One of the advantages that ecards have over traditional vanilla paper greeting cards, is a true multimedia experience. The combination of design, message, music, animation and interactivity enables us to express ourselves in a more meaningful manner.

Over the last couple of months, we’ve been trying to delve deeper into the music components & the technologies that allow us to deliver music to the user’s browser in a seamless manner. Our users are based across the globe, and access the website with varying Internet speeds using a multitude of browsers, operating systems, plug-ins etc.

We came up with a set of conditions that we wanted to fulfill in any solution we finally arrived at. Some of the things we had in mind were:

• Music files are already large in size by themselves. We wanted a small player to deliver music fast.
• Users should not be asked for a compatible download/ installation of any software.
• Cross OS, Cross Browser, Cross plug-in Music Player.
• The player should play at least .mid, .wav & .mp3 file formats
• Preferably open source under any license.
• HTML/ JavaScript based (fully client side).

As we researched we found that most so-called cross browser players were flash based. The problem was two fold.

1. We did not want to load the swf as it added with its size a roundtrip to the server, which was expensive.
2. We did not assume that all our users would be using flash. We also offer Animated cards and Postcards, which are not dependent on Flash for such users.

Some like ‘JQuery Sound’ came close but needed a particular player for a particular type of content, which was not compatible with all the browsers/ OS combinations. They used the EMBED and/ or OBJECT tag to achieve the same. The major problem we noticed here while checking on different browsers/ OS combinations was that it did not always work. It was due to the fact that not all browsers had all plug-ins and hence it asked for the user to install plug-ins which were not present.

While pondering over all these we pinpointed that…

1. Our users ran different OS.
2. All these OS had different browsers with different versions on them.
3. All these in turn installed plug-ins to play a particular kind of media.

Therefore more than a OS/ Browser combination our focus shifted to a OS/ Browser/ Plug-in perspective.

Browser/ OS Detection
Browser detection gets a bit complicated with the fact that few browsers spoof it, most allow you to impersonate other browsers. Getting the right browser would mean using navigator.userAgent with browser specific tricks or the newer navigator.vendor. For this Quirksmode has a great browser detection script ready for download.

Plug-in Detection
All browsers have their various plug-in-detection capabilities. Netscape’s navigator.plug-ins array which is empty in Windows, Internet Explorer. IE on windows uses VBScript to detect plug-in but certain versions of IE on the Mac won’t agree. Until version 5, IE on the Mac also wasn’t able to detect plug-ins. As of version 5, navigator.plug-ins array was implemented.

With the myriad of players and plug-ins in the world we started to search what most of our users had. For sure we or no one else could have covered all of them. Finally we pinpointed on QuickTime, RealPlayer, Flash and Media Player. All of them had cross reach, were stable and widely used. There are a variety of plug-in detection scripts and they were all checked across more than 25 browsers on 4 operating systems containing different mix and match of the plug-ins to provide our users the best possible user experience. The most reliable of these was a plug-in detection script offered by apple.

We came up with our own version of the Music Player that checks the user’s browser and plays the required file using whichever plug-in is installed on the user’s device.

The pseudo code is as follows…

Separate extension from filename
Detect browser
For all players plug-in which can play extension
 If Browser (IE on windows)
  Detect using VBScript
 Else
  Detect using navigator.plug-ins
 End If
 If plug-in detected Play and exit loop
End for
If no plug-in found still leave a mime type specific tag so that the browser may attempt to play using some other player it might have.

This solution allowed us to deliver a seamless music experience addressing most of our concerns and helped us reduce our code size by more than 78% from our existing version.

We now use a flash based music player for all our flash cards, and our Javascript based music player for all our postcards & animated cards. You can check out live examples here & here.

Search has been something that user’s have been using more & more on 123Greetings to find that perfect card. We’ve been also getting a lot of feedback about what user’s like and dislike about our website search.

Looking at our access logs, we also saw that lots of users were typing in their e-card numbers in the search box trying to view the card that they received, so we made the new search box a single window for both search and e-card view!

As always, your feedback remains as our greatest inspiration to inspect, innovate and improve. Therefore, your inputs in the small box called “Feedback” remains the “most discussed” agenda for us everyday @ 123Greetings.com!

Cheers!

Back in September we launched 123Greetings 2.0. It was the end result of months of hard work and we were pretty happy with how it turned out. We received tons of positive feedback and although we weren’t able to incorporate all the features we wanted to, we were able to provide an excellent service that raised the bar to a whole new level.

