thisMoment Help and FAQ

thisMoment is the new way to save and share the moments of your life. Combining the latest technology with a simple to use interface, thisMoment lets you create a digital reflection of your life - the moments you've experienced with family and friends, or through work, travel, school, and much more. As you create moments, they are saved on a timeline, providing a sense of the flow of your life, past, present, and future.

Using thisMoment is easy and fun. Everything revolves around three basic ideas:
creating moments, sharing moments, and viewing moments.

Creating moments is easy and fun. Start by clicking the Add Moment link, located at the top of every page. This will launch the Moment Maker that will guide you through the process step by step. Let's take a quick look at how it works:

Moment Notes

moment name and group
First, give your moment a name. It can be as short or as long as you like. You can leave it as a single moment, or make it a part of a group of moments. Groups are useful for putting moments together - for instance, all of the moments you experienced on a family vacation, or games you played with a sports team.

when was this moment?
Select the calendar icon to choose a specific date, type in a date by hand, or choose from one of the preset options.

describe this moment
You can write as much or as little as you like about your moment.

how did this make you feel?
How we felt during a moment can reveal so much about the experience. Choose from one of the preset options or enter your own.

Photos and videos

Adding photos and videos to your moment is easy. There are three ways to add them:

Upload from Your Computer
To upload photos and videos from your computer, click the Upload tab, then select the Choose Files button. Select the file or files you want to upload. Upload more than one photo or video at a time by selecting multiple files.

Photos or Videos from your Media Services
If your have linked your thisMoment account to online photo or video sharing services, you can include them in your moment.

Search Publicly Available Photos & Videos
If you don't have your own photo or video of your moment, simply search for any publicly available photo or video on sites like Flickr, YouTube, and others and include them in your moment.

People

The site will display a list of people from your previous moments that you can choose to add by simply clicking on their name. If you don't see the person you want to add, you can find them by typing their name into the search bar. If they don't appear after a search, you can click add new person. thisMoment can search your contacts from Google, Yahoo!, and Facebook and bring up the results. (More info on this under Linked Services.) If the person you are adding to the moment still does not appear, you can create a new account. If this is a friend or family member with an email address, select a new friend. If you want to add a child (without an email address) or a pet, select a child or pet and they will be added to the moment.

Location

Set the location of your moment by searching for the address, the name, or a nearby landmark. The results of your search will appear on a map to the right or as a list of results to choose from.

Once you've chosen your location, you can customize how the map will appear in your moment, edit the name, or add it as a custom location. Adding a custom location allows you easy access to reuse the same location in future moments.

Links

This is where you can add links to sites, products, or services related to your moment. Think of it as a next steps area for people that might want to follow in your footsteps. Links work just like photos and videos. The name of your moment will be pre-filled into the search box and you'll see results from Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, and The New York Times about the name of your moment. If the name of your moment doesn't provide the results you had in mind, simply change the text in the Search box and search again.

If you know the exact web site you want to include, click the "add a custom link (url)" tab. From here you can submit a URL and then customize how it will be displayed on your moment.Once a link is in the moment, you will be able to edit it and delete it.

Filters

label the moment
Labels allow you to filter your moments. A label is like a tag that lets you categorize your moments. You can use more than one label per moment.

how big of a moment is this?
The size represents the importance of your moment. Importance is subjective, and is only relative to your other moments.

Finish and Set Privacy

The last step is to set the privacy level and, if you wish, to share the moment with friends, family, and other social media sites. Read more on Sharing a Moment & Privacy below.

The most important thing to know is that thisMoment lets you set privacy at the moment level. That means you can share moments with select groups of people, just like you do in real life. When other people look at your timeline, they will only see the moments you have chosen to share with them. All of your other moments will be invisible to them. That way, you can share family moments just with your family, friend moments only with your friends, and so on. You are in total control.

When you create a moment, it is automatically set to private draft mode. This means no one will see it but you. Whenever you exit the moment maker, you will be given the option to leave it in private draft mode, or to share it with other people. There are several sharing settings, each allowing progressively smaller groups to see and share the moment. You can choose a single setting, or use multiple settings together. Let's review these settings:

Everyone

Everyone can see the moment! This is the recommended default setting, and your moments will get maximum exposure, appearing in search results around the web.

Restricted to Friends

People in your extended network of friends may view this moment. This includes friends of all people in the moment.

Restricted to Family

People in your extended network of family may view this moment. This includes family members of all people in the moment.

Only People In The Moment

The people that you include in the moment can see the moment. You can include people in the moment when you create the moment, or at any point thereafter. This is a great way to create a personal, private space for sharing with a select group of people.

