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On Monday February 22 at 12:01am ET, we're planning to rename "topics" to "posts" across the Circle platform. As a result, access to your communities will be limited for a maximum of 2 hours (though hopefully much less!). Everything will go back to normal right after the brief maintenance period by 2am ET at latest.
We're performing this work at our lowest traffic hours during the week, so we can ensure a smooth transition with minimum disruption. You can follow Circle Status to be the first one to know when the maintenance is complete.
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We're performing this work at our lowest traffic hours during the week, so we can ensure a smooth transition with minimum disruption. You can follow Circle Status to be the first one to know when the maintenance is complete.
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Why this change?Β
Over the past few months, we've heard from numerous customers about their confusion with the word "topic" β specifically, about how a "topic" differs from a "space". When we initially settled on the word "topic", Circle was a brand new platform. We didn't have paying customers, or even the concept of spaces!
But over time, it's become glaringly apparent to us that this confusion is worth resolving, and the best way to resolve it is by renaming it.
Additionally, "post" is more consistent with its usage on other social products: think of Facebook posts, Reddit posts, LinkedIn posts, and so on.Β
But over time, it's become glaringly apparent to us that this confusion is worth resolving, and the best way to resolve it is by renaming it.
Additionally, "post" is more consistent with its usage on other social products: think of Facebook posts, Reddit posts, LinkedIn posts, and so on.Β
Do I need to do anything on my end?Β
If you are using the word "topic" in any of your community content, we strongly recommend changing it by Monday February 22. For example, some communities refer to "topics" in their welcome instructions, community guidelines, and other places.Β
Additionally, if any of your customized CSS or JavaScript code snippets use the word "topic", don't worry! We're mindful of breaking CSS customizations, and will work to ensure that the majority of customizations are automatically updated. The same goes for API requests and Zapier flows.
If for any reason we anticipate breaking changes, we'll reach out to you with further instructions.Β
Additionally, if any of your customized CSS or JavaScript code snippets use the word "topic", don't worry! We're mindful of breaking CSS customizations, and will work to ensure that the majority of customizations are automatically updated. The same goes for API requests and Zapier flows.
If for any reason we anticipate breaking changes, we'll reach out to you with further instructions.Β
Questions?Β
Good news: Circle's iOS app is finally live on the App Store! π±π
Here's an easy link to download the app or share it with your members: https://circle.so/ios. Alternatively, the app can be found by looking for "Circle Communities" on the App Store.
The app is completely free and available to admins or members of any Circle community.
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The app is completely free and available to admins or members of any Circle community.
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How do I submit feedback?
If you encounter bugs or have feature suggestions, please reach out to our iOS team at ios@circle.so.Β
What's next for the app?
The app may be out of beta, but it's far from done! Our iOS team of three will be hard at work to make Circle's iOS experience the best out there for any community platform.
Here are some things to expect in the coming months:
Here are some things to expect in the coming months:
- Design and UX improvements
- Homepages on iOS
- Member profiles
- More rich text and embed options for posts, comments, and DMs
- Administrative actions (editing posts, inviting members, etc)
What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know by reaching out to ios@circle.so π
Will I be able to white-label the app for my own community?
Unfortunately, the app does not currently have the option of being white-labeled. We had to make this trade-off to be able to iterate on our iOS experience at the speed that we'd like to β we're a small team with big plans!
With that said, it's worth noting that once members sign in to your community on the app, they wonβt see any Circle branding whatsoever β the app will use your community logo and brand color.
With that said, it's worth noting that once members sign in to your community on the app, they wonβt see any Circle branding whatsoever β the app will use your community logo and brand color.
How can my members find this app?
You can simply point your members to https://circle.so/ios or ask them to look for Circle Communities on the App Store. We recommend making a post in your community or emailing them at large.
Additionally, members accessing your community from an iOS web browser will see an app download banner at the top of the page:
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If you want to hide this banner from members, you can do so from Settings -> General:
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Additionally, members accessing your community from an iOS web browser will see an app download banner at the top of the page:
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If you want to hide this banner from members, you can do so from Settings -> General:
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Can I opt my community out of being accessible from the app?
Yes, you can. You'll find a toggle to do this in Settings -> General which, when disabled, will make your community inaccessible from Circle's iOS app.
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When is the Android app coming out?
We hear you! The Android mobile experience is important to us, too. While we're not actively working on an Android app just yet, we plan on starting it later in the year.
