One thing that became apparent while looking over the results of our recent photo survey is that a clear majority of respondents were interested in more options for getting their photos onto Multiply.

We're looking into the feasibility of upload plugins for specific applications, but in the meantime, we wanted to remind you of an option available right now that you may find useful: Posting Via E-mail!

A brief aside: as you probably already know, it's been possible to post content to Multiply via e-mail since 2006. To do so, simply select a secret PIN and choose a default access level on the settings page. Then, you can post content, like photos, by attaching it to an e-mail sent to secretpinhere@your-user-ID.multiply.com.

See the FAQ for all the details on Posting via E-mail.

But consider this: you can use Posting via E-mail to send content directly to Multiply... in ways you may not have realized!

Let's say you're on a Windows computer (as shown in the screenshot); you can easily select a bunch of images, right click them... and post them directly to Multiply using your default e-mail client. (If you don't use Windows, your operating system may make this just as easy to do. Why not try it out?) Also, if your mobile phone can send e-mail, you'll be able to post via e-mail from wherever you happen to be.

Are there any other applications you use that have built-in e-mail support? Have you tried posting to Multiply from within them?

Late last week, we gave you an in-depth look at our latest improvements to Post via E-mail–the ability to post to groups! But this wasn't the only enhancement we recently made to this already-useful feature.

Astute readers of this blog will remember that we also recently introduced the ability to set a default "Access" level for posts made via e-mail. This means that if you're not the type that enjoys sharing with everyone, you can still share from anywhere you are, whether you've access to a computer, phone... or any other mobile device that can send e-mail.

To set this up, simply click the Posting via E-mail link, which of course, can be found on the handy settings page. There, you'll be able to select a new default Access level for all future content you post via e-mail. Choose from familiar settings like "Everyone," "My Network" and "Contacts" ... as well as a new one, "Keep as Draft." This one will hold your posts in "Draft" status, for later publishing from a Web browser. This is useful for people who want to choose a more advanced privacy level, such as just their family, their friends and professional contacts (but not their family) and only certain select individuals.

But no matter which default level you pick, you can always choose to make a single post a Draft. Simply enter the text "DRAFT" (in all caps, without quotes) somewhere in the subject line. Your post will wait for you, until you're ready to share it.

Being that our recent announcement contained news of our new Facebox feature, we realize that some of the bits of special goodness contained within may not have received the recognition they deserve, possibly being a bit overshadowed by the one "big" feature.

One such bit of goodness was new enhancements to the Post via E-mail feature. Since we introduced this feature, users have been asking for a way to make e-mail posts to their groups. And now, you guessed it, they can.

This is an example group Post via E-mail pin.

If you're the administrator of a Multiply group, you can now let your members post content to the group from their e-mail clients... whether blog entries from their webmail accounts, photos from their phone, or even... videos, also from their phone!

Setup is simple–just visit the profile page of any group you administer, and click the Edit Group Profile link. Enter a Secret Pin into the appropriate field and click OK.

If you're the member of a group, visit the group's profile page to find your group's "Post via E-mail" address. Users must e-mail their posts from the address they have registered to their personal Multiply accounts, and naturally, only group members will be able to post–even if someone else figures out the pin.

If your group doesn't have a Post via E-mail address set up yet, ask your admin to set one up today. And if your group lacks an active administrator, why not let customer service know?

The brief but surely unbearable wait is over—we're quite pleased to announce that it's now possible to add, as we previewed a couple days ago, Faceboxes to identify people in your (and others') photos!

But that's only part of the story... here's what's new today on Multiply:


Faceboxes are here!
Have you ever come across a group photo on Multiply and recognized some people you know... but wondered who at least a few of the others are? Well, wonder no more.

The best way to get started with Faceboxes is just to try adding a new one. It's easy—simply find an appropriate photo containing either yourself or someone you know... and click their face! Up will pop the "Who is This?" tool pictured to the right.


