zwINK: The Latest Buzz from Zwinktopia and Beyond!

Happy Passover ! Have a Seder in Your Room!

Hey guys and gals, Miss Thang here. Now usually I'm doling out awesome advice about all things related to love; however, today, I'm gracing you with my presence for an entirely different reason. You see, Wednesday night is Passover, a very important holiday for all our Jewish friends out there.

For those of you who have not seen The Ten Commandments featuring the one-and-only Charlton Heston, here's a brief synopsis for you. A very, very, very, very long time ago, the Israelites were enslaved by the evil Egyptian pharaoh, and were sent to do hard labor in the desert. Moses to save the day and his people (And according to movie history, he was quite the catch as well.) Every Passover, Jewish families across the world retell this story so as not to forget what their ancestors before them experienced.

To commemorate the holiday, they hold a Seder where they read the story of Passover, and partake in foods that represent the history of these events. Well, now you'll have the same opportunity to create a Seder in your own room! Here's how to do it:

Grab a Haggadah (the book that depicts the story of Passover), some Matzos and a fruit-filled drink from Z's Greetings to mark the occasion.

Set the table for a nice meal – be careful about putting things on top of one another.

Invite your friends for a Passover celebration. Share memories and stories, and enjoy being together on this special day.

You can also visit our fabulous sister site, Webfetti,to decorate your profile page with Passover inspired goodies including Glitter and Smileys! Just copy and paste the codes to get these cool items!

So see? Miss Thang knows way more than you think. Love just happens to be my specialty. Never underestimate a woman! See ya!

Tips: Getting and posting a screenshot for Znotes

Hey Zwinksters!

I've been getting some Znotes lately in response to some of the challenges I've been suggesting – like decorating your dorm in all Daily Keepsakes, dressing your Zwinky in something like what you're wearing in real life and turning your Zwinky into a character from "Twilight" – asking me how to get your picture into Znotes.

So here's a quick tutorial on how to do that.

Grand Opening!! Rocawear hits Zwinktopia!

We are so excited to have Rocawear, the hip hot urban clothing line, opening in the Zwinchester! Think of it as a slice of Jay-Z?s closet in Zwinktopia – after all, he?s the founder!

You can expect to find all the latest urban fashions here. Not to mention, we hope you enjoy the urban lounge feel that?s perfect to relax and chat in after burning through some ZBucks.

April Fool's = Opposite Day in Zwinktopia

One day at the Zwinky office, we were sitting around having lunch and talking about how fun it would be to dress up as our polar opposites. Yours truly, Little Miss Indie, would dress as a blonde sorority girl. Ms. Information, a very casual and earthy gal, would be stylish and pretty in pink. And we thought, "Hey, why not do Opposite Day for real?"

Yup, this April Fool's Day—Wednesday, April 1st—is Opposite Day in Zwinktopia! Sporty ladies, dress fancy. Preppies, make yourselves over as goths. And geeks, drop the books and go clubbing!

That's the great thing about Zwinky...If you're tired of your look, you can create and save new outfits, try out different hairstyles, switch up your scene?heck, you can even change body types from Hottie to Cutie and/or Girl to Boy!

So get creative. Znote me with "before" and "after" screenshots of your Zwinky. If you want, include a short explanation of how your Opposite Day Zwinky is the antithesis of your regular Zwinky. Your style may be featured on a future zwINK blog post!

Don't be an April Fool: Zworoscopes!

Welcome back to Zworoscopes, your Zwinky's monthly astrological forecast.

Find out from our secret astrologer what kind of month your Zwinky is destined to have.

Remember, your Zwodiac sign is based on when your Zwinky was created. You can find that information where it says "Zwinky Since:" on your profile.

"Twilight" challenge recap

To celebrate the release of the DVD, I recently posted a "Twilight" challenge asking all of you totally enthusiastic fans out there to see how close you could get your Zwinky to look like a character from the film.

Well! What a huge hit this has been!

I'm absolutely psyched now to present the results of that challenge. I just can't tell you how impressed I am every time I see what you guys are capable of! If you've been holding off on these because you don't know how to do screen shots, not to worry. I'll be posting a tutorial before the next one.

But for now, without further ado, I present Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper and the rest of the crew!

Click on the thumbnails to check out the other awesome "Twilight" looks!

