You can use HTML anywhere on Multiply: comments, posts (click on 'Edit HTML' first if it's a blog post) and even in your Page Title. Here are the basic commands, be sure to check the links for more info.

If you don't like to use the codes but you want to use HTML somewhere, you can do this: create a blog entry and change the fonts, colors, etc, then click on 'Edit HTML' to reveal the code so you can copy it and paste wherever you want.

The Very Basic Basics

What You Type	What You Get
<B>Men</B>	Men
<I>Are</I>	Are
<U>from</U>	from
<S>Men are from Mars</S>	Men are from Mars
You can even combine tags (just remember to next each pair of tags)
<B><I><U>Mars Needs Women</U></I></B>	Mars Needs Women
And That’s Not All
<CENTER></CENTER>	Centers text or image.
<A HREF="URL HERE"></a>	Makes whatever text/image it surrounds into a link.
<IMG SRC="IMAGE URL HERE" WIDTH="100" HEIGHT="100" />	Add an image, using optional WIDTH and HEIGHT attributes to control the sizing. Note: IMG code is stand-alone (no separate close tag necessary).
<FONT FACE="verdana" SIZE="6" COLOR="green">Little Green Men</font>	Alter the size, style, and color of text.

Additional HTML Resources

• Hot-linking Images Inside Multiply
• JavaScript Isn't Allowed
  
• W3C
• Webmonkey
• Web Design Group

Even more tips and tutorials about HTML/CSS can be found in the group Multiply.Design. Click on the logo to join the group now!


Source: Friendster.com help page.
(info in public domain).

Multiply introduction and tutorials for newbies and switchers.

Most people just want a theme with personalized colors and a background. It's very easy to get it using the Custom theme:

1. Click on the Customize My Site link found in your main page or go to settings -> My Site
2. Click on Choose a Theme in the top yellow bar (Image A)
3. Pick Custom Theme (Image B)
4. Choose your background picture using Browse (Image C-1)
5. Pick a color scheme or make your own using the options below (Image C-2)
6. You can Preview or Save it when it's done (Image C-3)

PS1: In the step 4 you must choose a picture in your computer (HardDisk). It will be tiled, so small images won't look good. The recommended image size in general is something around 1024x768 pixels.
PS2: A HTML color table can be found here or here.
PS3: If you later change your Custom CSS, your background pic will be gone. But you can add it back again using the proper code in the body section of your Custom CSS: before you change your Custom CSS, look at your page source code and copy the background tag with the image link, then add it to the body section when you edit the CSS code.


Update1:
After the recent changes, now you can choose the base theme used for customizing the colors: Clean (the new default theme) or Andros (the previous default theme). Also, there are checkboxes to add transparency (no background) to some sections of your page.

JavaScript (they have the script tag in the code) and iframe codes aren't allowed in Multiply for security reasons. Any other code that is simple HTML or Flash, like the ones that use the EMBED or OBJECT command, should work fine. Usually the site give you options for the code: look for the one in simple HTML (no script tags) or one that uses Flash.


As a side note, sometimes when you try to copy and paste excerpts from other web pages to yours, usually blog entries, you may get the message that 'JavaScrit/CSS isn't allowed', and you can't save your post. It happens because some of the page code was also copied and also pasted with the text. To avoid this, first paste the excerpt in a plain-text editor, like Notepad on Win or Smultron on a Mac, and then copy it again and paste on your page. You will get only the text and should be able to save your entry.


PS: JavaScript isn't the same as Java. Java widgets should work too, as they usually use the EMBED and/or OBJECT tag.


Update1:
EMBED codes that have allowscriptaccess won't work anymore (they will be disabled when added to Multiply pages) due to security reasons too. Quote from a Multiply staff member:

• Large pictures may make the column where the Guestbook is in your main page too wide. Either remove the entry or ask the poster to remove the code. Also, you can add this code to your Custom CSS to display a scrollbar when it happens:

          #home_guestbook .replybox { overflow:auto; }

          or, if you don't want it to display any image at all:

          #home_guestbook .replybody img { display: none; }

• How to remove/delete messages from your Guestbook:

            At your main page, you won't see the links to delete comments or edit your own replies in your Guestbook. To do this, you have to go to the Guestbook page. You can get there using one of these ways:
            - at your main page, click on the link below your Guestbook "View All NNN Comments"
            - use this link: http://Your_Username.multiply.com/guestbook (replace Your User_Name with your actual Multiply username)

• Also, you can edit the number of comments displayed at your main page and the access (privacy) level if you click on Customize My Site and then on the Edit link found in the Guestbook box (see the image below).