Thank you
A big show of gratitude to the 100+ communities which participated in the beta and were extremely patient with all of the rough edges π
Thanks in particular to ο»Ώ
Jay Clouse (he/him)
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Buffy Owens
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
David Ferriol
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Dan Fennessy
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Alex Yungvirt
ο»Ώ and ο»Ώ
Jason Resnick
ο»Ώ for bug reports and constructive suggestions πͺ
And finally, thanks and congrats to members of our team who contributed to the app β ο»Ώ
Codie Westphall
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Darko Spasovski
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Damir Stuhec
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Rakesh Khicher
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Puneet Sutar
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Rudy Santino
ο»Ώ, and ο»Ώ
Karthik Ganesh
ο»Ώ πΎ π
Thanks in particular to ο»Ώ
And finally, thanks and congrats to members of our team who contributed to the app β ο»Ώ
We've made it easier for admins to duplicate topics! To duplicate any topic, click on the three dots to the right, and select 'Duplicate topic'.
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Next, you can select the space you want it duplicated to. Note: comments won't be duplicated or carried over into the new topic.
Next, you can select the space you want it duplicated to. Note: comments won't be duplicated or carried over into the new topic.
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Once you click 'Duplicate' on the confirmation popup, your topic will immediately post and you can make modifications as needed.
Hey everybody! π
Here's some news ο»Ώ
Sid Yadav
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Rudy Santino
ο»Ώ and I wanted to share with you today...
We've raised an additional $4M to help accelerate our vision here at Circle. Techcrunch covered our raise. And you can see the announcement when you scroll down below.
We did this fundraise differently.
We had a lot of opportunities to raise traditional venture capital from top tier firms.
Instead, we chose to raise money from well known angel investors, operators, community builders, and...our very own customers / creators. π π β€οΈ
It's special to be able to add some of our customers and community members to the cap table this time around. We exist because of you.
Those investors/advisors are: ο»Ώ
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Tiago Forte
ο»Ώ, Ankur Nagpal, ο»Ώ
Nat Eliason
ο»Ώ, Brendon Burchard, ο»Ώ
Ben Tossell
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Greta Eagan
ο»Ώ, Elizabeth Yin, ο»Ώ
swyx
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Tonner
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
David Perell
ο»Ώ, ο»Ώ
Matthew Gartland (he/him)
ο»Ώ and certainly others who I tried to tag but couldn't find π
This is a win for the whole community. Now we'll have more resources so that we can:
π Execute on our product roadmap (which we're truly excited about)
π©π»βπ» Build the best community and education for folks building communities
π Invest significantly in support and customer success
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ο»Ώ
Here's some news ο»Ώ
We've raised an additional $4M to help accelerate our vision here at Circle. Techcrunch covered our raise. And you can see the announcement when you scroll down below.
We did this fundraise differently.
We had a lot of opportunities to raise traditional venture capital from top tier firms.
Instead, we chose to raise money from well known angel investors, operators, community builders, and...our very own customers / creators. π π β€οΈ
It's special to be able to add some of our customers and community members to the cap table this time around. We exist because of you.
Those investors/advisors are: ο»Ώ
This is a win for the whole community. Now we'll have more resources so that we can:
π Execute on our product roadmap (which we're truly excited about)
π©π»βπ» Build the best community and education for folks building communities
π Invest significantly in support and customer success
ο»Ώ
Hey everyone,
Some good news: Circle now supports custom domains! This means you can now move your community over to a subdomain like community.[your-domain].com.
If you're interested in moving your community over to a custom domain, please check out our step by step guide here.
Thanks!
- The Circle Team
Some good news: Circle now supports custom domains! This means you can now move your community over to a subdomain like community.[your-domain].com.
If you're interested in moving your community over to a custom domain, please check out our step by step guide here.
Thanks!
- The Circle Team
Our Embed feature lets you embed content from 200+ providers in topics, but sometimes, thatβs not enough.
For example, Google Calendar is not supported by our native embed feature, but it provides users with custom HTML code that they can embed.
Weβve been cautious about enabling admins to add their own HTML embeds for a bunch of reasons β outlined below β but we've decided that the pros outweigh the cons (at least for now!)
So, weβre going to try an experimental version of this feature and enable it for communities on the Professional or Enterprise plan. We hope youβll use it wisely :)
Remember: "With great power, comes great responsibility."
Please note:
- This is an advanced and experimental feature for technical folks (ideally developers) only!Β
- Reason: A single character gone wrong in an HTML code snippet can end up breaking your community. We're weary of folks getting into these issues, and having to support such experiences at scale.
- It's powerful! It lets you (and only you, the admin) add any custom HTML or JS into a topic.
- HTML added here will most likely not work on our iOS app in its initial versions β but weβll aim to make it work over time.
Here are a few examples of things you can embed with HTML:
Embed a Google Calendar
If you want to create a topic that hosts a calendar for your community, you can easily add the HTML code to display this for your members.
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Add to Calendar Widget
You may post an event reminder in Circle, and want to provide an "Add to Calendar" button beneath the topic as shown below. We'd recommend using a tool like AddEvent.com to generate the "Add to Calendar" code:
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Once clicked, members will be able to select their preferred calendar:
Once clicked, members will be able to select their preferred calendar:
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Provide your Calendly embed
Enable your members to easily schedule time with you!
