The following is a guest post from the members of the SocialVibe Product and Technology Team:

You’ll notice that there have been some dramatic changes here at SocialVibe over the last 24 hours, and as many of you have already discovered, one of the biggest changes is how points are earned. While these changes might seem confusing at first, don’t worry - they were designed to increase the amount of money the SocialVibe Community is able to earn for charity.

Previously, the way people earned their points here at SocialVibe was as follows:

You select a sponsor, put the badge on your profile, and earn points every time your profile gets viewed.

Pretty simple. So, why the change?

Bottom line, advertisers are a lot more interested in driving activity and engagements so that they can have a more meaningful experience with you.

Engagements represent active attention from you. Because advertisers find engagements that drive discussion around their brand to be highly valuable, more support for charities becomes possible.

By doing brand activities, and sharing them with your friends, you’re helping to
increase the support that the SocialVibe Community provides for charity.

For some of you, it is true that the new engagement model will result in you earning less points. However, rest assured that the points you earn in this new engagement model are much more valuable to your charity than they were before, and that the SocialVibe Community as a whole is now able to generate a lot more money for the charities we all care so much about.

Now, go do some engagements and help your charity!

It took us all day (and almost all night) but the new and improved SocialVibe.com is live and ready for your enjoyment! Don't waste another minute reading this silly little blog post - get over to SocialVibe.com and explore all the new features we added. Complete all the brand activities and share them on your social networks so you can start earning more points immediately!

Don't forget to re-add your badge to your MySpace profile and check out our brand new Facebook app, too!

We're only a weekend away from the big launch that we've been talking about all week. Among the many new changes coming to SocialVibe.com are a new Dashboard, new ways to track your Cause impact, new ways to share your activities with your network and a brand new Badge.

While we are very much looking forward to a fresh new look and more effective ways for you to interact with brands, earn points and help your Cause,many parts of the site will NOT be changing... at least not yet.

Here are a few things that you can expect to stay the same:

- The Forums
- User Profiles
- Cause Pages
- Sponsor Pages

Before you start writing your comment about how "the forums really REALLY need a search bar," hear us out!

Next week, we're opening up the communication airwaves to give YOU a chance to tell us exactly which features you want on these pages. We're not sure yet exactly what this will look like (a contest, perhaps?), but one thing is for sure: our members are going to have A LOT of say in the future of the forums, user profiles, sponsor pages and cause pages. How about that?

Be on the lookout for an announcement next week with more details about how you can let your voice be heard.

Enjoy your weekend, because on Monday, you're going to be blown away by the NEW SocialVibe!

Can you believe it? We're only 3 days away from the brand new SocialVibe.com! All week long, we've been counting down the days by offering previews of some of the awesome new site features. The fun continues today as we reveal what is one of the biggest changes you'll notice: THE NEW BADGE.

You know it, you love it, but it's long time we offered and updated version of the SocialVibe badge. It's got a gorgeous new look, but it's also got effective new functionality that will help you raise even more money for your cause.

NEW FEATURES:

1. The new badge features a cool new counter that shows (in real time) the total impact made for your cause by the entire SocialVibe community. This is a great way to show the difference we've made and get all your friends interested in helping!

2. It's made from html instead of flash. What this means in non - developer language is that the badge is CLICKABLE, meaning those who view it can click on the badge, visit your profile, complete the engagement and earn you more points! And if you want your points, they're going to have to do just that (read on).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

There are a couple very important things you should all know about the new badge.

1. If you have a SocialVibe badge on your website, you'll have to RE-ADD it once the new site launches on October 5. In order to do so, you'll first have to complete a sponsor activity on your Dashboard.

2. All your points will now be earned from ENGAGEMENTS instead of impressions. This means people will actually have to click on and complete the sponsor activity for your points to register. This will actually work FOR you and help you earn MORE points!

Sooo, what do you think? If you think you like it now, just wait until you see it in action! 3 days!

You can almost feel the excitement building in the air as we come one day closer to the grand reveal of the new and improved SocialVibe.com. As promised, we've got another sneak peek at one of the exciting new features you'll be able to enjoy come October 5.