Fast forward 6 months…. We’ve been looking at the various ways in which users interact with the website and have been making tweaks here and there, revamping sections, resolving issues etc. etc. all based on your feedback & interaction, allowing us to make the website more user friendly.

Yes, we have done all. Simplifying the card preview and creation process, integrating a dashboard to track, delete or edit a card that’s already sent, switching to cloud computing servers, redoing the entire UI from scratch, embracing Tim O’Reilly’s web 2.0 concepts (including implementing rating, relevancy and feedback system for cards), to name a few.

This version is a great improvement from the first, but it is by no means the end of the line, so please send us feedback! We’re looking forward to making the website even better with your help.

The new, improved 123Greetings site just launched today! Thanks for all your valuable feedback. We couldn’t have done it without you. Now sending an ecard just got more efficient, effective and easy. To enrich your ecard sending experience, we made sure the site is clutter-free and navigating your way is faster. With the constraints of time hanging heavy on our heads, we took steps to help you find the perfect card to express your emotion.

The hard work of all of us here at 123Greetings is up there for all of you to experience. There is always room for improvement. We want you to come up with your feedback. A pat on the back or a frown of disapproval – both are equally welcome! It’s your ecard, your expression, your emotion.

You can also check out our press release here.

When we thought of revamping 123Greetings, the first thought was of our users. It was the ultimate design challenge: how can we make 123Greetings to be user friendly and highlight our 20,000+ ecards at the same time? The old 123Greetings site had a lot of clutter, and too many things going on at the same time. Visitors were not able to find the right ecard because we just have, well, a lot of ecards!

That’s why we’ve cleared away the clutter and taken out background images and anything else that has nothing to do with ecards and the ecard-sending process. We’ve put the mantle in every category so you can find the sub-category that you want faster. We’ve reorganized our categories and put them on the top level navigation bar, which freed the space for the layout. We’ve added the user friendly ajax boxes to showcase the most viewed, highest rated, most popular, and the latest additions to our ecard collection.

You can even see what’s most viewed and most popular in the category pages as well. You’re able to view the thumbs of ecards as well as the preview of the ecards. With the new design, you can send the message across to your loved ones faster instead of wading through ecards that might not be right for you or the occasion.

We are really psyched with our beta launch. We need all our fans, visitors and even critics to check out the new beta site and give feedback! We need even more feedback from you because we’re doing a fast-track launch. Giving feedback is easy and it won’t take a lot of your time. You can simply click the Feedback button at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

Remember the new 123Greetings is designed with you at the center of our attention. We’ve incorporated your feedback, and added new features.

With a new system, new layout and a ton of features, we are hoping that you get the best ecard sending experience possible. Our aim is to help you express your feelings and emotions the best and fastest way you can — when just an email won’t do.

Visit our beta site and get a sneak peek at the brand new 123Greetings!

First off, a big shout-out to those who took the time to give us feedback. We wouldn’t be able to come up with the new 123Greetings without you. We’ve incorporated all your concerns in the new 123Greetings site.

Pop-up ads are gone!

That’s right, we have a brand new ad serving system that doesn’t include pop-ups. Even when you visit now you won’t find pop-ups on our site. They’re a thing of the past. We’ve managed to keep the site free while giving our sponsors a space for their advertising. New advertisers have signed on, so you’re going to see better quality ads. Without pop-ups you’ll be having a better ecard-sending experience.

One off real time unsubscribe

We’ve always been CAN-SPAM compliant. We’ve always encouraged the best practices in protecting our users’ privacy. We’ve always ensured that your email address is safe and secure. Add to that is our new real time unsubscribe service. When you want to unsubscribe from our newsletter, offers, and updates, you can do so in real time. It’s faster than what is specified in the CAN-SPAM Act. We’re taking extra steps so that you can have a pleasant experience with our service.

Go Green

We at 123Greetings feel that as citizens of planet Earth, we have a moral obligation to save the environment. We also believe that if deforestation is brought under control, most of the other causes of global warming will be taken care of — be it ecosystem imbalance or greenhouse effect. Therefore, all the measures that should be taken to stop global warming, boils down to “Going Green”. We’re taking steps to ensure that conservation and recycling is part of our design and infrastructure.

Keeping these points in mind we would still need your feedback. We’d love to get your input for our beta launch so that we can provide the best ecard sending service. We are about to launch the 123Greetings 2.0 beta site.

