Monday February 8, 2010

How to use vita.mn Guide

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Get suggestions for things to do

It's easy enough to click on a date in the calendar on the upper left and see all the events that are happening on a particular day, but how do you get right to the best stuff?

Find critics' picks. We've put our critics' best recommendations in the five-day calendars on the home page and some of the sections. You can also sort any event search by clicking on the star at top to see what our critics have chosen. (For example, here are the events this weekend, with the critics' picks sorted first.)
Find user picks. Don't care what our critics dig? Sort your event searches by the number of users who've subscribed to 'em. (Events this weekend.) The five-day calendar also displays the most-saved events on the selected day.
Cyberstalk. Once you've found an event you like, check out the other users that have saved that event. Check out their profiles, and you can see what else they've got on their agendas.
Track your favorite venues. Chances are, there are a few local spots that you hit up regularly for concerts, book readings, art openings and other events. Save them on vita.mn, and if there's an event there in the next five days, it'll show up in the five-day calendars all over the site.

Get suggestions for places to go

So you've got a broad idea of what you'd like to do -- sing karaoke, enjoy some margaritas, chill by a fire, play some games, etc. Now how do you find out the best place to do it?

Start with the tag page. Think of a keyword for the type of place you're seeking. Say, games, for instance. The games tag page is a great starting point for finding what you need. There, you'll find related venues, upcoming events, discussions, lists and guides that'll help you in your search.
Find or start a list. Vita.mn users to the rescue. Lists will provide you with a heap of recommendations for anything from karaoke to margaritas to games. Either choose from the most popular options at the top of any list page, or look at the individual lists on a subject to find users who share your tastes. If you can't find a list on the topic you're looking for, create one!
Start a discussion. When in doubt, ask. Vita.mn users are nothing if not helpful. From to underground attractions, they know where it's at. You can start discussions from any tag page or section front.

Tips on vita.mn functionality

Browse smarter: Click on the expand button ( ) wherever you see it for more information on any item.
Keep your favorite stuff: Hold onto any piece of content on vita.mn by clicking "save." All the stuff you save will be collected in your account manager, as well as appearing in relevant places throughout the site.
Or keep it to yourself: You can hide your saved content from other users by marking it "private" in your account manager.
Name your favorites: You can tell us which Twin Cities venues you love most by going to any venue page and clicking "mark as your favorite" next to the category you think it's best in. Check any user's profile to see what venues he or she's selected as faves.
Describe the Twin Cities: Wherever you see the option to "tag" on vita.mn, click on it and type in words or phrases to describe the item you're tagging, separated by commas. Each one of those keywords will become a page of its own, containing all the content tagged with those descriptions, as well as related info and commentary from users. Wanna see what places other users think have a "great beer selection"? Check out the tag page.
Tell us your opinions: Ratings let you tell us what you think of Twin Cities venues, and reviews let you tell us why. Go to any venue page on vita.mn and click "write a review" to share your thoughts with other users.
Find the top 10 of anything: Vita.mn's lists pull together the opinions of many vita.mn users on almost any topic you can name -- local landmarks, comic book stores, locally brewed beers... And if a list topic doesn't exist, feel free to create it. Any user can submit a list topic, and any user can create a top-10 list for that topic. The most common answers on those top-10 list are pulled together for a quick-and-easy popularity contest.
Figure out how to do stuff: Guides on vita.mn are "wikis" -- documents that any logged-in user can edit to add their own tips and insights. In fact, "how to use vita.mn" is a guide; so if you'd like to add your tips on how to make the most out of the site, log in and give it a try.
Broadcast your Twin Cities flavor: Every contribution users make to vita.mn is displayed on their profiles. See a review you think is spot-on, and want to see what else that person's reviewed? Click on the reviewer's name to see the profile.
Manage your stuff: You can manage your own profile, as well as whatever content you've saved or contributed, by logging in and clicking "Your account" from any page of the site.