Only Me

Only you can see the moment. With this setting, thisMoment effectively serves as a private journal or diary.

Save as Draft

This will keep the moment private. Until it is changed, no one can view the moment and no one will be notified that it has been created. This is the default setting while you are creating your moment. When you reach the last privacy step, we recommend that you make your moment public. You may also find that draft mode comes in handy when you are building out a moment over a couple of sessions.

Create moments with text and photos while on the go by adding moments straight from your email account.

Step 1) Get your Special Email Address.

1. Go to your preferences, and select the "email settings" section.
2. Make a note of your "+ add moments by email" email address, and add it into your address book.

Step 2) Send an email to create a moment.

1. Here's how thisMoment will interpret your email message:
   
   Subject: Moment Name
   Body of Message: Moment "take" or description.
   Date Sent: Date of moment.
   Attachments: Photos attached to the email will be automatically posted to your moment.

You're done!
We'll send you a confirmation email and provide the option to update a pre-existing moment. Further action is completely optional, and your moment is now live and viewable by everyone.

Add more to your moment:

Post further updates to your moment. Now that you've created a new moment, you can continue to update it while on-the-go.

1. Upload more photos. Send additional photos to your special email address in a new message with no Subject, the same Subject, or by replying to the confirmation email. Each line of text in the body will correspond to a caption for each image attached. These additional photos will be automatically posted to your moment.
2. Post a comment to your moment. Send a new message with no Subject, the same Subject, or reply to the confirmation email with text. If there are no photos attached your text will be posted as a comment.

Updates to your moment will be posted automatically and you won't receive further confirmation emails from us until you create a new moment.

Advanced Options:

You can set additional information about your moment by putting any of the following text controls on a separate line within your email.

1. Emotion: or E: How this moment made you feel.
2. P: or People: List the people in the moment by name, and we will match against your thisMoment contacts.
3. When: or W: Custom control for the date if the moment is not happening right now.
4. Location: or L: Provide information on your moment's location.
5. Group: or G: Add the moment to a group.
6. Importance: or I: Enter a 1-10 number to set the moment's level of importance.
7. Filter, F:, Label:, or Category: Adds the moment to one of your filters or categories.
8. Caption: or C: Sets the caption for the photos you're uploading
9. Privacy: or PR: Draft, Me, In the Moment, Friends, Family, FF (Friends & Family), Everyone
10. "NEW:" in Subject Line: This will force a new moment to be created even if you have a matching moment name already on your timeline.

When you click on a moment name or picture, you arrive at the Moment Theater. Here you see a brief description of the moment as well as any photos or videos that help define the moment. Just hit the play button at the bottom right to view the moment. You can also control the playback using the next and previous arrows.

People in the Moment

Just under the Moment Theater you will see the people who were a part of the moment listed as in the moment.

The Different "Takes"

Below the People you'll see their "takes" or descriptions of the moment. Below the description notes you may see a map showing where the moment occurred.

If You're In the Moment

If the person who created the moment has included you in it, you'll see a section called you're in the moment. This means you can take this moment and put it on your own timeline by selecting the add moment to my timeline button. If you click this button the moment will be saved to your timeline, along with all of the associated media, comments, links and more. You will also be able to add your own notes, photos and videos, as well as receive automatic updates when new content is added by others. This is a great way for everyone that was a part of a moment to share their perspective and media, all in one place. If you were a part of a moment but were not included by the creator, you can select request to be added under the Moment Theater, and a request will be sent to the moment creator. More on adding moments »

Copying a Moment

If you are looking at a moment that you were not a part of, you don't have the option to add, get updates, etc., but you can make a copy of it to use as the basis for your own moment. To do this, simply click the copy this moment link. This will add the moment and associated media to your timeline. Once it is copied, you can make any changes you like. Note that you can only make copies of public moments.
More on copying moments »

Sharing Moments

If you are viewing a moment and would like to share it with others, select from any of the "share" options directly under the Moment Theater. You can share via email, Facebook, Twitter, or ShareThis, a service that provides links out other popular internet sites and services.

Moments You Like

Keep track of your favorite moments and let others know you like their moments by clicking the like button near the Comment section of any moment. You can see a list of moments you like by selecting moments i like in the pull-down menu to the left of your timeline.

Featured Links and Details

The right hand column has two sections. The first is featured links, which is an area for links that help you get more information about the moment you are viewing. Below that is a details section that provides information on when the moment was created, how many times it has been viewed and more.

