Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Blogging grows up (09 Aug 2004) This spring, when Six Apart (the name is a reference to the six-day age difference between Ben and Mena) released its newest version of MT, it announced plans to begin charging the most active users for a license to use the system (previous versions had been offered essentially for free). The news hit bloggers like a thunderclap; many accused the company of forgetting its roots and embracing soulless corporations instead of people. Six Apart weathered the controversy and, according to its executives, emerged only stronger. Still, the company's decision to charge customers to use Movable Type is an intriguing one, as it suggests a belief that blogging is, or will soon be, more than just a bastion for hobbyists, more than a place for political punditry and the sort of entertaining stream-of-consciousness musings that Mena Trott offers on her blog. When the folks at Six Apart talk about the promise of blogs and the future of Movable Type, they don't talk about Instapundit or Talking Points Memo, two popular Movable Type blogs. Instead, they talk about law offices and media companies and software firms, and the benefits these businesses might see when their employees start blogging. Article URL: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/08/09/six_apart/ Read 62 more articles from Salon sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: New Concepts for Future Wristwatch Design     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy