alerts, instant messaging & group chats! We have integrated motime with an instant messenger, called TipicIM, that will send you alerts, and will allow you to chat 1-to-1 or in groups with other online members.

Imagine you are online reading some blogs, and someone taps you on the shoulder to let you know that one of your readers was online and had just commented on your blog, or that a favorite blogger of yours has just posted. This is what alerting does.

It really is live blogging. We've been testing it and really love this aspect of motime and hope that you will too. This merger of instant messaging and community blogging is an absolute first and we're curious to see how you guys use it.

We have tried very hard to make this as simple as possible to set up, while giving you a very sophisticated set of communications tools. Here are the elements you need to get the most out of this:

• subscribe to your favorite blogs (and to the comments on yours!)
• download and install TipicIM
• add contacts or buddies
• see who is online (with their instant messenger)
• protect your privacy (manage your preferences)

HAVE FUN! Invite your friends...

[To the left, notice a new menu item chat with users showing the number of people using the IM and a link to the manual page and the download link.]