Posted by Tim
on Wednesday, September 03
Here at GamingSocial, we've been spending a lot of time figuring out how we can improve one of the most important pages within site: the game page. We thought that was incredibly important, because well, the site is all about gaming after all! A few key things we tried to improve:
- Your friends: Something that we've been working on for some time is the ability to let you know if you're friends have played a game or have any opinions on the games you're looking at. So, you'll now see a new "Your Friends" section if one of your friends has the game on their list. Things like reviews and ratings will also show up. And don't worry if you're on a page and you don't see the section; it just means that none of your friends have added that game to their shelf.
- Less cluttered look and feel: We wanted to make the things that are really important really jump out at you. Hence, it should be very easy to change the status of the game on your shelf and to read the reviews of others. Additionally, we tried to make the picture one of the first things you will see.
- A new area to manage your relationship with the game: We've created a new area in the top right of the page that should easily let you add the game to your shelf, mark your ownership status, and rate it. Now you can easily do this in one place.
As always, please either pass along thoughts, comments and suggestions either in the comments section of this blog or to feedback@livingsocial.com. And don't forget to check out the new design and functionality on our other verticals like ReelSocial and TuneSocial.
Posted by Tim
on Monday, June 16
With the releases of the 2.0 versions of ReelSocial, TuneSocial, and GamingSocial, we've updated how the leaderboard rankings are calculated and the corresponding total on your profile. Previously, in the rankings, we used all items in your collection to calculate your ranking. This was often not the most accurate method, because the leaderboard is a representation of what you have done. So, if you've seen your total decrease, this is why. This change was made as the result of significant feedback from users and occurs across the board.
We'll continue to improve the leaderboard functionality in the future and provide additional leaderboard categories for you to climb up to the top!
Posted by Tim
on Monday, June 16
Just a quick little note... those of you who are regular users have probably noticed a few changes to GamingSocial over the past few days. Well, we're happy to announce that we've released the 2.0 version of GamingSocial. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out, but we're certain that it's a great step up in helping you manage and display your collections. Make sure to check out the new "home" page and the "manage" tab, which has been significantly updated to allow you to find more info about the activity of your friends (home page) and easily organize your collection (manage tab).
As always, please let us know your feedback and pass along requests for future improvements!
Posted by Tim
on Sunday, May 18
Have you found someone who has the same tastes as you? Or perhaps you think they really write great reviews? You may not know or be friends with that person, but you want to know when they add a new book or write a new review.
Last night, we pushed a new feature that allows you to "follow" another ReadingSocial user. If you choose to follow others, relevant information such as what books they've added or what reviews they've written will show up on the news feed on your home page.
To follow someone, you need to simply navigate to his/her bookshelf and click the "follow" button on the image module. As always, please don't hesitate to provide suggestions and feedback!
Posted by Tim
on Sunday, May 18
We've received quite a few pieces of feedback from everyone, that, when taken together, made us realize we had to provide better management tools for your shelves. Common suggestions and feedback we have received are generally around the following:
- It's not easy to delete an item from your bookshelf you have mistakenly added twice or don't want anymore
- There is no way to clear a rating
- There is no way to edit a review
- It's impossible to sort by rating or by author
Of course there are more ideas we've received, but all in all, they usually asked directly and indirectly for better ways to manage your collections. We're pleased to have recently launched a new tab entitled "Manage" that helps solve many of these problems. You'll find a spreadsheet-like interface that allows you to edit and modify most of your information right from the "Manage" page. If you get the chance, see what books you've read but are yet to review, add ratings to those you haven't read, or delete a book you've inadvertently added twice.