If you live here in MSP, you probably know we're blessed with an outsized assortment of fantastic art and culture -- an enviable music scene, great galleries and museums, world-class theatre, renowned bars and restaurants, and much more. But therein lies a problem -- there's so much goodness here in the Twin Cities, how do you keep track of it all? Enter vita.mn. We created vita.mn to give Twin Cities residents better, more enjoyable access to the best sources of information about this place: each other. Here's how to tap into the knowledge of your fellow residents to make the most out of the Twin Cities: <h2>Get suggestions for things to do</h2>It's easy enough to click on a date in the calendar on the upper left and see all the events that are happening on a particular day, but how do you get right to the best stuff? <ul><li>Find critics' picks. We've put our critics' best recommendations in the five-day calendars on the home page and some of the sections. You can also sort any event search by clicking on the star at top to see what our critics have chosen. (For example, <a href="find_event.php?date=W&amp;keyword=&amp;venue_name=&amp;from_date=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&amp;to_date=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&amp;open_tab=event_tab&amp;no_occ_events=1&amp;sort_field=R&amp;sort_order=D">here are the events this weekend</a>, with the critics' picks sorted first.)</li><li>Find user picks. Don't care what our critics dig? Sort your event searches by the number of users who've subscribed to 'em. (<a href="find_event.php?date=W&amp;keyword=&amp;venue_name=&amp;from_date=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&amp;to_date=mm%2Fdd%2Fyyyy&amp;open_tab=event_tab&amp;no_occ_events=1&amp;sort_field=S&amp;sort_order=D">Events this weekend.</a>) The five-day calendar also displays the most-saved events on the selected day.</li><li>Cyberstalk. Once you've found an event you like, check out the other users that have saved that event. Check out their profiles, and you can see what else they've got on their agendas.</li><li>Track your favorite venues. Chances are, there are a few local spots that you hit up regularly for concerts, book readings, art openings and other events. Save them on vita.mn, and if there's an event there in the next five days, it'll show up in the five-day calendars all over the site.</li></ul><h2>Get suggestions for places to go</h2>So you've got a broad idea of what you'd like to do -- sing karaoke, enjoy some margaritas, chill by a fire, play some games, etc. Now how do you find out the best place to do it? <ul><li>Start with the tag page. Think of a keyword for the type of place you're seeking. Say, <a href="http://www.vita.mn/tag_detail.php?tag_id=176">games</a>, for instance. The <a href="http://www.vita.mn/tag_detail.php?tag_id=176">games tag page</a> is a great starting point for finding what you need. There, you'll find related venues, upcoming events, discussions, lists and guides that'll help you in your search.</li><li>Find or start a list. Vita.mn users to the rescue. Lists will provide you with a heap of recommendations for anything from <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=62">karaoke</a> to <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=135">margaritas</a> to <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=158">games</a>. Either choose from the most popular options at the top of any list page, or look at the individual lists on a subject to find users who share your tastes. If you can't find a list on the topic you're looking for, create one!</li><li>Start a discussion. When in doubt, ask. Vita.mn users are nothing if not helpful. From to <a href="http://www.vita.mn/tag_detail.php?d=view_responses&amp;show=all&amp;tag_forum_id=186">underground attractions</a>, they know where it's at. You can start discussions from any tag page or section front.</li></ul><h2>Tips on vita.mn functionality</h2><ul><li>Browse smarter: Click on the expand button ( <img src="http://vita.mn/css/images/bullet-expand.gif" border="0" />) wherever you see it for more information on any item.</li><li>Keep your favorite stuff: Hold onto any piece of content on vita.mn by clicking "save." All the stuff you save will be collected in your account manager, as well as appearing in relevant places throughout the site.</li><li>Or keep it to yourself: You can hide your saved content from other users by marking it "private" in your account manager.</li><li>Name your favorites: You can tell us which Twin Cities venues you love most by going to any venue page and clicking "mark as your favorite" next to the category you think it's best in. Check any user's profile to see what venues he or she's selected as faves.</li><li>Describe the Twin Cities: Wherever you see the option to "tag" on vita.mn, click on it and type in words or phrases to describe the item you're tagging, separated by commas. Each one of those keywords will become a page of its own, containing all the content tagged with those descriptions, as well as related info and commentary from users. Wanna see what places other users think have a "great beer selection"? Check out the <a href="%20http://vita.mn/tag_detail.html?tag_id=204">tag page</a>.</li><li>Tell us your opinions: Ratings let you tell us what you think of Twin Cities venues, and reviews let you tell us why. Go to any venue page on vita.mn and click "write a review" to share your thoughts with other users.</li><li>Find the top 10 of anything: Vita.mn's lists pull together the opinions of many vita.mn users on almost any topic you can name -- <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=557">local landmarks</a>, <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=586">comic book stores</a>, <a href="http://www.vita.mn/list_detail.php?list_id=566">locally brewed beers</a>... And if a list topic doesn't exist, feel free to create it. Any user can submit a list topic, and any user can create a top-10 list for that topic. The most common answers on those top-10 list are pulled together for a quick-and-easy popularity contest.</li><li>Figure out how to do stuff: Guides on vita.mn are "wikis" -- documents that any logged-in user can edit to add their own tips and insights. In fact, "how to use vita.mn" is a guide; so if you'd like to add your tips on how to make the most out of the site, log in and <a href="%20http://vita.mn/guides.html?d=view_guide&amp;guide_id=2">give it a try</a>.</li><li>Broadcast your Twin Cities flavor: Every contribution users make to vita.mn is displayed on their profiles. See a review you think is spot-on, and want to see what else that person's reviewed? Click on the reviewer's name to see the profile.&nbsp;</li><li>Manage your stuff: You can manage your own profile, as well as whatever content you've saved or contributed, by logging in and clicking "Your account" from any page of the site.</li></ul>

