---
title: 'Strands continues to improve by listening to its users'
date: '2008-09-16T16:15:50-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 348
char_count: 2260
tokens: 453
categories:
  - Corvallis
  - Features
  - friendfeed
  - Oregon
  - springstage
  - Strands
tags:
  - Corvallis
  - friendfeed
  - 'louis gray'
  - Oregon
  - springstage
  - Strands
---

# Strands continues to improve by listening to its users

When Corvallis-based [Strands](http://strands.com "Strands") released their new lifestreaming service a few months back, I found it [friendlier than FriendFeed](http://siliconflorist.com/2008/05/29/strands-friendlier-than-friendfeed-or-everyones-lifestream-just-got-more-valuable/ "Strands friendlier than FriendFeed"), but not without its share of faults.

To its credit, the Strands team was open to criticism—taking its detractors head-on—and, as such, they continued to elicit tons of valuable feedback on ways to improve the service.

Now, you get the chance to see some of those improvements with the latest release of Strands.

Gone are the dark and constrained streams of information. Now, they’re open, legible, and much more inviting.

![Strands new interface](https://i0.wp.com/siliconflorist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/imgstrands.jpg?w=925)

It’s definitely a marked improvement. And one that will likely draw me back into a more participatory role. As opposed to my current use: allowing Strands to churn along—ignored in the background as it works at capturing my lifestream.

This update makes me want to get back into the fray. Because, now, it seems so much more **usable**.

And I’m not the only one.

Prominent blogger and [FriendFeed](http://friendfeed.com "FriendFeed") proponent [Louis Gray](http://louisgray.com "Louis Gray") highlights the [progress Strands has made,](http://www.louisgray.com/live/2008/09/strands-upgrades-to-highlight-friends.html "Strands upgrades to highlight friends") too:

> While it hasn’t yet gotten the buzz of some other social aggregators and lifestreaming projects, Strands is quietly going about making a product on par with the market leaders, letting the community find new content and people, and enabling micro-conversations.

I couldn’t be happier to see Strands getting these kinds of strokes.

If you’re a current Strands user (and I know a ton of you in Portland and Corvallis are), I’d highly recommend heading back over to [Strands](http://strands.com "Strands") to give it a second look.

If you’re interested in trying Strands, comment below and I’ll be happy to get you an invite. I’ve got about 13 left. First come, first served.