• You can now completely disable HTML in your Guestbook replies, just edit it in your main page (see the picture below).

• If you can't see your Guestbook and you didn't hide it using the Hide link while your main page is in 'Customization Mode', probably you've set your Homepage to 'Linear View'. Return it to 'Boxes View' to see your Guestbook again:

            http://multiply.com/setup/pages/home

• If you are still experiencing problems about deleting stuff in your Guesbook and your are using Firefox, you can go to its menu and select: View -> Page Style -> No Style (look to a similar option in your browser if you're using another program) to disable CSS in your page so you can use the delete links to remove any offending material. Then you can enable it again.

• Groups normally don't have a Guestbook, but you can display one if you change the Page Layout to Linear instead of Box View for the Home Page. (DEPRECATED: does not work anymore)

• If you try to add HTML code in a comment at someone else's Guestbook that isn't your contact, the HTML will be removed. Of course, the same happens in your Guestbook for people that aren't in your contact list. (DEPRECATED: does not work this way anymore, if you don't want HTML in your Guestbook, disable it completely as explained above)

The Inbox (previously called Message Board or My Multiply) works like this (if you've set Sort By to 'Latest Reply' in its Preferences):

- if you visit a post and later a new comment (reply) is added to it, the post will be moved to the top of the list (most recent ones), so you get notified that it has a new reply. It will continue to be this way as long as you visit the post to see the updates.

- if you don't visit the post, then the entry in your Inbox won't 'go up' in the list, and will eventually go away from the the first page. But if you later visit the post, new replies added to it will again move the entry in your Inbox to the top.


Of course, you can enable Show "Subscribe," "Pin," and "Remove" links for each item in the Inbox preferences:

- Subscribe enables/disables email notifications for that post. It's also useful when you enabled the notification when you replied to a post (i.e. marked the 'Forward replies to your_email' checkbox);
- Pin puts the entry at the top of your Inbox for as long as you want;
- Remove deletes the entry from your Inbox (and further updates to it too, of course). It does not delete the post itself, only the entry in your Inbox.

There are many other options in the preferences so you can configure your Inbox like you want. Try the many views to find the one that you like most.

Also, above the entries, you can see a 'proximity-bar':


so you can choose from 'how distant' in your Network the entries in your Inbox will come from. You can select only posts from your contacts, for example, or enable and disable posts from groups as well. Lastly, you can click on Custom to create a personalized filter to display only selected posts, useful if you want to find a post from a friend, for instance, or retrieve your Personal Messages.

The Inbox is the most important place on Multiply, and it's unique. Take some time to configure it to your needs and it will help you to find the posts you want and also make things much easier and faster to keep updated with new posts. Have fun.


Update1:
After the recent update, the Message Board is now called Inbox, and there is an useful pre-set of custom filters that includes Personal Messages and Subscribed threads.

Feeling envy of the older users that have a Recipe or Market section but you don't? Feel no more... With the Tagged Content boxes you can do almost the same.

How does it work? Simple: it will create a new box in your main page with all the entries you have with a selected tag or tags. For example, if you want to have a Recipes section, create blog entries with the tag 'recipes' and then create a Tagged Content box to group these entries.

From the official Multiply blog:
If you use the "Boxes" homepage layout (as opposed to "Linear"), you can now create new boxes on your homepage that display content based on the tags you've given them.

That's right, in addition to the usual boxes like "Photos" and "Videos," you can now mix and match tags to your heart's content... and display your creations on your Multiply homepage. If you ever wished for a box displaying your latest posts related to, say, business, pirates and trees, this feature makes your wish come true.

To set this up, just click the familiar "Customize Site" link on your homepage, and follow this with the aptly-titled "Add Tagged Content Box" link. You'll get a pop-up that you can use to set the options for your box -- particularly what should be displayed (pick one or more tags), and how it should be displayed (box title, number of entries to display). Once you've created your box, you can manipulate it like any other content type box: drag it around, hide it, edit it... And here's the best part: you can make multiple tag boxes!