Mr. Metropolitan's Spring Mailbag Cleaning

Greetings Zwinksters! I hope you're enjoying the first days of spring wherever you may be. Here in Zwinktopia, I was personally so excited about winter being over that I headed down to The Beach to catch some rays.

But I soon discovered that it was still pretty chilly down there, and even though there were tiki torches lit for a party... no-one was anywhere to be found. And I'm guessing those hot dogs or hamburgers won't be ready any time before Memorial Day. I guess I'll just restrict my outdoor activity to The Park until things get a bit warmer.

In the meantime, let's get started on some spring cleaning by opening up the mailbag and answering your latest questions.

Miss Thang Welcomes Spring with Advice About Love, Cheating and Overcoming Shyness

Spring is here, my kittens, and you know what that means...love is in the air! I'm telling you, when the temperature heats up, so does the romance – even for your very own Miss Thang! Now I didn't want to say anything right away because you know how fickle I can be, but I do have a new relationship brewing. And I'm proud to say, it's with a Cutie. (So there, Mr. Metropolitan! Deal with that!)

I can't say his name because he likes to lay low, but let me tell you, he is quite the gentleman! He opens doors for me, treats me to magnificent meals, and best of all he knows how to make me laugh ... an essential quality in a mate! So because of this, I am preliminarily referring to him as my boyfriend. Now for Miss Thang to take a step like that is pretty big, but I will say I'm taking things slow. After all, no need to jump into anything. I'd rather just enjoy being courted!

Playing games for charity?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a zwINK post profiling SocialVibe.com as a fun way to help your favorite charity. (You pick your favorite charity and a sponsor like Coca-Cola, Apple or Juicy Couture, and SocialVibe combines them into a widget you can add to your Zwinky profile. The more page views your widget gets, the more points you earn and the more money your charity receives.)

The response from Zwinky users was terrific. I had 30 Zwinkies create SocialVibe accounts directly through me, and I assume many more Zwinksters created widgets for their profiles independently. Because I added a widget to my post, my charity of choice – "charity:water" – received a ton of exposure over the course of a couple of weeks. So thanks to everyone! (And yes, I'm going to add another widget to this post, as well. If only bailing out corporate America was this easy.)

Now I have another charity recommendation that's even more fun! Check out the IWON Team Challenge. (IWON.com is a sister site of Zwinky.) Just register on the site and start playing games for your favorite national charity team. How's that for an excuse to play more games?

Here's how it works: Every game you play earns you IWON coins. Those coins can be redeemed by you for chances to win prizes (from iPhones to cash to Prada handbags). Those same coins also count toward your charity's team total. At the end of the month, IWON awards $5,000 to both a national charity team and a user-created team (think local fundraisers, online community charities...) who received the most coins in their respective categories. IWON also gives away $2,000 and $1,000 prizes to the top runners-up.

It's a pretty neat concept. Of course, I know you're already busy playing games in Zwinktopia for more Zbucks. But hey, sometimes you need a break from playing games... by playing more games! (IWON has over 100 in all.)

Thanks for your Znotes. I now know a lot of Zwinky users out there want to help charities however they can. If you see other online charity tie-ins, let me know. Keep doing your part, and as always...

Stay snacktastic.

Join a 'Twilight' party tonight!

Clearly I don't need to ask if there are any fans of "Twilight" out there. I've totally lost count of the number of times someone's posted about it on my Znotes. But just in case you forgot what day it is, today's the day the DVD comes out in stores! And you totally want to get it cuz I hear there are tons of awesome extras!

But first, think about celebrating "Twilight" here in Zwinktopia!! Go back and look at some of your Halloween assets to give your dorm a spooky mood. Then pick a character like Bella or Edward and see if you can recreate their outfit!

I chose Bella and went with the Ruffled Shirt and the Jeans in brown from University Club. Then I went into the classic wardrobe and chose the Knit Jacket in brown with the Slipons from shoes in brown and black. I also added a Bow Barrette from hats.

Make sure you take a screen shot and shoot me a Znote to show me what you come up with!

Now you're ready to throw a "Twilight" party of your own! After all, the closest party is just a click away!

But if you feel like venturing out into the real world, stores all over are hosting midnight release parties. See if there's one near you by going to the Twilight site and entering your zip code.