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Welcome Developers!

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Welcome!

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Invite!

If you've been keeping a sharp eye on your MySpace mailbox you might have noticed the appearance a week or so ago of the new "Notifications" folder.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the Notifications folder is where all ACC messages will be delivered, along with a slew of other message types including group and school invites, photo tags, and comments, so getting that folder out was a key first step.

I'm pleased to let you guys know that we're now taking the next step: App Invites are on across the board!  Here's the documentation page that has all the info you'll need to hook up invites for your app via requestShareApp.

We expect App Invites to be a really important feature for getting the word out about your apps. While we are still supporting messages, comments, and bulletins, App Invites give you a much more direct way to let your users invite their friends to get your app: the ux is cleaner, the user "workflow" simpler and faster, and Invites are easier to find and recognize. Additionally, App Invites get their own indicator item on the User Home Page!

So, the table is set. It's up to you guys to start making good use of Invites. As always, post your questions/feedback/issues on the forums and stay current on twitter.

And don't forget to send me an Invite!

/Kyle 

 

Comments

 

jose said:

hello,

i'm testing this new feature in development mode and i'm not seeing the invites in my test account's notification box.

is there a delay or do app invites not work while the app is in development?

i'm certain that my code is correct since the callback is returning a success on each invite that is sent.

July 28, 2008 4:06 PM
 

Donny Mack (DM) said:

No it should come through  - remember if the recipient has the app installed already, has app communications blocked or has the app blocked it won't go through - can you verify those three things.

D

July 28, 2008 4:40 PM
 

jonathan@myspace said:

The virally annoying app is a working example and invites definitely work [a lot of the team has already been affected :D]

July 28, 2008 4:44 PM
 

jose said:

Yes, donny, you are correct. The test account i was sending invitest to had the app installed. Once I removed the app, it started to recieved the app invites.

On another note, I noticed that installing the app from the invitiation does not redirect the user to the app. Is this the intended implementation? I'd imagine a  user new to apps may have difficulty since the expected result from installing an app is to load that app immediately. At least that's how it works if you install from the gallery or app's profile page.

July 28, 2008 5:19 PM
 

jose said:

Another thing I would also like to mention:

If you install the app from the invitation, the only way to get to the app would be through the links off of the user's homepage or manage app page.  For a newly installed user, visiting the page from either of these pages does not append the newinstall=1 parameter to the url.

For my apps,  I use this param to display extra text info to help get my new users accustomed to my app. Now, to accommodate the new users installing from invites, I have to track these new visits manually.

Just giving you guys a heads up if you weren't aware of these issues.

July 28, 2008 5:31 PM
 

Donny Mack (DM) said:

We'll be changing the current link to point to canvas - I'll make a note to append the newinstall param asap.

We're also working on implementing the install callback - we'll be passing a install location param in it so you can track where the install took place.

We're still working out the final workflow for what will happen after a user installs the app. Will keep ya'll posted and any input is always considered!

D

July 28, 2008 5:37 PM
 

Douglas said:

Just to be absolutely clear for anyone who is planning on using this: what Donny said means that the install callback is currently NOT invoked when a user installs via an invite.

Hopefully this will be fixed soon; but watch out if you're an early bird~

July 28, 2008 7:39 PM
 

BitRhymes said:

looks cool!!

install callback is a must have for us. we will have to wait it out. also agree that link should take user to canvas.

July 29, 2008 1:15 AM
 

Michael said:

A copy-paste of the viral invite example doesn't do anything? Nothing appears... What gives?

July 30, 2008 3:49 PM
 

Toby said:

yeah...

July 31, 2008 6:03 AM
 

Toby said:

yeah...

July 31, 2008 6:03 AM
 

Danny said:

hey guys the invite doesn't work for me, copy-paste of the code and nothing appears.. any suggestion?

July 31, 2008 2:54 PM
 

jose said:

When are you going to add the install call back to invites? why did you release invites without it???? its totally broken right now!

July 31, 2008 8:30 PM
 

Danny said:

Im getting the follow error : MyOpenSpace is not defined

August 1, 2008 7:25 AM
 

Michael said:

Why does a copy and paste of that code do nothing??? Hello?

August 2, 2008 9:50 PM
 

SurveyMaker Inc said:

In case of selecting multiple friends and sending invites, popups per each friends is annoying. Can we have only one popup confirmation for all selected?

August 4, 2008 12:51 PM
 

MySpace Developer Team said:

Today we rolled out some enhancements and UI fixes to our app invites feature: Install Callback Url We

August 7, 2008 4:38 PM
 

Donny Mack (DM) said:

callbacks rolled out today. more information here: developer.myspace.com/.../app-invites-update.aspx

August 7, 2008 4:46 PM
 

yotam said:

Can the friend picker UI be changed? right now, though functional - it's hideous...

August 11, 2008 5:09 AM
 

Danny said:

this code just work for "myspace container" , does not work for iframe..  how can I implement invites for iframe ?

August 11, 2008 8:43 AM