If you feel comfortable with HTML and CSS, you can even add the new boxes to the navigation menu. Just follow the instructions found in this entry from the Multiply.Design group (where you can find more info about customizing your page too):

The blog is the most versatile and user-friendly place on Multiply. If you have a recent version of the most common browsers (Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, IE) you should see a toolbar just below the item title that allows you to modify the text style and do other things in your entry. The toolbar looks like this (click to enlarge):



I will explain what the buttons labeled with numbers in the above pic do:

1. You can add a pic to your blog entry. When you click on it, it will display another window where you can choose to import a pic from your computer (upload it), use one from one of your albums (Photos entries) or from somewhere in the Internet:



After that, you should see a box where you can choose the justification: left, center or right. Click on the one you want to use and the image is added to your post.

Tip: if you add an image to the beginning of the entry and align it to the right or to the left, a thumbnail will be displayed in your homepage after you publish the entry if your Blog box is set to 'Summary' view.


2. When you click on the checkbox named 'Edit HTML' you can see the HTML code used in the entry. Then you can fine tune your entry if you want or you can add those widgets from the web, like a slideshow, a movie or even a song player. Sites like YouTube and Slide give an EMBED code that you can use at other places (Multiply does it too: click on the share link found in most posts), and you can add it to your blog entries after you click on 'Edit HTML': just find the spot you want to place it and paste the code.
Another tip: you can compose an blog entry, click on 'Edit HTML', copy the code and then paste it anywhere in Multiply, like in your other entries and replies. Think of it like an HTML editor, where you create your stuff and then get the code to paste where you don't have these handy tools.


3. The paper-clip allows you to add attachments to your blog entry. The file will be listed below the entry for downloading. Great for sharing PDF, PPT, PPS files etc. You can add up to 5 attachments to a blog entry.


The rest of the buttons in the toolbar are self-explanatory, just mouse over them and wait a bit to see what they do, like the icon to the left of the paper-clip is for adding polls to your blogs.


Hope this helps. Happy Multiplying.

Unless you have set your main page layout to Linear View instead of Boxes View in the settings, you can almost completely customize your main page.

First, you can edit your Page Title and section titles by simply moving your mouse cursor over it and choosing Edit. If you can't, please look at my previous post for a work-around.

You can move the section boxes also. Just 'grab' them by their title (the mouse pointer should change to a little hand indicating that you can grab it) and move it to the place you want it. A dashed frame will appear indicating where the box will be after you release it. If you want to arrange them side-by-side, move it to the bottom-right corner, and it should fit just beside the last one. Do this in order to make two columns then arrange them so each section will be in the place you want it. Be aware that it does not work always: some themes allow only one column, but even in these themes you can organize them in the order that pleases you.

Don't want to show a section in your main page? Simple: just mouse over its title and click on the Hide link. Made a mistake? Look for a Restore link for that section bellow your headshot and click on it. The section will show again on your main page but maybe not at the same place, so look all over the page for it and move it again to the right place.

If you are not using it yet, maybe you will have to download and install a recent version of Firefox, which is much more compatible with Multiply and more secure and better overall.

Large pictures may make the column where the Guestbook is in your main page too wide. Either remove the entry or ask the poster to remove the code. Also, you can add this code to your Custom CSS to display a scrollbar when it happens:
#home_guestbook .replybox { overflow:auto; }

or, if you don't want it to display any image at all:
#home_guestbook .replybody img { display: none; }


Update1:
Now you must put your main page in Edit mode before you can move and hide the sections. To do this, you can either click on the Customize My Site that appears right bellow the navigation menu or go to Settings -> My Site. Then you should be able to modify it. Click and hold on the Move link to move a box now.

Update2:
To unhide a section, the links do not appear below the headshot anymore, but in the top yellow banner that will be displayed after you click on Customize My Site. If your page is too loaded with stuff, it will may take a wile before the unhide links show up.

Update3:
Moving content boxes only works if your page is in Boxes View (as opposed to Linear View), of course. To change this, go to this page. Also, be aware that some themes only allows 1 column of boxes, so you cannot put them side-by-side to make them smaller. If you want this, you have to choose another base theme. You can see which ones allow 2 columns in the Choose a Theme page.

