Fropper

No One’s a Stranger

Over the last couple of months, you might have noticed references to the word ‘Stranger’ on various Fropper.com pages. Specifically, we have used the word as follows…

Strangers read your ritings, become frends!

And before you know it, this love for Bhel puri will create a special bond between you and a lot of likeminded people. And there will be fewer strangers in this world.

Can you tell where these references to ‘Strangers’ appear? Are there other pages where we have used the word? Post a comment and let us know.

Anyway, what’s the big deal? Why a Blog post about this?

Well, we want you to know that this reference to ‘Strangers’ is a part of our vision and also of our new tagline – No one’s a Stranger.

To reflect this, lot of changes are taking place. For now, we have re-designed our logo & our home page. Let us know what you think and also watch out for a lot more along these lines soon!

Cheers!
Fropper Team

Your Dashboard - Overhauled!

Hey, you are in for a big surprise! We have just overhauled your Dashboard on Fropper. So don't be taken aback when things don't seem familiar. Here are few things we have changed:

1. Added a new Zone Statistics section. At a glance, you will know the count of Friends, Favorites, Scraps, Recent Visitors & Members who gave you Hits. To view the list, click on the respective links. Check out the image below to get a perspective.

   

2.The navigation has changed as well in many ways...

a. We have done away with the My Dashboard tab. To get to the dashboard, click on the My Zone tab.
b. The Manage Profile link has now been renamed to Edit Zone Details. So, to update your zone, click on this link.

3.Earlier, to view you zone (the actual one with color and your pic), you used to click on My Zone but now, you will need to click on the Zone URL.

4.We have also introduced the following sections on your Dashboard to keep you connected with the latest on Fropper.

a. New ezBlog Posts
b. Most Popular Groups
c. Explore Exciting Photos
d. Upcoming Friend's Birthdays
e. Meet Cool People.

Phew! So many changes at one go. Well, honestly there are a few more like new themes for your ezBlog etc., but I guess you will easily figure the rest out yourself.

Excited? Login to your Fropper account right away and check out the ultra cool Dashboard. I am sure you'll love it.

Cheers!
Fropper Team (Rahul V)

Mr. Sheikspeare launches Fropper ezBlogs!

What has Shakespeare got to do with blogs? Well, if he were to blog, common mortals like you and I wouldn’t know what blogs are and, even if we did, we would have a tough time deciphering his text.

Fortunately, Shakespeare did not blog & early internet adopters/journalists got to carry the baton. Blogging became a rage and got referred to as ‘common man journalism’. However, the ‘common man’ here were internet geeks, journalists or people who had an excellent command over the pen or for that matter, the keyboard.

People like you and I (the real common man) still didn’t blog. Reason: Blogging isn’t easy. Technology has made web page creation easy but blogging (where you think a lot & write a lot) is not everyone’s cup of tea. So, how do people like you and me blog? Enter Sheikspeare & ezBlogs!

ezBlogs
A unique spin on blogging that tempts you to write via clearly thought out templates (forms). To understand templates, consider the difference between someone asking you to ‘describe yourself’ and someone asking you a series of questions like ‘What kind of food you like?’, ‘Did you like Spiderman?’, and then forming an opinion about you. The questions are a lot easier to answer. Aren’t they? Same applies to the templates. They ask questions & invite you to write.

To post to your blog, you can use one of the many pre-existing templates. For example, you could choose to review a movie and the ‘movie review’ template will ask you to enter the movie name, the actors, the genre, your review & finally a rating. There are many other templates like book reviews, restaurant/bars reviews, news articles, recipes etc., which add to the fun.

We have already created our Fropper team blog. If you haven’t, do it now. It’s a whole lot of fun!

Happy ezBlogging!
Navin

P.S: By the way, did you notice that our Sheikspeare is a derivation of Shakespeare? More like a ‘common man’ version of the original.
Check him out.

A little fix...

Sometimes one doesn't realize the pain he is causing until he experiences it first hand. I find that we have been guilty of this with the toolbars we have provided on the editors. So, as usual, and without any ado, we have gone ahead and added some buttons to the toolbar to ease your pain.

   

The arrow points to the remove formatting toolbar. When this is used, the formatting at the current position or selection is removed. Now, that red font color you thought was so lovely, will not get extended to everything you type. This button has been added on all toolbars.

In the compose messages we've added 2 buttons, link and unlink. These help u create those nifty underlined blue links that the internet is so famous for, so no longer do u have to copy long URLs directly into your messages.

Happy linking & formatting.
Viren (Fropper Team)

Bhel-puri Groups Launched!

