A site is (re)born!

On the 3d of August I sat at my desk to compose a blog post introducing a new Clipmarks web site that we were very excited about.  If someone would have told me then that 40 days later I'd be composing another post to introduce a brand new web site I would have responded by saying something like "no way, no how...you're crazy!"  Well, here I am, an hour or so before a brand new, entirely rewritten and redesigned Clipmarks web site goes live.

It was in September, 2005 that we first introduced Clipmarks.  When I look back on the year that's passed, a few key things come to mind.  One, is that we have really worked our asses off trying to create something special.  For that, I'm very proud.  Second, we have been supported by some of the greatest people in the world.  Our users have inspired us through their constant honesty, interest and passion for what Clipmarks is all about.  I have not had the chance to meet many of you, but I consider you my friends.  For that, I am forever grateful!  Third, I think it took us an entire year of ups and downs, starts and stops, excitement and disappointment, to clearly realize our vision and create a web site that accurately reflected it. For this, I'm a bit embarrassed, but mostly I'm excited and relieved.   

I also want to say that the creativity and hard work of others have helped keep the fire burning inside us.  We have great respect for the folks at del.icio.us, digg, reddit and others who have developed services aimed at putting the power of the web into the hands of the people who use it.  That is our vision and we hope to be a meaningful contributor to making it a reality. 

And so, a full year after we first introduced Clipmarks, and 40 days after introducing what I thought was a major upgrade, I am proud, excited and a little nervous to introduce a brand new, built-from-scratch, Clipmarks web site.  I hope you enjoy it!

Here's an overview of some of the changes involved with the new site:

1. The site is now substantially faster. 
2. The site now works in Opera, Safari and basically any other browser. 
3. Everything has been redesigned.
4. Better integration of AJAX and non-AJAX functionality.  The most apparent advantage is that every clipper page (ex: http://clipmarks.com/clipper/invictus/) and every tag page (ex: http://clipmarks.com/tag/politics/) now displays it's URL in the browser's address bar.
5. The clip-list in the middle column can now be scrolled up and down using your mouse’s scroll wheel.  So can the right side of the page where each clip and its respective comments are displayed. 
6. By default, all clip-lists are sorted by Latest Pops (except individual clipper pages, which default to being sorted by Newest clips).  You'll see the sorting options at the top of the list (including a link to create your own custom sorting option).
7. No more introductory style home page.  For now on, its straight to the good stuff. 
8. The left side of the site now displays 9 main tags, each providing a drop-down menu that displays 5  related tags.  You can change any of the 9 tags to whatever interests you. 
9. You can now see which clips for any tag or by any clipper have gotten the most pops by clicking the Most Pops sorting tab in a tag or clipper-specific page. 
10. reddit and diigo have been added to the list of services that clips can be posted to.