If the user you're Faceboxing is already a contact of yours, start typing their name or choose it from the contact list below. If they're not, feel free to add their name or, if you'd like to invite them to Multiply, their e-mail address! (Don't worry; their e-mail address won't be shared with anyone else.)

Naturally, you're able to choose who can add Faceboxes to the photos you've posted (see Posting Options under settings), and can remove boxes if someone has incorrectly identified you. As you can see to the left, you'll be notified of new faceboxes just like you are for new posts and comments.

Note: now that clicking a photo serves to allow you to add a new Facebox, you can view the full-resolution original version by clicking the linked resolution text next to the image title, e.g. Happy People (1000x750).


Post via Email enhancement #1
(New: post to groups!)
You asked for our Post via E-mail feature for posting to groups... and now you've got it! Group administrators can enable this feature, and set a secret pin for posting their groups, by editing the group's profile. Members of the group can then view the group's profile to find the secret pin.

(Note that, for security purposes, group members can only post to a group using the e-mail address they currently have registered to their Multiply account. One can double-check or change that e-mail address on their My Account settings page.)


Post via E-mail enhancement #2
(New: security options!)
You can now set a default access level for future posts you make via e-mail on your Post via E-mail settings page. Additionally, if you've never used the feature before, you can also set a secret pin (which acts like a password, though you shouldn't use your Multiply account's password as the pin!) to get started with the feature.


Moderated group posting
If you're the administrator of a large public group, you may already be familiar with the hassle of keeping, say, clearly unwanted posts from becoming an annoyance for both you and your group's members. So now, we at Multiply will be doing more to make sure these are our problem—not yours. For new group members or recent Multiply accounts, this may mean a slight delay before your post appears in the group, but this should be minimal. So while we'll be catching obviously unwanted posts, group admins should still be on top of things, removing and reporting any unwanted activity.


We hope you cotton to these improvements—feel free to shoot back with your say below.

If you had a look at our blog in the last day or so, you saw a preview of a few of these features (Things to come (very soon)). If you're a member of the MUDS group, you had an in-depth look at -- and even a link to try -- one of the new features ahead of time (So you want to post via email...).

But here's the good news -- if you don't fall into either of those categories, we're not holding it against you -- you can now play with all the fun new stuff! It includes:

Easy color customization -- Perhaps the hardcore web designers among you are adept at mixing RGB values for colors, but for the rest of us (those who never even liked fingerpainting in pre-school) the color select panels for the default site theme now resemble the kind you'll find in your favorite graphics program.

As always, you'll find this on the custom colors page for the default site theme. While you're there, be sure to check out...


Easily add a background image -- Oh yes. This was one of the features mentioned yesterday, and is every bit as easy to use as we mentioned then. Pick an image. Click Save. It's your site's background; you're done.

And it's every bit as easy to add...


Background music on your homepage -- Greet your visitors with tunes from one of your public playlists. This only applies to your homepage, where a small Flash applet will appear at the bottom of your 'welcome' box. The applet allows visitors to cycle through the songs in the playlist, even pausing or muting them (because, you know, not everyone wants to hear your music).


High-rez images in blog entries -- If you "attach images" to your blog entries using the eponymous toolbar tool, the images inserted into your entry will now be clickable, automatically linked to their original, full-size versions.


Profile mini-preview -- We also went into more detail about this feature in the previous entry. While reading comments on any post, just mouse-over another user's headshot for a quick rundown on who they are and how you're connected to them.


And the big one -- Yes, you can now post content to Multiply via e-mail. This currently includes photos, videos, music, and even blog entries, and can be posted from any device that can send e-mail.

Note that different mobile phone service providers have different standards for attaching and sending content via e-mail/mms. We'd like to support as many as we can; if yours doesn't work, please send a message to customer service and we'll see what we can do about getting your mobile provider to play nice with Multiply.

Well, there you have it: the new stuff.

Be sure to let us know what you think of the new features. And if you'd use the word "love" to describe your feelings, an I Love Multiply! video wouldn't be a bad idea.