Loads of changes being made today
Posted by Sean | Filed under New Features, News
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We’re bringing in plenty of changes today, ahead of a ‘version 2′ launch. I can’t say exactly what they are because i haven’t actually seen them all finished yet 
But you’ll be able to delete favorite drinks (couldn’t do that previously), plus we’re cleaning up some more bugs.
We’re also closing in on a version 2 launch date. It could be as early as late next week or it could be another few weeks away, it depends how smoothly things go…
preview of version 2
Posted by Sean | Filed under New Features, News, development
So we’ve spoken about version 2 yet not really spoken about what it’s going to involve. First of all, some of these changes are based on feedback… most are not - which is dangerous on our part, but we’re confident if we like them, so will you 
- 100% width header and footer
- Page width set at 900 pixels
- New header and footer designed (simpler, smaller in height and filesize)
- Completely revamped comments area, all AJAX and in reverse chronological order i.e. newest comment comes first (loads of you suggested this).
- Ability to choose your ‘top friends’
- Ability to customize the layout and display options of your photos/videos/descriptions, comments etc in your profile (this is something worth waiting for, believe me)
There’ll also be several smaller changes… most of you won’t notice them but things like;
- Multi-uploader for photos (so you don’t have to upload one at a time)
- AJAX ‘please wait’ page
- Emails whenever you get a comment on your profile (optional)
- More control over what emails are sent to you and what for
- Search Engine Optimised page and url sructure
- Ability to add photos to events
They’re just some of the many changes we’ll be making. We’ve decided to roll all these changes out at once, rather than continue to add bits and pieces to the site on a daily basis… it’s too messy that way. No set date for the new version 2, we’re busy working on it which is a good thing, but i’d imagine it’ll be 2/3 weeks before you guys see it.
The good news though is that once we do launch that version, a public launch will be the next step
ok, hands up, who did it?
Posted by Sean | Filed under News, development
Upon my travels today i noticed some more backlinks in google for ‘BeerChief’.
From none other than mashable! Yes, the social networking superpower that is mashable 
We’ve been placed on their invites page which is basically a big list of social networking sites that are in BETA mode. Cheers to whoever added us
In other news, we’ve added more ‘beers’ to our ‘beers’ section. We’re also starting work on a ‘version 2′ which we’ve only spoken about previously.
We can’t wait to get it finished… but wait we have to. As GUINNESS would say, good things come to those who wait
brimming with confidence
Posted by Sean | Filed under News, development
Having successfully launched in BETA mode yesterday, we’ve been given a huge confidence boost by the sheer volume of traffic and positive comments early on.
It’s now becoming clear that BeerChief - the idea - is a winner. The site isn’t perfect by any means, but we’re working on it
Carrying on from yesterday, we’ve pinpointed over 20 issues that need sorting. Most of these are relatively minor but essential none the less. We’ve sent them off to our development team to have a look at. Check out the in-depth analysis of each problem - that’s what i spent most of the day doing
Myself and Adam have also been discussing, in detail, some major changes. Even though we’re pretty much cash strapped after ploughing over $10k in to this baby so far, it looks like we may be rummaging deeper in to our pockets…
The feedback combined with traffic has given us a real boost early on and it’s forcing us to work harder than ever before. We have no set date for a public launch, but at this rate, it won’t be far off!!
Once we get more members on board, add more content, and thoroughly test out all the features over and over, we’ll probably roll out a ‘version 2′ which will be a more polished site… leaner, meaner and sexier than before with more AJAX and a real emphasis on customization.
Once THAT is thoroughly tested, we’ll take the handbrake off BeerChief and let it shoot off in to cyber space without the BETA label which is holding it back at present.
Day 1 Round Up
Posted by Sean | Filed under New Features, News, development
It’s been a pretty good start for us at BeerChief having launched in BETA mode earlier today.
We’ve had about 25 sign ups and hundreds of unique visitors. About 140 people received an email informing them BeerChief was now up and running. I blogged about it on my own personal blog, but apart from that, there hasn’t been any promotion.