One of the most important features of thisMoment is the way it lets you collaborate with others in building out your moments and timeline. Adding or "seizing" an existing moment two different forms:

Adding to Timeline

The first is adding a moment to your timeline and is available only if you have been included in the moment. In this case, you will see a you're in the moment section just under the Moment Theater and a button marked add moment to my timeline. If you click this button, the moment will be saved to your timeline, with all of the associated media, comments, links and more. You will also be able to add your own notes, photos and videos, as well as receive automatic updates when new content is added by others. This is a great way for everyone that was a part of a moment to share their perspective and media, all in one place.

Copying to Timeline

If you are looking at a moment that you were not a part of you will not be able to contribute a description, photos, or videos, but you can make a copy of it to use as the basis for your own moment. To do this, simply click the copy this moment link under the Moment Theater. This will add the moment and its associated media to your timeline. Once it is copied, you can make any changes you like. Note that you can only make copies of public moments.

Requesting to be Added

If you are looking at a moment that you were not a part of, but you know people in the moment, you can request to be added to that moment by clicking "Request to be Added" under the Moment Theater. This will send a message to the moment creator requesting that you be added to the moment. If the original creator of the moment approves, you will receive a message indicating that you've been added and provide you with the option to add to my timeline. The moment will also appear in your moment invites list.

Through the use of these adding and copying functions, you can easily tap into the moments already started or created by others, greatly decreasing the time and effort necessary to make moments of your own.

The timeline gives you easy access to moments. As you create, add and seize moments, your timeline will become a deeper and richer digital reflection of your life. Each timeline is associated with a person, whose name and picture are shown at the upper left of the screen.

The timeline runs from left to right, with the oldest moments appearing at far left, and future moments appearing to the far right, just beyond the Now marker.

Timeline Modes

You can view the timeline in three different modes: as a series of thumbnail images, where each square represents a moment; as a series of bars, where each bar represents a moment and provides the importance and type of moment; or as a series of bars with thumbnail images appearing periodically below the timeline. The buttons to switch between these three modes can be found directly to the left of the timeline.

Timeline Filters

To the left of the buttons is a pull-down menu that allows you to further refine and filter the timeline.

1. by popularity - This will sort your timeline by how often each moment has been viewed, with more popular moments appearing on the right.
2. by order created - This will order your timeline according to when each moment was created, with your most recent moments appearing to the right.
3. public moments only - This will show all moments that are set to be viewable by "Everyone."
4. moments i like - This will show all moments you've "liked" in the order you added them.
5. draft moments only - This will show moments you've created that are saved as "drafts."
6. by label - Below the other options you can choose from a number of moment labels to see moments for each label. Label names can be customized and will vary from timeline to timeline.

Lastly, if you are viewing another person's timeline, you can choose to filter only moments that both of you are in.

At the top of the page you will see your timeline. Below the timeline, you will see a series of tabs.

My Updates

My Updates is your home base at thisMoment, and is the first page that will load after you have logged into the site.

Messages

The Messages tab is where you can see messages you have received from thisMoment or from other thisMoment users. The tab displays the number of messages in your inbox, with a red burst indicating new messages since your last visit.

You'll see newer messages at the top, older messages at the bottom. The name of the sender appears on the left, along with the date the message was created. The message itself appears in the center column.

You may receive messages about:

1. moment invites (moments that other people said you were a part of)
2. people sharing friends or family moments with you
3. comments on your moments and replies to your comments throughout the site
4. opportunities to send thisMoment invitations to friends
5. private messages from other thisMoment users

In all cases, links or buttons will be provided so that you can act on the message. Once you are done with a message, click the X button at right to delete it.

My Moments

The My Moments tab gives you an easy way to review all of your moments. Note that these same controls are available when viewing other people's Moments pages.

Moment Sorting

In either the 4-up or list view, you can choose to sort your moments. The default "sort by:" view is Latest, which sorts the moments by when they were created, with the most recently created moments first. The next setting, Chronological, orders the moments in sequential order, starting with the oldest moments. The Edited view orders the moments by the date on which they were last edited, with the most recently edited moments appearing first.

Moment Invites

When you click on the moment invites button, you can see moments created by others that you were included in. You will see the name of the person who created the moment and a brief summary. Click the moment name or image to view the moments, and then use the buttons just below the Moment Theater area to add the moment to your timeline and provide your take.

Drafts

Selecting the drafts button will provide you with a list of your draft moments.

Favorites

Selecting favorites will show all of your favorite moments. You can add any moment as a favorite when you are viewing it by clicking the "favorite" button next to the moment's title.

My People

The My People tab is where you can see all the people you are connected to on thisMoment. Being connected to someone means you'll receive updates on their activity on thisMoment as they create moments, add photos or videos, and post comments. Through being connected you can also set the Privacy level for people you know.

