Six Apart Listens and Responds

I don't know how many of the readers here have been checking out my new project TypePad Hacks… but for a blog that's only existed about a week, it's certainly getting interesting. Whether you're running a TypePad blog or not, I think the concepts of user design and the interesting mix of an opensource approach to a closed source platform might intrigue you. I've got a lot of posts lined up that are not really platform specific, but present ideas about how blogging has changed and where I see it heading.

The comments have been just amazing. I'm getting a lot of feedback from people at Six Apart who seem to really dig where the conversation is going. The comments from TypePad users have been very on-target and useful. It's got to be one of the most diplomatic discussions I've seen in the blogosphere, which makes me really happy, since I believe that'll take the project a lot farther.

I had a lovely comment and some follow-up email tonight from Michael Sippey, the new General Manager for TypePad.

Just wanted to let you know that we've been reading / following along with what you're up to at typepadhacks, and we're big fans.

I'm now the GM of TypePad, and I'm taking all of the advice to heart -- the feature requests, the bug reports and the suggestions for community outreach, etc. You are going to start seeing some changes in the way that we handle all of the above.

Michael and I are planning to touch base on the phone this weekend and share some ideas. Very cool. He's interested in the store idea and I'm dying of curiosity to hear about what's in the lab now. I won't be sharing any secrets if they're secret, but I'll let you all know what I can.

I'm also expecting to talk with Anil Dash on Monday.

A friend of mine exclaimed that he had to get off the phone and proclaim the "death of blogging" when I told him I had invited Anil to to get in touch and that it could be off the record if needed. Bullshit. If blogging is about conversations, then I think a little basic diplomacy and trust should be a big part of the picture. It's just an opinion, like anything else you read in a blog post, but I stand by it. 'Cause it seems to be working out rather well.