After the last update (Multiply 3.0) you do most of the page editing and change the settings directly in the main page. You just have to move your mouse pointer over the section title you want to edit and click on Edit. There is no other way to change some settings. The only exceptions are the Page Layout and the Welcome Message box, that can be edited using this link:
http://multiply.com/setup/pages/content

But sometimes you enter the wrong HTML code and you can't change the setting anymore (or you might have some broken code before the update and now you can't edit your main page at all). So follow these simple tips:

- Download and install the latest Firefox if you haven't done yet. It's a free browser, more secure and stable than IE (Internet Explorer) and it's more compatible with Multiply too;

- Lately it seems that most problems are due to graphics added by to the Guestbook. If you think it's the problem, please follow the tips in this tutorial to hide the graphics or delete the offending entry:
http://multiplynewbie.multiply.com/journal/item/158/Guestbook_101
or the more advanced version:
http://usersupport.multiply.com/journal/item/131/Guestbook_FAQ

- Backup your Custom CSS (when you choose another theme you may lose the code);

- Chose another theme and try to edit the section that has the broken code. You may have to change themes a couple of times if it does not work the first time.

- If it still does not work, go to the pages below and remove any HTML code, leaving just plain text:
http://multiply.com/setup/pages/content  (Welcome Message and boxes titles)
http://Your_Username.multiply.com/edit/title (Page Title - replace Your_Username with your actual Multiply username)

- After modifying and checking for broken codes, select your preferred theme again and copy your Custom CSS back.

If you still can't edit your main page, you should contact the support staff and give them as much details as your can about what you want to do but can't.


PS: I saw the above tip the first time on Nov 16th in a group, posted by licatayag.


Update 1:
It seems that Multiply brought back some links to edit the Page Title and Welcome Message/Sections settings! If you can't edit them directly on your main page, try these links (replace Your_Username to your actual username):
http://multiply.com/setup/pages/content
http://Your_Username.multiply.com/edit/title

Update 2:
Now you don't see the Edit|Hide links on your page anymore unless you click on the Customize My Site link at the top of your page (right bellow the navigation menu, to the right). The page where you can edit some settings is still active:
http://multiply.com/setup/pages/content

Update 3:
Added info about the Guestbook.

Update 4:
If you've hidden something in your Home Page and you don't see the unhide links after you click on Customize My Site, maybe you've set your page to Linear View. Try going back to Boxes View to unhide what you want first:
http://multiply.com/setup/pages/home

I've decided to create an article about adding pictures inside Multiply. It can used in any place here: replies/comments, group notes, personal messages, any post at all, even on blog entries if you select the View Source option so you can add your own HTML code.

First of all, you need to host the picture on the Internet, you can't use images that are stored on your own computer. There are thousands of free services that host files for hotlinking, specially images. Some of them have some restrictions, like limited bandwidth, maximum file/image size, or will store your file for a limited time then will delete it. For these reasons and as things will be easier and faster if you do it all on Multiply, you can create a private album here (so no one else will see the pics) and still use the images here or anywhere else (if it's used outside Multiply, a small watermark will be visible, so you don't have to credit Multiply for hosting the image for you). I will come to this later.

After you have uploaded your image somewhere, you need to find its URL so you can use it in your post. The URL is the unique address of the image on the Internet. You just need to right click on the image and select Properties if you are using IE or Copy Image Location if you are using Firefox (or the similar command in your preferred browser). If you chose Properties, a small window will appear, where you can select and copy the image URL. You can also select View Image so the only the picture will be show on your browser window, and you can copy the URL from the address bar.

For instance, if you go to this album:

http://multiplynewbie.multiply.com/photos/album/1

you will see that it has only one picture. What you see first is the image thumbnail, a small size picture so you see many pics of the album at once. You can use the thumbnail if you want, just get its URL, but then you will use the small image (it can be useful for creating a link, for instance). If you want the bigger one, click on the image once, and you will see the preview image, which is bigger than the thumbnail. If there is a high resolution version of the image, you will be able to click on it once again to see the full size one (you will also see a link bellow the image with the high resolution image size). The problem is that if you host your images on Multiply, it may delete the high resolution version after 6 months if no one has ordered a print of it. Normally, if you plan to add the pic to a reply or something else, you are not using a high resolution image, or maybe the image you've uploaded is small and there is no bigger version of it, so you don't need to care about it (PS: even if Multiply deletes the hi-res picture, it won't delete the preview nor the thumbnail). In this example, I will use the preview image. Its URL is:

http://images.barefootmeg.multiply.com/image/27:multiplynewbie/photos/1/400x400/1.jpg/multiplyfordummies.jpg?et=AXOfwI3dmAVRbm8AXI%2CUqw

