January 2008 Archives

For the second year running, media firm AlwaysOn is recognizing the top 100 emerging companies that are demonstrating 'game-changing' innovations in marketing, branding, advertising and public relations. Known as the OnMedia Top 100, this year hi5 is among the honorees within the "Community Platforms" category.  

To make the cut, hundreds of private companies were nominated and judged based on AlwaysOn’s five primary evaluation criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media attention. Among those who weighed in to determine the honor roll: KPMG, Bridge Bank, Merrill Corporation, Manatt, Phelps & Philips, and the AlwaysOn editors.

In a congratulatory message to hi5, AlwaysOn founder and CEO, Tony Perkins said, "The nominations were extremely competitive and...the level of excellence in the top 100 was remarkable. These companies are proving to have significant innovation, substantial customer adoption, large market potential, noticeable buzz, and are well on their way to creating tremendous value for their investors."

We appreciate the kudos Tony, and are pleased to be included in this distinctive group. 

With the new year comes many new hi5 features! Here’s an overview of our latest rollouts:

Online Now: Ever wonder which of your friends are on hi5 at the same time as you? Now you'll know with the new Online Now feature. Any friends simultaneously using the site will be listed on the left-hand side of your homepage.

Status: Let your friends know what you're up to and see what's going on with them with the new Status feature. Located right on your homepage, it’s a quick and easy input box for updating folks on your current status, mood or personal statement. What’s particularly cool: the old “Scrapbook Topics” has been merged in with the new Status feature, so your friends can let you know what they think about the Status you’ve posted.

Photo Ordering:

By popular demand, we’re also happy to announce there's a brand new page for managing photo albums. Set your album cover, or re-order and delete photos all through one simple drag and drop interface. Check out the updated new look on the photo pages too.

Bulk Inbox: You've spoken and we listened....so you'll be able to easily access all of your most important messages from your friends in your hi5 Inbox, without any clutter from non-friends (those messages will fall into the new Bulk Inbox).

Profile Updates: Fives now has its own module on the profile, above Comments on the right side of the page. We also moved Schools and Workplaces up into the top area.

Profile Invisible to Blocked Users: In our ongoing efforts to maintain your privacy, we're preventing any user you've blocked from seeing any of your profile pages. Goodbye unwanted glances – hello friends!

And that’s just the beginning of the exciting releases we have to come. We hope you enjoy them, and let us know what else you’d like to see on hi5 in our “How Can We Make hi5 Better” discussion forum.