Once a user registered, the user landed on the profile page and became an "auto friend" of mine.  I would like to automatically show the new user some important messages from me under the user's activity tab (the default tab). So it will look like this page:

http://www.pokerdiy.com/kumotras.aspx

How  can I get a pre-defined message to show with the current date after the registration automatically ?   Thanks for any help!

I wrote a small module to do this. It looks at the profile create date and show text for "X" days. The user can close it if they want (I put a cookie on their machine to suppress it)...otherwise after "X" days it hides.

I think Rodney uses a commercial module on PokerDIY to do the same thing.  

Thanks swebster for the reply. That's exactly what I was looking for. Is there any chance you might share/sell this module? I would also like to find out the module PokerDIY uses but couldn't find it on snowcovered. Thanks.

PokerDIY does this with a trigger when a user registers:

http://www.activemodules.com/Commun...fault.aspx

Thanks... I wonder what if I need to change the content of the message, do I need a different script (like "Update..." or something)? Where would all the scripts go? I am not a programmer and I don't know how difficult it is to maintain this (update, delete, etc).

I think this is something we should add within Active Social. We already have "Welcome Messages" for massaging, auto friend and auto group. What else would you like to see for helping new users get started? I like Steven's idea of displaying a welcome message that can be displayed anywhere on the page. Recently, I've been looking at all different kinds of social networks. Some of them not only have a welcome message on your profile, but they have them on every aspect of the site. First time you go to a gallery, there is a message about using the gallery. First time you to your message, another message appears about working with the massaging system. Each message had an option to "dismiss" along with a link to a more indepth explanation if necessary.

I really think our upcoming "knowledge base" structure for Active Forums could be a big help in this area. Has anyone noticed that the tooltips in the Active Social control panel actually load content from the Active Forums knowledge base on our site? We have also moved the Active Social End User guide into the new structure already. Once that is complete, we could do something similar on the end user side as we have done for the Active Social control panel. However, unlike the control panel, it would be possible for you to link to your own content if you wanted.

I don't think it would take much for us to incorporate a system like this into Active Social. We would need to store the user's preferences for the messages. We would also provide controls for displaying the initial message, more details and obviously linking to the content. Active Forums would be used to manage the content. Displaying the content would be done by Active Social controls and templates (i.e. Custom Views).

I know this is a little more indepth than the original question, but I think this is something that would go along way to improving retention, participation and overall user experience.

Hi Will,

I think auto journal posts and welcome/intro messages would be an amazing addition to AS. Yes, I have noticed the help in the CP comes from the Knowledge Base forum - very cool. If we had the controls in AS and then can control the content via AF, then I can see many useful applications.

As far as other ideas to get new members engaged, how about the ability to configure follow up journal posts and/or emails to the user based on whether they have returned or not? For example, a user signs up but doesn't return for X days so a follow on email is sent. Conversely, if a user has returned within X days of signing up then send out a "thanks for participating" type of message. The same concept could be used ongoing for members that haven't logged in for the past X days.

Related to the above concept, I would love to see a weekly digest capability (with the ability to configure as either opt-in or opt-out) to proactively keep members engaged and informed on activity. I think the LinkedIn model is great - they send an email with your network's activity grouped by the activity type (e.g. the last 3 status updates, last 3 profile updates, last X posts to a group, etc).

Thanks,
Dave

I really think this is a well needed addition and very good idea too. Here is my suggestion how it should work.

In addition to what you said there should be a "trigger" option for each message, and then parameters based on that would allow us to setup messages based on any number of journal type events.

For example some things it should be able to do.

- When group membership exceeds X send this message to all members.
- When a person adds an image to their page show this message (message details image editing tips)
- If a person creates a profile and choose x interests, send a message to all people who have similar interests letting them know there is a new user they might be interested in being friends with.

If it's logic driven and based on any triggers that we can define, and then has the option to determine how often the message is shown and to whom, that would be amazing because then we could create anything we can think of, well beyond a simple welcome message.

To add to this I envision some kind of system where you create a message rule and then name it and then define it from what triggers it to who it gets shown to, to whether it repeats or not and how often etc.

