Popularity and mass e-mailing

Following the launch of popularity points -- which keep track of how many new people are looking at your uploads -- we've removed the controversial ability that allowed users to quickly mass-email their contacts.

Gone are the days when you could simply enter the account information of your free email provider (such as Hotmail, gmail and Yahoo! Mail), and have Spymac automatically contact all of your friends there announcing your new upload.

Spread out your uploads, but be creative in doing so. Instant Messengers are fast and easy, and with the new popularity point system, you'll be able to see if people you're talking to actually check out your work.

Getting serious about copyright

We have now changed Spymac's anonymous copyright reporting to encourage more members to report others who upload someone else's creation. If you have seen a video, picture or audio clip that does not belong to the member who uploaded it, you can now report it using the anonymous system.

This feature was added to increase the quality of competition, leveling out the playing field between those who upload original material, and those who do not. With the new system, we can eliminate those who are uploading content, enabling those with original content to win more money!

We need more people reporting in order to keep the site filled with original content. We're encouraging all of you to do your part in making Spymac the place to be for new talent! If you're on Spymac to simply upload non-original content, there are other sites that would be more suited to your needs. On Spymac, we're looking for stars... not grandma-falling-off-the-chair clips that have been circulating the net for years!

How it works

When viewing an upload, there is now a "Report" link located to the right of the video, picture or audio clip. After clicking on the link, you'll be taken to a page where you can submit evidence - such as links, images, and other relevant information - to let us know that the upload was stolen from another person or site. The more information you provide, and the more specific that it is, the faster we can process the report.

Be warned: the report system has also gotten more strict and serious. If a user's content gets reported and he/she admits it is copyrighted or he/she doesn't respond to the complaint, the content will now be completely deleted from the system (whereas previously, it was simply made private).

Spymac is very serious about copyrights. In order to be eligible to receive money for your uploads, promotional material or creative commons work of others is not allowed. For more information on acceptable content on Spymac, please review the Terms of Use: http://www.spymac.com/tos/

Jackpot extended this month!

We are currently in the process of unrolling the most significant update since Spymac's re-launch in January. The Top 100 charts provide a glimpse of the new system, but there's much more to come. Uploaders, please see the important action required section below.

As a result, the charts will not be frozen at midnight on July 31. Instead, they will be carrying through to the end of August and the jackpot will continue to increase until then. Put simply, there will be no pay-out at the end of July, but next month's pay-out will be effectively doubled.

We have to do this as there are new features running and collecting data in the background that are directly related to the jackpot pay-outs. The new tools will provide the community with more ways to support their favorite stars, and will dramatically improve the site for both viewers and contributers.

So hold tight and keep competing in the Top 100 table -- you're really going to be able to win big this time around, and the new features are literally just around the corner. In fact, if you want more information about what we're close to releasing, just look around the site: There are dozens of clues scattered throughout some of the less visited sections of the site. Happy hunting!

Action required to stay in the running!

Any rank and position earned throughout July has not been lost! Members will start the month of August with the same position in the Top 100 charts and ranking system that they had at the end of July, but they have to upload something new within the month of August in order for their rank and position to be restored. If you do not see yourself listed on the Top 100 table even though you should be, you need to upload something for your position to be restored.

New way of reporting new features

We've created a new section called News from the Spymac Labs where you can read about Spymac's latest new features, upcoming changes, and more! We will no longer be using the Spymac Bulletin blog to introduce new features, but keep checking back for more information on other exciting happenings around the site.

Spymac Labs will be more than just news, it will also give users sneak peeks inside development, and allow for comments and feedback.

Find out more about the recently added copyright report system in the most recent Lab entry. (As you can see from our new report system, we're very serious about copyrights. In order to be eligible to receive money for your uploads, promotional material or creative commons work of others is not allowed.)

Anonymous rating

With the arrival of the Top 100, ratings are now even more important. We received a lot of feedback from people who did not want to rate an upload accurately because of social/political reasons. Look at the five stars as being a thumbs up / thumbs down system, with just a few more choices in between for accuracy's sake.

Don't be afraid to give a full thumbs up to someone who deserves it, or likewise, a 1 or 2 star rating to an upload that you feel deserves it. The system only works if there is a wide spectrum of votes being cast. Remember though, always try to leave constructive feedback to let the uploader know how he/she can improve or continue to please.

Speaking of accuracy, rating stars can now detect fractions -- no more half or full stars. You can now have a 3 and a quarter star rating, for example. More to come soon, good luck!

Official Footage from Friday's Stunt

Stay tuned for news on the Top 100 and other great features that will be launching soon.

Orlando Spy Pictures

Here's a killer slideshow from NSMEntertainment. He went to Saturday's stunt at Orlando's City Hall, and even scored some cash from the Spymac Man. (He tossed out thousands -- literally!) And now, just by uploading pictures from an event he literally got paid to go to, he has a chance to win even more in the new Top 100. Not a bad deal!

Spymac takes over City Hall

Spymac took Orlando City hall by storm today, and gave out bundles of cold cash to the hundreds of hungry-for-money onlookers. Our agents were able to follow their orders like clock-work, so thanks to everyone who assisted in the event and who attended. Official footage will be posted soon, but in the mean time, here's some clips from the community:

Spymac Stunt in Orlando TODAY AT NOON! Cash Giveaway!

Attention Orlando / Tampa Bay residents: Spymac will be holding a special event at City Hall (downtown Orlando) today (July 6th) at Noon (EST).