When I first came across groups on the internet (quite a while ago), I was fascinated by the power of a virtual community & the meaningful discussions one could engage in. From discussing “The mating habits of Antelopes” to “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. Whatever one sought, one found.

But amidst this richness, there was a lot of garbage. I was disappointed with the amount of spam and unrelated content I had to sift through just to find those little nuggets of wisdom. So, when we decided to build groups (based on the requests YOU have made), we discussed the issue of spam for a long time. Many in our team felt that we should not monitor or moderate groups but many felt, including me, that well moderated groups would indeed be valuable if members were free to discuss whatever they liked. In other words, we could moderate to control spam & abuse but apart from that, we could place no restrictions. The result: Authenticated Groups – where real people have real interactions sans spam & adult content; where a dedicated team ensures the authenticity by manually screening all groups, posts & topics.

We believe that moderation, if done to eliminate spam & other adult content including porn, but still preserves the right of an individual to discuss whatever he/she likes, is a great solution. We also feel that YOU as a member can help keep groups exciting & clean by reporting any nonsense you see. So, in the interest of keeping this short and extending an invitation to YOU, let me end by saying “Welcome to Bhel-puri Groups!”

Cheers!
Navin M
My Zone: NavinM2000
My groups: Beer Lovers, FropperTeam

Soon it will be Christmas day!

"Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day"

Yes, very soon it will be Christmas day. The very words of this Jim Reeves classic ushers you right into the festive spirit. Surely, most of you have already planned your Christmas celebrations. Why not? It's the perfect time to be jolly and indulge in the very best that the season has to offer.

The Fropper office is all decked up - complete with wreaths, tinsel balls and a lovely Christmas tree. Although 'Groups and Blogs' has kept the Fropper Team pre-occupied, no one's gonna miss out on the revelry for sure - beginning with me ;)

Well, I have been dreaming of 'White Christmas' for quite some time now. So this year, I along with my friends will be chilling (literally) in 'Coorg' - a hill station not far from Mysore. Sadly, I won't have my family with me this time. But then will make up for that during the New Year celebrations.

It would be great if you could share with us how you plan to celebrate Christmas - feel free to post a comment to this post. And don't forget to upload those lovely photos you click this Christmas on Fropper.com Zones. You can even share it with all your family & friends using the 'Quick share' feature.

 

Even as I head for my vacations, lemme sign out by wishing you all the choicest blessing from 'Baby Jesus'. May you always be merry!

Cheers!
Rahul Vaz - Fropper Team

Why this silence?

If you are wondering that the Fropper Team has suddenly gone into sleep mode, well you can't be further from the truth. Of late, we all have been extremely busy developing Groups & Blogs - our next mega features. 

Building groups has been an herculean task on all fronts - designing, programming, testing... And after all that hard work, we have got really close to the finishing line. Even as I am reviewing our progress, I am dying to give you a taste of this pie. But then, there are those little nitty-gritties that need to be fixed.

From our end, we have really shifted into overdrive. So after a great holiday season, you are surely in for a big surprise. There's not much I can disclose at this moment, but surely will get back with some 'inside stuff' before we go live with these features.

So keep reading our blog and stay connected!

Cheers!
Rahul Vaz - Fropper Team

Yet another feather in our cap!

People Interactive (I) Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of Fropper.com - has once again been prestigiously announced winner at the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India 2006 awards.

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India program recognizes the fastest 50 growing technology companies in India. We've bagged this award for the 2nd consecutive year - now isn't that some achievement?

The award comes as a shot in the arm for our continual efforts to give you the very best. To read the entire article, click here.

Cheers!
Fropper Team

Hey, I don’t see any new developments!

Are you a regular visitor to Fropper.com and are you asking yourself the question: why don’t I see anything happening on Fropper.com?

Well, we would love to make all the changes you guys have requested over the past couple of months but we have been completely tied up. The new features - blogs & groups (both with a little twist) take up all our time. If you want things sooner, perhaps you should join our team. We are looking for programmers who have experience in PHP. Just come to our zone and leave a scrap.

We promise that in a couple of weeks, you will see some changes and then in December, some more. Until then, continue fropping with what is there

Cheers!
Fropper Team

Who says size doesn't matter!!!

Today I was over at likes and dislikes, editing my profile, and found the boxes way too small. I mean, the whole idea of giving those input boxes was to allow people to write about themselves. Its a crime to make them that small.

Now heres the crux...I've gone and made them larger without asking anyone. So do me a favour, Before my boss finds out... post some comments supporting my "rash" decision.

Please, Please, Pleeeeaaassseee

Viren
Fropper Team (Team Leader)