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The possibilities are endless. For more details about how to use this HTML feature, click here!
The possibilities are endless. For more details about how to use this HTML feature, click here!
Spaces are a great way to organize your content and discussions in Circle. But keeping up with activity across multiple spaces can quickly become overwhelming for your members.
That's where the Community Home comes in. It's a game-changing feature our team has been refining for the past few weeks, and we're very excited to launch it for everyone today.
That's where the Community Home comes in. It's a game-changing feature our team has been refining for the past few weeks, and we're very excited to launch it for everyone today.
π A new home for your members
But, what is the Community Home? I hear you ask.
It's a personalized activity feed that helps your members stay on top of what's happening across the spaces they are a part of. No more bouncing around. Every member can now discover and engage with the posts that most matter to them ββ all in one place.
In addition to the personalized feed, the Community Home features a list of trending topics on the right hand side. These are the topics that are getting the most engagement in your community. This way, your members never miss anything important.
It's a personalized activity feed that helps your members stay on top of what's happening across the spaces they are a part of. No more bouncing around. Every member can now discover and engage with the posts that most matter to them ββ all in one place.
In addition to the personalized feed, the Community Home features a list of trending topics on the right hand side. These are the topics that are getting the most engagement in your community. This way, your members never miss anything important.
And for some added personalization, you can now greet your members with a custom welcome banner at the top of your home. The perfect spot for community-wide announcements too!Β
π€© A few examples
Curious to see what it looks like in practice? Check out the new Circle Community home! Here are some other examples, courtesy of SPI Pro and Freelancing School:
Pretty neat, huh?
β How to turn it on for your community
It's very easy. Just head to Settings β Home. Once enabled, your members will see a new Home tab in the sidebar. VoilΓ !Β
For a little more customization, you can:
For a little more customization, you can:
- Control how recent a topic must be to appear in the Trending topics list.Β
- Set how topics will be sorted on the home feed by default. You can choose from Latest, Oldest, Most Popular, New Activity, or Alphabetical.
- Prevent activity from specific spaces to appear in your Community Home. To do this, head to the space settings β hide from featured areas.
Need a hand customizing your home? Check out this knowledge base article.Β
β¨ Ready to give your members a new home?
Show us what yours looks like below. We'd love to get inspired with your welcome banners too!Β Finally, a massive thank you to all our Beta testers who contributed helpful feedback to make Community Home better for everyone.Β
Is that a Circle iOS app? π§π§π§
Nope, thatβs just any Circle community in iOS Safari after the mobile updates we just shipped π π
Nope, thatβs just any Circle community in iOS Safari after the mobile updates we just shipped π π
(FWIW: Our iOS app is coming in August!)
You can now embed the comments section of an accessible Circle topic to external websites, blog posts, course lectures, etc.
Here's an example of comments from a Circle topic embedded below a lecture inside the Teachable platform:
Why would I want to do this?
Embedding your Circle comments lets your members carry over their Circle identity to other external interaction points in your stack β such as blog posts and course lectures β and amplifies community engagement.
Members are notified to replies on their comments via email and other notification means within Circle (soon: in-app notifications, iOS app!)
How do I set this up?
Simply copy and paste the following HTML snippet in a HTML block of your CMS/LMS/website builder. Be sure to replace [TOPIC LINK GOES HERE] with a link to your topic.
Here's an example of comments from a Circle topic embedded below a lecture inside the Teachable platform:
Why would I want to do this?
Embedding your Circle comments lets your members carry over their Circle identity to other external interaction points in your stack β such as blog posts and course lectures β and amplifies community engagement.
Members are notified to replies on their comments via email and other notification means within Circle (soon: in-app notifications, iOS app!)
How do I set this up?
Simply copy and paste the following HTML snippet in a HTML block of your CMS/LMS/website builder. Be sure to replace [TOPIC LINK GOES HERE] with a link to your topic.
<iframe style="border: 0; box-shadow: none; width: 800px; height: 80vh;" src="[TOPIC LINK GOES HERE]?iframe=true">
Looking for something more advanced and automated? Let us know + stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's a hint: if you're using a blogging tool like WordPress, you could create Circle topics after every blog post using Zapier, map the blog post slug to the Circle topic slug, and dynamically render the correct comments embed below the corresponding blog post. All without touching code!
We've added some new customization options for topic cover images!
You can now upload a cover image file, enter the URL of an image from the web, or select a preset image from our integration with Unsplash, a repository for beautiful freely-usable images.
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Image cropping
Images can now be auto-cropped to our recommended dimensions (840 x 300) with our built-in cropping tool.
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Space-level control
And, last but not least β admins and space moderators now have space-level control on their members' ability to add cover images to their own topics.
Look out for the Prevent members from creating topics with a cover image toggle in space settings.
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