Six Apart released a brand new version of Movable Type (MT) that “signals a new era in blogging,” thanks to the newly added social networking capabilities. Six Apart’s icing on the cake is the debut of MT Pro - a product combining Movable Type’s blogging tools and WCM features with social networking capabilities. It’s been almost seven years since Six Apart embarked on its quest to make publishing available to everyone - and it is still going strong. In the new era, however, it is now all about the ability go beyond blogging and into the social publishing. MT 4.2 is here to offer a new level of interaction between bloggers and audience, integration with social networks and a lot more. “Publishers and bloggers are increasingly looking to introduce social networking capabilities to their sites, as they look for ways to increase reader engagement,” said Chris Alden, CEO of Six Apart. Movable Type Pro is here to help anyone - publishers, individual bloggers, educational institutions, small and medium-sized businesses or large enterprises - to jump on the social networking train.
MT 4.2 - Blogs, Forums and Social Networks
MT 4.2 is a full-fledged solution powered by the ability to build community blogs -- where members can comment and create their own posts, or forums -- where registered members can socialize under the same avatar and profile throughout the site. The goal, of course, is to increase interaction with visitors and improve online metrics.A little while ago we gave you a sneak peek preview of what MT 4.2 is all about. Check it out, if you’ve missed it earlier. The release of Movable Type 4.2 introduces major improvements to the Movable Type platform, including:* Enhanced speed and performance -- publishing 2-3 times faster out of the box* Completely rewritten search resulting in common queries being 100x faster* Simplified default templates and richer documentation* Built-in free open source TypePad Antispam* Threaded commenting capability
MT Pro
With MT Pro, any web site or blog owner can create a vibrant social network by “letting their readers and visitors become members of their sites, with profiles and the ability to rate content and follow each other.” Sounds like a combination of Technorati, Facebook and Twitter gone wild. MT Pro includes all of the Community Solution features, all of the Professional Pack features, and all the core platform improvements in MT 4.2.
Other MT Product Strategy Changes
MT Community
There's now only one version of the MT Community Solution that contains all the features. There is still an Enterprise version.
MT Licensing
MT Pro is free for bloggers and a free upgrade for anyone with an MT4 license. In addition, MT Pro's new simplified licensing starts at just a couple of hundred bucks for a commercial license with full support.Movable Type 4.2 is available under a free, open source license or as part of Movable Type Pro. Six Apart also offers Movable Type Enterprise, which adds support for Oracle and SQL Server databases and LDAP on top of Movable Type Pro features.
The Merging of Blogging and WCM
Not so long ago, we were scratching our heads and pondering about the growing overlap between blogging tools and WCM systems. The metamorphosis in the blogging world continues, as blog tools are now also stepping on the toes of Facebook, MySpace and other social communities by offering an all-inclusive WCM/social networking package. This appears to be the case with MT 4.2. That is certainly a very interesting development in the world of blogging, and we’ll continue reporting on it.
About the Author
Irina Guseva is a seasoned enterprise content technologist with 15+ years of experience, with roots in various types of media including print, radio, TV and digital media. She specializes in web content management, digital asset management, enterprise content management, digital marketing and customer experience management. Connect with Irina Guseva:
