Profile Page

The New Profile Page



Pictured above is an example of the all-new Profile Page. It will replace your Dashboard as the first page you'll come to after logging into myfamily.com.

In v2.5, you will have one profile for all of the Groups (a.k.a. Sites) you belong to instead of an individual profile for each Group, which is currently how profiles work in 2.0.

Why We Made This Change:

    To Give You More Functionality -
In 2.0, you could only change your site Nickname, site Profile Picture and select which personal information to display on each site. Switching over to a global profile allows us to expand on profile features and add functionality that many people have requested. (i.e. "Give me a place to display a website," "I want somewhere to write more about myself," etc.).
   
    To Make Profiles Easier To Manage -
Individual site profiles were also quite confusing for many users. People had difficulty finding their profiles, determining where and how to edit them, and understanding how their changes would be reflected on their sites. A single profile removes the confusion that existed when dealing with multiple site profiles in 2.0.
   
    To Help Us Implement Future Functionality -
Currently, administrators of 2.0 sites can only edit the Nicknames and Profile Pictures of members. In order to expand on administrative rights, as well as build other profile functionalities, we needed to transition to a single profile.

Now, let's walk through the Profile Page in detail...


Global Navigation Bar



While not exclusive to the Profile Page, I wanted to address a few things about the new global navigation, which exists on all pages:

    The 'Profile' link will always take you directly to your Profile Page, no matter where you are on myfamily.com.
   
    The 'Family Groups' link is similar to the site drop-down list on 2.0.
   
    This navigation bar will remain visible as you scroll up and down pages. In 2.0, it stays pinned to the top of the page.


Status Updates



You can now use Status Updates to quickly and easily let everyone know what you're up to. Your status will appear on your Profile Page and also in the Recently Online list on the homepage of your Family Groups (as pictured below). Don't worry, we'll reveal more about the new homepage in a future update.



You can write whatever you'd like in this space, but all status updates are limited to 140 characters and do not support HTML.


Profile Picture



When you choose a Profile Picture, it not only displays on your Profile Page but it also serves as your Profile Picture for every Family Group you belong to. In the current version of 2.0, you have to manually set up a Profile Picture for each Group you belong to. In the new version, you'll only need to set up one Profile Picture.


Profile Details



The Profile Details consists of two parts:

    About Me -
This box can be used to tell people a little bit about yourself, or whatever else you want to use it for (allows for some HTML).
   
    Information -
This is where you can list more specific information, like your Email Addresses, Physical Addresses, Birthday, Phone Numbers and Websites. You'll be able to control who can see this information (more on that in our next post).


Family Groups



Similar to what you'll find on your Dashboard, your Profile Page gives you access to all of the Family Groups you belong to. Instead of an alphabetical listing, they are listed in order of when you last visited them (so Groups you visit more frequently appear towards the top). As before, it will tell you the member count for the Group and the last time you visited it.


Profile Notes



Family members and friends can leave notes directly on your Profile Page. This allows for more 1-to-1 communication between users outside of the Group environment. You can choose to receive email notifications when someone writes you a Note, and Notes support HTML, so you can embed photos, videos, etc.