San Francisco-based blogging startup Six Apart has announced they will be giving away free accounts on their TypePad blogging system for professional bloggers and journalists who recently lost their jobs as well as those who fear the axe is coming. Cleverly dubbed the "Journalist Bailout Program," the service includes one free blog, a place in the Six Apart Media advertising program, promotion on Blogs.com, a as well as other tools and advice on driving traffic to your site, all courtesy of Six Apart.
The program launched over the weekend through via this lighthearted post over on TypePad.com which reminds you that "Tumblr...will not pay your bills." According to the company, they've already seen hundreds of journalists signing up to participate.
As detailed in the TypePad blog post, the bailout program includes the following, a dollar value of at least $150 per year (the price of the TypePad service alone), if not more :
A free TypePad Pro blog account, the same service that powers many big-name media blogs. It includes professional support so Six Apart will answer any questions you have. The blog is enrolled in the Six Apart Media advertising program. These are display ads that pay a more than Google text ads, and bloggers get to keep the revenue. Six Apart will promote the new site on Blogs.com, a directory of the best in blogs. Blogs.com will be a way for all of the bloggers peers in the Journalist Bailout Program to cross-promote and share traffic for their independent sites. Lots more. Six Apart can also introduce you to their VIP program to help drive traffic to the site, help connect blogs to LinkedIn profiles, make it easy to manage your comments from an iPhone, and even show you how to automatically promote posts to your Facebook friends
There are no rules on how the blog must be used. Journalists can use the blog showcase their best work, launch something new, or hang onto the site, you know, "just in case."
We're in the midst of a great upheaval. The internet is impacting the business models of so many established ventures. Newspapers and magazines aren't the only industries affected by any means. The internet has left nothing untouched, whether music, video, news, sports, communication, marketing, advertsing and more, those wishing to stave off its force of change are simply trying to outswim a tidal wave.
What's better for those being impacted is to be prepared and thinking ahead for the future - what is Plan B? As we mentioned earlier this week, not everyone sees the death of the journalism ahead - media mogul Rupert Murdoch, for example, sees opportunity.
And if you think successful journalism can only come on the platform of old media, you're wrong. Look around. So many journalists are now getting into blogging, but one of our newest favs that proves the potential success of the model is TechFlash, home to John Cook and Todd Bishop, both of whom left their respected papers and struck out on their own to deliver quality tech news in readable format without all the bias, backstabbing, and petty quarrels the tech "blogosphere" seems to get itself involved in from time to time.
Journalists may also want to keep in mind Arianna Huffington's recent, but vague, promise to begin funding investigative journalism through her incredibly successful The Huffington Post site, one of the most recognizable and read blogs out there.
So journalists, get your platforms ready...there's no better time than now and no better price than free.
Note: Six Apart's Movable Type weblogging platform is what powers our blog here at ReadWriteWeb.
Comments
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That's a pretty benevolent thing to do if journalists will be in fact losing jobs.
Posted by: John-David Lusan
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November 19, 2008 6:33 AM
It's going to be really interesting to see what happens in the coming years when more and more old media publishers move towards the internet. Will they acquire internet media properties or launch their own? I feel like they will fight off move more towards the web until the economy straightens itself again. So it will be awhile. But all those entrepreneurs out there, get started now! Just like this other RWW article mentions: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/5_tips_for_startups_and_entrep.php
The big companies of tomorrow will be started today.
-Andrew
Posted by: Andrew Galasetti | November 19, 2008 6:57 AM
Pretty benevolent, and very smart.
If the offer is taken Six Apart will, at one fell swoop, have the largest network of professional print journalists creating content.
Assuming a one or two of them are decent writers, ;-) I think Six Apart comes out on top.
Posted by: Dave Earley | November 19, 2008 7:00 AM
Sorry for the second comment, but I thought I'd share this article about PC Magazine moving solely to the web:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/pc-magazine-goes-out-of-print
-Andrew
Posted by: Andrew Galasetti | November 19, 2008 7:05 AM
@Andrew: Thanks for the comment. Darn...I like that magazine. What am I supposed to read on the beach now? Electronics are great, but I've yet to find any that are sand and salt-water proof. And also, after spending hundreds of dollars on a new gadget, I'm not leaving it tucked into my shoe while I go for a swim. Thank goodness that Wired hasn't yet made this same decision. That's one magazine I take everywhere. As many RSS feeds as I read, I still enjoy flipping the good old fashioned pages from time to time too.
Posted by: Sarah Perez
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November 19, 2008 7:17 AM
Considering we bloggers are the ones who led to the demise of the MSM, it's pretty damn benevolent. Kinda like rebuilding Germany after WWII - they were messed up, we had to go in and destroy them, but then we rebuilt the country and put them back on track.
Heh.
Wendy
Posted by: Wendy Sullivan | November 19, 2008 8:13 AM
Benevolent? No, it's brilliant. Get first class content producers on your platform before they go to a competitor. Very smart.
Posted by: Tac Anderson | November 19, 2008 10:08 AM
i think Six Apart comes out on top.
Posted by: mirc bot | November 24, 2008 4:28 AM
It's been a week now since I sent the e-mail Six Apart's site said is all I'd need to get my free account, 48 hours since I sent a followup, and I've yet to receive even an acknowledgment. I realize they say on their site the response has been greater than they expected and there would be "a day or two" delay, but a week seems excessive.
Anybody else experienced this or know why it's happening?
Paul B.
Posted by: Paul Brissett | November 26, 2008 6:35 AM
Paul, sorry for the delay. The first batch of several hundred responses just went out, and you should hear from us shortly. Thanks for your patience!
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Posted by: rajendra | December 2, 2008 2:36 AM
San Francisco-based blogging startup Six Apart has announced they will be giving away free accounts on their TypePad blogging system for professional bloggers and journalists who recently lost their jobs as well as those who fear the axe is coming. Cleverly dubbed the "Journalist Bailout Program," the service includes one free blog, a place in the Six Apart Media advertising program, promotion on Blogs.com, a as well as other tools and advice on driving traffic to your site, all courtesy of Six Apart.
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georgea
SEO
Posted by: georgeaperera | December 2, 2008 10:06 PM
A free TypePad Pro blog account, the same service that powers many big-name media blogs. It includes professional support so Six Apart will answer any questions you have. The blog is enrolled in the Six Apart Media advertising program. These are
----------------------------------
georgea
SEO
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Posted by: Joyce | December 11, 2008 8:03 PM
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Posted by: Joyce | December 11, 2008 8:10 PM