Major releases for Labor Day

We’ve been plowing ahead on the product over the last two months and have neglected to keep you informed, so in honor of Labor Day, here’s a recap of the major changes since Stash pre-alpha v1.1. All of the features mentioned below are live now.

Pre-alpha v1.2

For 1.2, we took measures to increase the content available in certain keywords and we simplified the item voting system.

• The voting system on item pages was transitioned into a ‘favorite’ing system. (Downvote removed, Upvote changed to ‘favorite,’ UI simplified)
• Our first ‘Stashbots’ have been created. Stashbots are robo users that we configure to add content from reliable sources to specific keywords so that you can spend your time evaluating existing content, rather than populating each keyword with content from scratch. Who are the Stashbots? Have fun finding them!
• We added a daily notification email that is triggered when events of interest to you take place. If nothing has happened with people or keywords that you follow, you won’t be bothered. You can modify your notification settings here.

Pre-alpha v1.3

In 1.3, we phased out the horizontal content carousals in favor of a vertical scroll format that we think works much better for our needs. We also threw in ‘infinite scroll’ features, because they are handy, better for our mobile users, and … EVERYONE is doing it.

• We rolled out a new vertical keyword page layout, replacing our carousels with an ‘infinite scrolling’ system
• Added always-visible dismiss ‘X’s for articles
• New term image dimensions and overlays to conserve space

Pre-alpha v1.4

In 1.4, we introduced a ‘side-bar feed widget,’ visible just below the keyword image and ‘Top Stashers,’ which is intended to keep you abreast of activity on a keyword from people that you follow and with items that you have taken action on.

• Introduced the ‘Sidebar Feed Widget on Keyword/Term Pages,’ including alerts for: your Stashes, favorites of your stashes, comments on your stashes, comments on items that you commented on, when a user you follow stashes an item, when a user you follow comments on an item
• Added a requirement for at least one Keyword to allow stashing
• Fixes for Password reset

Pre-alpha v1.5

In 1.5, which we released this weekend, we added major new functionality, including a new alpha invite system and a dynamic viewing console for keywords and followed users to replace the combined keyword page.

• Retitled ‘Now’ and ‘Recent’ sections on keyword pages to ‘New’ and ‘Best,’ reflecting feedback from our first Stash Nation event in San Francisco.
• The ‘Now’ section now pulls content from the last 24 hours (from 48)
• Removed the http access block so that you can access the site without entering a user name and password. You will still need to login with your personal credentials to see keyword pages, but you no longer need the site wide ‘mvp’ credentials to access the site. This was another big issue raised at Stash Nation.

We added an alpha invitation system:

• New users will now need an invite code to register.
• Existing users are able to send invite codes to friends, putting you in charge of how our community grows. You will now find an invitation management system in your account area. If you don’t have any invites and know some folks that would be excellent Stashers — request some!
• The full site, outside of a few corporate level pages, is now restricted to existing users.
• We now have an invitation queue for outsiders that want in.

Combined keyword page nixed in favor of new dynamic keyword and user browsing system:

• Folks that attended our Stash Nation event in San Francisco asked a lot of questions about the combined keyword page, which was your homepage when you login. We’ve replaced this page entirely with a new dynamic system that leverages isotope to give you a fun way to see all of our existing keywords. You can also trim the results to your followed keywords and users. It’s really neat and we’re hopeful that you will use this page as a browsing and keyword discovery tool. We’ll write more about this feature specifically in the near future.

There is a heck of a lot that is new here. It’s Tuesday after a three-day weekend and your head isn’t in the office anyway. Take a few minutes to play around with the new Stash!

All the best,

Colin