Posterous
Encyclopedia
Posterous is a simple blogging platform started in May 2008, funded by Y Combinator
. It is based in San Francisco.
Updating to Posterous is similar to other blogging platforms. Posting can be done by logging in to the website's rich text
editor, but it is particularly designed for mobile blogging. Mobile methods include sending an email, with attachments of photos, MP3
s, documents, and video (both links and files). Many social media pundits consider Posterous to be the leading free application for lifestreaming
. The platform received wide attention when leading social media expert Mustafa Kaptan declared he was moving his blogging activity entirely to Posterous.
Posterous also has its own URL shortening
service, which as of March 2010 can post to Twitter.
Posterous allows users to point the DNS
listing for a domain name
or subdomain
they already own to their Posterous account, allowing them to have a site hosted by Posterous that uses their own domain name.
In May 2010, Posterous was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest Silicon Valley
Companies” by Lead411.
-checking and filters on e-mail headers to verify that the e-mail client or machine from which the e-mails were sent are similar to previously verified e-mails. Posterous does not offer any options for the user to require confirmation on all posts, no matter who sends them.
In June 2008, a blog post on TechCrunch
challenged its readers to try to spoof the author's Posterous blog. Three posters were successful, out of quite a few attempts, but Posterous quickly fixed the security hole which allowed these posts to go through.
application for quickly posting photos to a posterous page.
As of January 2011, Posterous has also launched an app for the Android platform which is currently supported by 9 different phone models.
Y Combinator
Y Combinator is an American seed-stage startup funding firm, started in March 2005. Y Combinator provides seed money, advice, and connections at two 3-month programs per year...
. It is based in San Francisco.
Updating to Posterous is similar to other blogging platforms. Posting can be done by logging in to the website's rich text
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
editor, but it is particularly designed for mobile blogging. Mobile methods include sending an email, with attachments of photos, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s, documents, and video (both links and files). Many social media pundits consider Posterous to be the leading free application for lifestreaming
Lifestreaming
The term lifestream was coined by Eric Freeman and David Gelernter at Yale University in the mid-1990s to describe "...a time-ordered stream of documents that functions as a diary of your electronic life; every document you create and every document other people send you is stored in your lifestream...
. The platform received wide attention when leading social media expert Mustafa Kaptan declared he was moving his blogging activity entirely to Posterous.
Posterous also has its own URL shortening
URL shortening
URL shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web in which a Uniform Resource Locator may be made substantially shorter in length and still direct to the required page. This is achieved by using an HTTP Redirect on a domain name that is short, which links to the web page that has a long URL...
service, which as of March 2010 can post to Twitter.
Posterous allows users to point the DNS
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
listing for a domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
or subdomain
Subdomain
In the Domain Name System hierarchy, a subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain.- Overview :The Domain Name System has a tree structure or hierarchy, with each node on the tree being a domain name. A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain, the only domain that is not...
they already own to their Posterous account, allowing them to have a site hosted by Posterous that uses their own domain name.
In May 2010, Posterous was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
Companies” by Lead411.
E-mail spoofing
Posterous allows posting of content directly to one's blog via e-mail, choosing where to put the content based on the return address of the e-mail. While this feature is very convenient, return e-mail addresses are easily spoofed, allowing for malicious users to post unwanted content on another person's blog. Posterous claims that they can filter out messages not actually sent by the account holder through other means besides just the return address. They do not publish their methods, but it appears that they use a combination of SPFSPF
SPF may refer to:In science* Sun protection factor, a laboratory measure of the effectiveness of sunscreen* Specific Pathogen Free, a term for laboratory animals known to be without pathogens...
-checking and filters on e-mail headers to verify that the e-mail client or machine from which the e-mails were sent are similar to previously verified e-mails. Posterous does not offer any options for the user to require confirmation on all posts, no matter who sends them.
In June 2008, a blog post on TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
challenged its readers to try to spoof the author's Posterous blog. Three posters were successful, out of quite a few attempts, but Posterous quickly fixed the security hole which allowed these posts to go through.
Mobile
In August 2009, Posterous launched PicPosterous, an iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
application for quickly posting photos to a posterous page.
As of January 2011, Posterous has also launched an app for the Android platform which is currently supported by 9 different phone models.