RinkTime.com - New Features

New Feature: Community-Supported Schedules

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:10:00-0800

A few days ago, we launched a new design for RinkTime. Along with the aesthetic changes, we also made quite a few functional changes both under the hood and on the visible side of the site. One of those changes that we're most excited about is Community-Supported Schedules. Before I get into too much detail, let me give you a little background. We know that two of the most important reasons people visit us are 1) Rink schedules/hours and 2) Location/contact information. Unfortunately, we've been a little behind in getting schedules for more than 4,500 rinks. It's a huge effort. Since our goal is to work closely with as many rinks as possible across the United States & Canada and because we believe in the skating industry and the skaters who visit rinks each weekend, we want to make sure that we have the most up-to-date and accurate information as possible. Enter: Community-Supported Schedules Many rinks are far too busy in day-to-day operations to take time for updating their schedule of activities on RinkTime. We totally understand. That's why we've now put the power into the hands of our great RinkTime Community (you!) On every rink profile page, you will see a "Schedule" tab. Within that tab, an orange button that says "log in to edit". Click it, log in (or create an account), and you'll be on your way to helping other skaters who visit RinkTime by sharing your knowledge of a rink's schedule. You can both add and remove time blocks. It's really easy to do and we're excited to see it in action. Give it a shot and let us know what you think. Comments are always welcome. Rob
Lead Developer

RinkTime Gets a New Design

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:35:00-0800

New Design:

Old Design:

As any website grows, develops, and evolves over time, there are hopefully defining moments that both help shape the history and define the future of that website. I hope today might be one of those days. Today, we launched a brand new design for RinkTime.com. We cleaned it up, reorganized it, polished it and then threw it out there for all to see. For those of you who have visited us in the past, you can clearly see that we made many significant changes. But, you'll also recognize a familiar feel to many aspects of the site. We stopped short of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as they say. We do have some other changes still to unveil, so stay tuned for those in the near future. RinkTime is a community-supported effort with over 3.2 million visitors last year... and still growing. For that very reason, we both welcome and encourage comments and suggestions about our new design and everything else about RinkTime. Thank you for helping to make us a success. Rob
Lead Developer

New Feature: Upload Rink Photos

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:09:00-0800

We've just launched another new feature on RinkTime that will help create a more complete experience for everyone who uses RinkTime as their one stop shop for everything rink. After studying traffic patterns and listening to feedback from our visitors, we quickly realized that we were missing an important piece of the puzzle. Sure, everyone wants a phone number and address for a rink, but what about something more? Something that really offers a sense of what the rink is all about? Easy: Pictures. Beginning today, both rink owners and the public alike will be able to upload images for any rink listed on RinkTime. Now, everyone can upload pictures to share them with the millions of skaters who visit RinkTime each year, giving rinks even more exposure to skaters from all over North America and the world, while allowing patrons a sneak-peak into the rink before they visit. Jenny Leroux is the Marketing Director at Spin City Skate Center in Pigeon Forge, TN. Jenny was the first to use the new Photos feature on RinkTime. Check out Jenny's profile at: Spin City Skate Center - Click the "Photos" tab and then click on one of the photos. So, go to your favorite rink's profile page, click the "Photos" tab and start uploading photos of the facility today.