Now, the only thing you need to do is use this command where you want to display the image:

<img src="Image_URL">

where you must replace Image_URL with the actual URL of the image you want to show, and don't forget to include both the "<" and ">" too. In this example:

<img src="http://images.barefootmeg.multiply.com/image/27:multiplynewbie/photos/1/400x400/1.jpg/multiplyfordummies.jpg?et=AXOfwI3dmAVRbm8AXI%2CUqw">

It will show the picture like this:





Some useful variations of the command:
<img src="Image_URL" border="0"> - draws no border around the picture, useful if you use it for a link
<mg src="Image_URL" align="left"> - aligns the image to the left
<img src="Image_URL" align="right"> - aligns the image to the right
<img src="Image_URL" height="300" width="400"> - sets the image width and height (you can use other values, of course, and if you use only one parameter - width or height - the other one will be automatic to keep the image proportion ratio)


OK, now about the private album... I will use the text that kindspirit wrote in a post in this very group:

Create a new photo album as you normally would, and add all the photos, Gif's or any other images to that album that you wish to hot link from.

When choosing "Who should be able to see this album?", just select "Individuals" But Do Not add any individuals to the list! None! Just leave the list blank.

After saving your album, and confirming that the album is complete, it will appear on your message board, but only you will be able to see it. No one else will see it.

Now you can go back to those images in your Private Photo Album, and hot link those images to your Multiply site or to any other site on the web.

Of course, you will be able to add more pictures to this album, so you will need to create only one. And this tip works for any picture, from any album or any picture from the internet, as link as you get its URL.

As a final note, remember that's it's not right (nor legal) to use someone's else pictures unless you ask for it first and you have the express permission to do it. It's the same when you create your own albums. And it's polite to cite and thank your source, even after you have asked to use it. Respect the copyright and play nice. ;)


Update1: in order to paste or edit the HTML code in blog entries, the 'View Source' command was replace by the 'Edit HTML' checkbox.

Update2: now you can easily grab the code to embed your pics anywhere using the share link you can find below your pics. Use the embedding code to display your pic and link it to your album. Just copy and paste the code.

Another group has been formed to allow multiply members to help other multiply members. The purpose is much the same as this one, but the group was started by the multiply staff and will be linked to from "official" multiply pages like the multiply blog and the multiply users & developers group. (Check out the right rail to see the link.)

Despite the fact that it was Started by staff, we still need regular old multiply users to join up and be "helpers" for the group. You might think you have nothing to share, but if you've been around multiply for any length of time, I'd be willing to bet that you've learned more than you realize about this place. :-)

OK, so you've taken the plunge, you've joined Multiply, and now your mailbox is getting flooded with email notifications. How do you stem the tide? It's quite simple, really. First, click on the Settings link at the top of the page. (It doesn't matter where you are in Multiply, that link will always be at the top.) Once you've clicked settings you'll be taken to a page with three main columns. The bottom of the middle column has a section entitled My E-mail Alerts. Click on that.

The first option to concern yourself with is Personal Messages sent to me. Personal messages are those notes that are just between you and one other person. (They can also be for groups of people. But they're not posts that will show up in a group or on someone's home page.) Selecting "none" means that no emails will be sent to alert you of a message. Choosing "new posts" means that you'll be notified of a new personal message, but you won't receive updates by email if the person adds replies. And choosing "new posts and replies" will mean that you get an email to let you know that the message has been instigated and another email every time a reply is added to the discussion.

The second line is for setting whether or not you will get emails about posts by your contacts. Unfortunately you can't change the settings so that you get posts every time your friend "fred" posts but not when "samantha" posts. It's all or nothing.

If you don't want to receive email notices when there are new group posts, then select none for each group you are a member of.

If you think that you will be only an infrequent user of Multiply, I would recommend leaving the "Personal Messages sent to you" line set to receive email notification of new messages sent to you. That way if there's something important that you're missing out on because you haven't signed on to Multiply and someone tries to point it out, the message will get through to you.

One of the last things you can choose to do on this page is receive daily or weekly summaries of posts that you've missed. This is a handy way to make sure that nothing of interest slips past you.

For the internet illiterate, and for those among my family members who believe that being able to email means they're not in that former group, this is an explanation of what Multiply is all about.

