Jux.com is a publishing platform which allows users to showcase their work in a streamlined portfolio format with no prior knowledge of coding or web design. Filling a void somewhere between Flickr and Blogger, Jux strives to set itself apart by being a publishing platform for creative professionals.
Users not only have the ability to quickly and easily post block quotes, articles, photos, videos, slideshows and top-10 countdowns, but also the tools to do so in a beautifully organized and fully intuitive gallery format. Jux.com was launched just a few short months ago, but it is already demonstrating why good design and approachability can lead to a substantial following. The rest of this post will delve into Jux and discuss the many benefits it can bring to your creative ventures.
Getting Started
To sign up for a Jux blog, all anyone needs to do is visit www.jux.com, and register for a free account.
Signing up for Jux
Once you are registered you will be presented with the option to begin uploading photos or videos to the system, and begin creating posts for your blog about whatever you like.
Sample Jux Blog
While signed into the system, you are given the ability to either create new posts or edit what you have already published, and all this is completed interacting with either the menu at the top of your blog, or the contextual menus over each and every one of your posts.
Main & Contextual Edit Menus
You also have the ability to edit your blog title, byline, overall blog description, and add website and twitter information all directly from your new blog’s homepage.
Creating Content
The main menu at the top of your blog allows you to share your content via Twitter, Facebook, or Email, access account settings and explore new Jux posts, and additionally provides you the ability to easily add a new post to your blog, which if selected shows you the options below (Make new BlockQuote, Article, Photo, Video, SlideShow, or Top 10 List).
Make Something New
I fully expect these template options to be expanded in the future, but for now when you select one of these options, you are then lead to its associated template, and given the ability to import material from a range of sources including direct upload, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, or straight from a URL.
Photo Post Creation Tool
You also have the ability to ‘Stylize’ your post, add a caption (in the case of photos), and set extra options such as how you would like to display your name and the date, and whether you would like to have a ‘Jux Badge’ displayed on your post (optional).
Once you have completed uploading your content and filling out the extra fields, you can select the ‘Done’ button from the bottom of the template menu, and the post will be added to your blog. It’s as simple as that.
Jux Blog with New Post
Editing Content
If by chance you need to edit a post that you have already published, for example to change the format that you would like to display it in, you do so by clicking on the ‘Edit’ button over each of your blog entries. This is a contextual menu that you won’t see until you roll over a post with your mouse.
Edit Menu at Top of Post
When you select the edit option the post is opened up just as you left it when you first published, and you then have the ability to make any changes that you desire.
Editing Post Settings
Design and Interface
Right now there are only six publishing templates to choose from for your content, but once you have uploaded a few posts to the platform, you will begin to see why Jux is working diligently to ensure that all of them fit together. Everything is laid out for you automatically on your blog, which you can then use as a portfolio, creative showcase, or just something to show your friends.
A Jux page is an absolutely beautiful thing from a design standpoint, and for creative professionals looking for a cheap way to present their material, it’s a great place to start in the marketing process. The publishing interface is easy to use, and it allows users to rapidly upload their photos and videos to get them into the public eye.
Jux looks Good
The best part about Jux’s presentation however, is its integrated ability to act as a full screen slide show of content, by allowing a viewer to move between posts with just a flick of their finger (for iPads and other touch devices), or the press of a button (the arrow keys) when using a keyboard.
Full Screen View
Underlying Performance
Recent back-end improvements have gone a long ways toward fulfilling the promise and potential of a streamlined and fast loading product. The design unit has already optimized the system to make photos, videos, and other posts load much more quickly, and they have also added the aforementioned ability to skim through posts.
The Jux developers are clearly driven to improve this product, and I believe the overall performance, functionality, and fluidity of the system can only get better from here on out.
Now Thirty Times Faster
Competitive Advantages
One of the best things about using Jux is that at this point it’s not only completely free to use, but also completely void of advertising. This truly allows the personality of a Juxer (the name developers are using for publishers) to shine through in the content of their blogs. These are huge benefits that the product has over competitors that either require integrated ads or payment to fully utilize their product.
Having just been released a few months ago, Jux is definitively in the open beta stage of development, and it will be interesting to see if it maintains these qualities going forward. As of yet, however there is no sign of any shift on the horizon.
It appears that the business will be instead looking to make money by finding marketing partners who are willing to use the product to create their own blogs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they unveiled a premium membership in the future with additional templates and styles for the normal user. This product is already a unique undertaking, and the developers have a great idea of what they are trying to accomplish. If Jux can maintain its overall identity and development momentum going forward, it will continue to draw creative individuals and businesses into the fold.
Sharing & Community
At this point Juxers only have the ability to share posts via Twitter, Facebook, and Email. A benefit of the platform however is that they do allow personalized site addresses so users can choose a name that is easy to direct viewers to if they are using the platform as a portfolio, gallery, or showcase.
The Jux development team has been extremely outgoing in seeking recommendations and advice about the product from the community, and they have already made great strides to implement more sharing features in the process. I do wish that they would add the ability to leave comments on photos and videos, and also add the ability to follow blogs with RSS subscriptions (something they are already working on).
Conclusion
Jux is a promising new resource in the creative professional’s toolbox, but it hasn’t quite hit its stride as a fully developed product. There are still a number of features that should and will be implemented in the future, and I look forward to seeing that progress. With that said, Jux is already so unique in its presentation, that it stands out in a crowd and I can easily recommend it.
As an integrated solution for the publication of photography, videos, or writing, this product is head and shoulders above the competition in terms of cost, learning curve, and required upkeep. I can also see why someone would be interested in using Jux as a professional portfolio or showcase for employers. It is elegant and easy on the eyes.
Jux is extremely easy to use, already has a creative and engaged community behind it, and has the backing of a talented and dedicated development team. For anyone seeking to showcase their material in a streamlined, ad-free, easily navigable environment, I highly suggest Jux as an alternative to other publishing platforms (I have an active Jux blog in addition to Blogger and Twitter accounts, and feel that they all address different audiences on the web).
The beauty of this product is truly its simplicity, and as long as the developers hold true to this path, I believe that Jux can have a huge presence in digital culture.