Privacy

You can set a person's privacy level to friend, family, or both. When you do this, the person will be able to see moments that are designated as friend or family. Click the circle to change privacy levels on and off.

To remove all connections to a person, simply click the X button at the right of the page.

Note that you can adjust your connection and privacy options whenever you see a person's picture on the site. Just move the mouse over the picture and a pop-up will appear. Click the connect link to adjust your settings. These controls are also visible at the upper left area of the screen whenever you are looking another person's timeline.

My Preferences

The My Preferences tab allows you to manage and customize various aspects of your thisMoment experience. When you click the tab, you will see your picture, name, email address and other basic information. You can change any of this information by simply editing the text and hitting the save preferences button. If you want to change your picture, just click the change picture link. Follow the instructions to select, upload and crop your new picture. When you're done, click save picture to go back to the preferences tab.

Additional Accounts

Along the left hand side of the screen, you may see additional accounts beside your own. These include kids and pet accounts, as well as new friend accounts that you have created but are not yet activated (meaning that the person has not yet joined thisMoment). In either case, since you are the creator of these accounts, you have the ability to edit them as you would your own. To do this, simply click on the name, select edit account, and edit the information or upload an image of the person. Once a friend activates their account, they take control of their account information and you will no longer see their information in the New Friend Accounts section.

Kids and Pets

If the account is a kids or pet account, you will see the switch to this account button. If you click this button, you will switch to the kids or pets account. Once you have switched accounts, you can create, add, delete and copy moments just as you do on your own account. When you are ready to switch back, simply click the switch back link at the top right of the screen. Note that you can always tell which account you're logged into by looking at the name at the top right of the page, as well as the picture and name that appear at top left when you click any of the my links along the top of the page.
More on kids and pets »

Managing Your Account

You will also see several buttons that let you do things like change your password, manage how and when you receive notifications from thisMoment, link your accounts, and edit your custom moment groups and locations. When you are making changes, be sure to click the green save button when finished so that your changes are saved.

Linked Accounts

The Linked Accounts tab lets you link thisMoment to sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Yahoo!, Google, and more. Simply click on the appropriate link this account link and follow the instructions.
More on linked accounts »

You can use the search box to find both people and moments. Simply type your query in the search box and either click the search button or hit enter.

On the results page, the people matching your search will be listed first. You can find out a little more about a person by moving the mouse cursor over his or her picture. Click the picture to visit the person's timeline and moments page.

Below people are moments that match your search. First, your own moments will be displayed, then the moments of people you know, and finally public moments from the thisMoment community at large. To visit a moment, simply click it.

You can get more out of thisMoment by linking it to your existing online accounts.

Facebook

Connecting with Facebook allows you to find Facebook friends on thisMoment, add images from you and your Facebook friends, send thisMoment invitations and notifications through Facebook, and share public moments in your live feed.

1. How to link your Facebook Account

   To link your account, go to your Preferences Tab, then select Linked Accounts. Click "link facebook account". You will be prompted to log in to Facebook and once finished, you will return to the Preferences Tab. Once your account is authorized, you may do the following:

2. Connect with Facebook Friends

   When you are adding people to moments, you will see your Facebook friends in the search results.

3. Invite and Notify your Facebook Friends

   When you add your Facebook friends to moments, you'll have the option of inviting them to join you on thisMoment. Facebook friends who are active on thisMoment will receive notifications on Facebook when they are included in new moments.

4. Add Facebook Images to Moments

   When you are adding images to moments, you can click the Facebook tab to browse your photo albums of the photo albums your friends.

5. Publish Moments to Your Facebook Feed

   When you create a moment, you will have the option of publishing it to your Facebook feed at the same time you set the privacy level.

Twitter

Linking your Twitter account allows you to post updates on Twitter when you create or update a moment.

1. How to link your Twitter Account

   To link your Twitter account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Enter your Twitter username and password. Note that if you change your username or password on Twitter, you will need to update your information on thisMoment as well.

2. Publish Moments to Twitter

   When you create a moment, you will have the option of publishing it to your Twitter feed at the same time you set the privacy level.

Flickr

Linking to Flickr allows you to post photos from you and your Flickr friends.

1. How to link your Flickr Account

   To link your Flickr account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Select "link flickr account." You will be prompted to log in to Yahoo!, Flickr's parent company. You will be asked if you want to authorize thisMoment to link your Flickr account. Select "OK, I'LL ALLOW IT." You'll be taken back to your Preferences page on thisMoment, and your account will appear linked.

