Featured Friday Roundup: Blog Your Passion!

Over the past few weeks on our Featured Blog, we've been focusing on bloggers who write about what they're passionate about. From family to fashion, art to acting, writing to crafting, these bloggers are talented and dedicated to both their passions and their blogs. Have a look and find a new favorite!

Have you submitted your blog to be featured, yet? Do it now!

Quick Tip: Customize The Categories Module Header

Did you ever want to change the heading for the Categories module in the sidebar? Well you can with Custom CSS. (Custom CSS is a feature available with the Unlimited and higher plans.)

If you are using the Category Cloud module in your sidebar, you can use the below CSS:

.module-category-cloud .module-header { font-size: 0px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; } /* Do not edit this line */

.module-category-cloud .module-header:before {
font-size: 10px;
content: "View Posts By Category";
letter-spacing: 0.1em;
}

If you are using the standard Category List module in your sidebar, you can use the below CSS:

.module-categories .module-header { font-size: 0px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; } /* Do not edit this line */

.module-categories .module-header:before {
font-size: 10px;
content: "Topics";
letter-spacing: 0.1em;
}

Within the CSS, you can edit 3 of the attributes:

• The content attribute is where you will include the text you want to display as the header of the module instead of Categories.
• Adjust the font-size to match the font size of the sidebar module headers set for your design.
• Adjust the letter-spacing to match the spacing between characters of the sidebar module headers set for your design.

After you customize the CSS specific to your Category module, go to Design > Custom CSS, enter the CSS code in the text field, and click Save Changes to update your site.

Blogging with your iPad; Blogsy + TypePad Make it Happen

We've heard from many of you that blogging on TypePad from your iPad has needed improvement. Your feedback prompted us to team up with our new heroes over at Blogsy to integrate TypePad into their truly stellar iPad app. It's a great way to blog from the couch, or anywhere else, and we know you'll love the experience!

We are blown away by the dedication the Blogsy team has for creating and maintaining such a high quality app. So much so, in fact, that we're hosting a giveaway! 10 lucky TypePad users will receive Blogsy for free. All you need for a chance to win is an iPad and a little effort!

To be eligible to win a free copy of the Blogsy app, you need to Like, Tweet, Reblog, and/or Favorite this post. Once you've done that, leave a comment here to let us know about it (share the URL if available so that we can confirm your activity). In two weeks (02/02/12) we will draw the names of the winners and announce them here on the blog. note: winners' contact info will be passed to Blogsy so they can be sent the promo code.

To learn more about Blogsy, watch the introductory video below or read more after the cut. Whatever you do, make sure you get the app from the iTunes App store and revolutionize the way you blog!

A New Design Was Just What The Doctor Ordered

One of the common design requests the TypePad Blog Services team receives is to match a blog's design to a person or organization's website. We handle this under our Design Implementation Service. Donna contacted us on behalf of Surety Pro Pharmacy to request a Design Implementation. She provided the design and the image files used in it, we made it work on TypePad. We like the Design Implementation Service because it shows off the full range of what you can do on TypePad. If you're like Surety Pro Pharmacy and looking to start a new blog that matches your website, contact us with your request. You may be surprised at what's possible on TypePad!

P.S. You can view this and many other great blogs in our portfolio.

Take a stand against SOPA

Many of you in the TypePad community have reached out to ask about our stance in regards to SOPA. In short, we at TypePad believe in intellectual property rights but not in one-sided legislation that promotes censorship without recourse. As such, we do not support the SOPA and PIPA legislation as currently written. We encourage you to form your own opinions and, as always, to express them on your TypePad blog.

If you're interested in learning more about SOPA, How Stuff Works has a great, easy to understand article. If you'd like to take a stand against SOPA, go here. The SOPA Strike site has a script you can use to black out your site here, which can be added to your blog using the "Embed your own HTML" module.

No matter how you feel about SOPA or PIPA, now is a great time to remind ourselves that our representatives in Washington DC are just that, our representatives. So stand up, speak up and be heard! Contact your Rep or Senator today.