Everything Typepad

Old TypePad interface set for retirement at the end of May

The original TypePad interface would be turning 7 in 2010. In dog years that's getting on a bit but in web years that's ancient. So it's time to say good bye. At the end of May the old design of the TypePad interface will be retired and will no longer be accessible. So if you are in the small renegade crowd still to switch over - now is the time to hit the "Give the new TypePad a try" button when you log in.

It's nearly a year since we announced the new design of the TypePad interface. Since that moment we have delivered more new features and functionality to TypePad than ever before in it's history.

• Social networking services have been fully integrated
• TypePad has become a networked community of bloggers and blog readers who can track their favorite bloggers' activity from their TypePad dashboard.
• Post by email and the Bookmarklet have made posting quicker and easier than ever. 

I'll stop there, there's way too much to list. These new features were all released on the new design. So go on, switch over! We think you'll be pretty pleased with what you find. If you need a tour guide open help ticket and ask for directions from our support team. They'd be happy to help you find your way around.

TypePad Blogger, Pim, selected as most influential woman in technology

Fast Company know a good thing when they see one. We were not surprised, but certainly delighted to see TypePad food blogger, and friend Pim Techamuanvivit chosen as one of their most influential women in technology in the Media section.

 via www.fastcompany.com

Pim began her blog, Chez Pim, in 2001 and noticed her reader numbers soared when she blogged about food so she stuck with it. Today her authentic reviews are read all over the world and her influence has certainly grown too.

Right now Pim is in New Orleans for the Jazz (and food) fest and embracing the rain! You can keep up with Pim around the globe by following her on TypePad. We'd like to add our congratulations on this well deserved nomination. Well done Pim!

Liking your blog on Facebook

Today Facebook announced their new Social Plugins and we're excited to be a showcase launch partner. In fact, TypePad bloggers are the only bloggers to have access to these features at launch. Woot!

Starting Thursday afternoon, if you are in the Beta Team, you will be able to  install Facebook's new "Like" button, and connect your blog to Facebook's Open Graph**. This will give your readers the ability to share your blog with their friends on Facebook.

Facebook is a great way to introduce new audiences to your blog. Last year we added the ability for you to automatically share posts with your friends on Facebook. Now with Facebook's new Like button, any visitor to your blog can show their appreciation for your blog.

Feeling confused? Don't panic! It's actually remarkably simple. The best way to grasp the idea is to try it out.

Add the Facebook Like Button to Your Blog

Here's how you can add the new Facebook Like button to your blog:

1. Go to Blog > Settings, select the Sharing tab and click on the link to: Connect your blog to Facebook.
2. Follow the steps to connect to Facebook and install the Like module on your blog. If you're using a drag-and-drop design, you can visit Blog > Design > Content after to arrange the module in your sidebar.
3. Advanced Template blogs: You will need to go through the same connection steps above. After that is complete, you can add the HTML "Like" code to your templates.
4. When visitors click on the Like button, a link to your blog will show up on their profile AND in their friends' news feeds. This helps drive awareness of your blog through Facebook and can help drive more traffic to your blog.
5. And when you create a new post, as long as you still have the Like button on your blog, TypePad will automatically post that new item to these visitor's news feed on Facebook.

The new feature is now available for all TypePad customers at all account levels. And we're looking forward to providing more support for Facebook's Social Plugins and Open Graph in the coming months.

Feedback update: We were seeing reports of the Like button not displaying in IE 6, 7. We have now a fix in place for this.

** Wondering what this sounding graph is? Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the Open Graph this morning at the F8 conference. Described as a technology for pulling together different online networks to create a web "that is smarter, more social, more personalized and more semantically aware". Read more about Zuckerberg's announcements on CNET or by following #fF8 on Twitter.

/posted by Michael Sippey

Latest release: Have you been SEARCHing for something?

Well, we found it for you! Blogside search is now available for all TypePad bloggers. As simple as clicking on a button, you can add a search box that allows your readers to search posts, pages AND comments on your blog. TypePad Search will serve the results right in your blog's design, keeping the look and feel consistent to your layout, headers and footers. That means no more twiddling with the customization options from 3rd party providers like Google or Lijit.

