Welcome everyone!

So, it has been a busy day here at Fyreball! We're so excited to have all these new users, but they arrive with so many questions and so much energy! We love it! Bring it on!

You're not just testing out the nuts and bolts (Question: Can the servers handle a B.net user zerg? Answer: Yes. *phew!* Thanks to our freakin' brilliant space brains that designed this bad boy to go-go-go!). You magnificent horde are also helping us figure out little things that haven't occured to us until we're blessed with hundreds of people in a given Fyreball. For example: pagination on comments would be radical when they get to be this huge (in the meantime, the home and end keys do help).

We're still in beta. We're planning, building, and working on different features and improvements for you beautiful bunch including (but not limited to):

• Ability to edit fyreballs after publishing
• More abilities to search for friends
• Facebook application
• RSS feed implementation (any specific suggestions on what particular RSS feeds/features you would like to see will aide our top space brains working on this, too!)

Tons of you have already begun offering complements and suggestions - thank you! It took me most of the morning to get through all of the amazing feedback! However, there is one question that everyone has been asking this whole time that I want to get out of the way right now.

Can I has Recon?

The answer to this question is no. We're following the same rules set down by Bungie that you can read all about here. That means - last warning please stop asking/spamming requests for recon armor.

That said, our dear friends at Bungie were ever so generous and gave us one (1) set of the armor to give out to a new beta user that we find to be helpful, awesome, and radical. Lucky for us -- that is the grand majority of you! Of the literally thousands of new users we gained yesterday (crossing fingers) so far today I've only had to ban one user. That's really sticking it to the cynics around here that thought it'd be a ton worse (I might have been one of those and I'm so happy to have been totally wrong) Thank you!

What do you need to do to be good and stay in that pool of potential Recon armor recipients? Use common sense, be sincere, and have fun. If you have questions, suggestions, ideas, those help us, too! Share them with us! If you see someone being a jackass or if someone is bothering you - let us know. It is only with your help that we're making something really, really awesome.

What would you, our dearly beloved Fyreballers, like to see? We appreciate hearing about what you like about Fyreball (we do love complements), but we also want to know what you'd like to do, but can't. We need to know what you think could be better or improved. We need to know what is standing between us and totally freakin' awesometown. For example - some people have mentioned more profile features. What sort of things would you like to be able to show in a profile? Would you rather be able to link to your MySpace or Facebook profile?

Speaking of Facebook! If you are on Facebook and are digging Fyreball -- you should sign up to become a fan! Also, if there is a public fyreball you want to share on Facebook - you can just hit that little Facebook button under the Public: share it! box.


In that same box we support posting Fyreballs to these sites: Reedit, digg, propeller, stumbleupon, delicious, google, technorati, yahoo myweb, magnolia, and furl. See, because we're not really trying to be another social networking/content respository. Clearly, there are enough of those. What we're trying to provide you guys with is a better way of sharing interesting things you find all over the internet with your friends. Fyreball is easier than spamming it out in emails or over multiple IMs, right?

Fyreball is much easier to use to do that if you install our handy little bookmarklet. WTF is a Bookmarklet? Well, it is the word that space geniuses came up with for a little button to put into your web browser that will let you fyre stuff in the page that you're browsing. Essentially, a button that makes it so you don't neccessarily have to log into Fyreball everytime you want to share stuff. Sound cool? IT IS. Here's how you can put it into your web browser right NOW!

1. Make sure your browser's bookmark toolbar is on (View > Toolbars > Bookmarks Toolbar).
2. Select and drag this link: FYRE THIS! directly up into your Bookmarks Toolbar.
3. Select and drag this link: View Fyreballs! directly up into your Bookmarks Toolbar.
4. Still confused? Watch this video.
5. Still confused? Email us with your question.
   

I've seen a lot of really cool Fyreballs today! I've been invited to a few groups and lots of people have gained my friendship. All of Team Fyreball is so super excited to have you here with us. Thank you!

xxoo
~kathleen

We're stronger than ever?

Has anyone ever told you that whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger? It is the sad cliche people trot out when they fear to tread too close to your misfortune. They serve it up as a heartfelt counter agent against your bad luck. So, what happens when it DOES kill you? What happens when it kills you 50 times to your own measly 15 in the first of three rounds?

