There are a lot of features on Fanpop. Some are well known and others are less well known (there are also a ton of others we *want* to do, but that's for another conversation). Today I thought I would highlight a few of the less-well-known features for you.

Why? Because, dammit, we spent time on these features! Sure picks and images might be sexier, but these are the runts of the proverbial Fanpop-litter and they need some time in the spotlight too.

(side note: if you already know about these, then consider yourself a very knowledgeable Fanpopper. But if you don't...well, here's hoping you learn something new today...)

Feature 1: Invite a Friend

This one is new, but it's important. A lot of folks have asked us for this and we finally have launched a version of it that makes it really easy to invite your friends, family and acquaintances to Fanpop.

What does it do? Fanpoppers who use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or AOL Mail can easily and quickly import their contact list and send out a Fanpop invitation to all of their buddies. When those friends join, they will be added as fans (and we all want more fans, right?). Bonus: if any of your friends are already on Fanpop, you can add them to your fan list (we all an use more friends, right?).

Everyone who registers will get to see the invite a friend feature. But for longtime Fanpoppers, you can still invite friends by:

(a) Clicking on the "invite friends" link in the blue Fanpop navigation bar (top of your screen).

or...

(b) You can go to your profile page and click on the *ahem* inconspicuous yellow module below your "about me" module.

And did I mention that you get bragging rights for successfully inviting friends to Fanpop? On your profile is a trophy next to the ratings trophy.

Alas I have to post a screencap of Dave Lu's trophy/props collection which is more impressive than mine. I guess he has more friends and props than me (*sob*...I feel...so...inadequate...).

So to all the folks who've told us "hey, Fanpop is great, but there's no easy way to tell my friends", what's your excuse now? ;-)

Feature 2: Block User

So most of the time we all get along like one big happy family right? Um...sometimes...

Block user allows you to not have to deal with certain fans that you don't really want to deal with (kinda like how I screen phone calls or don't answer the door when the IRS comes knocking). I know, it's sad to have to admit that one might need this feature, but folks asked for it and we listened.

Here's a real world example: Dave Lu used to private message me all the time asking when I was gonna repay the $5 I owed him. Well, I got tired of his daily *rants* so one day I opened a message from him and clicked on the "Block User" button at the bottom of his message.

Poof. No more Dlu messages, all my problems are solved. I'm less stressed out and I'm $5 richer.

Oh, and if I ever choose to reconcile with him, I can always go to my "blocked users" list and "unblock" him.

On second thought, no - ain't gonna happen...

Feature 3: The Fanpop Bookmarklet

This is one of our oldest "forgotten" features. Those of you who add links or videos probably pass it by everyday. Poor bookmarklet - sits there waiting for someone, anyone to pat it on the head and add it to their browser toolbar. But no, you just ignore the little yellow bookmarklet, click on your submit button and the little Fanpop bookmarklet just sits there and dies a little more each day.

"But wait Papa, I want to save the bookmarklet from neglect!"

Ok, let me give you the scoop. The bookmarklet is a tool that streamlines adding content to Fanpop. To use it, Firefox or Safari users can just drag the "add to fanpop" button onto the browser toolbar (or right click and add to favorites if you're using IE). You'll find it on the right-side of the add link and add video pages.



Now whenever you are surfing on the internet and find something cool that you want to tell your buddies back on Fanpop, click on the bookmarklet button and you will be taken to the add link/video page on Fanpop. See? Isn't the bookmarklet useful after all?



Feature 4: Upload Videos or Record a Webcam Movie to Fanpop

Did you know that you can upload videos to Fanpop? Or that if you have a webcam you can record and post it to the site really easily? A lot of people don't. But yes, it's all possible.

Here's how it works. Go to the "add video" page and click on the "upload or record video" button (you might be asked to install a special plugin for the video uploader, it won't harm your computer).



This will open a special window where you can record or upload a video. To add a video from your hard drive, look for the "browse" button. If you want to record a video, click on the "webcam" tab and follow the instructions.



Once you've located the video file on your computer, an upload button will appear. Don't forget to click this! After the video has been uploaded, click the "submit" button at the bottom of the form.

Yes, it's a lot of steps (and we'd like to make it easier to do in the future).



Feature 5: The Amazing Picks Widget

The picks widget is a great feature that allows you to embed a small flash widget in your personal blog or on your social network profile.

To access it, just go to the results page for a pick that you really like (or better yet, one that you created) and look for the little sliver of text above the comments section.



Once you've found the widget module, look for the social network or blog tool that you want to embed the pick on. Click on the link or icon and the module will open to show you a sample of the widget along with the embed code and instructions.



By the way, my good friend, link of link, made this widget for us. I figured I'd give him a shout-out, since he did it pro bono.

Bonus Secret: Auto Images on the Picks

Some of the more perceptive picks creators might have noticed this, but if you create "yes" and "no" answers for your pick we'll automatically add yes and no images.



Kinda useful if you are feeling lazy and are particularly fond of yes and no questions ;-)

Anyway, that's it for this soapbox. I hope you've learned a few new secrets and tricks about the site and maybe this will help you discover some useful new features for you.