Member Newsletter #12

Hello friends,

I hope you've had a great month so far. Here in Austin, the weather has turned beautiful, trees are coming back to life, and patios and porches are increasingly full. It's a season of possibility.

From the front porch

Each week brings new faces and insightful, often surprising stories, to our community. James joins us from Vancouver and shares a wonderful collection of favorite and uncommonly good things, from typography to his dog. The memento for dogs makes me smile every time I see it (in the interest of fairness, the cats memento is equally good.)

Lara joins us from Guildford, Victoria and brings a fascinating twist on favorite things. Her collection includes escapism, leaving the city, and moments of clarity. Her short essays on each are amazing.

You'll also enjoy Sara on Moleskin journals, Ryan on charity, Adam on C.S. Lewis, Colin on Disneyland, and Marcus on why New York City means so much to him.

Looking ahead

We recently finished the foundational design improvements (the most visible signs are updated logos) and planned the next seasonal release.

Seasons and rhythm are important elements of Uncommon. Both strongly influence our day-to-day life, but are often absent online. With the basic foundation of the site in place, we can finally plan a season of work.

The next season begins on Friday, the spring equinox, and lasts through the summer solstice (winter for our southern hemisphere friends), which falls on June 21. The three priorities are stacks, search, and the homepage.

With Stacks, a small stack of cards will be waiting for you on each visit: new people, favorite things, prompt replies, announcements, and more. We'll make sure you don't see the same thing twice and that your experience is great whether you visit often or infrequently. Stacks are not one more queue with an ever-growing unread count :)

With search, you will be able to find friends and favorites easily. I think we all agree that would be very helpful!

With an updated homepage, people learning about our community for the first time will have a better, more complete idea of the what, in addition to the why. We love the current introduction, but it was created while we were still dreaming of what was to come.

We are confident in these priorities (along with a few smaller additions) and the timeframe, but it's always possible that we've been somewhat ambitious. We'll know more once we dive in and will keep you informed as we go. I can't thank the fantastic team enough for the nights and weekends they pour into Uncommon.

These priorities are strongly influenced by the great questions and feedback many of you have shared. More is always welcomed. And if you'd like to help shape new features and give feedback on early attempts, let me know. Our community overflows with smart, talented people, each with a unique, helpful perspective.

Thanks for making Uncommon possible. You are the best.

Happy spring!

Brian

P.S. We're adding a new batch of beautiful mementos, too. We'd love to celebrate your favorite things. Add a new favorite (or two) and the story behind it this month and we'll add a bunch of them to the list.