A few days ago we gave you a little peek at what's to come. What was to come was Multiply Guestbooks. You guys seemed to like it. (And now it's here!)

But that's only part of the story. Here's the rest.

We've also introduced a couple new ways to help get your friends onto Multiply. If you use Bebo, you can now import your contacts list from there, much as you can with the other services we already support. Also, users can now automatically add their Multiply badge to their Myspace profiles, even sharing their latest content with our semi-new Flash badge.

Speaking of these badges, you can now choose between the classic horizontal layout, or a new vertical layout for the Flash-based version, like the one over to the left. We're sure you'll agree that it just didn't seem right to orientationally constrain 'em.

Because we're all about the small details, we'd like to let you know that we've also made a tiny change to the way group invitations are handled. If you accept one and you don't have any more waiting for you, you'll be automatically taken to the homepage of the group you just joined. (Just looking to save you a click here and there.)

Finally, we've made a few minor changes to our Terms of Service. Be sure to have a look over the revised document, and if you have any questions about it, feel free to direct them to customer service.

Not too long ago at all (just a couple weeks!) we introduced our brand-new Promote Your Site feature, allowing you to create a Multiply Badge. This made it possible (and easy) to build a small "badge"-type image containing as much or as little contact information from your profile as you wish. And once embedded in another website, it would also serve as a link back to your Multiply site, inviting those who see it to come check out your Multiply page.

Well, you now have the option to bring a little bit more of your Multiply account wherever you go on the Web, all within your badge.

Now when you go to create a new badge, the first thing you should decide is whether you want a simple image badge or a brand-new extra-spiffy Flash-based super-badge.

Seriously. Choose whichever you like.

But if you were to choose the newfangled Flash-based version, you also have the option of embedding some of your more recent posts directly into the badge! Choose from your latest photos, videos or blog entries. Then sit back and watch as the preview badge cycles through the content. Once you've got the badge just as you like it, copy the HTML from below and paste it anywhere on the Web where Flash is allowed. Or if it isn't allowed, perhaps the static image version will have to do.

Either way, to make or update your own badge, click the Promote My Site link on your homepage.

Note for Myspace and Friendster badge users: We've updated the special link you use to get friends from these sites to join you on Multiply. New links you generate will actually use a special version of this badge, the only difference being that users who click that badge will be offered the option of becoming your Multiply contact. Technically, this works the same way it has since we introduced the feature last December, but your new links will look much nicer!

To grab the most up-to-date version of the badge, click Invite followed by the link for the appropriate service.

So you've been using Multiply for a while, have your homepage customized just the way you want it, and your pages are filled with all your content you've posted. (Or just imagine, for a moment, if this isn't the case.)

Let's say you also use websites that aren't Multiply, from time to time. How would you go about pointing someone from another website to your Multiply site?

Sure, this is something you can already accomplish with a simple HTML link, but wouldn't it be nice if there was another way that was not only easier, but also looked actually pretty nice?

Now you can easily create a Multiply Badge, just like the one above, to promote your site. Just go to your homepage and click "Promote My Site." You'll have a badge automatically created for you... including HTML code you can easily copy and paste onto another website!

And because this is Multiply, you have the ability to include as much or as little information about yourself as you'd like in the badge. Just choose a layout orientation, choose the information you'd like included and, if you'd like, add a tagline for your site! You'll see a preview of the badge appear at right as you make your changes, so you can see exactly what other people will see.

Note: Of course, it's not a good idea to include any information on the badge that you don't want to share with everyone, so customize your badge wisely!

Having already taken a sneak peek at what is certainly the best way to customize your Multiply homepage, we thought now would be the perfect time to announce some other improvements/new stuff that are coming soon actually already available now!

Behold:

Complete homepage edit mode. Yup, we mentioned this last Friday, and linked it again ten seconds ago. But it's so incredibly cool that we're going to link it again. Link.

New content imports. If you've posted video clips to MySpace or Metacafe, or added favorites on YouTube, you can now easily bring them over and share them on Multiply as well.

Post-posting options. Now after you post new content to Multiply, you'll be presented with a page with links to other things you may want to do with your post, like e-mail it to others who aren't yet on Multiply, check out detailed information on who will be able to view it, change your e-mail alert settings... and so on. Post something new and have a look!

Message board preview for invitees. When you invite someone to join Multiply, they'll see a preview of what their message board will look like after they join -- containing actual posts from actual people in their would-be network. This allows people to get a taste of what Multiply is really about before signing up!

So enjoy this batch of changes.
As always, we'd be delighted to hear what your think of them.

If you used to use MySpace or Friendster, don't worry -- we won't tell anyone. But if you still have friends on these services who haven't discovered Multiply yet, we've made it even easier to bring them over from the dark side! Just stick a Multiply badge on your old profile.

