Six Apart and Ideacodes

I’ve moved several times in the last nine years – five moves, three states, and two coasts to be exact.  Despite these environmental and physical shifts in my life, it’s ironic that it’s the bloggers from the virtual world (kottke, hchamp, joi ito, dooce, caterina, mightygirl, and many others) that have provided a sense of permanence and consistency while my life and surroundings have often changed radically.

After almost ten years of making and remaking my personal site/blog, my company, Ideacodes is now helping design the next generation of blog services and products for Six Apart, world’s leading blog company.  Six Apart was co-founded by Mena and Ben Trott, the creators of Movable Type (the software that launched millions of blogs) and then TypePad.  Now that I’ve been in SF for a year, my two worlds (virtual and real) are coming together and I couldn’t be more inspired or thrilled.

Sometimes when I talk to people I meet, clients, or the non-addicted, they’ll ask, “what’s the big deal with blogs?” For me, it’s about the power to engage in what I think most people are after – self-expression, empathy, dialogue, multiple perspectives – the same core ideas on which democracy is based.  At its most basic, it’s the opportunity to experience other people’s lives in asynchronous “real” time – a daily timeline paralleling your own life.  It’s also about the greater act of being both a consumer and a producer of culture.  Once you start using your voice, you’ll find you have a lot to say.