Around every 6-12 months, the Plaxo software autoupgrades to the latest build of the Plaxo client. This is done to provide minor patch fixes, incorporate minor new features, and phase out older versions of the client software that are no longer supported (ie: 0.x)

The autoupgade is rolled out over time, so in the coming weeks, members may notice their Plaxo client prompting them to install the latest version. The upgrade should take about a minute to complete and does not require any further action on the member's part.

The latest version of the Plaxo client being autoupgraded to is version 2.4.x.x.

Members can also manually check if they are running the latest version of Plaxo. You can go to the Plaxo / Help / About Plaxo menu to see if you have the latest version. If you do not have the latest version, you will have the option to upgrade from there as well.

A user in our forum asked about Plaxo support for the Mac OS X (I'm assuming he was referring to Entourage, since Plaxo for Thunderbird (beta) is available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux).

We receive numerous requests to support various email clients and services and it is our stated intention to support Plaxo across multiple platforms, applications and services. Support for clients and services such as Skype, Mac OS X, ACT!, Incredimail, Lotus Notes, Groupwise, Firefox, and gMail are a few of the ones people often ask about.

[UPDATE: add to the list Opera, Mac Mail, Gmail, Hotmail]

Unfortunately, it's difficult for us to answer questions about unavailable features or releases. With our good intention of underpromising and overdelivering, we've taken the policy of publicly discussing features and releases after they are available. I realize this probably is not very comforting for some of our members excited to see Plaxo expanded to their favorite application or service, but hopefully people understand.

I will say this: personally, one of the things I like most about working here is our willingness to listen and respond to feedback. We appreciate all of the feedback we receive and it really does help to shape the direction, features, and priorities of Plaxo.

Within just the last two years, member feedback has helped Plaxo to expand beyond support for just Outlook and Outlook Express. Plaxo is available as a toolbar for Internet Explorer and Thunderbird. Plaxo can sync address data with services such as Yahoo! and AOL, and people can access their Plaxo data through Web and Wireless.

And of course, there is more to come. As you might imagine, we are looking very closely at the list I mentioned above, and many others as well. I feel we have some very exciting things in the pipeline that we're happy to discuss... once they become available.

A member asked me today, "Is AOL buying Plaxo?"

He had read the press release about how Plaxo and America Online have formed an agreement to help AOL members and AIM users to better manage contact information. He had also read AOL's Release of the Preview Edition of New AIM Triton Software that features a Plaxo-enabled AIM Address Book.

My answer to him was, No - these announcements do not mean AOL is purchasing Plaxo. They simply mean that Plaxo is powering and enabling the AIM Address book with the AIM Triton release, which in itself is very exciting news. More information on the Plaxo/AOL agreement is available on our web site.

Certainly I can't speak to the future, but the question also reminded me of what would happen if a business transition did occur for Plaxo. What would happen to a Plaxo member's information? Fortunately, we detail this in our Plaxo Privacy Policy, under the "Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition" section:

In the event Plaxo goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition or the sale of all or substantially all of its assets (a ?Business Transition?), your membership in the Plaxo Network? and the Plaxo servers containing Your Information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. In such event, you will be notified via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods prior to the Business Transition, and Plaxo?s custody of Your Information will be transferred subject to all the terms and restrictions in this Privacy Policy.

Following a Business Transition, Plaxo or its successors will continue to use Your Information in accordance with the Privacy Policy under which the information was collected. If, however, we plan to use Your Information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Web site and any other appropriate methods. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use Your Information in this different manner. Whether or not you wish to have Your Information used in this different manner, you will retain ownership rights to Your Information and the ability to delete Your Information at any time. Please note, if you have deleted or deactivated your account with the Services or are an opt-out User, then you will not be contacted, nor will Your Information be used in this different manner.

I've found most services do not outline what happens should a business transition occurs, but I wish more would do so. We've found that it adds to the transparency of our company, as well as our privacy practices. It allows people considering our service to better understand how their information is used and stays protected. And that I feel only helps them to make a better and more informed decision.

'till next time.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

In our continuing series on the new Plaxo Alerts. In the previous article, I talked about how the alert color helps to identify the type of alert you have received.

We tried to design the Plaxo Alerts to be aesthetically appealing and crisp, while presenting the important details.

The new alerts also show a Member Status box located in the upper right corner of each alert. Here you can review your current Plaxo Membership level (are you a VIP Member?), as well as see how long you've been a Plaxo member (e.g. Member Since: 01/01/2001).

The Member Status box also contains a "Learn more about Plaxo Alerts" link. Many members wanted to know more about the various sections in their Plaxo Alerts. The "Learn more" link gives you quick access to a Plaxo help page that provides greater explanation of each type of alert.

In our continuing series on the new Plaxo Alerts:

One of the improvements we've made to alerts is to visually separate them into 3 categories. This should help you recognize and handle alerts more quickly.

Green - "New Connection Alerts" - A contact in your address book has granted you permision to connect to their Plaxo card. The connected entry in your address book will be automatically updated each time the other Plaxo member changes their Plaxo card information. The "Green" alert also allows you to easily send and share your own Plaxo card information with the other Plaxo member.