A secret Spymac agent will be sliding off of City Hall, and with the help of the Orlando SWAT team, will make his way through the crowds giving away thousands in free cash!

The details:

Orlando City Hall
One City Commons, 400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL

Time: 12:00 Noon EST
Date: Friday, July 6

Event page: http://www.spymac.com/orlando
Back to Spymac.com

Watch the New Spymac TV Promo!

Taggin' controls

Previously, we talked about a new feature that allows members to block people from embedding things in their profiles and comments. Similar functionality is now available for tagging.

Through your Account Settings, you can now control who is able to add tags to both your uploads and your profile. You can choose to allow only your friends, everyone, or no one at all. If you are having a problem with people tagging your uploads with words that you do not feel describe your content properly, simply turn public tagging capability off, or switch it to friends only.

HUGE VIP SPYMAC PARTY IN PARAGUAY TONIGHT

Spymac is spreading like wild-fire in South America, and tonight we're officially holding a media and VIP kick-off party in Paraguay! A Spanish version of this announcement is below.

The countries top models, media representatives and celebrities will be there to help us celebrate, and it's rumored that Spymac co-founder Nostradamus might make an appearance!

The event starts at 8:30 PM, but it is a private party for the 300 invited VIPs until midnight. After midnight, everyone's welcome to come and help us party the night away! Videos and pictures of the event will be posted to Spymac as soon as they become available.

EVENT DETAILS

SPYMAC LANZAMIENTO VIP MEDIA ELECTRONIC PARTY IN ASUNCION, PARAGUAY

Liquid Disco
Paseo Carmelitas
Asuncion, Paraguay

Time: 8:30 - Midnight: VIP (INVITATION ONLY)
Midnight Onward: PUBLIC PARTY!

QUESTIONS? WANT TO ATTEND? CONTACT US!

R.JONES@SPYMACNETWORK.COM
0981 143 722

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GRAN FIESTA DE SPYMAC EN ASUNCION, PARAGUAY ESTE NOCHE

SPYMAC esta creciendo en sur america! Esta noche estamos oficialmente para la prensa en una fiesta electronica en ASUNCION PARAGUAY Las mejores modelos celebridades y prensa estaran ahi para celebrar con nosotros NUESTRAS GANAS DE EXPANDIRNOS A EN LATINOAMERICA!

TENEMOS UN RUMOR QUE EL COFUNDADOR NOSTRADAMUS HARA SU APARICION ONLINE EN LA FIESTA!

videos y fotos del evento seran posteadas en spymac apenas nos envien los mienbros que estaran participando en la fiesta

EVENT DETAILS

SPYMAC LANZAMIENTO VIP MEDIA ELECTRONIC PARTY IN ASUNCION, PARAGUAY

Liquid Disco
Paseo Carmelitas
Asuncion, Paraguay

Time: 8:30 - Midnight: VIP (INVITATION ONLY)
Midnight Onward: PUBLIC PARTY!

QUESTIONS? WANT TO ATTEND? CONTACT US!

R.JONES@SPYMACNETWORK.COM
0981 143 722

Private, Speedy Profiles!

While we work in the background to release the new Top Charts (view this entry if you need a recap), our developers are busy adding features that are heavily in demand.

You can now set your profile to private! If you do this, only your friends can visit your profile and leave comments. Simply visit your Edit Profile page and mark your profile as "Friends Only" to activate this feature.

On the topic of your profile, we've recently been fine-tuning the engine behind the movies, pictures and audio that people embed in their comments to you. The result: profiles with lots of comments (With embedded content) should be loading a lot faster for everyone! This speed increase also effects people who embed stuff on MySpace, FaceBook, etc. Enjoy!

Special Update From the Official S12 TV!

Stop the Madness!

Don't you hate it when people slow down your profile by embedding stuff in your comments that you don't want? You can now take action! If you visit your Account Options, you will see a new option ("Comment embedding settings") that lets you:

-Block everyone from embedding anything (in either your profile, on your uploads -- or both)
-Give permission to only your friends to allow them to embed stuff on your profile or on your uploads

This is the month we are launching the charts -- stay tuned for more information on that!

Alert the crew!

Here's a new feature that has been high in demand: from the upload page, you can now notify all of your friends when you upload something new! This is a great way to keep your friends and family in the loop with what's going on in your life. If you select the "Alert the crew" checkbox, the friends you have on Spymac will get an email with a link to your upload.

Tell me when someone makes a new comment!

When you're posting a new comment, you'll now see a checkbox labeled with:

"Tell me when someone makes a new comment!"

If you select this box, you will receive an email when someone else comments on that particular upload! So go ahead and ask a question or engage in a discussion -- you'll be notified when someone answers you!

We have a lot more coming, so stay tuned!

Friends-only Video Chat and Customizable Flags

Here's two nice little features for you:

You can now make your webcam friends-only, which means that only people who have been approved as your friend can request a video chat. Do this from your profile edit page!

Also, if you've been wanting to change the flag on your profile, you can now do that through your settings page

Revamped Collections!!!

Collections are a great way to gather your favorite movies, pictures, and even friends, all in one place! We've revamped the way they're displayed: bigger thumbnails and an scroller to easily view all the items in the set. Collections can even contain other Collections, which can lead to all sorts of fun.

Here's a cool Collection of Wallpapers so you can see what we're talking about.

Tip: When you embed a Collection, (for example, on MySpace) it shows up as a slideshow! Try it out.

Spymac Visits South Beach

Spymac visited South Beach last week to film an upcoming TV show (details announced soon). Last month's jackpot winner SOCOM12 made an appearance!