January 13, 2003
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THE VISION THING
Wally asked a question recently:
I’ve been wanting to ask you this… how far, or how close, is Xanga from your original vision? Just curious.
Posted 1/10/2003 at 12:37 pm by shortpants
Hmm, intriguing question! It really got me thinking…
Our goal was (and is) to build a website that makes it easy to publish to the web. We’ve focused on making Xanga as usable as possible; the sort of site that my Mom could use without having to learn HTML.
I hope we’re getting closer to that vision. We’re taking advantage of our Dot Net rewrite to redesign our most confusing pages, which is a source of great relief to us. Looking at our old pages has been a great reminder of how much we’ve learned!
But the biggest vision of all was to create a company where we could work closely with friends, without having to deal with corporate BS. It really does make an enormous difference in your personal happiness, when you really like the people you spend most of your day with. Also, it’s fun to build things – after a few years as a consultant, I found product development to be a refreshing change of pace.
We’ve got a lot of stuff to build over the next year, and I’m really excited about it. The trick is to make Xanga better without changing the “soul” of the site. That’s a very intangible thing to wrestle with, so I’m glad we have a small team that understands that a website can have a soul too.
So to get back to Wally’s Question, slowly but surely we’re getting there!
Comments (24)
Yep
Hey, i like where we are, and where we seem to be going. Thanks for providing an obsessive outlet for my nocturnal insanity.
way ta go!!! xanga rules……….
-Nay
I’m envious of your work environment
it encourages people to learn html and do nice stuff too. its pretty nice. you should warn people by registering that this is addictive though.
that to me sounds like the true meaning of success….to have a job that you enjoy, and have coworkers who are actually nice to be around….it all sounds like a dream…………
and look at all the admiration you get from us little xangans…..it’s like you’ve spawned thousands of children…..most of us love you…and there’s always those that rebel….and of course there’s a few who you wish belonged to your neighbors….but it’s got to make you feel good knowing we’re here
From my short time being here, even I feel like the site has changed so much. And not that it was bad to begin with, but it definitely has been a change for the better. Umm, to sound cheesy and all, keep up the good work.
I find it very interesting to see the changes as they happen.. well the changes in the last 6 months that is. Always nice to see something good..grow.
) And I agree… there is definitely a soul here..
Go you!
Thanks for all your hard work to keep us Xangans happy.
Bless you (all 4 of you)!
I have to second Seanmeister’s comment. I’m glad to hear you had such a wide view for your vision. I knew the abuse struggles were taxing but I hoped it hadn’t taken the luster out of what you have created here. It is a wonderful service, as you have already been told.
Thanks for answering, John. And why are you blogging at 4:30? Get some rest.
I agree with wickedkitty – there should be an addiction disclaimer!
You guys have created a wonderful playground here. Thanks.
I happen to be one of the knuckleheads that you were designing down for. And I thank you.
This really dosn’t have anything to do with the weblog entry but….is there a way to take the xanga banner off the top of the page?? Why is there anyway??
So how many people are there on the xanga team?
And…umm…I know this doesn’t have anything to do with blog but…
Do you know how to block someone’s IP address? I need help! This guy is really scary!! I know I e-mailed the help people with this already, but they didn’t respond and I was very sad =(.
oh and the “Current Site Data” box on the profile page should be changed to ”Feedback Log”…just to be consistent.
propz.. prop me baq plz!!
JOHN, I CAN’T ADD MY BACKGROUND IMAGE…IT STILL USES THE COLOR!!
jacob neilsen would surely give a standing ovation for xanga!
what ever you imagined or hoped for xanga to be when you started is unimportant; only that what its become is such a curcial and integral part of so many peoples lives.
to me- it’s the ebay of websites that are good for the soul..and as long as you keep pouring your souls into it you’ll surely reap the benefits of knowing that xanga has more “real value” than many much more profitable sites on the net today.
Agreed – you guys have done and are doing a tremendous job with Xanga.
I don’t know anything about HTML, and I am able to have a website. You have my gratitude. That said, I still like the old calendar…
m{eye}k
Heh, okay, as someone who works in an on-line office environment, I gotta ask, have you really managed to avoid all the politics?
And keeping sight of your original vision is vitally important. Otherwise it becomes all about money.
LAst time I metioned my music wasnt working and then it started working again and now its not working
!!!! =( What wrong? And when I added a new Html code to my xanga some other codes got erased!!!! I mean the codes are on the look and feeel page but I cant see them on my xanga! Plz help? Thanx a lot!!!!! =)
xanga has come along way…there was a time when i considered it some gay online diary thing. now im an addict…the irony