YouVersion Beta R4

Beta R4 is now live and available for your viewing pleasure. This release has some really cool new features that I think you will enjoy. Some of the noticeable fixes and new features include:

  • Dashboard quickly view new contributions and new users.
  • Flickr support– now contribute your images located in your Flickr account.
  • Content rankings– user contributions are now weighted based on ratings, etc.
  • 1 year Bible reading plan– the first of many Bible reading plans.
  • And as always…fixed many submitted and unsubmitted”bugs”.

In the past few weeks literally thousands and thousands of new users have joined YouVersion and provided some amazing feedback. We are continuing to work hard improving YouVersion and adding new features and functionality. Please don’t hesitate to give us your feedback or ideas…we have received some awesome ideas!

Enjoy Beta R4!

YouVersion Beta Release 3

YouVersion Beta R3 is now active. R3 includes many bug fixes and some new features. Some of the noticeable fixes and new features include:

  • Link it– with Link it you have the ability to select multiple verses and get direct links to each of them.

Link It

  • Remember Translation– when you leave YouVersion and come back we now remember your previous translation.
  • Rate it– When you rate a piece of content the stars now display correctly.
  • Journal dates– Journal date fixes.

Your feedback and thoughts have been great, keep them coming. Enjoy Beta R3, and as always…there are some really interesting things coming in the near future. Including more translations, some major feature releases, and more.

YouVersion Beta Release 2

Since YouVersion Beta released Sept 27th, we have really enjoyed hearing from you via the Feeback Form. Like any project, we were so excited about our first public release, but we also know that we have a long way to go. A few minor patches and bug fixes have already rolled out, but this is the first official update release.

  • Now includes The Message (MSG)Navpress
  • Now includes Reina-Valera Antigua (RVA) Spanish
  • “Email it” for Community contributions (screen shot)
  • Deselect / Jump to verses quickly (screen shot)
  • Highlighted search results in the Bible reader view
  • Quick link to users profile within contribution
  • Fixed hidden Table of Contents
  • Fixed Journal error message
  • And we fixed hundreds of submitted and unsubmitted “bugs”

Enjoy Beta Release 2, and look for more to come soon! Don’t forget to send us your feedback and thoughts. We love hearing from you guys.

YouVersion Beta is Now Public

**Post from Swerve**

Three months have quickly passed since we revealed the concept of YouVersion.com – a free online Bible that connects the interactivity of Web 2.0 with the timeless truths of scripture. After several stages of Alpha testing and one Private Beta release, we are excited to announce the Public Beta version is now LIVE and ready for you to explore!

Simply go to YouVersion.com to see how it works. Everything is free and will remain free, but to interact with some of the personalized features you’ll need to go through a simple registration process.

Here is what you can do with YouVersion in this release:

• Search for scripture, jump to a book/chapter/verse, or scroll through our Bible Reader
• Star verses and content
• Tag verses and content
• Contribute and/or associate images, videos, links, and text to verses or series of verses
• Start journaling in the “My Journal” feature
• See what others are sharing
• Email items to your friends and family
• Rate content
• And so much more…

Currently we have integrated the following Bible translations:

New King James Version (NKJV) – Thomas Nelson
New Century Version (NCV) – Thomas Nelson
English Standard Version (ESV) – Good News Publishers/Crossway
King James Version (KJV)
World English Bible
American Standard Version (ASV)
Smith and VanDyke Arabic Bible

We have signed license agreements and will very shortly be making available:

The Message (MSG) – Navpress
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) – Holman Bible Publishers/B&H

We also have a commitment from:

Contemporary English Version (CEV) – American Bible Society

At this point, default translation will be King James Version, but you can easily change that if you’d like by simply clicking on the title.

Our Digerati Team has been eating, sleeping, and dreaming all things YouVersion for the last three months and it is nothing short of incredible to see how their commitment has paid off as we are right on schedule. I’d also like to express our appreciation for the hundreds of Alpha and Private Beta testers who contributed their time and given feedback! Additionally, I’m very thankful for the publishers who have captured the vision of this project and been willing to allow us to use their translations. We certainly couldn’t have made it to this point alone.

This is just the beginning. Several more features will be rolling out in the coming weeks as we continue to develop this tool.

Now it’s your turn to discover YouVersion and help us make it better by giving us feedback during this beta release. For those of you that blog, we’d love to have your post your thoughts about it. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for this new community of people reading, reflecting, and sharing how God is moving in a brand new and exciting way. I’ll see you there!

YouVersion Private Beta Release

Late yesterday the Private Beta Preview release rolled out to our existing Alpha testing group. Many bugs have been fixed since the previous Alpha release, and quite a few new core features have been added.

New features and functions:

* Journal
* Internet Explorer 6/7 support
* Safari 3 support
* Rate It
* Updated Help section
* Edit Account features
* Direct links to other users’ profiles
* Many more small bug fixes and features

We are excited about launching the first Public Beta next week. There is no doubt we still have a long way to go, and the “idea” list is longer than you could possibly imagine…but that’s the fun part, right? Stay tuned, we have a lot of exciting announcements coming soon in regards to additional translations, exciting partnerships, new features that are right around the corner…and even some fun stuff we are involved in at an upcoming conference!