Six Apart Launches Open Widget Platform for TypePad Blogs

May 31, 2006; 05:32 AM

Six Apart, the world leader in blogging software and services for individuals and businesses, launched a new, open widget initiative to expand choice and functionality for TypePad subscribers and readers. Thirty-three widgets are ready today that put new interactive features into blogs, such as job searching, game playing, weather tracking, and photo sharing. Widget installation is a snap, taking no more than a few clicks. A complete widget directory is available at http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/widgets.

“TypePad users are creative and forward thinking, and they are continually seeking new ways to enhance their blogs,” said Michael Sippey, Six Apart’s general manager of TypePad. “By taking an open development approach, we can dramatically increase the rate of innovation and deliver more great features sooner. The fact that some of the Internet’s most innovative companies have chosen to join us in this launch and hundreds more are right behind them is testament to this open approach. We think it serves the best interests of TypePad’s loyal subscribers and readers.”

“Because Six Apart has made it so easy for TypePad users to add FeedBurner widgets to their blogs, we can extend more services to TypePad publishers and the millions of readers who visit TypePad blogs every month,” said Eric Lunt, FeedBurner’s cofounder and chief technology officer. “As a partner, we were impressed with the openness of Six Apart’s platform and the simplicity of their APIs. They made it incredibly quick and easy to build widgets for TypePad and we look forward to seeing creative use of the platform by the development community.”

According to Six Apart, it is far easier to install a widget on TypePad than on any other blogging service. TypePad bloggers simply choose a widget from the TypePad Widget Directory (http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/widgets). The blogger configures the widget at the builder’s site and then clicks once to post it to their TypePad blog. After the user previews the widget on their TypePad blog, they can confirm their selection and the widget will appear on their blog.

Widgets are offered free of charge to TypePad users and are available immediately. Companies and individuals who would like to build and add widgets to the directory can begin the process by going to http://www.sixapart.com/typepad/widgets/developers.

Widgets currently available for TypePad are:

Commerce

•CaféPress TopicAds delivers image ads that match the blog’s content and allows the blogger to earn up to a 20% commission.
•FatLens adds upcoming event and ticket availability information about a blogger’s favorite teams, bands and happenings in their city.
•PostApp lets users list the items they're selling on eBay on their TypePad blogs.
•Tumri CornerStore provides an interactive shopping application that makes it easy for readers to shop without leaving the site.
•Zazzle.com zPanel allows TypePad bloggers to earn up to 17% on sales of one-of-a-kind creations that they design through Zazzle.com.

Content

•ClubMom.com provides bloggers with a poll targeted at moms each week.
•Live Informed offers headlines on lifestyle trends, including auto, education, family, food and entertaining, healthy living, and more.
•Opinmind Quotables give readers a quick glimpse of the opinions expressed in a blog by displaying quotes extracted directly from the blog.
•RobotCoop helps keep track of the things bloggers want to do, the places they want to visit, and the books, albums, movies, and food they want to experience.
•Rojo Feedshare lets bloggers with similar interests promote each other by providing “feed listings” on their blogs for sites in the network.
•Squidoo lets bloggers link to Squidoo Lenses, so they can share relevant content from sites like Flickr, eBay and Amazon, get more traffic, and earn a royalty.
•Weatherbug puts live local weather conditions on a weblog, allowing visitors to get personalized weather information.

Games

•Bunchball enables bloggers to interact with visitors through multi-player games, photo and music sharing, virtual pets, live chat and more.
•GameTrust Arcade puts casual games like 8-ball and Chess onto a blog with the click of a button.

Job Search

•Indeed enables a blog’s readers to search millions of jobs from thousands of job sites
•Jobster helps blog visitors find better jobs by providing a job search box and job feed widget.
•Simply Hired JobPad makes it simple to add millions of job listings from SimplyHired.com to a TypePad blog without writing a single line of code.

Music

•Pandora helps bloggers find new music based on what they like to hear, as well as integrate custom stations and newly discovered songs into their sites.

Photos and Video

•CNET’s Webshots Blog Badge enables bloggers to share their latest photo albums.
•ImageChef makes it possible for a blogger to decorate their blog with creative images by choosing from dozens of templates.
•One True Media allows bloggers to create videos, embed videos directly into blog entries, and buy copies on DVD.
•Revver VidStrip embeds scrollable video thumbnails and also lets bloggers build custom feeds by tag or personal video playlist.
•vSocial User Badges enable users of the vSocial video clip sharing community to provide a rolling summary of their videos.

Publishing Tools

•FeedBlitz offers readers the chance to subscribe to a TypePad blog and receive updates by email.
•FeedBurner “Subscribe Now” allows TypePad bloggers who use FeedBurner to easily add "Subscribe Now" buttons to their blog.
•MyBlogLog identifies which of a blog’s links are clicked on most frequently.
•Technorati allows a TypePad blogger to link their page with their Technorati profile, show their Technorati member photo and offer Technorati blog search.
•WINKsite Conversations aggregates communities where mobile and desktop users find each other by interest and location.

Search

•Eurekster Swicki learns from the blogging community’s search behavior and publishes a “buzz cloud” that shows what’s hot.
•Kosmix provides bloggers with full web search within specific categories, including Politics, Travel and Health.
•Rollyo enables bloggers to create a custom searchbox that can include a simple site search as well as results from a hand-selected list of topical sites.
•Sphere displays blog search results that highlight recent posts from a blog and relevant, high quality and timely posts from the entire blogosphere.

About Six Apart:
Six Apart Ltd. provides award-winning blogging software and services that change the way millions of individuals, organizations, and corporations connect and communicate across the world every day. Founded in 2002 by husband and wife team Ben Trott and Mena G. Trott, Six Apart has grown into a global company with its headquarters in San Francisco, CA, and offices in Europe and Japan. The company continues to lead in the blogging and social media industry with the Movable Type publishing platform, the TypePad hosted blogging service and LiveJournal, an online community organized around personal journals. For more information, visit the Six Apart corporate weblog at http://www.sixapart.com/.