To do this, click the "Invite" link, which can be found at the top of any page on Multiply. Then choose either of these two services from the "Import Contacts" section of the page. Copy the text in the box and paste it into your profile on the other site. You can even customize the wording if you'd like after you've pasted it, but be sure to not change the web address... or the invitation won't work.

Note that you can generate a new Multiply badge whenever you'd like. Just click "Cancel current badge" and the old one will be invalidated -- and a new one will be automatically generated for you!

So now, getting your friends on Multiply is as easy as getting them to click a link. Which is pretty easy.

Do you have one of those contacts... the kind you invite to join Multiply and find that, oh, maybe they use the site a couple times before drifting off and losing interest? Or maybe they haven't even managed to register yet! But it's not your fault; you, as a Multiply enthusiast, understand what's so great about Multiply... but you're looking for that tipping point that gets your friends just as hooked as you are?

Yeah, it happens to all of us, even those of us who work here, believe it or not! But this anecdote from one of our users is pretty heartening; it describes one thing that seems to bring people together on Multiply: events!

Becky writes:

In June of 2005, Mike and I got married, and you and Jill attended the wedding. Everyone was taking pictures. You told my brothers that you would be posting your pictures on Multiply. I had not invited them to join yet. I'm not sure why. Probably because they rarely checked their email. Anyway, that was the turning point in my Multiply use. Once my brothers joined, we all started posting and replying to each other's posts... vacation pictures, stupid videos, pictures of Pokie the one-eyed dog. We started inviting our cousins to join. I think it was easier for them to become involved because my brothers and I were already active.

Two of the friends that joined in 2004 didn't become active until almost one year later. Elizabeth and Kristie and their husbands came to visit for a long weekend. I took lots of pictures and told them that I would post them on Multiply. Both of them were much more active after that event.

I think the best way to get people to start using Multiply is to have some kind of shared event... a wedding, a group trip, a family or class reunion, a big party, etc. I know that multiply has much more to offer than photo sharing, but I think that's probably the easiest way for people to become involved. Once they are members, they will be exposed to the other features. And, then they'll be hooked.... like me!

We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Anytime that people get together and photos are taken is a great chance to share them on Multiply -- even with people who aren't yet members, by choosing to have your album e-mailed to them. Once they enjoy yours, perhaps they'll even share their own!

Let's not limit this to photos, either -- plenty of digital cameras also shoot video, which can also be shared on Multiply. And if you feel like writing about your experience on the big day, you can always post it as a blog entry!

Are there any upcoming special events you're planning on sharing on Multiply?

Hi everyone! Here's a quick rundown of the latest new features we just rolled out...

The Multiply Screensaver
We've created a screensaver that runs through some of the latest photos posted in your network (see image to the right). Once a day the screensaver is updated with new photos so you get a fresh screensaver every day. You decide whether it runs through photos from your entire network, people very close to you, just your contacts, etc. Best of all it's free to use. Click here to learn more about it.

Faster searches
Our new search feature has been working great, but now it's even better. If you tried it before, please try again and you should get your results much faster than before. If you haven't tried a search on Multiply, please give it a shot. It's the best way to find trusted information because we only search through stuff posted by the people you're connected to. And it's a fun way to see what's out there in your network!

An easier way to see who's reading your stuff
We've expanded the Message Summary box on the Welcome page to include your most recent posts, so you can get a quick glimpse of how often they've been read and/or replied to. In fact that box will include any post - no matter how old - if it has a reply you haven't read yet.

Home page updates
Just look in the area underneath the headshot on anyone's home page and now you'll see how many contacts that person has, and whether they've posted more profile pics of themselves. Of course, the number of contacts will only appear if that person allows it. We're also back to displaying the person's city or town, due to popular request.

Better - and prettier - invites
We're experimenting with a much nicer-looking, and more informative, e-mail invitation to help you convince your friends to use Multiply. Since these e-mails contain html graphics, which many e-mail readers often mis-interpret as spam, you may want to recommend that your invitees check their "spam" or "bulk" folders just in case your invitation ends up there.

Easy step-by-step 'getting started guide' on Welcome page
We've added a quick step-by-step guide to helping new users get started with Multiply. It's at the top of the Welcome page, and you can hide it if you don't need it.

Invited users now show up in viewing history
Now when you share one of your posts by e-mail, we're tracking when the post is read by the people you've shared it with. Their e-mail addresses will show up in the list of people in the viewing history.

Message page improvements
We did a few minor things that should make things a lot easier. For one, we added a "users" button right next to the "groups" button, so you can quickly see messages from just one particular user. It's also easier to switch back to your original slider setting after filtering by a user or group.