created by matt on Aug. 4, '06 at 3:01 PM
last updated by matt on Oct. 4, '07 at 9:05 AM

[edit guide]

Comments

posted by littledavyt on Jul. 31, '07 at 12:50 PM

Does anyone know how to "Enter a Contest" to win tickets on this site? Every time I click on a "Enter the Contest" link, it brings me to another page, which gives a description of the event, but no registration fields appear.

posted by thejackal on Jul. 31, '07 at 1:17 PM

I assume they have all your info because you're signed up with the site. I haven't won anything that way and it isn't a great set up, but I assume you get signed up when you go through this process.

posted by kbyoung83 on Aug. 8, '07 at 5:59 PM

Having won something this way, usually it takes to the page you've described, and then usually there's somewhere you have to click to enter. It's nice you don't have to type anything though, as thejackal points out. For example, the pub crawl giveaway that's up right now: click where it says "click here."

posted by tapqueen on Dec. 20, '07 at 6:44 AM

I still haven't figured out how to post pictures, I'd appreciate someone adding that to the guide :)

posted by gretchenmary on Dec. 20, '07 at 3:38 PM

posting images: scroll down on event detail page and click "add image". it will allow you to browse and upload - viola! usually it only likes JPG's.

posted by tapqueen on Dec. 26, '07 at 10:01 AM

Thanks gretchenmary!

posted by booksandbars on Apr. 11, '08 at 6:23 PM

How do you post an event?

posted by matt on Apr. 15, '08 at 4:40 PM

To contact us to post an event or for any reason, visit this page.

posted by wr3n on Apr. 25, '08 at 11:48 AM

The "give it a try" link in the "Figure out how to do stuff:" section goes to nothing.

posted by rhcpeppers on Aug. 7, '08 at 11:45 AM

Find or start a list. "If you can't find a list on the topic you're looking for, create one!"

How are where can you start one?

posted by Nsiemers on Nov. 19, '09 at 8:59 PM

Just wondering how to make a transition to different websites easier, like Matt did a few posts earlier with the "visit this page" I can't seem to figure it out