We also should be able to have a list of AS triggers in a drop down, but then also be able to supply our own custom triggers based on SQL statements. If we could be able to create custom triggers, and then have them saved and appear in the dropdown that would be outstanding.

It essentially then has no limits in terms of what you can do.

Silver and Dave,
Those are excellent ideas and we already have something very similar to what you described under development. I also look at that as a completely different system with a different purpose. It could be used the same way, but I disagree with the idea of having the welcome messages stored in the journal. Also, just so there isn't any confusion later on, the "automation project" we are building will be offered as an add-on. As SilverSurfer already described, the configuration options are pretty much endless, which also means more support. One last thing about the "automation project", it works across Active Social, Active Forums, Active Purchase with an interface for other options.

Will,  I was actually thinking in terms of some type of add-on. If it has the flexibility to work across the entire product line I have no problem paying extra for it, as long as it's reasonable.   If we get the support then it's worth it.

The main thing for me is I have to be able to tie in my own custom SQL for products that are not part of AS, but that have been integrated to work with it.

Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about for the "getting started"  messages.

Facebook- This is what a user sees immediately after creating an account.


Facebook - This what a user sees when they first access their profile.

Yes. This is definitely on the right track. I think these could be action based for now: creating a profile, joining a group, adding a photo, etc.

I would also consider adding some group level functionality later on. For example...what if a group owner wanted to display a specific message to new members and send them a welcome email that was specific to their group?

This also opens the concept of other "alerts/announcements" for system, site, profile and group concepts.

Lastly, an automation, user cultivation process using email would be fantastic. We have a high abandonment rate and reminders based on participation/profile completion/ friending/group joining would be nice.

Boy, you are right Will....the possibilities are endless.

Sounds good - a language string like new PM would be good for the new user wall message (I hate using triggers/tasks to customize!).

Out of interest, I show Getting Started/Tips on PokerDIY using the DNNStuff Welcome message - shows content for x amount of times with a Hide button. Works well but unfortunately does not work in an AS Tab. http://www.dnnstuff.com/Support/For...fault.aspx

It would be good to have a view that could do this type of thing that could be added to any content/page etc. so it could be reused...

great thread!

I am relatively new to AS, so pardon me if i am repeating things already discussed elsewhere, but here is a thought i have on this: love the ideas, and these are definitely an important direction to make AS even more amazing.

My issue at hand is the INITIAL entry into the system for a new user. It could be a level more intuitive. I am guessing most of us are protecting the actual social pages from plain registered users. I have a bevy of very novice users who, in testing, are getting lost initially. They seem to be missing the whole "please verify your account" message. 

Thus.. my thought: i am using SpeedBlog and they have an amazing modal popup that does not allow ANYTHING but reading and responding to a message in an very artful way. i Just invested in LightBox Content 3.0 by ZLDNN to start working that way. I see how important it could be to have our users register, finish, then get this in-your-face beautiful modal dialog that reminds them to verify and anything else we want to add via html.

thoughts? drew..

ps: a few of my testers are very fb-friendly and yet got lost in registering with my site, which is basically stock AS..   And this is NOT a flame of AS. i luv the framework!

I came across this need again today and wanted to revive this thread. Any plans for this in 1.93 or DNN 6?

Steven,

I've been looking at this:
http://tympanus.net/codrops/2010/12...site-tour/

But I've never had the chance to try to add it to my site yet. Would be nice to see Will's idea extended to the core in 6.0 that can be extended to other modules as well. But if we can at least get it in AS, it would be a great advantage.

Steven,

Please check your inbox on this website.

Thanks.

Jeff, brilliant. Love that idea. Funny how you and I think alike sometimes. I've been looking at JQuery Tools expose for a walkthrough (http://flowplayer.org/tools/demos/t...ndex.html) concept...but I like what you posted better.

Frozen, I can't seem to navigate my way to PMs on the site anymore (since the DNN skin was applied). You can email me or PM me over on dnnOsphere.

http://www.activemodules.com/Commun...aging.aspx

I reported it as an issue: http://www.activemodules.com/active...ing-issue/

Thanks Jeff.....found eight unread messages in there!! Sorry to anyone who thinks I'm blowing them off!!! I also don't get email notifications anymore on messages.