A few days ago, myself and some of my co-conspirators over at Business Blog Consulting (BBC) complained publicly about TypePad‘s poor service of late.
Critics included Tris Hussey , Toby Bloomberg, Paul Chaney, Debbie Weil and myself. (Paul also comments on some other shortcomings of TypePad that I’ve noticed for a while, including the lackluster support of pinging. Not sure if this is to get serious bloggers to upgrade to MT, but if I move, it will be to WP instead.)
Our reasons for doing this varied, but in speaking for myself, I like TypePad; in fact, I really enjoy it. It’s easy to use (IMHO), and as a Mac user, I’m psyched that I too get a WYSIWYG interface when creating my blogs. Something I can’t say for my Email Service Provider of choice, Constant Contact. (You listening, CC?)
Although I wasn’t surprised to see Anil Dash of Six Apart (parent co. of TypePad,) comment on Debbie Weil’s post, I was surprised and impressed that he took the time to comment on mine. Must be the reflected glory of BBC. Kudos for that.
Further kudos for Mena and Ben Trott’s public response to the outcry.
However, as far as public relations go, the kudos end there.
How is it that the founders of Six Apart don’t run a real corporate blog for TypePad or Movable Type? How come Mena & Ben’s post doesn’t allow for comments? And it allows for Trackbacks, but doesn’t show them?!?
If blogging is about authenticity and transparency (or at least translucency,) Six Apart seems to be quietly ignoring that fact.
The bottom line is, there’s too much media these days to try and sweep sentiment under the rug. Dealing with public outcry and corporate missteps is incredibly painful; I don’t envy the Trott’s current position. However, the best thing they can possible do now is become as transparent as possible, allow people to vent, and use the feedback to their advantage.
I’m willing to give TypePad another chance, probably even a few more. (Hell, I stuck with Apple during the non-Steve Jobs years.) However, the best PR they can do right now is build up TypePad to a business-level product. If they’re hoping that businesses needing more blogging power will upgrade to MT, I think they’ve made a serious error in judgment.
Rich Brooks
Sticking With TypePad…For Now
I completely agree with you – being more transparent is something that even we, as a blogging company, struggle with.
I appreciate that you give us kudos on the things we're doing well, and aren't letting us off the hook for things we can do better.
We're listening…just give a shout to me or Anil if you have any questions.