Well, you rally. Lucky for me the first game was the worst game of Halo I've ever played in my life. That means there was nowhere to go but up. That's the sort of broken logic that props up the stale comfort offered by the previous platitude.

So, we rallied - you can read about it from the over-powered goon's perspective at bungie.net. Whatever, they're just a buncha bullies. They only want to play their game. When challenged to something we might have have a chance at, such as trivia or Pictionary, they bail out.

However, it was all in good fun and perhaps out of pity for us, the mighty Bungie have even offered to bestow upon one B.net user who signs up for our little beta AND is a good, helpful, and productive member of the community -- RECON ARMOR. Yes, thing of flame and legend can maybe be yours if you play nice. If you don't - if you make a mess of things we have Banhammers and we will use them with great fury.

So, get out there make some Fyreballs! Fyreball is all about rich content - videos, pictures, flash games, whatever -- we actually end up being sorta shocked at what you can embed in a Fyreball. It doesn't stop there, either. Unlike email - if you want to include rich content in your response - you can.

Want other people to see the fyreball? You can send it to anyone with an email address. You can also feel free to invite them to join us. You're all very special to us. We're still in beta, but we love friends and friends of friends.

If you're looking for an easier way to make Fyreballs - be sure to check out our tools. We've got this dojobby called a 'Bookmarklet'.

Basically, we show you how to put a button on your web browser's toolbar. Then if you're on a page where there is something rad you'd like to Fyre you just click that 'FYRE THIS' button and WHAM! Fyreball happening right there. You can even highlight particular text and items and it will automagically resolve in your Fyreball. Want to see more about it? Check this out.

Remember - we're still in beta. Some of our stuff is still just a baby and needs our help. If you find that you can't do something that you'd like to do - let us know! If you've got an idea, thought, question, comment, or concern - please! Email us! Support@fyreball.com


xxoo
~kath

Tonight we dine... IN HELL!

Despite my being deeply weary of too many 300 references in pop culture since last year, I can't help but think of it now -- in the moments before Team Fyreball's most certain doom.

Tonight is the Humpday Challenge. Team Fyreball vs. Team Bungie. Some people may not understand the long and storied history of these two teams, so I'll share what I know.

See, Fyreball was the brain child of Pete - who used to be a studio manager with Bungie (they made that Halo gametape). When he started Fyreball, he was joined by other former-Bungie employees Michel, Michael, and Jeremiah. There was a time when all of these guys played a TON of Halo. They played that game a great deal and had skills to show for it.

That time was long ago.


Despite my many pleas to come practice - to train -- to hone their once impressive skills - we've all been working too hard to make Fyreball cooler. No one has practiced, no one is any good, and now we get to play against a newly-tuned Bungie. Luke Smith heads up the team now and he's sorta like the Cobra Kai sensei with the no defeats or merci and the yelling and the carrying on (but with more facial hair).

I feel a bit like those brave Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Only in this version no one really did any working out beforehand - so we're all a bit smaller, flabbier, and slower. We also don't have any rad special effects or anything - so we're pretty pale, too. But just like them - we're ready to fight through each second before our inevitable destruction fueled by the hope that desperate prayer and constant grenade tossing might take a few of them with us.

May the Gods have mercy on our souls.

Of course, tomorrow we'll be sharing all the adventures with all of you lovely folks. We'll have a few fyreballs out there to show off what happens.

xxoo
~kathleen

GDC 2008!

Greetings, friends!

My brain feels thick and full from all the learning I'm doing here at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco! I miss everyone so very much! I do apologize for my relative absence these past few days. I've been very, very busy talking with all sorts of amazing folks about Fyreball.
This is the fourth GDC I've been to and I find it gets better every year. Over the past four years the thing that has made it the most exciting is the emergence of a really incredible indie game presence. That's where you get to see the most innovative and imaginative stuff. With casual games growing in popularity there are even more opportunities for them now. It is really exciting now flat the world gets when anyone with an idea and a laptop might be able to create something that really moves people.
The downside is that the internet here at the convention center is a bit bunk. I'm having trouble doing, well, anything. I never ceases to amaze me how useless I feel without access to the internet.
I'll be sure to check out my GDC 2008 Fyreball - be sure to check it out. According to the progress bar all the pics might be up by GDC 2009. If you're at the conference and you see Minnie or I wandering around - please say hi! I'd love to meetcha!

xxoo
~kathleen

Who is goin' to GDC?

