Hey Baltimore, happy 4th of July! Here at 600block HQ, we’ve been busy making some final tweaks to the site and now we’re ready to open our doors to all of Baltimore! If you haven’t already, check out 600block.com and start discovering great Baltimore places, specials and deals. There’s already a lot to check out…like our collection of more than 200 food and drink specials from around the city.

So what are you waiting for? Check it out and tell your friends! Big thanks to all the beta members who have been reviewing local places, creating their scenes, and giving feedback. We’re excited to find out what you love about Baltimore. Happy grilling this weekend and we’ll see you on the site!

Today we’re launching a new version of 600block with some big changes! Thanks to all our early members who have been sending in feedback and new ideas. Keep em coming! Here’s the 411 on the changes:

Better Navigation
We now have three main sections so it’s easier to find what you want. You can check out the entire city view (top places, specials, members), filter down to your scene (updates from favorite places and friends) or just see the stuff you’ve saved.

New and Improved My Scene
We spent the most time enhancing the My Scene section — your personalized city page. You’ll notice a new real-time feed of the latest activity from your favorite city places and friends. Get alerted to new specials at your favorite restaurant, new reviews from friends and more. It’s city updates you care about…all in one place. Of course, your daily specials list and recommendations are still there as well!

New My Stuff Page
We wanted to make it easier to keep track of all the stuff you love about Baltimore. This new section includes quick access to your favorite places, reviews, specials, friends and profile. It’s like your little black book for the city.

Saving Items
If you come across a great daily special or review, now you can save it to your My Stuff page for later. Now that’s handy!

More Recession-Proof Daily Specials
We’re approaching 200 daily food and drink specials and adding new ones all the time. If you don’t see your favorite specials listed, you can add them!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding new features that make it easier to post new reviews, specials and photos. We also have a lot of other cool things in the works. Let us know what you want using the new feedback box at the top of every page or email feedback@600block.com!

A little over a month has passed since we first invited our friends and family and they sure have been busy! It’s awesome to see everyone sharing what they love about Baltimore. We’re just getting started, but our numbers are quickly growing:

• 502 number of restaurants, bars, shops and other places listed
• 51 reviews written by our members
• 130 favorite places saved by our members
• 162 daily food and drink specials posted

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions and new ideas. Keep ‘em coming! We’re listening to what you want and working hard on some big changes that we think you’ll like. Getting very close to inviting our waiting list to join the fun…sign up now if you haven’t already!