...heat..pain..smoke..circuit overload.. overload.. overload... over r r r
Headlines? Of the several that are backed up in my tracker, it's pretty easy to tell what the article is about. I dunno. It's not that difficult to just hit the home button on your keyboard or, in my case, command+up, if I'm still not sure.
I don't really use the comment tracker that leads to comments on articles where people on my friend list have commented, though. Invariably, it just builds up with a bunch of content I'm never going to read, based on what is easily gleaned through the headline and/or the author. I'd just assume they got rid of it and focused on the two that lead me to comments on content I've already visited/commented on and thus shown an interest in.
Excellent idea, that is one of my pet peeves, I hate having to scroll up to the top of the article.
Adding Twitter et al is a nice way to drive eyeballs, I've copied a few url's to e-mail .
<blockquote>yes, I am. Thanks.</blockquote>
haha <3 nearing
Wow, a prompt sighting in the wild! Good to see you, buddy!
This wetbar is ok...I guess. Seems pretty useless to me personally.
I'd like a better newsvine search function and I'd really like to be able to see my ENTIRE tag cloud. As it is I can't see any tag I've used less than 18 times.
I was wondering why that was at the bottom of the page. Thought a ferret was following me, but it's MY picture there. :-)
That is cool. Can't wait to use it and see how it comes out on Facebook and Twitter.
This is slick. Now I don't have to copy, shrink and paste them into the other sites. I tried it, and it worked fast.... I am going to like this change.
I try to use the Site preferences change to mini but the save button seems to have no effect.
i just sent an unrelated bug report (related only in that the changes with the toolbar came about the same time as the changes in how we now write and edit articles)
when it saves a draft now it loses the tags. i personally dont use tags much but to those who do this will probably be frustrating.
I think part of this is because it used to be that when you hit save while editing an article it then took you to an automatic preview or something if memory serves. now it just takes you back into the editing.
So it's hard to tell when you've saved and can move on to something else and when you need to save it again.
At least that's my theory on why it seems like half the time i go back in to edit an article it tells me it's saved it as a draft and thus the tags are gone
let me know if that makes sense explained that way.