Today we'd like to highlight the seamless way you'll be able to
complete brand activities and share on your networks to help your friends earn you even more points.

This screen you're seeing is a sample of a brand engagement, in this case, COFFEE-MATE.

After you complete the activity and earn your 100 points (amount of points varies on activity), you'll have the opportunity to share this with your friends on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and more (the "more" is not shown in this image, this is a work in progress, remember).

Each time your friends completes your activity, they'll earn you an additional 100 points (or whatever the activity is worth). This will also be a great time for them to sign up for SocialVibe, thus earning even more money for charity!

Earn more points by tweeting your sponsor activity!

So, what do you think?

With all these new changes we're revealing, you're probably wondering, "What's going to stay the same?!" The good news is, plenty. We're building this site with your feedback taken into account every step of the way. After all, SocialVibe is nothing without our members. Later this week, we'll dedicate an entire post to things that WON'T be changing.

Based on your comments thus far, we know a few of you aren't loving the new color scheme. Fear not, my friends, the entire site isn't going to be gray and green, your profiles will still be blue and black for example, and OF COURSE the Pink Ball is staying Pink.

Oh, and for the record, a black website doesn't always mean it is more energy efficient. Actually, it some cases it can consume MORE energy. For instance, if you're using an LED monitor, the thin lights behind the screen that are always on will have to expend energy to block light for darker pixels. Energy reduction based on pixel color depends on many factors, one of which is the type of monitor you are using.

All this week, we're counting down to the launch of the newly designed SocialVibe.com with previews of the exciting new site components. All the features you know and love will still be available, but in an easier to use, easier on the eyes and more effective way.

Today's sneak peek is one that will appeal to most of us - THE CAUSES. Currently, you can see what's up with your chosen charity by visiting their Cause page, which you can access via a tile on your Dashboard. Those things will still be possible with the new SocialVibe, but with added benefits. The NEW Dashboard (as we showed you yesterday) gives you awesome new ways to connect with your Cause.

1. You have a whole TAB devoted to your Cause. This is where you can watch a video about your Cause and its current goal, the total impact being made overall by the community, comments from other members about the cause, goal progress, and more.

2. Cause goal ticker located on your Dashboard. Conveniently placed at the top of the Dashboard, you'll find a ticker that helps you track your goal progress without ever having to visit the Cause page.

This kind of makes the old Dashboard look a bit outdated now, doesn't it?

What do you think, getting excited yet? We've still got several more features to share with you before our grand unveiling on October 5, so keep your eyes on The Vibe for all the latest updates!

Are you all on the edges of your seats waiting for your first peek at the NEW SocialVibe.com? We thought so! We won't keep you waiting any longer.

The first new feature you'll be able to enjoy is a freshly designed and easier to use Dashboard. Possibly the most noticeable difference is the less-cluttered look of the Dashboard, which has tabs so you can easily monitor your activities, influence, friends, and what's happening with your Cause.

You'll be able to earn more points than before with the new Dashboard, as all sponsor activities will be listed in the main area and can be easily completed right there. You can also track your progress, as the Dashboard clearly displays the amount of points you've earned, along with a direct translation of your cause impact (i.e., 100 points = 37 days of clean water for a person in Africa.)

Additionally, all social networking tools and other points-earning activities (such as answering the Daily Question) are listed in the right sidebar.

What do you think so far? This is only the beginning of the new features that will be up and running in just 6 days. Stay tuned for another feature preview tomorrow!

Without saying too much too soon, we want to encourage you to all keep an eye out for some very big changes coming very soon to SocialVibe. In just 10 days from now, you'll be introduced to some new features and functionality on SocialVibe.com and on our Facebook app.

After months of hard work (and pouring over all of your feedback and suggestions), we're making some big changes that will result in more activities, more fun, and more impact for your charity.

Stay tuned next week as we'll be counting down the days to the big reveal, teasing you with bits and pieces of information about the NEW SocialVibe.