If you've used Multiply, and we've reason to believe you probably have, you're familiar with the message board, the place you go for the latest posts by those in your network and groups. Yes, it's quite nice, isn't it?

With some of the more recent improvements we've made to the message board (like compact view and customization of sideboxes), we thought it was about time we bring up a feature we haven't looked at since its release last year: Message Board RSS!

If you're not familiar with this feature, yes... it's exactly what it sounds like: it's possible to receive updates from your Multiply Message Board via RSS. (What is RSS?)  Given the awesomeness that is the message board, why would you want to do this?

This makes it possible to set your message board view on Multiply exactly the way you like it for regular use throughout the day, while continuing to receive updates from groups and users outside of that view -- updates that may come less frequently, or may be less urgent.

For example:

• Want to be alerted to new posts by your contacts? You can do it.
• New photos from everyone in your network? Of course.
• New posts to a few groups you're in? No problem.

To get started creating custom feeds, click the orange "RSS Info" link, which you'll find at the top of your message board. The page will give you the URL of your default message board feed, which always mirrors your current message board view settings (e.g. if your message board is set to only show posts from Contacts, this feed will also only show posts from Contacts).

To make a custom feed, click "edit the feed." Then, simply follow the instructions provided to build a feed containing exactly what you'd like.

We understand that this can all be a bit daunting for some people... and that's okay! There are plenty of helpful people in both the User Support group, as well as Customer Service.

Are you familiar with RSS (Really Simple Syndication)? If not, see here and here for basic introductions to this great technology... what you're about to read is the perfect reason to find out more!

You can now subscribe to your message board to get the latest updates -- as much or as little content as you want to see from folks in your network, other members of your favorite groups, and so on -- all with RSS.

You can find this feature at http://multiply.com/mail/feed-key. It's currently still in beta, which means that we're still in the process of documenting it and testing it out. (Think of it as a preview. It'll probably work for you, but don't be shocked if it's not perfect just yet. If you think you've found a bug, please let us know!)

One great thing about this feature is that you can create and subscribe to as many custom feeds as you want. Here are a few examples:

• Photos posted in all of the photography groups you're in.
  
• Music posted by all of your bandmates, or contacts who create and post their own music.
  
• Everything posted by certain groups of contacts, like roommates, classmates, or friends from Poland.
  

As you can see, the potential is limited only by your imagination.

We've created this feature with security in mind; we're aware that some RSS-reading applications allow people to share the feeds they read with others. Not to worry; the contents of more private posts won't actually show up in the feed itself, but will instead be represented by 'placeholders,' which contain a link to the actual content on Multiply. This means they're still only visible to their intended audience.

While we still think our revolutionary message board is something special, we're always interested in giving you more options for experiencing and enjoying content from others close to you, on Multiply. This is simply one more way to do that -- a feed of your social network.