I am! I am! Anyone else? At the Game Developers Conference this year I'll be pimpin' Fyreball (and helping out 1UP where I can, because those cats are my homies, too, yo!). I'm particularly interested in meeting lots of casual and indie game developers. Fyreball is a great way to distribute flash games like Shift and White Dwarf.

If you're heading for GDC shoot me an email! I'd love to meet you!
See you in San Fran next week!


Speaking of! Trashy website FHM picked up a Fyreball and put it on their front page! Boomshine managed to get a ton of attention today! So did the all girl kama sutra... but that wasn't a Fyreball that I know of...


xxoo
~kath

That sweet new feature smell

So, the push was awesome and made of win. Now we've got a couple of fun new things up on Fyreball!

• Staff Picks: These are the best balls out there. They need to be public (so everyone may marvel at them) and interesting. We all go through all of them everyday, but if you see one in particular that could due with some special attention I'm always happy to pass them along!

• New Bookmarklet: This is some fancy stuff I tell you! If you don't know how to use it there is a handy-dandy video here. Basically, you slap that bad boy into your tool bar and then when you're on a page you think has something about it that bears fyreing - then you just highlight any text you want to include - hit that button and MAGICALLY a window appears to do your bidding. You don't need to go anywhere and once you've fired it off, the window quietly wanders off into the night leaving you to continue your internetting.
• Admins: We've been living amongst you and learning from you for a while now, but now there is an easy way for you to tell us from the rest of the lot. We're working on a simple way to perhaps provide private messaging so you can report any tomfoolery, but for now you can either email me kathleen@fyreball.com, send me a fyreball, or click the report a problem/bug/suggestion link at the bottom of each page.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! For some of you poor planners, this will come as a shock and not without a small amount of panic. For others, such as myself, it is merely a painful reminder of your own crushing solitude in a world seeming overrun with joyful couples. For most, it is a bliss packed day of romance bolstered by obligation and sentiments culled from Hallmark's 'Just for You' series of greeting cards. Some Fyreballers even offered their own pro-V-day tips.

Pete is out of the office today - he's doubtlessly hob-nobbing with top nobs. When he returns tomorrow hopefully we can all start the wish list for features to include with the next mighty push! If you've got any dreams you'd like to have us grant (related to fyreball.com only please :)) be sure to share them with us!

xxoo
~kathleen

OMGWTFBBQ We're back!

Hurray! We're back and we're fancy and shiny with new features!

















If you've already downloaded our bookmarklet - you'd be doing your bad self a favor by deleting it and adding this fancy new one FYRE THIS!.

If you like your bookmarklet the way it is, that's fine. Be like that.

We've also got staff pics and a few fancy redesigns to Fyreball that we hope you like!

Those of you part of the team so far are our elite super ballers. We love you most of all... so invite your friends! We trust and believe in you, so we believe in your friends, too.

Be sure and let us know if you see anything hinky on the site, too. You can either click the link at the bottom of every page or shoot yours truly an email. I'll do my level best to put the right space brain on the problem.

xxoo
~kath=)

Remember, The enemy's gate is down.

AAAANnnnnn so is Fyreball.com. Remember those new fancy things and features I told you about last time? They're being cooked right now.

So, we're down. In the meantime, we're all just waiting in breathless anticipation. Pete and Brian even wore adult diapers today.

I'll be sure to let you know when we're back live and badder than ever!

xxoo
~kath=)

Fyreball Pre-Open Beta Shin-dig

So, last week we all got together, because this week we've been busting ass to get out a ton of updates on Fyreball. You'll notice a few subtle changes over the weekend, but before this amazing week of epic bug squashing -- Mr and Mrs. Parsons hosted a lovely evening of delicious food and celebrations at Casa De Pete's.
You can see all the pics of the fun here!

If you notice anything at all strange with Fyreball over the weekend you can help us a GREAT DEAL by letting us know!

Just shoot me an email - kathleen@fyreball.com and describe your problem, suggestion, complaint, or recipe.

Have a great weekend, Fyreballers!

xxoo
~kath=)

F5 is Alive

So, we've been conducting very high-level experiments at Fyreball. We were bound to have a minor catastrophe.
You may have experienced some brief shenanagans with Fyreball this afternoon. We have been assured by top men that all is right with the world once again and you should feel safe fyring off that TPS report (don't forget the cover sheet).

xxoo
~kath