2. Add Flickr Images to Moments

   When you are adding images to moments, you can click the Flickr tab to browse your photos, your friends' photos, and other images from Flickr.

YouTube

Linking to YouTube allows you to easily include your YouTube videos in moments.

1. How to link your YouTube Account

   To link your YouTube account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Select "link YouTube account." You will be prompted to log in to YouTube. You will need to authorize thisMoment to access your YouTube account. Select "Allow Access." You'll be taken back to your Preferences page on thisMoment, and your account will appear linked.

2. Add YouTube videos to Moments

   When you are adding videos to moments, click the YouTube tab to browse your videos and other videos from the YouTube community. Select "everyone's stuff" to see videos from everyone, and "my stuff" for your videos.

Google & Picasa

Linking to Google will allow you to connect with your Google contacts on thisMoment and easily include your Picasa web gallery photos in moments.

1. How to link your Google Account

   To link your Google account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Select "link Google account." You will be prompted to log in to Google. You will be asked if you want to allow thisMoment to access your Google Contacts and Picasa Web Albums. Select "Grant Access." You'll be taken back to your Preferences page on thisMoment, and your account will appear linked.

2. Search your Google Contacts when creating moments

   When you are adding new people to moments, your Google contacts will appear after you click "Add New Person," allowing for quick and easy creation.

3. Add Picasa Images to Moments

   When you are adding images to moments, you can click the Picasa tab to browse your photos and other images from Picasa. Select "everyone's stuff" to see photos from everyone, and "my stuff" for your photos.

Yahoo!

Linking to Yahoo! will allow you to connect with your Yahoo! contacts on thisMoment.

1. How to link your Yahoo! Account

   To link your Yahoo! account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Select "link Yahoo! account." You will be prompted to log in to Yahoo!. You will need to give permission for thisMoment to access your Yahoo! account. Select "I Agree." You'll be taken back to your Preferences page on thisMoment, and your account will appear linked.

2. Search your Yahoo! Contacts when creating moments

   When you are adding new people to moments, your Yahoo! contacts will appear after you click "Add New Person," allowing for quick and easy creation.

FriendFeed

Broadcasting your moments to FriendFeed will help keep you and your FriendFeed friends up to date on your thisMoment activity.

1. How to broadcast to FriendFeed

   To link your FriendFeed account, go to Preferences, then select Linked Accounts. Select "broadcast to FriendFeed." You will be prompted to log in to FriendFeed. Next, you'll be asked to enter a "Blog URL." (Note: Your thisMoment feed will be considered a "blog" for the purposes of posting to FriendFeed.) Select "Import Blog," and your thisMoment activity will appear in your feed on FriendFeed.

As you use thisMoment, you will probably find that you want to add people into the moments you create. You can do this from the People tab in the Moment Maker, or by clicking the Add Friend button on the My People tab.

Adding People from the Moment Maker

If you are in the Moment Maker and the person you want to add already has a thisMoment account, simply type their name and click on their icon to add them to a moment.

If they do not have an account, their name and icon will not appear. But don't worry, you can create an account for them simply by clicking the add new friend button. If you have linked an address book account - such as Yahoo Mail, Gmail or Facebook - thisMoment will search for the person's name and if a match is found, the name and icon (if available) will be displayed. All you need to do is click their name, which creates their account, and they will be added to the moment.

If you do not have a linked account, or if a match is not found, you can still set up an account for the person, so that you and others can more easily add them to moments. All you need to do enter their name and, if you like, email address, and then hit save account.

Adding People from the People Tab ("Add Person" Button)

When you click the Add Person button from the My People tab, a pop-up will appear that steps you through the above process. Note that since you're not in the middle of creating a moment, you will remain on the My People tab when finished.

Kids and Pet Accounts

You can also create an account for your child or pet. This is a special account that gives you total control over the moments included on the timeline. Email addresses are not associated with these types of accounts.

In both cases, you can manage the information associated with the newly-created account from the Preferences tab. Simply click the account name and edit the information as desired. Note that once a normal friend account is activated by its owner, you will no longer be able to edit it.

For child and pet accounts, you can not only edit the account, but you can also switch to it while you are in your own timeline. This is useful if you want to create moments, add comments, or view and accept the moment invites that exist for the account. When you are using a sub-account, the name of the account owner appears in the upper right of the screen. When you are done, click the switch back link at the top of the screen to revert back to the master account.

To delete your account, ensure you are logged in to the site and click the Delete Account link on the Manage Accounts page. All of your moments will be removed and your account will be deleted within 24 to 48 hours. So that we may provide a better experience for other users, please provide feedback about why you are deleting your account.