web 8.6

Preview the new Current.com homepage

It's been just over 3 months since we dropped Baby Current.com off at Pre-K and today we gave her two exciting booster shots.

The first is a preview of a new homepage design @ http://current.com/homepage.htm (with the option to keep the old one) and the second is a "Video Screening Room" that lets you watch videos right on the profiles pages of video producers.

-- Screening Rooms --
To see the Screening Room in action, take a look at the profile of any member with original uploaded (or webcam'd) video. Try out our own Laura Ling @ http://current.com/people/lauraling or VC2 Producer Joslyn Rose Lyons @ http://current.com/people/Jog9

At the top of the page you'll now see a video player and playlist of that person's most recent video uploads. We think this feature will help you quickly discover more stuff from Current and VC2 producers you like, while giving producers a more robust profile page to better showcase their contributions.

-- Homepage --
To sneak a peak at the new homepage, click the link in the upper-right corner of the homepage or go to http://current.com/homepage.htm

Overall, our goal was to give you quicker access to all the exciting pieces of the Current.com universe.

Here are a few of the additions that we hope you will enjoy:

Top Stories
While Current Picks continues to deliver an endless stream (or, <ahem> "current") of compelling content, we wanted to have a place to highlight the most important stories of the day without fighting the flow of the Interweb's relentless pulse.

We're packing 6 top stories at the top of the page in a nifty rotation, all timed and indicated by our new breakthrough in background Progress-bar Technology.

Topic List
On the left side of the page, you'll find quick access to the biggest and baddest of the over 30,000 (!) topics in the Current.com Topicsphere. Click that green arrow when you rollover a topic slot to see even more related badness to the badness you were just about to get into.

Current TV
On the right side of the page, you'll find easy inline access to our TV schedule and a dropdown filled with our featured pod families -- alas, you'll have to search no further for your favorites like SuperNews, Infomania, Daily Fix, Joe Gets and more.

TV Contenders
Right under our Make TV assignments, we're adding a window into the videos being uploaded by our VC2 producers. Vote for your favorites and help us decide what should be picked for TV!

With all these glorious additions, you might be asking yourself why we're hiding it in preview mode. Why not let this new page shine its light on the world, you ask? Well, there are so many changes packed in there that we wanted to gather your feedback while we tested out all the new functionality. So, please let us know what you think -- either right here on this thread, via the form on the bottom of the new homepage preview or to comments@current.com.

Happy browsing -- and let us know your thoughts! It's been just over 3 months since we dropped Baby Current.com off at Pre-K and today we gave her two exciting booster shots. ... more

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