The Meal Network

As you build up a network of friends on CaringMeals, you will find a lot of exciting information on the My Meals page. Besides the tabs for meals you are coordinating, watching and bringing, there is now a list of your friends' activities on CaringMeals.

If you are on someone's friend list, their activity will appear on your page.
Here are two quick tips for using this page:
1. If you see a friend's name, click on it. You will be able to add them to your friend list, which will save time when you need to coordinate meals. In no time, you will have a large list of friends, all without ever typing an email address.
2. You may see a plan for someone you know but were not invited to. You can click on the plan link and send a friend request to the coordinator. This has really exciting possibilities for connecting people and bring together communities.

Your Social Network

Social Networking in all its flavors (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.) is marvelous in the way that it allows people to keep informed on what all of their friends are doing.

Each time you add a Friend on CaringMeals, you are building your social network. So far, the CaringMeals Friend system has served primarily to build your address book and provide security.

On August 25th, you will see your CaringMeals Social Network in a whole new and exciting way! Stay tuned...

Changed your mind?

Didn't know what you were going to bring when you signed up to bring a meal? Changed your mind about what you are cooking? No problem.

Now, when you move your mouse over your comment, you will see a pencil/paper icon. Just click, and a small dialog box will appear with a place to edit your comment. In addition, Plan coordinators can edit all comments on their Plans. Enjoy!

What's Next?

Sorry its been awhile since the last update. Don't worry, there is a lot of exciting activity going on behind the scenes. Here are some coming attractions in August:
- Edit Meal Comments: Many people have asked for the ability to change or update the meal comment (what they are bringing). This should save a lot of time and confusion

- Import Contacts from a CSV file: If you have your contacts' email addresses in Yahoo/Google/Outlook, you will be able to quickly import those email addresses into CaringMeals, saving typing and time.

- A New Documentation site: CaringMeals is designed to be self-explanitory, but there are times when your have questions or need help with using the site. We are developing a detailed system that will include documentation, examples, and faqs to help you be successful with CaringMeals.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Vijay

My Friends are Your Friends

One of the most powerful features of CaringMeals is the ability to easily find friends.
Wherever you see a person's name, you can click on it and see their profile information (if you are not their friend, you will have to send a friend request). As you scroll down the page on your friend's profile you will see their list of friends. See someone you know? Just click "Send Friend Request" and they will be added to your friend list!

This can help when you share meal coordinating responsibilities with someone else. If your friend coordinates a Plan and invites 30 people, you can simply click on your friend's name (Under "Who Is Coordinating These Meals?") and send friend requests to the people you know.
This can save time entering email addresses, and help you find new friends who can help bring meals!

How Many Friends to Invite?

When creating a new Plan and inviting friends to bring meals, people often wonder - How many friends should I invite?

I recommend basing the number of invitations you send on the number of meals you have scheduled. A good guideline is:

Invitations Sent = 3 x Meals Scheduled

For example, if you have 10 meals, plan to invite about 30 people.

Why invite so many people? It is likely that a certain number of people you invite will not check their email (infrequent computer users). Others may be away for a few days or on vacation. Some may open and view your Plan, but be unable to bring a meal on any of the days. So by inviting many more people than meals, you are much more likely to find people to bring meals on all the days you scheduled.

It is great to see a schedule of meals with a friend's name next to each one!

Keep it Coming

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and comments since the update in late February! Keep it coming!

Here are some exciting features and changes that have been made since February:
- Show Email Address for friends. This will help identify friends, especially when there seems to be duplicates.
- Receiver Description and Instructions
- Email people when friend confirms. When someone confirms you as a friend, you will receive an email notification.
- Reduce errors when inviting people. Previously, when inviting friends, often there were numerous errors and warnings. Now, only critical errors will be shown.
- Plan Activity Stats. This is really cool.

This component gives you up-to-date feedback on how the plan is doing. It answers: How many meals are left to fill? How many people did I invite? Who actually opened the Plan? This feature will really help everyone track the progress of the Meals.

And there is more to come:
- Video Tutorials
- Tips of the Day
- Signup Confirmation Emails (To help remember your username/password)

As always, if you have any suggestions or feedback, please let me know.
Thanks!
Vijay