TypePad has once again been selected as a finalist in the 2009 Webware 100 Awards! Webware 100 is CNET's prestigious yearly award where users nominate and then the public votes for their favorite Web 2.0 apps and sites.
TypePad is nominated in the "Social Networking and Publishing" category. Voting is open to anyone!
When was the last time you went on a road trip? The feeling of freedom as you hit the open road… the wind in your hair… the adventure of discovering new people and places… the traffic, the gas prices, the fast food and truck stops…
Now you can experience all of it (the good, the bad, and the
hilarious) from the comfort of your own computer screen. Four adventurous women
from the TypePad-powered Silicon Valley Moms Blog were selected to drive across the country and blog about their travels, hotel stays, media appearances, time away from their families, and life on the road. Six Apart helped them partner up with General Motors, who provided the blogging mommies with a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV to help make their journey comfy, safe, and a little more green.
For those of you not familiar with this amazing group of women, SV Moms is a group of over 200 bloggers who showcase the ups, downs, outrages, struggles, victories, and everyday humor of motherhood. There are currently nine regional and demographically tailored sites that give mothers from D.C., New Jersey, the Deep South, Rocky Mountains, L.A., and Silicon Valley a powerful voice and sense of camaraderie across the country.
The four selected moms will get a chance to see some of that
country and share it with you using the latest blogging technology. From
wireless internet access to GPS navigation to lots of cutting-edge gadgets, the
moms are equipped with everything they need to blog and video blog this
once-in-a-lifetime journey.
The moms buckled into their Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV on July 11th in Washington, D.C., and even got a nice video message from Katie Couric to kick things off. Currently they are en route to Denver, Colorado, where they’ll pick up another contributor. They’ll arrive in San Francisco on Friday, July 17th where they’ll attend an SV Moms Group Party and the BlogHer ’08 Conference.
You do not want to miss these hilarious and irreverent bloggers (or their spontaneous contest giveaways!) as they blog from the road. Experience the journey at MomRoadTrip.com.
We've got more BlogHer conference news coming up this week, so stay tuned. And let us know about your summer road trips in the comments!
Here's a quick update on some major successes that a few of our awesome TypePad bloggers have celebrated recently:
Where the hell is Matt?
By now, someone might have forwarded you a video of the guy who does his exuberant dance in exotic locales, all across the world. That guy's name is Matt.
Matt's made two of these dancing videos before, but the reason he's on people's minds once again is that he's recently released a third video. After making his first two videos, he got such a positive response that he wanted to make a third video, this time traveling the world to dance with the people who had written to him to share their support.
This most recent video of Matt's took him once again around the world, and also landed him in the New York Times and probably into your email inbox and IM windows with your friends saying, "You gotta see this." Stop by Matt's TypePad blog to congratulate him (and maybe ask if you can have the next dance)!
Her Marrakesh
Maryam, who humbly refers to herself as "the blogging girl," began blogging with the intention to write "the bemused tales of an American family's quest to build a guest house in Marrakesh." Her stories are slices of her life, accompanied by gorgeous photographs of the sights, smells, tastes and colors she encounters.
One day in June, as she sat at her computer, a blogger's dream came true right before her eyes: there, in her email inbox, was a note from a publisher asking if she might like to write a book.
Her first book -- part memoir, part Moroccan design treatise -- will be published by Artisan Books in 2009. Stop by Maryam's blog to read her story in her own words. Congratulations, Maryam!
37 Days
A personal tragedy caused Patti Digh to ask herself, 'What would I be doing today if I only had 37 days to live?' In her blog 37 Days, Patti shows how this question changes her life in tiny and tremendous ways. Her personal responses have become an inspiring exploration for all of her readers. (She even blogged recently about Matt's latest video!)
The great news is that Patti has a book coming out, due out on September 2nd, entitled Life Is A Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally (Globe Pequot Press). What's even cooler is that all of the artwork in the book was created by readers of her blog! Over 70 of her readers contributed 123 pieces of art that are printed in full color.
Stop by Patti's blog to read more about her book and catch some inspiration.
Celebrating your successes
We'd like to extend a huge congratulations to Patti, Maryam & Matt, and a huge thanks to their readers, commenters, sponsors and publishers that made their dreams come true.
The TypePad team is extremely proud to be a part of the livelihoods of so many talented bloggers! We want to share your successes with everyone. Tell us your good news in the comments.
So many of us blog to connect, so today we'd like to focus on a few ways we're meeting up and connecting in real life.
Join Us In San Francisco
If you're attending the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco from April 22nd - 25th, we'd like to invite you to meet up with staffers and fellow bloggers from TypePad and Six Apart.
Look for Six Apart's booth (location #245) at the Expo, where we'll have some demonstrations of our latest products and
services as well as some goodies to give away. We're holding a
drawing to give away 5 Vudu boxes so be sure to stop by our booth! You can also drop in on Six Apart staffer David Recordon's panel on April 24th from 2:40-3:30pm to hear him speak about Open Platforms in Web 2.0.
On Wednesday, April 23rd, we're participating in the South Park Progressive Party event from 7-10pm where companies and sponsors in and around South Park are hosting parties and opening their offices. At Six Apart HQ we're hosting a miniature golf party. Come join in the fun to compete for prizes while you eat, drink and network!
Speaking of Meetups...
TypePad member Georgia Getz, author of i am bossy, is in the midst of an amazing road trip across the United States where she's meeting her readers in person. She's on a mission to meet all her bloggy friends and has already stopped through Tallahassee, Los Angeles, Portland and everywhere in between. Georgia's latest post is from Rawlins, Wyoming, with miles to go before her trip concludes.
We would have told you about her trip sooner, but we just got wind of it from a great article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Georgia, we're sorry we missed you in San Francisco - drive safely out there and let us know how you're doing!
Read more about Bossy's Excellent Road Trip.
And Speaking of Amazing TypePad Bloggers...
If you haven't stopped by Martha Stewart's blog on TypePad, you should read her poignant post about the passing of her beloved Chow, Paw Paw.
Six Apart co-founder Mena Trott described this post as the birth of Martha Stewart as a true blogger:
"It was a real blog post, not something manufactured for a glossy magazine. It was a chronology of Paw Paw's last day. The captions, as written by Paw Paw, were brief and so not about perfection and good things, but about a good life."
Losing a pet is something so many of us can relate to, and sharing our personal triumphs and tragedies is just one of the many ways we all connect through bloggging. Martha, our hearts are with you during this difficult time. Visit Martha's truly up close & personal blog, and leave your condolences in the comments to her post.
TypePad blogger William Kamkwamba's inspirational story was 
featured
on the front page of the Wall
Street Journal yesterday.
After seeing a photo of a windmill in an old textbook, Kamkwamba (who
was 14 at the time) built one out of blue-gum trees and bicycle parts
for his family's home in Malawi. In the intervening years (William is
now 20), he has built three more windmills in his town and has plans to
power more of his country in the future. And he's returned to school,
which had been on hold due to prohibitive tuition expenses.
Have a look at the article and his blog. The article contains a video of his life in Malawi, in which William wears a TypePad t-shirt sent to him after his blog was selected for our Featured TypePad series.
His blog gives a wonderful glimpse into his life at home and at school,
with photos of his family, fellow students, and teachers.
We send a shout out to the good folks at TED who introduced William to TypePad after featuring him in their TED Global conference in Arusha, Tanzania last June. You can see William's explanation of how and why he built his first windmill in this interview with Chris Anderson of TED.
A TypePad blog can connect you with the people that matter to you. Prices start at only $4.95 a month.