Multiply is a social networking site. That basically means it's a way to stay connected with lots of people at once. You can use Multiply to post pictures, music or video; to blog (write about your day, your thoughts, links you've found, whatever), even to keep a calendar. You can also join groups that focus on particular topics (such as Ukraine, or knitting (you have to join to see any of their content), or "Good Books" (again, you have to join to see content -- you can always unjoin right away)).

I’ve already written a short article called “Multiply Tips”, but on looking back at it, I realize it’s more for the person who’s already familiar with networking sites. A complete n00b (new user) probably needs a slightly more basic tutorial, so in addition to letting you know what Multiply is for, let me fill you in on how to do Multiply.

Home Page

an empty Multiply home page

Let’s start with your personal homepage. (That’s the page that’s located at yourusername.multiply.com. You can also get to it by clicking "my site" at the top of any page.) You can customize your home page as much or as little as you want.

Every home page starts out looking like the page to the left. (Well, it looks mostly like the one to the left. This is actually how the pages looked in the spring of 2005. There have been some changes since then.) Underneath the welcome bar is a general greeting message: "Welcome to Johanna's home page! Thanks for stopping by. Please check out all my pages, and drop me a line to say hi." On the right hand side is an avatar, or headshot, (a picture used to denote you) -- in this case it's a default avatar of a person with a question mark on their face. Until you post some other content (pictures, a journal entry, a link to another web page, etc.) the rest of your home page will remain blank.

The first thing I'd recommend doing is uploading an avatar/headshot for yourself. This avatar will be visible to people not only here on your home page but beside every post you make anywhere on Multiply. It's a way for people to identify you quickly and for them to have a visual association with you. If you're camera shy, you can opt for some avatar alternatives: a picture of yourself as a kid, a picture of your pet, a picture of something that you relate to (for example, if you're a Tolkien fan you may choose to use a picture of Gandolf as your avatar). If you post a picture of a person who's not you, it should be pretty clear that it's not yourself (such as posting a picture of someone who most people will recognize as being a movie or television character). It's best to use a picture of yourself for your avatar, but if you choose to post someone or something else, then the purpose should be with a playful intent and not meant to deceive. (For more on headshots check out this article).

To change the default greeting on your home page, click on the "customize my site" link just above the message on your page.  Then click on “edit that's on the box for that section. You can also customize other sections of your home page here. To get an idea of how you can customize this section, start looking around at those of people that you meet as you cruise multiply.  You can choose from among some premade themes that Multiply has made available for you. Or you could go to the customized themes group and pick out a premade theme of your own to use.  Of course, you don't have to do anything fancy just yet. Just take a moment to personalize it a bit.

Next you can add some content if you'd like. You certainly don't have to, and if you want to leave your page the way it is forever after, there are still lots of other things you can do on Multiply. But given that you do want to add some content, let me give a brief run through.

Let's try adding a blog entry. (If you’re not familiar with the term “blog” don’t fret. It’s basically just another word for “journal.” It’s shortened from “web log.” Unlike a paper journal, you can’t stuff this under your bed. Blogging means that you’re putting something out there for people to see. Who can see it has to do with how you set the privacy settings. More on that later.) Don't worry, you can always delete a blog entry later. Click on the link at the top of any page that says Post. Then choose “write in blog.”

Now you'll be taken to a page with lots of beautiful empty boxes just waiting for your pearls of wisdom to be typed into them. Enter a subject and some text. Then you can add a picture if you like, but you don't have to. Pictures make your journal entry a little more interesting to look at and some people are quite comfortable posting pictures that only remotely relate to the topic of their journal post. To "browse" just means to search your hard drive for a picture that's already on your computer.

Now set the privacy level for your entry. “Everyone” means that anyone on the internet will be able to read what you've written. However, that doesn't mean that everyone on the internet will. Allowing "everyone" to see an entry on your homepage is helpful if you want to use this home page as your main presence on the web and you want people who aren't members of Multiply to be able to see it. But, you can also limit who is able to see your entries.

a customized Multiply home page

You can make your post available only to your network, your contacts, or specific individuals, if you'd like. To get a sense of the difference between these options, select them. A description will pop up delineating who will then have access to your post. And for some options, you can further modify who within that network, or among your contacts, will see the post (such as only family members or only coworkers). But remember, if you make something available only to family members and you later want a co-worker to check out that same post, you'll have to go back in and edit your settings before they'll be able to see it. For more on privacy settings check this article out. (And remember, these privacy settings only work if your contacts are trustworthy.  If you add contacts that are complete strangers to you, then you're pretty much overriding all of the privacy settings on Multiply by not keeping your private stuff available to only those you trust.)

