Introducing Markdown support, Time Giveaways, the Archive, and More!

We launched Instamojo three weeks ago and are overwhelmed by your response. We’ve been listening carefully and we’ve worked very hard on your feedback. We’ve refactored a large part of the codebase and we’ve added a host of new features and improvements today.

Here are some of the updates from today’s release:

1. 1. Markdown:
      You can now optionally format your post in Markdown! This allows you to create headers, lists; add named links and even images, among other things in the very easy to read and easy to write Markdown syntax; which is inspired from the world of plaintext email.Lines that begin with numbers followed by periods will be formatted as HTML ordered lists, while lines that begin with asterisk marks, plus or minus signs will be formatted as HTML unordered lists.Here is an example of a post by Harshad that uses some Markdown. Here is the plain text Harshad used in the description box.For the full syntax documentation of Markdown, visit this page.
   2. Type- Time:
      One of the things that our earliest adopters began using Instamojo for was to give their time away for specific purposes, such as to set up meetups with entrepreneurs and to set up dates. So, we’ve gone ahead and added a special object type called “time” that you can select if you want to give your time away or want to post an event. This is in addition to the object type, “physical”, which is used for physical goods you’d like to give away.
   3. Archiving items:
      If you no longer want an item to be visible publicly, you can now archive the item from your dashboard.You will, however, be able to view them in the “Archived Items” section. If someone visits the original item link, they will be greeted with a “Page not found” error.This is very useful if you want to take an item offline temporarily- perhaps when you’re heading out for a vacation and won’t be around to give it away. All archived items can be made live at any point in the future.
   4. Friendlier URL scheme:
      We’ve deprecated the use of the unfriendly, numbered URLs we had earlier and have implemented more descriptive and readable ones.We’ve replaced URLs. Don’t worry, all your old URLs still work, they simply redirect to the new ones. So, you don’t need to change anything.
   5. Unified dashboard and profile:
      Your dashboard and your profile page are now the same. When you log in, you go straight to your dashboard, which lists all the items on your profile. You can also see which of your items have been claimed or are still available. You can share a link to your dashboard with your friends and that will appear as your profile page to them.Further, the dashboard item page and the item share page are now unified- now there is only an item page. You go to the item page as soon as you add an item, you can share that link wherever you like. As long as you’re logged in, you can edit the item from the same page.We’ve also moved all items that have been claimed and are no longer available to an “Unavailable Items” section on your dashboard. Here is an example of such a page.
   6. Feedback system:
      We’ve added a simple, unobtrusive feedback widget that you can see to the right of the page.This allows you to file bugs and send in feedback about specific pages on the website while you’re on the page. You can also send a screenshot of the page you’re on. The widget will also take care of attaching the screenshot for you.This tool has been built by our friends at Web Engage.
   7. Facebook based authentication system:
      We’ve now implemented a Facebook based authentication system. Registering on Instamojo links your Instamojo account with your Facebook account and pre-fills your Instamojo sign up page with details from Facebook.In implementing this, we only ask for basic identity information, we won’t be posting anything on your wall without your permission. In fact, we don’t even ask Facebook for the credentials to post to your wall; a fact you can confirm by looking at the permissions asked for during registration.
   8. Add items from anywhere on Instamojo:
      Earlier, you had to navigate through to your dashboard each time you wanted to post an item on Instamojo. You can now post an item from any page on Instamojo when you’re logged in; use the “Add Item” link at the upper-right side of the page.
   9. Fixed adding of images to items:
      Some of you have written to us about the issues you’ve faced while adding preview images to item posts. We’ve fixed the issue and you should be able to add images seamlessly.
   10. Use either email ID or username to log in:
       Forgot your username? You can now sign in using your email address too.

Thank you all for your feedback! Do keep it coming in, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or contact us via email.