TypePad introduces new features for moblogs at DEMO 2004

At the DEMO 2004 conference that ended yesterday, Six Apart introduced a number of new moblog features for its TypePad Weblog/moblog hosting service.

I use TypePad for this Weblog, and I like the service a lot. The new features certainly will be useful for me. Months ago I strongly suggested to Six Apart executives (in e-mails and in person) that they should place a much greater emphasis on facilitating posting from wireless devices.

I don't think my suggestions had anything to do with these enhancements, but I'm glad they are being offered.

The new features

Posting Controls on Moblogs

Instead of just one email address that can post to the moblog, allow multiple authors to post, or allow anyone with access to email post with a Public Moblog (like the DEMO 2004 Moblog).

I'd like to be able to use mulitple e-mail addresses for my Weblog, too, because I use multiple wireless devices that all have different e-mail addresses. The best wireless device for posting is my Research in Motion BlackBerry because it has the superior keyboard.

Audio Content

In addition to photos and text, audio content can now be sent to a moblog -- perfect for annotating a photo while on vacation, or capturing the ambient sounds at a soccer game.

Great addition. The future of Weblog/moblogs is "multimedia publishing" and audio and video will play a major role -- sparked by the increasing number of cellular phones that can shoot videos in addition to still photographs.

Palm Client

To make moblogging an even simpler process, we will be releasing a Palm client for posting photos and text to TypePad weblogs and moblogs, perfect for blogging from the road.

Wonderful. I have a Treo 600 that uses the Palm OS. I can't wait to try out the TypePad client. The Treo's keyboard is usable, but the keys are too close together for writing more than a sentence or two. As I wrote, the BlackBerry is the best handset for me for sending messages from a wireless device.

Custom Moblog Templates

You will be able to select from custom moblog-specific templates, optimized for the display of posts from mobile phones.

The current moblog templates are quite nicely designed, but I am looking forward to seeing what TypePad offers for moblogs.

Better Weblog Integration

Photos sent from a mobile device are now resized if they are too wide for your weblog, providing a better viewing experience for your visitors, and you can include a number of the most recent photos sent to your moblog into the sidebar column of your weblog.

I have found that a VGA photo (640 x 480) is too large for the three-column format of this Weblog. The best size is QVGA (320 x 240). By doing this automatically, TypePad makes it a lot easier for people who don't know why their photos don't display correctly.

I primarily use textamerica's moblog service for posting photos from camera phones I'm testing. I'll have to try out TypePad's moblog features. I have one TypePad moblog and it seems to work fine.

Moblogging Availability for All Levels

Moblog functionality will now be available to TypePad Basic users in addition to Plus and Pro.

I have a Pro account, but that's great news for people with other accounts. No doubt -- moblogging will become (is becoming) a standard feature for Weblogs. Also, moblog companies are increasingly offering Weblog capabilities.