IN: iLLNation

The End?

I'm really sad. Really I am.

After about a month or so of some of the best beta testing 'acshun!' I've ever encountered, I am having to wave goodbye to TypePad.

And I hate it.

It's like moving house. I've become emotionally attached to my home here, and really, REALLY don't want to leave. But my bank manager tells me that I can't afford to throw money away on 'non-neccesities'. I tried to explain to him that this was essential. Honest I did. But The Mrs sorry... he wouldn't listen.

So I am off.

Farewell my fellow beta friends. I shall miss you all. Maybe one day I'll be back. Who knows, I may even win the lottery. Until then...

I'll be slumming it here.

Perhaps I'll see you again, one day.

AOL Journals: First Look

Matt has some 'bad' (his words - and discussing the visual quality rather than their function) screencaps of AOL Journals set-up over at Blackbeltjones.

I can't help but notice the initial similarities to a certain application that some of us already know and love.

Obviously of course, there are bound to be some, and the site-structure set-up looks amazingly similar, but it is looking pretty ok at the moment. In fact the use of consistent AOL'y interface elements give it a certain feel that I think would be appreciated by the current throng of AOL users who would have been scared of something a little more 'webby'.

The actual text entry on his examples look a little 'distant' from the graphical frame around it at the moment, but if it helps the massive get up and online then it certainly can't be bad.

TypePad Elite

I'm loving my play time with Typepad more and more. I wrote about the community feel throughout those of us lucky enough to be beta testers a few posts ago, and Ray over at @typepad who was the first of us to really grapple and begin documenting the typepad sites out there, commented to me about a beta-testers mailing list.

I think that this is a fantastic idea, because at the moment I just send help tickets to Typepad direct, sometimes because I have a genuine query, but more often than not it's because I just feel like talking to someone, or have a really minor html issue which feels like a waste of the techies at Typepads' time. A beta testers mailing list would really help with this I think.

I'll send a help ticket about it!

Whilst browsing on Ray's site though I saw this comment on his post about the Typepad community (or snobs as some people have admitted to being because of the exclusivity of the beta test):

Your sentiments are echoed in many fellow typepadders. In a few months, perhaps, possibly even earlier, this community will have to disband. We no longer will be beta-testers, no longer set apart from the rest of the world, hobbling together in our little corners, unadvertised to all but us.

And the comradarie that is developing is amazing. In my upcoming blogathon, I'm hoping to contact a few people I've gotten to know through TypePad, just because.

I find this really sad. Sad because we shouldn't be forgotten. Sad because we are in a position to become guru's to the world (because Typepad is - by general consensus - brilliant, and quite possibly a product which could just change the nature of the blogosphere - and beyond). And I'm sad because I do understand that this period of time is going to end, and I want to be remembered - damn it!

I'm proud to have played my small part in the development of this software, I'm proud to be able to say 'I was one of them', and I'm proud to be part of a genuine online community who just all seem to be so damn nice and friendly.

To this end I'd like to introduce the title of TypePad Elite to my comrades. We are not snobs, a little gloaty maybe, but not snobs. We are the original members. We are the genuine. We are the first.

We're your badge with pride.

(wiping a tear from my eye)

I know I will.

UPDATE:

Authgeek designed a far superior version to my own previously posted badge. I have removed mine and recommend people use his beautifully simple creation.

Community

There's a common thread of stories happening across the whole Typepad Beta tester blogs at the moment, and they all mention the sense of community.

Post after post talk about the sense of teamwork and general feeling of 'doing something exciting' that's come from playing with the new MT tool.

Add they are all true.

I have a question though? Before I set off on my quest to document all of the Typepad tester sites out there, has anyone already done it?

Typad as community

Beta Testing

OOooh, my first official post on the typepad beta test. And I'm not allowed to really say anything.

I guess I can say though, that I am enjoying the experience so far, finding it fun, exciting and interesting.

Feel free to see if you can break the stuff I've done and comment below.