Blue - "New Contact Info Alerts" - An entry in your address book has been updated. This occurs when someone responds to an Update Request you've sent, or when a connected Plaxo member in your address book updates their own Plaxo card information. The "Blue" alert will show you what information was changed.

Orange - "System Alerts/Important Messages" - Plaxo was unable to process a set of your instructions due to a problem. For example, an Update Request may have bounced or been throttled, or we may have failed to validate one of your email addresses. The "Orange" alert provide you the details of the problem and steps you can take to fix it.

We'll continue to tweak and improve the alerts over time, but if you have any questions, comments or feedback, please let us know.

Some of you may have noticed our new Plaxo Alerts recently rolled out.

Based on member feedback, we've redesigned the alerts to make them more informative and useful, helping to enhance your usage of Plaxo. We'll post some upcoming blog articles that discuss the new layout and features of the new alerts, and we'll continue to tweak and improve them over time.

But unfortunately, with the rollout of the new alerts, we also discovered a minor problem. Normally, a member receives an alert notification anytime an entry in their address book is updated through Plaxo. A bug in the new alerts caused a small percentage of Plaxo members to receive some alerts where no contact information had actually changed. No address book data was corrupted, but the alerts may have been confusing. We've fixed the problem, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Should you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, please let us know by contacting our Support Department.

I had previously corresponded with Peter only through email on some privacy questions he had on Plaxo. He wanted to thank me for my previous response (and of course, ask another question :-).

Peter was able to contact me through IM by noting my AIM presense in Plaxo Online. What was interesting though (at least to Peter), he was able to detect my AIM presense, even though he did not know my AIM Screen Name.

But how is this possible??? Was this a breach of my privacy or security?

Of course, the answer is No - my information is safe and secure as always. But then how was Peter able to contact me through my AIM Screen Name that he did not know? The answer lies in how I have set for my Privacy Settings for my AIM account and how AIM presense works.

My AIM Account Settings

When I registered for AIM, I validated my email address to my AIM account. I also configured my AIM Privacy settings to allow others to look up my AIM Screen Name based on my email address. Basically, I am allowing others to type in my email address and be returned my AIM Screen Name.

Because Peter knows my email address, Plaxo was able to utilize AOL's API, and based on my AIM Privacy Settings, look up my AIM Screen Name associated with my validated email address. Plaxo then shows my AIM presense next to my email address in Peter's address book. I can always change my AIM privacy settings to disable this look up if I do not wish others to see my AIM presense.

Fortunately, I understand what's going on here. But I suspect that as AIM presense becomes more widely available to Plaxo members, there may be confusion by some members on this new feature. Both our Support and Privacy teams are ready to answer any questions on the matter. But hopefully, there won't be too much confusion, and members will be very excited by this new way to stay connected.

Peter was able to use AIM presense to easily connect with me again, and effectively communicate with me quickly and easily.

'till next time.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

A member asked me today, "What happens when I change my Plaxo card information?".

I get this question from time to time, and each time I hear it, it makes me realize it's not always clear to people exactly how Plaxo works and how we solve the problem of staying in touch. After all, when it comes to staying in touch, there are really two sides to the problem.

On one side, you want to stay in touch with people you know by being updated each time they change their information. Preferably, this updating occurs automatically, so you don't have to bother with manually updating entries in your own address book when your contacts change their information.

On the other side, you want to update people who know you each time YOU change own information. Presumably, you'd want to update these people automatically whenever your information changes so as to NOT require manually informing and updating these people.

The two sides work hand-in-hand, and in the case of Plaxo, are highly dependent upon your Plaxo card Privacy settings. Your address book gets updated automatically when another member changes their information because that other member has allowed you to be automatically updated. Plaxo can only update entries in your address book if that respective contact (who is also a Plaxo member) grants you access to their updated Plaxo card information. We refer to this as "Card Sharing".

I find that people generally understand that Plaxo helps solve the first part of staying in touch. People often say to me, "It's great - Plaxo helps me to keep entries in my address book updated automatically!!!". But perhaps it's less evident that Plaxo also keeps others updated automatically when you change your own information. This takes us back to the original question, "What happens when I change my Plaxo card information?".

When you update your Plaxo card information, those other Plaxo members that you have permissioned to view your Plaxo card will be automatically updated with your new information. Before Plaxo will automatically update another member:

• The person must be a Plaxo member,


• They must have permission to your Plaxo card(s) based on your Privacy settings,


• and they must know you (ie: have you in their address book)

The final thing to understand is how your Privacy settings affect who will be automatically updated.

• If your Privacy Setting is set to "Members", you will automatically update any other Plaxo members who know you (ie: have you in their own Plaxo address book). The Plaxo member being updated does not need to be in your own address book
  
• If your Privacy Setting is set to "Contacts", you will automatically update other Plaxo members who know you (ie: also have you in their own Plaxo address book) if the member is ALSO in your own Plaxo address book.
  
• If your Privacy Setting is set to "Private", you will only automatically update those Plaxo members who you have previously sent your Plaxo card to directly (ie: you sent them an update request message).
  

