Hello from Blip Central

We wanted to say hello to you all here on Blipfoto, as the world at the minute is a slightly strange place. 
 
You may have noticed that our superb marketing team, Richard and Bex, have been extra busy over the last few days and weeks with posts on our Community Blog.  We’re keen to provide you with sources of inspiration during this time.  If you have any suggestions for them, such as the wonderful guest challenge we are currently running from Heartfreek, please get in contact via their email [marketing@blipfoto.com].  If you haven’t already seen their blog on ideas for posting, it’s well worth a read.  
 
We’re also suggesting that for anyone who wants to chat more via the site, just add the tag #blipchat to one of your entries. If people see this tag on your journal, they will know you’re up for a chat, can comment on your journal entries and expect a reply. Adding this tag to only one of your entries (it doesn’t matter which one) makes it easier to remove if you ever want to go quieter. You can search for the tag using the search box.
 
The team behind the scenes are currently all well. We’re still going about our day jobs as well as carrying out the tasks to keep Blipfoto running smoothly.  Some of us have also offered our help via volunteer schemes in our respective areas, so if anything we might actually be busier than normal!  As a result, it might take a bit longer to get back to you if you ask for support. Please check our FAQs first before raising a support ticket.  For many of the most common problems we have already provided guidance on how to deal with them.  It makes answering the ticket easier and quicker if you provide a complete explanation of your problem.  Getting a support ticket that says ‘I can’t upload my image today’ only means we will have to ask for more information which slows down solving your problem. 
 
For our moderators, we’d really appreciate you making sure that everything you upload is in line with ‘our rules’.  While we can hear the groan as it’s mentioned, please no TV (or other media) screen grabs.  If you want to be reminded about the rules around image copyright, see our Blip Central post on this subject.
 
By its very nature, Blipfoto has always been an expression of ordinary people’s lives made extraordinary when it is brought together in one place.  We’ve rightly been acknowledged for our role in ‘demonstrating the extraordinary diversity of everyday life….” by the British Library. 
 
“Be Excellent” has always been the mantra of this site. It’s needed now more than ever as people are under additional stress and strain.  Please be kind and supportive to all your fellow blippers.
 
Once we’re out the other side, this period will be interesting for historical record, showing how ordinary lives were affected.  If you think a particular blip you post shows a noteworthy aspect of this time, you can consider tagging it ‘CVStories’.  Don’t be shy, but equally please be selective.  There will good times and bad times during this period but please do consider the impact on our present selves. The happy, funny, uplifting stories are the ones that better get us all through this period.  And if you read someone else’s journal entry and think it is worthy of inclusion, why not suggest they tag it?  We’d like to highlight some of these stories in the coming weeks and months, so if you are happy for us to do that, please also tag it ‘OK2Share’.  
 
So from us - Annie, Graham and Ian with Richard and Bex – our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.