Ugh.

We realize we haven't been reblogging as diligently as we once used to. Now, thanks to Jacy and Russian Girl, we have a little help. Many thanks to these lovely women.

We've had some time to look at the new NS redesign, and we agree: It is hideous. And so, so manipulative. We understand you have to actually click through to each post to see it, and nobody really wants that here. We'll do our best to help you out, bunnies. Starting now.

Out of the three, the Pink Lady is the only one to do a post explaining the new changes. It's because NonSociety is So Revolutionary. Julia Allison is an Internet visionary! She's ahead of her time! And here, she tells you why:

YAY! NonSociety Lifecasting 1.5 is HERE!

Just when you thought that the horizontal scroll couldn’t possibly get any better, we’ve gone and launched Lifecasting 1.5!

What is Lifecasting 1.5? It’s the interim step in a series of many to evolve NonSociety into THE Destination Lifecasting platform for a range of entertaining characters (yeah, right now you’re stuck with just us!). Ultimately, we’re launching this new version to make it a better viewing experience for our readers, simultaneously integrating advertisements without compromising the cutting edge design.

Below are some of the most notable changes:

But … but … but … WHY horizontal scrolling?

Horizontal scrolling is unconventional, but we believe it’s the best foundation for a new kind of fun, light, entertaining, multi-media storytelling we call “lifecasting.”

We chose it for two reasons: 1) Lifecasts are inherently stories told via a timeline - but timelines are not vertical! A horizontal layout is the best way - in our opinion - of viewing a real-time story - made up of text, links, photos and videos - chronologically.

2) We understand that currently, mouse wheels are designed to scroll down the page, as most webpages are organized lengthwise, with almost no horizontal scroll. That, we believe, will not always be the case. We’re already seeing a massive information architecture shift, as designs become more sophisticated and inventive - witness the advent of sites like The Daily Beast and Urban Outfitters blog.

We believe that future of technology lies in computers with touchscreen monitors. Look at the iPhone! It will inevitably change the way we view and interact with online content - one day, all devices, mobile, desktop and tvs, will have this tactile interface and functionality. We may be ahead of the curve on this - but the NonSociety horizontal scroll is the logical design for such a technology.

However, IN THE INTERIM, we’ve fine-tuned our distinctive horizontal design to make it more user-friendly for those of us still stuck with trackpads, mice and (god forbid) the nubs.

What does that mean, exactly?

- NO MORE VERTICAL SCROLLING! The biggest issue of 1.0, we felt, wasn’t so much that you have to scroll horizontally - although, as we said above, we like that - but also vertically, in order to see the bottom of each post. No longer! You’ll be able to easily check the day’s posts by scrolling horizontally with the now-integrated scrollbar, and then clicking on the lightbox to see the posts you’d like to read enlarged.

- WHAT IS THIS LIGHTBOX THING? One of our pet-peeves has always been that it’s difficult to view content on the web without seeing a bunch of other crap you’re not interested in. Although we think it’s important to be able to quickly scan the day’s posts, we also believe that you should be able to focus on one in particular. That’s why we’re introducing a new, super clean interface that allows you to click on the post of your choosing and view the content without distraction.

- LOTS OF LITTLE TWEAKS! Design is extremely important to us at NonSociety, so we painstakingly went over everything. Check out the new tabs, instead of the old, cumbersome menu bar, the search bubble in the upper right hand corner - which is the fastest, easiest way to find anything on a given lifecasting page, the TMI integration button on the lefthand side, and our now more accessible community features, The Question of the Day and Advice Box, displayed “below the fold.” If you want to find out more about us, our schedules or our links, click on Meet Me. It’s easy to add us to your RSS feed, as well.

In the coming months, we’ll be steadily honing these features - and maybe adding a few new ones! - but in the meantime, we hope you enjoy the new look.

- FINALLY - COUGH COUGH - THE ADS. Yes, in addition to special sponsors (for more info on that, see our ethics statement below), we are now monetizing the site through traditional advertisements. It’s one thing to expose our lives, it’s another thing to go broke doing it! Hence, the new set of ads on the bottom and at the far end of each contributor’s daily lifecast. They’re contextual, which means that they’re based upon the content we write, so they’ll never be static, unless we’re running a particular campaign with a sponsor. We hope they don’t bug you too much. If they do? We’re sorry. We’ve gotta pay our rent somehow!