So although it’s a very low key affair, it’s hugely important. We’ve received some wonderful comments and suggestions and we’re already acting on them… in fact, i’ll list some changes we’ve made today:
- Added more Beers to our beer section
- Created a smaller header (filesize-wise) to decrease page loading time
- Made certain mandatory fields on the sign up form not mandatory
- Renamed several features and pages to more appropriate names
- Fixed an error in auto emails being sent out after joining an event
Those changes were all based on feedback from members. We’re working on other stuff too…
Getting it right won’t be an overnight thing, it won’t be easy, but if we continue to act on feedback and formulate plans for future improvments, we’ll get there eventually.
Don’t forget BeerChief has been in the making for 18 months, so we’re in this for the long haul - and we’re gonna make it a success at all costs, even if it does take us time 
BeerChief is GO!
Posted by Sean | Filed under News
BeerChief is now officially in BETA testing mode! We’ve sent out emails to over 100 people and have already got some very constructive feedback and already made several small changes as a direct result of this. Keep it coming guys
Get access to BeerChief now by going to beerchief.com/beer and entering this username and password;
- username: beer
- password: okok
It’s as simple as that.
Sign up, add videos, photos, favourite drinks, mess around - do whatever you want! If you get a chance, we’d appreciate any feedback you have… you can reply to this post or email us through the BeerChief site (contact link is at the bottom of the main site).
BETA testing launch date
Posted by Sean | Filed under Uncategorized
This morning, i sent out emails to all our subscribers. Ended up being a bit of a disaster as some of you got an image that didn’t exist! Apologies for that, the problem with the email (sent to ~40 people, thankfully not everyone) was that it was calling the image locally on my machine, rather than calling it from the BeerChief server. Anyway, i conceded defeat and just sent out plain text html emails, but we’ll know for again!
Here was the message we sent out;
Howdy folks!
It’s been a long time coming, but BeerChief.com is FINALLY going in to public BETA testing on July 1st.
What this means is that the site will be fully functional and you can sign up, create profiles and interact etc.. but we want to restrict access to BeerChief.com whilst we perfect it further and get some feedback from you guys.
Feedback is very important to us and for the development of BeerChief. Your opinion COUNTS and we’ll do our best to listen and take your advice on board.
On July 1st, you will receive another email from us which will contain a username and password. This is the only way you’ll be able to access BeerChief.
To find out what’s happening at BeerChief, don’t forget to check out our blog!
Sean & Adam - BeerChief founders.
Yes, that’s right, we’re launching on July 1st for BETA testing. It’s been a long time coming and we can’t tell you how relieved we are to FINALLY have something to show for months and months of work.
We still have more features and plans in the pipeline, and once we get a bit of feedback on things so far, we can start implementing some new features and ideas.
As you can imagine, we’re pretty much flat out at the minute, but we’ll try to keep you guys up to date on this blog whenever we get the chance
First BeerChief Video
Posted by admin | Filed under videos
Hey guys, it’s been a while…
We’re well on our way to completing BeerChief and we’re still on course for a summer launch date
Here’s a little promo video we put together
Work starts today
Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized
We’ve been very busy these past few weeks trying to source a development deal for BeerChief.
At long last, we’ve agreed a deal with a professional development team to bring BeerChief to life.
When all is said and done, we’ll have invested over $10,000 in BeerChief, so nobody can accuse us of lacking commitment or determination 
Work starts today on BeerChief and we’re on course for a June / July launch date if everything goes smoothly, which it never does 
So now you know we mean business and that promise of delivering a ‘world class’ social networking site will be kept
Happy Birthday to us!!
Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized
This day last year, BeerChief was launched.
On the face of it nothing has changed since then - it’s the same homepage, same blog, we’re still in development.
We’ve had our problems during the year, but i’m delighted to announce we’ve now very close to putting pen to paper on a deal with a top web development company.
We expect to sign contracts this week.
So we’re officially one today and are very excited now about launching.
We’re still very much on course for a summer launch date, at which stage we’ll go in to private beta testing and send out invites to you guys