Personal Reviews (New Feature)

For various reasons, some people don't write traditional reviews. But we know that everyone has opinions. So we created a different way to share your thoughts through personal reviews. Let's use Babbo as an example:

Search for "Babbo" and you get this on the map.

In the bottom right, you can see 3 friends have visited this restaurant.

(Also, you can mark this place as visited with the I've Been Here button.)

Clicking on the 3 friends have visited opens the expanded sidebar and shows you additional information about the business.

Near the bottom of the expanded sidebar (circled in red), you see which three of your friends (Paul, Saboteur and Tom) have been to Babbo.

Click on the Send Message button, located below the profile pictures, to request a personal review on this restaurant.

A message box will appear with the recipients name and the place automatically filled in.

You can now type a message directly to friends asking what they thought of place.

The goal is to encourage communication while adding a personal touch to reviews. The personal context in which you know a person, influences how you interpret their words. Using the example above...

What I know about Babbo.

• Highly rated Italian restaurant
• Expensive, Fancy
• Near Washington Sq Park

What I know about my friends.

• Paul - Foodie, especially Italian food, having studied there for a semester
• Saboteur - Vegetarian, probably won't be trying the same dishes has him.
• Tom - Already wrote a review so I read that.

Paul seems like the best option for getting more information about the restaurant. Saboteur might be a good option to ask about decor or service. And Tom already wrote a review so I know his thoughts already.

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Interaction and Communication: People

Communication on UpNext is based around 2 things: People and Places. Let's spend this post talking about people (how to connect with others and how to communicate with them) and the next one talking about places.

3 Ways to connect with other people!

1) Invite your friends.

Click on the "Invite Friends" button on the home screen or on the "Invite Friends" link in the top right.

Import contacts from gmail, hotmail, yahoo or aol. Existing contacts will automatically be found and friends not part of UpNext will be invited.

2) Search for a friend.

Go to "My Profile" and click on the "Friends" tab to find the search feature. You can search by name or email.






3) Top Members

Check out Top Members and see what the community is up to. This is a great way to quickly scan, discover, and meet other members.








2 Ways to communicate!

1) Comments

Drop a quick note on someone's profile. Just click on his profile and under the "Home" tab there is a box to leave a comment.



2) Private Messages

There is now an option to send private messages. These can only be read by the user and are stored in an inbox.

Click on anyone's profile. Below his profile picture is "Send Message" button.

A message box will appear. Simply write your message and send it off.



















You can check messages sent to you in "My Profile". Simply go to your profile and click on the "Inbox" button located under your profile picture. Here you will be able to read and respond to your messages.

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Notes w/ Favs and Places

You can now add a brief note when you mark a venue as visited ("I've Been Here"). You might be asking why add notes when we already have reviews? Here is how we think about it.

- Reviews are more formal and intended to be public. You are voicing your opinion and expecting it to be shared with other users.
- Notes are more personal and simple. You don't have to set the scene or establish a tone, you can just write a couple words that only you understand. Whether it is the dish you ate at a restaurant or the name of the bartender that got you a free round, however you want to use notes is up to you.

It is pretty easy as you can see below. The team spent a lot of time making the interface smooth and "Ipod" like. So try it out.


Click on "I've Been Here" to mark a venue as visited.

The business is now automatically stored in your profile and is visible.






Once you click "I've Been Here" the venue window will slide to this screen.

Add a note by clicking within the text box and type away.

Nothing to say? Just "Skip" it.






Here is an example of a note for a restaurant.

Some favorite dishes and drinks. Also a personal thumbs up.





We think there are a lot of uses for the notes. For that reason we are leaving it pretty open and flexible so that each person can customize it for themselves. Let us know how you are using notes in the comments.

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Improved Profile Page

We spent some time cleaning up and improving profile pages. We felt some of the content was getting buried and wanted to make it more accessible for everyone.

You can now easily tab between:
- main profile
- reviews
- favs/places
- friends

This should also make sorting through your friends profiles simpler. Here is a screenshot of the new profile page.

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UpNext Nominated for SXSW Web Award

We are delighted and honored to be a finalist for the SXSW Web Awards in the Experimental category.

Experimental
These are cutting-edge and trend-setting destinations that are pushing the envelope and challenging our perceptions of the web.

Thanks to the SXSW nominating committee for this recognition. Also, the People's Choice awards is now live. Each year the People's Choice Award is given to the public's favorite finalist from the SXSW Web Awards competition. Click here to vote.

Lastly, this will also be our first trip out to SXSW. Let us know if you want to meet up or have any helpful hints for the trip. Looking forward to it.

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