Good news! You can now add an email address to any existing or new form, so that whenever someone completes the form, you will receive the complete form data directly via email.

This feature is perfect for anyone using the forms feature to generate leads or receive inquiries that need timely responses.

Once setup, you will need to test this new feature. Email spam filters and corporate firewalls can be tricky and unfortunately these issues are outside of our control.

To test this feature, try completing a few forms yourself and then verify that the MoFuse emails are being received. If you don’t see the emails, check your spam or junk folders. You can also add MoFuse to your “safe senders” list, or take any other actions appropriate to the email server you’re using to receive these messages.

Finally, as a best practice and to make sure you’re not missing any data, we also recommend downloading the data from MoFuse to save as needed.

For our agencies or large businesses who may be receiving a high volume of completed forms or for whom email is not practical - please see this earlier post Forms API: Your Mobile Data Connection, for  information on connecting with an API url.

We’re proud to announce that MoFuse was selected to build and host the mobile site for The Vancouver Observer, a top online news publication and go-to source for staying current with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Powered by MoFuse, “Now you can get The Vancouver Observer in the palm of your hand,” Vancouver Observer Publisher Linda Solomon said. “We’ll take you inside the Olympics, to competitions, parties, demonstrations and celebrations. We’ll be on the street and so get us on your mobile device now.”

In keeping with the look and feel of their website, we used Custom CSS on the top page. It renders well on devices like the iPhone and Droid, and although you can’t see the colors from the BlackBerry for example, the site is still nicely optimized for easy navigation and reading.

When it comes to CSS and mobile, generally speaking you can do the following without interfering with how your site renders across most phones:

• Change colors and font styles
• Add special font treatments outside the WSIWYG editor (double underline, borders, etc.)
• Hide elements (For example, you can hide an About Page on the top menu, but link to it from a footer.  On the Vancouver mobile site, this is how we created the footer you see at the bottom of the front page using a Content Block to create links to hidden pages.)

Of course, you do need to keep in mind that you’ll most likely only be able to see these custom treatments on the iPhone or Droid, and not a BlackBerry or feature phone.

To read the full Press Release on Yahoo News, click on Vancouver Observer Goes Mobile for Olympics (http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100215/bs_prweb/prweb3599224_1)

To visit the MoFuse mobile site and to follow the Games, go to  m.vancouverobserver.com.

Check out the new post, Engagement: Mobile’s Edge in Advertising, posted today on the Small Screen Blog to read about how mobile and online advertising stack-up.

Now MoFuse offers you a way to connect directly and instantly to data entered on any mobile form in realtime.

Available now, you can connect your “forms” API (using the URL of that API) to any mobile form you build and host with MoFuse. Whenever anyone enters data into your mobile form, that data will post immediately to the API (URL) you associate it with. This is the best way for you to ensure you are aware and responsive to any mobile form entries.

To use this feature with existing forms, click to “edit” the form. When creating a new form, you can enter the activate this feature during the forms creation process.

Leave us a message in our Help Center (click Support on the top toolbar) to let us know what you think, or if you have any questions.

Happy Form Building… and exporting!

We’ve just added Google Checkout to our suite of Google Mobile Tools, available to all Small Business and Ultimate plans. This newest addition allows you to add Buy Now buttons anywhere on your site so that customers can make purchases or donations directly on mobile.

Keep reading for a quick how-to, plus some tips and good things to know when using this new feature.

Setting it Up:

1.    If you don’t already have one, set up a Google Merchant ID here: http://checkout.google.com/sell/

2.    Copy and paste your Google Merchant ID into the field at the top of the Google Mobile Checkout page on MoFuse, located under Google Mobile Tools. Double check that you entered the entire, correct Merchant ID!

3. Click save.

Laying it Out:

1.    On the Add Elements page, add as many new Buy Now buttons as you need or want on your site.

Note: The “Product Name” functions as the label for each element, but also appears on the Google mobile order form that you will receive. The text entered in Product Name will not appear on your mobile site.

2.    Just as with all other elements, go to the Site Layout page and place your Buy Now button exactly where you want to appear.

A Must Do:

Test your Buy Now button after it has been set up, so you can make sure the customer’s experience is as it should be. If you have problems, double check that you entered the correct Merchant ID.

A few extras:

• Remember that you can nest elements, including Buy Now buttons. So, place the button on the page you want, under a Page Title, and/or below an Image Element.
• For all our Not-for-Profit friends, or anyone else who is running a fund-raising campaign, you can also use this button for donations. The Buy Now button cannot be an open amount, so we recommend including 3-4 donation options.
• At this time, Google has only made the Mobile Checkout available for US Merchants, but we’ll be there when this changes!

Let us know what you think: Support@mofuse.com