Themes are something we have to get right -- we've got about half a dozen themes already designed and we're starting to work on the feature in the coming weeks.
Though I venture to guess early facebook users may have asked for themes for parity with MySpace, and it didn't turn out to be such a big deal in the longer run.
Thanks for the feedback -- you're right that it remains an important feature.
Well, for my part, lack of visual customization is the sole reason I don't use Posterous for everything I blog. You reeled us in with cool tricks, but I'm not sure how I can ever make it my core blog if it can't improve visually.
It's also one of the key reasons I haven't yet recommended it to my friends who aren't early adopters. My less tech-savvy friends who use LiveJournal and Myspace see the service more as a geek toy. I showed my wife how easy it was to get content added and she loved it-- but she'd never tell anyone to actually go there unless she can put her personality onto the page.
For my part, I don't care so much for custom pre-built themes-- I just need a way to add my own CSS.
And then I see responses that don't agree that this is the #1 thing on Posterous's plate and it makes me sad as a user. I know how unfun that kind of customization is to code, so the geek in me can relate 100%-- yet speaking as a user, let's just get this feature already and let that be the one I see announced on HN.YC instead of these other cool features you guys want to add.
Keep up the good work, though. You guys make good stuff, no doubt.
That's why I stopped using posterous. I'm not the type of guy who likes themes usually, but it just felt so bland after a while. Nobody commenting, no personalisation, there is nothing that says 'me' about the page.
With facebook, I've got my friends status messages all around, so it's a 'me' site. But posterous is like a clinic - it's just so neutral.
Want to be on the private beta for themes? =) (EDIT: we don't do private betas. But trust me, its coming. ;-) ) These are all concerns we're working super hard to address.
One tough thing to balance about product design is that we want the experience to not require all these extra steps. Simplicity in visual design is one way to mitigate the 'tyranny of choice' that many people face with complex software.
I think in the long term this problem can be identified as the "low bar high ceiling" problem. The most well designed software is immediately approachable, but provides a ramp for users to create real, powerful, immediately useful, personal experiences.
The ramp is what we seek to build. Thanks for your thoughts!
Though I venture to guess early facebook users may have asked for themes for parity with MySpace, and it didn't turn out to be such a big deal in the longer run.
Thanks for the feedback -- you're right that it remains an important feature.