It has been a frustrating day I am sure for all those folks at TypePad who keep this sort of technology up and running. For the second time in the past few months, TypePad, the very popular blogging service, crashed.
During the day, I responded to a query from Forbes.com writer David Ewalt about TypePad's troubles. David quoted me as saying that I was concerned about TypePad's difficulties and that I had even thought of switching services. All this is true, but I actually said a whole lot more that ever made it into the story. Actually, what I think TypePad and other Internet blogging services offer is remarkable. This new form of read/write communication is changing the way people interact and build communities. Good for TypePad and good for us.
During the interview I also told David that I blog not out of necessity but out of a passion for extending my classroom into the community. Blogging does this amazingly well and it is through the technology that all of this happens in the first place.
I probably talked David's ear off for about 30 minutes about the service and technology. What was printed appears to be what worked into the story's balance. That's the way those things work in journalism. The reporter has to find voices in the story that provide a sense of balance and clarity. It is interesting, however, being on the other end of things.
I am a self-confessed cyber-junkie and I enjoy writing and thinking. Blogging lets me talk to more than just four walls. I get good ideas from comments and researching posts. I like the work that goes into writing pieces that I think people will find helpful and informative.
Now, would I really switch services just because TypePad is struggling a bit with the technology? After short deliberation, probably not. Overall, TypePad has been very good. I enjoy the ease of posting and the flexibility of the templates. It is also a lot of work to build up another blog. People get used to one address and it's more trouble than it is worth to start over.
At the same, we are consumers of a product. If the product doesn't deliver than people become frustrated. It's human nature. Sure, I would have liked to have blogged earlier today about stuff I usually blog about. Sure, there is a problem in the fact that this whole week of posting has somehow disappeared. But it only took a few second on TypePad menu to bring the posts back up. That's life is the surreal world of cyberspace and that's half the fun of it all.