Six Apart Makes TypePad Microblog Ready

By Chelsi Nakano | Published Aug 19, 2009

We’re back with what's probably our zillionth bit about microblogging, but this time it’s not about Twitter. Ok, it's a little bit about Twitter, but that's it.

Six Apart (news, site), eager as anyone else to be a part of the phenomenon, has added a microblogging function to TypePad. The new tool streamlines your updates with its “post from anywhere” capabilities, and works in conjunction with e-mail, the iPhone and the new TypePad Blog It bookmarklet.

Your Identity Hub

Designed with the “post once, publish everywhere” idea in mind, TypePad's new microblogging option has built-in support for popular social tools like Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed. This means that one update to your microblog equals the same update across your entire social scene.

Moreover, you can attach files to your blog post and a link to the file will appear on your various social accounts, directing your networks back to your website for hits, rather than to a third party service site like Twitpic or Twitvid. This translates to the popularity of microblogging mixing with the perks of old school blogging, like control over advertising and personal brand.

"By providing a microblog option, our members have the best of both worlds: a blog for their passion, expertise or business and a microblog for sharing their favorite articles, videos and photos," said Alex Deve, vice president of product. "The microblog format is a great complement to an existing blog."

A Micro Here, A Micro There

The solution is nothing new for those schooled in the world of mini blogs and simple Web publishing tools. In fact, several critics around the blogosphere have specifically pointed out that there is very little difference between Six Apart's new offering and Posterous, a popular little tool that allows users to do the exact same thing without registering for a TypePad account.

But don't let us make up your mind for you. Try Six Apart's new tool by logging into your TypePad account and creating a new microblog, or by applying the new supporting Pico template to your current blog. Let us know how it goes.