Now you're ready to post your journal entry. You can either "Preview & Spell Check", or go for the glory by clicking "Save & Publish." If you choose to save without previewing and notice a typo later, you can always go back and edit (or delete) your post.

Once you've got some content on your page, you can also head into the world of customizing your home page.  To change the colors on your page, head back to that “customize my site” linke and look for a link that says "Custom Themes.” There are premade colors schemes that you can choose from, or you can create your own.

Contacts on Multiply

Now that you've got your home page where you want it (either with or without content), you can start checking out your contacts' home pages. Click on that “home” link at the top of any page, then choose “My Contacts” along the left hand side. If you don’t currently have any contacts you’ll most likely want to add some. Contacts will be notified of any posts you make and you will be notified of their posts. So you don’t have to remember to check their blog for updates. Multiply will notify you anytime new content is posted by anyone in your contact network. You can invite contacts using the link near the top of the page. You can also make changes to your stated relationships with contacts from this page.

I'd say that the most important thing you need to know about adding contacts is that "online buddy" is very different than every other choice you have when defining how someone is related to you. If one of your contacts is an "online buddy" then you will be notified of their posts, but you won't ever be notified of their contacts' posts unless their contacts are also one your contacts. On the other hand, for any other type of contact that you have, whether mother, co-worker, or friend, you will receive notices not only of their posts, but of their contacts' posts as well (as long as those contacts aren’t their online buddies). This is great if you like reading what your mom's neighbor's posts but don't want to make them a direct contact of yours. But if most of those posts are about craft projects that you're not the least bit interested in, then for now you might want to change your mom to having an "online buddy" status. That way you'll get your mom's posts but not her neighbor's. (I believe that this may soon change in Multiply. But until it does, this is the best way to limit posts.)

Once you have some contacts, you can simply click on their user name or their avatar to see that contact's home page.

Groups on Multiply

You can also join affinity groups on Multiply. There are three main ways to find a group that you may like:

1) Browse through the groups by clicking on that all important “home” link at the top of the page. Then choose “my groups” from along the left hand side. At the bottom of this page you should find a line of links that say “Search Groups” “Create a Group” and “Invite to Group.” Choose “Search Groups” and you be given several categories that you can scroll through until you find something that interests you. Unfortunately, you'll have to scroll past several groups that are listed in languages you may not speak. There is currently no way to search for groups that are in a particular language. Also, if you're easily offended, you'll have to cover your screen as you scroll past group avatars of dubious decency. (I believe that these groups are blocked for users between 13 - 17 years of age, but since I haven't opened an account as an underage user, I don't know that for a fact.)

2) Search for a group by entering a keyword, or keywords, in the search bar at the top of the “Search Groups” page (above the browse links). Again, you'll still have to scroll past groups in other languages and you'll have the same group avatar issue, but it's more likely that you'll get directly to what you're looking for.

3) Be invited by someone else that knows you and knows that you'd enjoy their group or go to a friends home page and look up what groups they’re in. To do this you’ll have to look for a link below your friend’s avatar that says “View Contacts.” If that link isn’t there, then you’re friend has this capability turned off and you’re out of luck. If it is there, however, you can see not only there contacts on this page, but what groups they’re in as well.

You can also create your own group. There are all sorts of things you should know if you do that, but that'll have to be the topic of another post. However, if you do form a group, you may find this group for admins helpful.

Last Words of Wisdom

That's most of what you'll need to know to get started with Multiply. The only other bit of info. that you should know to get off to a good start is to click on that Explore link at the top of the page and select “Messages Page” once in awhile. Every time one of your contacts (or someone in your network) makes a post, it'll show up on the Messages page. The same happens for any posts made in any groups that you have joined. In other words, the Messages page is the place you want to go to see what's new since the last time you were on.

As a newbie (new user), you're probably overwhelmed at this point. Don't worry, that's normal. Take some time to try out your new skills, to add contacts and to join some groups. Once you feel comfortable with that much, you may want to check out my Multiply Tips page.