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Do you want to know what’s going on? The latest posts from your favorite blogs in Real Black are all in one place. The Network is organized into six categories: Entertainment, Finance, Gossip, Life & Style, News and Sports.

Real Black functions like a real-time magazine cover. Anyone can browse or contribute content. If you have a blog, join the site and your blog content will be automatically added to the site whenever you post to your blog. If you don’t have a blog. join and use the ‘add item’ button to add stuff. Better yet, drag and drop the buttons to your toolbar and then add content as you surf the web. Check the home page and your post will be right there!

Once you join you will be able to:

1. Create your profile
2. Rate and comment on any content
3. Add your own content from your IE or Firefox browser
4. Connect to other members on the network
   

1. Imagine you are the Front-page editor of a magazine web-site. That’s how you want your posts to appear. Great images and headlines work! Choose good images and headlines (give the proper credit where appropriate)
2. Get into the habit of publishing after you have posted on your blog. Use the browser buttons (Firefox) or bookmarklets (Internet Explorer). It should take less than a minute...
3. Remember to be creative:
   • The web site cut-off is 20 words
   • Widget cut off is 20 words
   • Facebook Mini-Zine description cut-off is 30 words
4. Nothing pornographic, libelous or offensive, etc
5. Absolutely use high quality content to attract traffic to your blog. The top publishers are already growing their traffic up to 30% and building their brand by doing this.
6. Make sure the link works.
7. Use Tags...
   • They will appear on your profile and organize your content
   • They will appear on the item and link to similar content
8. Comment on other people's content (when the need moves you of course) - It links back to you profile.

What is Real Black?
Who is Customerforce and why the domain FatVine?
How does The Network make money by advertising?
How is new content broadcast throughout the Network?
How are Similar Sites Selected?

Do I receive emails from the Network?
How do I stop receiving newsletters from The Network?
How do I cancel my account with The Network?

How do I connect?
How do I find people?
What if I don't want someone to connect with me?
Can I remove someone from my contacts?

How do I update my profile?
How do I add stuff I want to share?
How do I find stuff?
How do I vote for an item?
What is the "Tag Cloud"?
Who can see my profile and recommendations?
What is The Network's Privacy Policy?
What rules do I have to follow as a Member?
What if someone has posted something that I think is a violation of the Member Agreement?
What if I still have a question?

Real Black functions like a real-time magazine cover. Anyone can browse or contribute content. If you have a blog, join the site and your blog content will be automatically added to the site whenever you post to your blog. If you don’t have a blog. join and use the 'add item' button to add stuff. Better yet, drag and drop the buttons to your toolbar and then add content as you surf the web. Check the home page and your post will be right there! [Top]]

Customerforce is the name of the technology provider and Fatvine is the name of the their proprietary technology platform that combines advertising and content. [Top]

Ads are displayed on publisher member sites and on the Network. Publishers receive ad revenue share from both their pages on the network and on their own site.[Top]

Every widget and Mini-Zine on the network automatically displays the latest content. As you add content, all Mini-Zines and network widgets will reflect that content.[Top]

All content on the network is categorized. Similar sites reflect the latest content in a particular category.[Top]

The Network does have a newsletter that it shares with its members. You will also receive emails regarding updates, message notices or for sharing other information. However, emails are not frequently sent and you may always select to opt out if you don't want to get any emails. [Top]

Simply select to opt out of the newsletter on your Account page. If you are still having trouble, feel free to use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the screen or email admin@fatvine.com. [Top]

If you decide to cancel your account, simply contact us and we'll cancel your account. Remember, you can always keep your The Network ID and simply choose to stop receiving newsletters. [Top]

When you find someone you want to add to your contacts, click on the Connect with Member icon and you will link with that person. If you're searching for people and you do not see a Connect with Member icon you will see a Send Mail icon. That means you are already connected with that member. [Top]

You can find people on the site by using the search box and your own selection criteria, search for people based on occupation, interest, location, etc. [Top]

Simply search for that person and click on the Block Member icon. This will prevent the person from contacting you. Of course, if you ever have problems with any members and feel they are violating the sites User Agreement, please report it to customer service or send in the details on the Contact Us form. We will investigate immediately. [Top]

Yes. You can always choose to block a member from connecting with you. See above. [Top]

It's very simple to start your profile. Once you've signed in, go to the profile page and click Edit. You can update the photo, change the About Me or select new interests.

The About Me box on the profile page is for you to list a bit more about yourself and what you like. In Favorite Interests you can select or remove the categories to reflect your key interests. .

To change your photo click Browse and find the jpg or gif on your computer that you want to upload. Images look best if they are bigger than 200 x 200 pixels. Square images also look better than rectangles. Click the Upload Photo and then click Save. We do encourage acceptable pictures so you will be recognized by your contacts but feel free to get creative so long as it stays within the accepted conditions of the User Agreement. [Top]

Quick Add Item

Hit the 'Add Items' button from any page. Enter a URL in the top Quick Add section and click Go.  The details will populate from the site and you can overwrite if required.  Some fields like Category and Sub Category are mandatory and you may be asked to provide those if the site does not have any obvious matches.  There are next and back buttons for cycling through several images from the site until you find one you like. Click Save once you are happy with all the information.

Full Add Item

Hit the 'Add Items' button from any page. Enter a name in the lower Add section and URL then choose an image from the web page to be a thumbnail. Images look best if they are bigger than 200 x 200 pixels. Square images also look better than rectangles. You can also enter your own description, rating and tags or labels.  Click Save once you are happy with all the information.

Add Item through FireFox using browser buttons

Hit the 'Add Items' button from any page. Drag the “Add to Essence Network” link to your bookmarks bar then go to the site you want to add and click on the bookmarklet.

Add Items through Internet Explorer using bookmarklets

Choose “Add Items”. You will see instructions right next to the ‘Go’ button that are relevant to the particular browser you are using (Internet Explorer and Firefox only at the moment) To add either of these browser buttons, right click the link and choose "Add to Favorites..." Choose the "Links" folder to create the bookmarklet. Then use this browser button to easily add items to Real Black![Top]

Just go to the Home page and you will see different ways to search for things. Search by Keyword or select Categories. You can also filter results by category and sub category and sort into different order using the filter bar drop downs. [Top]

When you find an item that you want in your favorites list simply click the star ratings and your vote will be added with the rating of your choice. Hover over the ratings to see what each star signifies. If you click on an item image you can also see the comments and tags then add your own. [Top]

The Tag Cloud is a text summary of the page you are looking at. The words are the "Tags" or labels that members have added to the items. The fonts are different sizes to show the popularity of each Tag. All of the words link to other items that share the same Tag. [Top]

Your name will be attached to anything that you choose to vote for. Other users can also view your profile by clicking on your username. [Top]

The Network is based on the power of your Network and what you share within your network and with our other members. You are in control of the content you add to your profile, your interests and favorites. We do ask that you adhere to the regulations found in our User Agreement. We will never sell, lease or expose our members' information to any third party without the proper consent. Please see our complete Privacy Policy [Top]

We want our Members to feel comfortable sharing and connecting with others. However, we do have guidelines as far as acceptable content and language. You had to agree to the Terms before becoming a member and it can always be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the site. If you have any questions about what is acceptable, please use the Contact Us link. [Top]

From time to time, someone may post something that violates the Member Agreement. If our team discovers this we will take appropriate action. Of course, it is impossible for us to monitor every posting, description and message so our Members are free to report suspected abuse to customer service or by following the Contact Us link. [Top]

Use the Contact Us link on the bottom of the screen. If you want to get an answer please make sure you are signed in so we have your username to reply to. [Top]