We're almost there! Newsvine is preparing to undergo its biggest change since its founding. We're really excited here at Newsvine Global Headquarters, and we are ready to help you through a big transition to a great upgrade.

Here's what you need to know:

Wednesday, February 6th is the last full day of Newsvine as we've come to know it. On Thursday, February 7th, Newsvine will look very different. 

There's an extensive Knowledge Base here that we're continuing to update. If you've got a question that needs answering post-launch, you can begin discussions both publicly and privately here. Staff will be responding every day.

Here are some things you can do to prepare:

Take a look at your group memberships if you have them. All groups will become Nations, an entirely new construct on Newsvine that improves both discussions and publishing. We're moving beyond global discussion threads that sometimes feature thousands of comments to discussions in these Nations - community spaces that you create, grow, and make your own unique Newsvine experience.

Check out the Knowledge Base. While it will make a lot more sense when you can use and experiment with the new site, we've answered a lot of questions asked by users, many without Beta access, so if you want to study a little bit, that's the best place to start.

Get ready to try something new. This is easier written than done. It's also easier if you've been working with the new version of the site for many months, as the developers have. Newsvine's been good, and it's been one of the more enduring sites of its type on the internet. We're changing because we want it to be even better.

Most folks reading this will be doing so because they know and like Newsvine. We're changing some very important fundamentals of the site, and we'd love for it to fulfill everyone's fantasy of what a news discussion site is. [Everyone has fantasies about that, right? It's not just us?] We recognize that Newsvine is nothing without Newsviners. So please, try the new Newsvine. Create Nations, publish content, mouse over everything. Tell us what you think in the discussion forum.

February 7th is going to be a big day, but it's also the first day. Thank you for your continued support, participation, and feedback - we can't wait to continue growing with you. 

Newsvine is changing. We're in Beta and nearing the biggest change in the history of the site. We've got a new support section. Now we've got a new blog.

We're starting this blog nearly from scratch because in refreshing the site, we want to renew our commitment to making Newsvine the best news discussion site possible.

One of the most important parts of fulfilling that commitment is improving communication to the people who make Newsvine's success possible:

Newsviners. Our users.

This version of Newsvine Blog doesn't have much content as of this writing - but from the developers to the moderators, we're going to fill it up. There will be features to explain, issues to discuss, and a whole new site to help with.

We've wired up a new-and-improved method of earning money from your Newsvine column. If you click the 'Newsvine.com' tab on your account page, you'll see a new link on the left-hand side: Google AdSense.

AdSense will supply at least one advertisement to seed pages, article pages, and, in New Newsvine, Newsvine Home Pages (i.e., every page at yourdomainname.newsvine.com will feature AdSense ads if you've set it up.)

AdSense is an impressive product and offers Viners more control over their ads in a few important ways. Most notably, users won't have to wait as long as they did for money to disburse from Newsvine Global HQ. Also, pay from Newsvine was prone to fluctuation; AdSense is known for remaining steady from month to month.

If you don't have an AdSense account already, registering now is a good idea - the review process takes about a week. You should receive a confirmation email shortly after registering.

For a step-by-step guide, we've created a support article here. There's only one requirement: your ad placement must be 300 x 250. We also strongly recommend you use Newsvine's values for your custom settings, also in the step-by-step guide.

November is the last month Newsviners will receive the traditional 90% of ad revenue generated by their column.

Newsviners must cash out - or donate - their earnings by Monday, December 31st.

UPDATE - 11/19/12 - We've reached out to Google after reports from users that their AdSense applications have been denied.

UPDATE - 12/19/12 - We've found a solution for users who had trouble both with rejected applications and registering at all. Read about it here.