Fiction Explosion!

After the flood of requests we finally got our act into gear and made Flickspin a whole lot broader. We've now opened up a whole new fiction area for short stories, poetry and web-novels!

This expansion brings some big style changes for these new format types where we've kept things as clean as possible and done our best to make the published work the star of the show. Let us know what you think.

If the new fiction area wasn't enough we've also added in some more non-fiction sections: reviews, recipes and helpful how-tos. All new format types can be added to Flickspin by using the good old word processor you'll find in flickspin.com/central.

Changes to the revenue share system

With the new expansion of the site and our need to keep our marketing message clear we've made some changes to revenue share percentages for published works. Here are the percentages that go into the writer's pocket:

Non-fiction: 75% (this includes blogs!)

Fiction: 50%

(Log into Flickspin to find out more details.)

For those not interesting in making money we've also added the option to turn the ads off for their pages. This switch can be found within the settings area under flickspin.com/central. For those leaning the other way and want to make the most our of their published work, the settings area also has the option to increase ad exposure on their pages (where available). By catering to both ends of the spectrum we feel we can make writers happy for whatever reason they enjoy writing.

Have a happy Easter!

Little by Little...

Today saw the release of some new code to the site. Most of it revolves around little fix-ups and style changes around the site - nothing too major. The main pages adjusted were the about us page, the homepage, the search page and the login page.

This release actually leads on from one a few weeks ago that saw the stylised toolbar added to the profile areas. Looks pretty spiffy too and does a great job of tidying up the profile and blog pages.

One other area that was recently updated was the join the web writing community page where we are campaigning to grow the community with some more members. We've made it easier for people to sign up as well as find out what we are about.

Now that we've done a bit of a tidy of house to the public areas of the site, we've got our eyes on revamping the beloved "my desk" area. But before we get stuck in there is one really cool feature that will be built, launched, and mentioned here real soon.

Stay tuned.

Peace! Luke

Flickspin's Feature Writers

In the latest round of changes to Flickspin there have been a number of modifications to the category pages. Not only are the pages a little more pleasing to the eye but you might just see a feature writer gracing the odd category homepage. The feature writers have gained their new status by writing frequently for a given category. Not only will they receive greater profile on the site they can also collect 100% of the ad revenue for the Google ads on their category homepage.

If you are interested in becoming a feature writer for a category, sign up with the Flickspin writing community if you're not already a writer and when you submit an article or fact-file for review just mention your intention of which category you'd like be a feature writer for via the message the editor field. Then at the end of every month the line up of feature writers is reviewed. The criteria used to decide which writers become feature writers are detailed on the "Feature Categories" page within your "My Desk" area, but the basic idea is that it is based around the idea of the selecting the writer with the most articles written for a category over the previous 3 months. Depending on the community's thoughts, this may change in the future.

Here are the feature categories for this month:

• Lifestyle & Culture
  
• Restaurant Reviews
  
• Travel
  
• Information Technology
  
• Video Games
  
• Music
  
• Short Stories

It's a pretty exciting new feature for Flickspin and we're glad to be helping to promote writers on their efforts.

Peace!

All the Colours of the Rainbow

The latest feature to the collection is a sprightly one! We can now move away from the default colours of profile area and move into the bright and stylish future.

At the moment there are 6 styles to choose from (pictured) and we are open to adding more. If you want to see one, have a look here. If we haven't covered your favourite colour, be sure to let us know and we'll keep adding more options.

To liven up your page, login, go to the "Profile & Blog Stylings" page and click on the link for "Profile Colours" and make your selection.

If anyone has any other suggestions for the blog area, feel free to give us a shout.

Peace!

New Blog & Profile Area Stylings

Since we announced the funky new retro layout last month we've been working hard to finish off the job with the blog and profile areas getting a massive overhaul. Having become a blogger of sorts, I knew full well the short comings of the old flickspin blog and profile areas. With the new profile options and custom stylings this thing feels sweet and looks sweet. What a combo!

Here's a hint of what we're talking about:

• http://www.flickspin.com/mcgyver/blog
  
• http://www.flickspin.com/bay/blog

Wondering about the changes, check them out:

• brand new layout & colour scheme - still looks hot on the iPhone too
• fully customisable header images,
  
• a new blog roll listing,
  
• room for a note or quote,
  
• a listing for hobbies and interests,
  
• and last but not least... an experimental external RSS feed reader - aka the EERSSFR.

The EERSSFR sounds confusing but is there simply to help writers to promote their blogs or article feeds from other sites. This is great way to let readers find out more about your work and it will always show your latest articles. We think it's pretty cool - even if it is experimental.

Funky New Retro Layout

Everyone knows Retro is back. And so moving with the times the site has undergone its 3rd major style change since the launch in March 2008. This new layout style has already given Flickspin a lift with a noticeable boost in page views per visitor. This is based only on a limited set of data but we think this will be the trend because not only does the site look better it's becoming even easier to browse.

There are a whole host of other changes planned and most of them will hopefully be implemented this month. Most of the work will centre on promoting imagery and articles.

It's exciting times and so great to see the site evolving. If you have and comments on the new stylings let us know!

Shaking Up the Style

The site has had a bit of a change up style-wise. The feel from the style is now fresh and clean with no more cheesy stylings carried through from the 90's.

The former styles were developed in an ad hoc fashion were given little thought in regard to aesthetics. Concentration was focused more on SEO and the workings behind the site. The general consensus of the former stylings from the beta team were along the lines that the site looked like a dog's breakfast. Hopefully the rework is a little more tasteful.

There will be a number of other format changes in the coming weeks. The most major change planned is a revamp to the home page.

The next few weeks should be pretty fun and it will be interesting to see how the site evolves.

The New Flickspin Blog - Just the Way You Like It

Yes, this is the new "corporate blog" for FS. I know it doesn't look anywhere near as good as the old one but you can blame Blogger for that.

The plan behind this blog is to give one and all an indication of what is going on behind the scenes of that awesome new site FS. I'm sure there will be posts regarding modifications, possible new features, general direction of the site and other odds and ends. If you are lucky you may even see notes as to why Flickspin is suffering chronic server failure - let's hope those one's are slightly less common.

As a quick update on the site; there are a bunch of beta testers in the site and they have done a stellar job finding bugs and getting in amongst it. Unfortunately they are all suffering writer's block but fear not, the beauty of FS is in the fact there are no quotas on writing, which helps the creative juices flow and doesn't make writing a chore. I think the main blockage for the beta testers has been choosing what to write about. I know every time I check it out it looks like a cafe review site. The good news is that our topics are many and varied and as things start to flow everyone will get a better idea of what the site is all about and I'm sure the writer's block will begin to ease and we'll have some great content filling the pages in good time.