What I love about typetrigger: month one

And now a word from Lily, Typetrigger's founder:

Typetrigger is now one month old! Still a baby, but making us proud. When I thought of the idea for Typetrigger, I was pretty sure it would work. As a writer, I knew that constraints help me, and I thought that the super-tight limits of this system would push me to write more. Still, thinking something will work is a lot different than experiencing it, and on a purely personal level, I have to say that Typetrigger is doing for me exactly what I'd hoped: I am writing more spontaneously than I have in ages. Here is a little list of things that I love about Typetrigger, some of which were totally unexpected.

• Some triggers are pulling stories out of me that have been waiting a long time to get out. I thought they would take a long time to write. Instead, I get them out in ten minutes or so, and I cut to the real nut of the story. I am becoming better at this whole "universal" concept by cutting out a lot of the backstory.
• I am sometimes surprised that that constraints get me to reconsider the logic of my original ideas. Without more words to pontificate, I sometimes realize I am wrong (or right).
• By writing for a semi-public audience, I am moving away from a diary-like approach to story telling. Even when the story is about me, it is not for me.
• I love triggers. I am thinking in triggers. I enjoy seeing how people respond to triggers, sometimes with great creativity and humor. Once in a while triggers make people put on their literal pants and get cranky. I didn't expect that.
• People vote honestly. I was a little worried that, especially while it is young, Typetrigger's "liking" system would make people uncomfortable and there would be an artificial number of likes. Turns out people are pretty honest. I love that some of my own writings have zero likes, while others have many. I'm already learning from this community how to improve my writing.
• I love that people all over the world are here, writing and reading. I love that I don't know many of you, but I am getting to know your voices. It reminds me a little bit of having good pen pals when I read something that really resonates. 

A friend asked me, "Aren't you excited? Don't you just want to go hug all your users?" And I've gotta say, he understood completely. Typetrigger is making me happy morning, noon and night. The things you all are writing are making me laugh and think. I read before bed and while I eat my toast, and not just because I started this thing. Awww, I'm getting teary.

Typetrigger at week one

Week one! We made it! Thank you to all of our early adopters. It has been a fantastic first week, and the momentum is really starting to get going. It is thrilling to see new people sign up every day and start using Typetrigger, and we keep getting great feedback. We are thrilled to death with the amazing review we got from one user, Dulce, who called Typetrigger, "just about the coolest thing I’ve seen done with social media and writing." You can read her full review at her blog, Gum in My Hair. People are starting to say some pretty swell things about us on Twitter as well, and we hope that if you are diggin' the site you will find a way to tell the world about it too.

And now, some 'ittle changes we have made:

One of the biggest concerns new users have had is finding content the first time they log on. We are thinking about ways of making the process easier, but for now you will note that we added four more Recent Triggers for browsing from your Home page. We hope that by being able to browse a full eight past triggers everyone will find plenty of variety as they explore. We will enhance browsing features more soon.

You might also note our little PSA about invitation sharing. It seems that many users were not aware that they could invite more friends from within their own Profile page. We renamed the tab: it now says "Invite Friends!" (instead of the dull "beta invitations" that it used to sport). And Mr. Lowbrow is reminding you all to do just that. Every new account comes with five invitations to share. Typetrigger is only going to get more interesting if we get new writers involved, so spread the word.

Hats off to all of you for putting your words on our wire. We are having a blast reading what you all come up with, and it is inspiring to know that you are all starting to find one another. There is now officially enough stuff on Typetrigger that it takes a dedicated effort to read it all. Isn't it fun to remember what a pleasure reading (and writing) can be?

Finding Stuff to Read on Typetrigger

Thank you to all of our wonderful beta users! At less than four days old, we have already heard a lot of great feedback about how people are liking Typetrigger. One issue that many people have asked about is how to find the writing on the site the very first time you join. We are working to make the site more intuitive for all users and hope to introduce changes and new features soon that will make it easier for everyone. In the meantime, here is a little bit from our FAQ on the subject.

How to I find people to Read?

There are a few ways to find new people to read. One of the best is to look at the Reading lists of those whose work you like. After all, if your pal Macaroni is an amazing clown mystery writer, and that is just up your alley, he might be reading some of the best in that genre. Browsing through Readers and Reading lists of other users, you will see an “add” button by those users who are not yet on your Reading list. You can also see what is going on in the community at large by clicking on one of the Recent Triggers, on the left-hand side of your Home Page. Clicking on those triggers will bring you to a list of recent responses, with the most popular at the top. Browse around and find new writers that way. Finally, you can search users and tags, which can help you find writers you might be interested in.

What is Readers? What is Reading?

Readers are those who are reading any given user. Reading is the list of users that any given user reads. Confusing? Say you are looking at the profile page of your friend Macaroni. He is a big fan of Big Red, HippoMouse and Jack. All three could be found on his Reading list. HippoMouse likes Macaroni’s work as well, so HippoMouse can also be found on Macaroni’s Readers list, along with you. Looking at your own profile, those on your Reading list are those whose work will appear on your Home stream. Those users on your Readers list are the people who are following your writing (and your entries will appear on their Home streams).

Do I have to be Reading someone to “Like” their work?

Nope. If you happen to be browsing and you read HippoMouse’s poem on White Shoes and can’t stop laughing, you can go ahead and hit Like. It might turn out that the rest of his stuff just ain’t your style, so you don’t have to put him on your Reading list. But there is nothing wrong with giving people props when you like their stuff.