This week we deployed a new version of our blogs. Changes include:

• Embedded videos! You can now copy/paste object tags from YouTube and Slide into your posts. More to come!
• 70 more themes to choose from.
• Updated Mandigo theme.
• Add Media window has Gallery and Media Library tabs again - for easy access to your Media Library (for embedding images into your posts).
• And various bug fixes.

For feedback visit the official Friendster blogs group.

- Friendster Team

We’ve deployed support for the Facebook Platform on Friendster as part of the Friendster Developer Program. Tens of thousands of developers can now introduce the applications and features they’ve built on the Facebook Platform to Friendster’s 80 million users around the world. Friendster is the first major social network and social website of any kind to deploy both the OpenSocial and Facebook de facto industry standards for the benefit of Friendster users and the developer community.

Developer applications on the Friendster network enrich the user experience by providing hundreds of new and interesting features to use and share, with new features added on a weekly basis. These hundreds of new features include music, games, 3-D avatars, virtual worlds and experiences, group chat, videos, photos, sports, TV shows, entertainment, and news and information. For Friendster users, applications provide another way to connect with friends by using and recommending new applications.

Developers can easily port their Facebook applications to Friendster within hours or a few days. Developers can go to http://www.friendster.com/developer/index.php?type=fbopen for more information, download and include the Facebook API library in their code (see Downloads), and get an API key using our self-service web form (see Get API Key). Most applications are easy to port to Friendster, with the easiest being those that use the API methods, FBML tags, FQL queries or FBJS deployed as part of this major release. Additional details and documentation can be found at www.friendster.com/developer.

We’ve been busy the last few weeks working on some new features! Here’s a look at what’s new.

New Blogs 2.0

Friendster Blogs have been upgraded to a new platform. The new blogs are easier to use, customize, and edit!

We’re in the process of migrating all of the old blogs over. If you have a Friendster blog and you’re not already moved over, you can speed things up by clicking on this link.

Some things you should know about your new blog:

• It is possible that your blog layout or colors may not appear exactly as they were on your old blog, you can edit or add new customizations to your blog by clicking the “Designs” tab or “Themes” button when you access your blog from your home page
• All of the photos you’ve uploaded to your old blog will be moved to your new blog. When they are moved, they will be in your Blogs Media Library (Manage Tab–> Media Library). Don’t worry, we’ll move all your photos for you!
• If you experience any inconsistencies with your blog during the next few weeks, please bear with us and please do let us know what you find so we can build a better product!

If you don’t yet have a Friendster Blog, just go to My Profile > Blogs on the site to create one.

New Forums 2.0

Join the discussions today in the NEW Friendster Forums! We’ve just re-launched forums, and they’re now available globally. Participate with others and discuss entertainment, lifestyle, dating, parenting, music, movies, TV, relationships and more. We’ve made it easy to rate topics and find those that are the highest rated— just look for the red stars!

We’d like to hear your thoughts about the all-new Forums. We’re currently collecting feedback from users and fixing bugs. We’ve also already started working on the next version of forums based on user feedback!

Text Alerts Now Available in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia

If you are in Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia, you can subscribe to Friendster Text Alerts and receive Friendster updates right on your phone! You can subscribe to friend requests, messages, comments, and bulletins. You can also text Friendster to post shoutouts, approve friend requests, send messages, post bulletins, and more.

It’s easy to subscribe, simply visit the mobile registration page and supply us with your mobile number and choose the alerts you wish to receive. Your Text Alerts link directly to our new mobile site, available globally at m.friendster.com.

More New Apps!

Have you added an app yet? We are adding new apps to our directory every week. Check out the New Releases tab in the Apps Directory to see what’s new.

Friendster Developers - OpenSocial Stabilization

We received great feedback from the developer community regarding our recent OpenSocial launch- we have addressed your concerns and fixed high priority bugs. If you’d like to get started with building an OpenSocial app on Friendster.

Click here for OpenSocial documentation.

- Friendster Team