Note: a greater explanation of Plaxo Privacy settings is available here:

Hopefully this sheds greater light on how Plaxo works and how we help solve the problem of staying in touch. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

'till next time,

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

One of the most important aspects of Plaxo is how members share their own Plaxo card information with other Plaxo members. By sharing their Plaxo cards, Plaxo members are able to automatically update other Plaxo members each time they change their information. Plaxo provides a very robust and flexible permissioning scheme which allows the Plaxo member to determine how and with whom they wish to share their information.

One way members share their information is by explicitly sending a contact their information as part of a Plaxo Update Request message. For example: when Alice sends Bob an Update Request message and includes her Plaxo Business Card, she has permissioned Bob to view and access her Plaxo Business Card. Should Alice change her Plaxo Business Card information in the future, Bob will be automatically updated (assuming Bob is also a Plaxo member, and maintains an entry for Alice in his own Plaxo managed address book).

The other way Plaxo members share their information is through the Privacy Options of their Plaxo cards (configured at installation time or by editing your Plaxo cards). Plaxo has always supported two Privacy options: Private and Members. We recently introduced a 3rd Privacy option: Contacts.

Here's a brief explanation of each:

Option 1: Members (formerly called Public)

Any Plaxo member who has your e-mail address or screen name in their address book will be able to access your Members permissioned card.

Option 2: Contacts

Only other Plaxo members in your own address book will be able to access your Contacts card.

Option 3: Private

By default, no one will be able to access your Private card except for those people you explicitly send your cards to or individually permission.

Each Plaxo member has two Plaxo cards - a Plaxo Business Card and Plaxo Personal Card. By default, the Privacy Option is Members for the Plaxo Business Card, and Private for the Plaxo Personal Card.

Many members prefer the Members privacy option for at least one of their Plaxo cards due to its ability to automatically update other Plaxo members who already know them. If these friends, family, or associates already maintain the member's email address within their own Plaxo-managed address book, Plaxo will automatically update these members. The member does not need to manually send these other Plaxo members his Plaxo card information.

For example:

Alice permissions her Plaxo Business Card for Members. Carl has Alice in his Plaxo address book and gets automatically updated each time Alice changes her Plaxo Business Card. Alice does not need to have Carl in her own address book, nor does she need to send Carl a message when she changes her business information.

Other members prefer to maintain complete control over their Plaxo card information by marking both Plaxo cards as Private. Under this configuration, no automated updating occurs until the Plaxo member establishes a connection with another Plaxo member by explicitly sending his Plaxo card to the other Plaxo member in an Update Request. Once a connection has been established, Plaxo automatically updates the other Plaxo member anytime the member's Private Plaxo card information changes.

For example:

Alice permissions her Plaxo Personal Card as Private. Alice sends her Plaxo Personal Card to Dan. Dan's Plaxo Address Book continues to be updated automatically each time Alice changes her Personal Card. Alice does NOT send her Personal Card to Carl, so Carl is not updated automatically when she changes her Personal Card.

The Contacts privacy option offers a nice middle ground between the Members and Private privacy options. This option allows the member to control which other Plaxo members they share their information with to the contacts they maintain within their own address book. If any of these contacts are also Plaxo members, Plaxo will automatically update the entry they maintain for the member.

For example:

Alice permissions her Plaxo Personal Card as Contacts. Edward is in Alice's address book and also a Plaxo member. Plaxo automatically updates the entry for Alice in Edward's address book each time Alice changes her Personal Card information.

Greg is also in Alice's address book and a Plaxo member, but does not have Alice in his own address book. Though he has permission to Alice's Personal Card, there is nothing for Plaxo to automatically update.

The Contacts privacy option is currently only configurable through Plaxo Online. It will also be available through the Plaxo Toolbar for Outlook and Outlook Express with an upcoming client release, but for people who wish to take advantage of this new Privacy Option today, they can do so by editing their cards through Plaxo Online.

Till next time.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

Has anyone checked out the new AIM presence that is available through Plaxo Online!!! AIM presence allows you to quickly determine your contact's current AIM status.

Using the email address of the contact maintained within your Plaxo Address Book, you can quickly see if your buddy is online, idle, mobile, etc... If you also have AIM installed, you can easily connect with them by clicking on the presence icon and sending them a quick instant message.

This was one of many new features announced as part of Plaxo's integration with the Universal Address Book for AIM and AOL users. AIM presence will soon be rolled into the Plaxo toolbar for Outlook and Outlook Express, but this feature is available now through Plaxo Online.

The presence icon honors the AIM Privacy settings of your AIM buddy. If your buddy allow others to look up their online AIM status, you'll be able to see it through Plaxo Online. If not, no status information is displayed.

It's safe, secure, and pretty cool.

To see if any of your contacts are online, log into your Plaxo Online account, go to Contacts, and click on the Names view (https://www.plaxo.com/contact_list?view=0).

'till next time.

Stacy Martin
Plaxo Privacy Officer
privacy @t plaxo.com

CORRECTION (2005-09-13 18:14:56): Engineering informs me that AIM presence shows up on the other Contacts views - not just the Names view. Even better!!!