everwas

a blog by Ian Kennedy

Tag: Six Apart

  • If only I was in better shape. . .

    In a past life I cycled my way across Europe including climbs over the Pyrenees and the Dolomites. I was in the best shape I’ve ever been and towards the end I rode along with an Austrian team out for a ride and stayed right along with them, panniers and handlebar bags and all. I’ve been an avid cycling fan so I of course took a detour near the Loire Valley and saw the Tour roll through and even dinned near the Italian Polta team one evening and overheard them planning their tactics for the next day.

    Subaru (with the help of R/GA) has launched their Tour de France blog (yep, it’s on Movable Type!) and has a sweepstakes drawing for two lucky individuals to blog about this year’s Tour which will be Lance Armstrong’s last. Qualifications require you not only to know something about cycle racing but also to be in top shape because you’ll be riding the course. From the Rules & Regulations page:

    NOTE: Trips require bicycle riding along with Tour de France participants, which will require winner to be in exceptional physical condition. The Tour de France rides are challenging, mountainous, and are known for their long, strenuous climbs.

    I better work on those situps. . .

    Thanks to Adrants for the pointer.

  • Treasure Hunt #2

    18075404_128eb68ca3_o.jpg

    If you’re going to be in San Francisco, look behind the “s” for 10% off your TypePad subscription. Hint: it’s near the merry-go-round.

    Be sure to leave a comment if you find it.

  • TypePad Enhancements

    Everything TypePad gives a taste of some of the cool new features coming down the pike for all you TypePad users out there. Comment & TrackBack Moderation, TypeKey Integration, and the ability (this one’s for you Buzz!) to select the format of TypePad’s comment notification email messages.

  • Boeing’s Flight Test Blog

    Ever wonder what it’s like to beta-test a major airline? Boeing takes the wraps off of their latest blog which will give a rare, inside view of the their new 777-200LR Worldliner aircraft as it runs (flies?) through the paces towards certification.

    This blog, or journal, is going to change that. Now we have a way,
    through the Web, to give you a first-hand look at the flight test
    process. And we’re going to let the people who do the actual work tell
    you about it in their own words. We’re hoping to give you a sense of
    what it’s like in the factory, on the flightline, and in the cockpit.
    We’ll also include photos, videos and other interesting stuff to help
    tell the story.

  • Weekend Treasure Hunt

    Looking for 10% lifetime discount off on a TypePad subscription? Just to keep things interesting and fun around here, I’m going to start hiding little promotional discount cards for TypePad around the city and post hints on this blog where you can find them. The first card is hidden near the corner of 4th and Harrison in San Francisco, in front of the Whole Foods entrance on 4th

    Once you see this lightpost, look down, then around. A little froggie will be peering out at you.

    Leave a comment once you pick up the card to keep others from looking. Stay tuned for more Weekend Treasure Hunts!

  • Sparkle Body Spray – P&G Character Blog

    The interactive agency Imc2, has launched a character blog running on Movable Type for P&G’s product, Secret Sparkle Body Spray. AdWeek covered the blog and some blogger purists have complained that a character blog, because it masks the true identity of its writer and in this case is blatant in its intent to market a product, goes against the spirit of blogging.

    I posed the question of character blogs to Esther Dyson at the recent AdTech conference in San Francisco and her response was at once simple and obvious. I’m paraphrasing here but essentially Esther said that character blogs are just another use of the medium. They are neither right nor wrong (is there such a thing as “wrong” blog?) The overriding principle is to make the character blog (and this applies to any blog) clever, informative, and engaging.

    Me? I’ll confess I’m not subscribed sparklebodyspray.rdf but I’m pretty sure they’re not trying to reach out to 38 year old married men anyway!

  • Fresno Bee does RSS

    Mark Thompson over at the Fresno Bee is turning on the paper’s online readers to the wonder and glory of RSS with a nice little how-to piece on Beehive, the site’s blog. A couple of people in the past few weeks have told me to check out what the Bee is up to and I’m glad I did. They have even made an RSS feed out of their events calendar which is very cool.

  • Walter Cronkite blogs the way it is

    I smile when I read Walter Cronkite’s first post on Arianna Huffington’s new group blog. I grew up with Uncle Walt rounding out the evening’s news and it’s great to see him back again and rolling up his sleeves to work on his blog.

  • Six Apart is Hiring

    We’re looking for someone local (San Francisco) to help out with some of the volume of inquiries (seems like everyone wants to know what a blog is these days. . . ) we’re getting. Interested parties, click here for the listing.