I've been planning an update to the site for several months now, and I wanted to share some of the details of it with you before it goes live. There is good news and bad news, so you'll want to read through and find out how this will affect your experience here.

Mobile
With the update, you'll be able to access Hello Poetry on any mobile phone (iPhone, Android, etc) with a nice, clean mobile experience. No apps to download, just point your mobile phone to the website as usual. I know so many of you have been asking for this, so I can't wait to get your feedback on it.

Speed
Right now, Hello Poetry is slow. At times, ridiculously slow. It has taken me minutes to load my home page. This update will address that in a big way. I won't bore you with all the details, but trust me, it will be faster and will continue to speed up in future updates.

Simplification
The layout is updated and easier to navigate, and every page is more focused and nicer to explore. I'll be listening to your feedback closely and continuing to improve this after the release. Your feedback here is absolutely essential.

Books (no more)
Unfortunately, books have to go as a part of this update. I've struggled to maintain support for these features, but they're used very rarely (which is subject for another post). No records or data will be lost and all of your remaining earnings will be distributed to the PayPal account you've provided us. Email me at eliot@hellopoetry.com if you have any other questions.

Groups (coming soon)
Groups are being turned off (but not removed) in this update. I'd love to hear from group owners and members to understand what you love about your groups, so I can improve that experience. Once we do that, I'll re-release those features in the next update. Your help on this could make a big difference. Email me at eliot@hellopoetry.com or message me on here to discuss.

Fun
A new experiment. It's a two-player writing game inspired by that insanely addictive drawing game you've probably have heard of. The rules? You have a few words to describe something to your friend (poetically, if you like) and they have to see if they can guess it. The further the two of you can go without failing to guess the better, but it can just serve as a great paired writing exercise if you like. You can play it on the web or your mobile phone. That'll be released with the new update as well.

I still have some finishing up to do before this update is ready, but I hope to have it released within a month. I looking forward to hearing your comments.

Eliot