Here's what it looks like on Everything TypePad:

 

To add this little gem to your blog, go to (Design > Content > Search) or visit the Knowledge Base article for advanced template codes. It's that simple. We think the new search feature makes for a professional finish to every blog and will help your visitors find exactly what they are looking for.

Scavenger Hunt

To celebrate this awesome new addition to the TypePad platform, we propose a scavenger hunt using nothing but TypePad search as your guide.

Three members of the TypePad Team have offered up their blogs for the hunt. The game is simple and the prizes are enormous (kind of)!

Create the funniest sentence you can from the words/name you find with the following clues and leave it the comments:

• Take One Big boy who's "wizard" on Tiff's blog:
• Add that to the artist who sang about "jail" on Kimmie's blog
• and times that by the title of a post on the waltpad about an "ipad"

This is a game of skill.  It will be measured scientifically in decibels of laughter it provokes in Kimmie (who hardly ever laughs, by the way, so it's gotta be reeeeally good!) The loudest LOL wins - a $30 itunes voucher.

Happy Hunting!

P.S. There are of course other fabulous features in this release including the blogside toolbar and category RSS feeds! Give them all a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

Developer Update: Read and Post with the New Blog APIs

Following our announcement of the Search API and Twitter/Twitpic APIs, we are excited to announce the availability of our latest JSON-based Blog APIs.  In addition to being able to read and post content on TypePad blogs, these powerful APIs provide an interface for client developers to interact with content stored on TypePad, build new applications using TypePad as their social objects platform and leverage the scalability of TypePad's infrastructure.

Documentation and Additional Resources:
Need the technical details? Go to the TypePad Developer Resources and reference the available documentation. Are you a developer or interested in working with other TypePad developers? Join the TypePad Developer Network and be a part of the conversation.

Connect to the Community with the TypePad Toolbar

For the past few weeks we've been testing a new, blogside toolbar with our [Beta] members. On Thursday we'll be releasing this great feature to all TypePad bloggers. The blogside toolbar is a great reader tool that will help readers engage with your blog by giving them easy access to [follow, favorite and reblog] content. Those actions will then be shared in a newsfeed to their followers. Entire networks will discover content they might not have found otherwise and that means more eyes on your content as a result. As a blog owner, you can also enable the toolbar for all readers, including those not in the TypePad network. This will allow you to convert new readers into active community members for your blog.

Besides the great community benefits, the blogside toolbar is a great tool for TypePad bloggers when surfing the network because you'll be able to find and follow new TypePad blogs immediately. And when viewing your own blog, the toolbar will provide important management links at the click of a button.

We hope you enjoy using the toolbar as much as we do. For further details on settings and functionality, check out the Beta blog.

Creative Marketing and the TypePad Affiliate Program

We recently announced the winner of our affiliate creativity contest in our March affiliate newsletter. We were so pleased with all the creative ideas our affiliates came up with that we wanted to share a few great examples with you.  

• Highlighting TypePad Features: Our winner of the contest focused on showing useful features of TypePad.  In her blog Teaching CS in Dallas, Kathleen Weaver wrote about how to link blog posts to Twitter and make posts via mobile phone with TypePad. Highlighting product use cases is especially effective because readers can see why they might need the product.

• Using color and other formatting to emphasize a point: One affiliate highlighted her promotion using bright, cheerful colors. This is a fun, easy way to capture a reader's attention.

• Mentioning personal experiences: There were many personalized posts from affiliates who are TypePad users. They shared different aspects of TypePad that meant a lot to them, such as the wonderful support they received. Personal testimonials are a powerful way to highlight the value of a product.

These techniques are just a few examples of ways to draw attention to your affiliate program. Creative marketing will help you build your affiliate program and boost your sales!

Have any other creative ideas you would like to share?  Include them in the comments section!

Not yet an affiliate?  Signing up is easy! Just click here and follow the easy steps to start your TypePad affiliate program today.