Stay tuned!

All of our features for 123Greetings 2.0 are redesigned with our users like you at the center. Here are just a couple of features to whet your appetite.

Navigation

The navigation bar now gives you a better, faster way of finding the ecards. You will be able to navigate to any of the categories from anywhere on the site. A listing of the sub categories neatly comes on the 2nd row, allowing you to locate your ecard in a jiffy.

Rating

The brand new rating system allows you to rate a card with 5 stars (outstanding) to 1 star (somewhat) based on your experience. Our rating engine then calculates the average rating for every card and presents the best ecards to the users based on various algorithms running in the background.

Relevancy

We’ve added a cool way to improve the relevancy of the cards you see in search results and on the pages; You have the option of giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to any of the cards. This helps in getting you the right ecard for the right person, at the right occasion.

Tags

You can make use of tags to find ecards easier and faster. Once you’ve found your favorite ecard, you can tag it so you don’t have to find it all over again. Use tags to locate ecards that are most relevant to you.

Preview

The preview feature lets you preview the ecard in a faster way on the spot. This allows you to scan through a larger selection of ecards before deciding which ecard to send.

New Cards

Get to our new ecards faster from the “Latest Additions” section. A lot of you guys wanted to see the latest ecards, this section features ecards that are hot off our drawing boards.

Add Comments

Give us your two cents! You can add your own comment to individual ecards. Share your views with other users and become part of the 123Greetings community.

Mantle in Every Category

Each category page has its own mantle, helping you pin-point to the exact sub-category you want to go to.

New Events Calendar

And of course you can still find our wacky events and major events with our new and improved events calendar. You’ll find what’s coming up on the right hand side panel on the home page. Our expanded calendar page shows you more about the events.

Exploring More Ecards

There are a lot more ways to get to an ecard you want to send. You can always check out what’s being viewed the most and the highest rated ecards. You can send your ecards from there too!

You want to get your message out fast — we want to help you do that. 123Greetings 2.0 is all about helping you express the best, in the fastest way possible while having a great experience along the way.

You’ve probably heard that we’re going to be launching a totally revamped 123Greetings.com very soon. What’s different between 123Greetings 1.0 and 2.0?

A New System

We’ve done away with the old system. Yeah, you read it right, we’re going to be on a totally new backend and our visitors are going to get a whole new look and feel.

Brand New, Clutter-Free Layout

We’ve taken out all the clutter and put the focus on our ecards. Our layout is going to be different: you’ll get the mantle with great graphics on each page, not just the home page. You can preview the ecards easily, and there’s a whole new events calendar. Find new cards or the most popular cards with a click of your mouse. You can also send the ecards to your friends and folks faster because we’ve taken out all the extra steps in between. With the new and improved ecard search engine, you’ll find the right card much faster than before.

Web 2.0 Features

We really appreciate your feedback and we want more! We’ve incorporated Web 2.0 features like comments, a rating system, and relevancy. You can give your thumb up or thumb down on every ecard — helping us improve and serve you better. Tags will help you find cards easier and faster.

New Ad System without Pop-Ups

We’ve read all your comments, concerns and feedback and taken out all the pop-up ads. This has been a concern in the past and removing all pop-ups will enhance user experience while giving you a faster process. We’ve also signed on new advertisers, so you’ll see better quality ads on the website.

What remains of the old 123Greetings? We’re still a free ecard site! We still have over 20,000 ecards in our collection and we’re adding new cards everyday. We’re still all about you.

We’d like to get your feedback and give you the best ecard-sending experience possible. Keep an eye on this blog for previews of the new features and our beta site.

Stay tuned!

Welcome to the 123Greetings corporate blog. We’ve been pretty busy lately in the background. We made great strides launching APIs across major social networks, and enhancing the entire website. Now we’re launching our corporate blog. Thank you for all your emails and support for our applications.

Change is the only constant, and the only way forward. We at 123Greetings take pride in the emotional bonding we share with our users. So we feel obliged to let you know how we are changing with the tide of times, while keeping our core values intact. We are still the bridge to your loved ones, near and far. Now, we are present in networks where you connect with your friends and folks. This blog will be a platform for us to connect with our users at a level that is more personal, more heart-to-heart. You’ll find what’s in the pipeline, sneak peeks of our beta launches and our latest upgrades right here. Come join us and help us give better life to your expressions.