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Six Apart



 
 
Six Apart Ltd., sometimes abbreviated 6A, is a software company headquartered in San Francisco
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
, with an international presence in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 and Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
. It is the creator of the widely used Movable Type
Movable Type

Movable Type is a blog software developed by the company Six Apart. It was publicly announced on 3 September 2001, and version 1.0 was publicly released on 8 October 2001....
 blogware, TypePad
TypePad

TypePad is a blogging service from company Six Apart, and the largest paid blogging service in the world. Originally launched in October 2003, TypePad is based on Six Apart's Movable Type platform, and shares technology with Movable Type such as templates and APIs, but is marketed to non-technical users and includes additional features like C...
 blog hosting service, and Vox
Vox (blogging platform)

Vox is an Internet blogging service run by Six Apart, which launched on October 26, 2006. Originally, it had the codename 'Project Comet'.The service claims to be more streamlined and easier-to-use than other blogging tools available....
, and the former owner of LiveJournal
LiveJournal

LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free software and open source software Server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
. The name is a reference to the six-day age difference between its married co-founders, Ben
Benjamin Trott

Benjamin Trott, born , is a co-founder of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad.Trott is chief technical officer of Six Apart. He is a regular contributor to CPAN , and has written for Perl.com and contributed to Essential Blogging....
 and Mena Trott
Mena Grabowski Trott

Mena Grabowski Trott is a co-founder of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad. The company name originates from the fact that Trott and co-founder/husband Benjamin Trott were born six days apart....
.
company was founded in September 2001 after Ben, during a period of unemployment, wrote what became Movable Type
Movable Type

Movable Type is a blog software developed by the company Six Apart. It was publicly announced on 3 September 2001, and version 1.0 was publicly released on 8 October 2001....
 to allow Mena to easily produce her weblog.






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Encyclopedia


Six Apart Ltd., sometimes abbreviated 6A, is a software company headquartered in San Francisco
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
, with an international presence in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 and Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
. It is the creator of the widely used Movable Type
Movable Type

Movable Type is a blog software developed by the company Six Apart. It was publicly announced on 3 September 2001, and version 1.0 was publicly released on 8 October 2001....
 blogware, TypePad
TypePad

TypePad is a blogging service from company Six Apart, and the largest paid blogging service in the world. Originally launched in October 2003, TypePad is based on Six Apart's Movable Type platform, and shares technology with Movable Type such as templates and APIs, but is marketed to non-technical users and includes additional features like C...
 blog hosting service, and Vox
Vox (blogging platform)

Vox is an Internet blogging service run by Six Apart, which launched on October 26, 2006. Originally, it had the codename 'Project Comet'.The service claims to be more streamlined and easier-to-use than other blogging tools available....
, and the former owner of LiveJournal
LiveJournal

LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free software and open source software Server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
. The name is a reference to the six-day age difference between its married co-founders, Ben
Benjamin Trott

Benjamin Trott, born , is a co-founder of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad.Trott is chief technical officer of Six Apart. He is a regular contributor to CPAN , and has written for Perl.com and contributed to Essential Blogging....
 and Mena Trott
Mena Grabowski Trott

Mena Grabowski Trott is a co-founder of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad. The company name originates from the fact that Trott and co-founder/husband Benjamin Trott were born six days apart....
.

History

The company was founded in September 2001 after Ben, during a period of unemployment, wrote what became Movable Type
Movable Type

Movable Type is a blog software developed by the company Six Apart. It was publicly announced on 3 September 2001, and version 1.0 was publicly released on 8 October 2001....
 to allow Mena to easily produce her weblog. When version 1.0 was put on the web, it was downloaded over 100 times in the first hour.

2003-2006

In 2003, Six Apart received initial venture capital
Venture capital

Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided to early-stage, high-potential, Growth investing companies in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or mergers and acquisitions of the company....
 funding from a group led by Joi Ito
Joi Ito

, more commonly known as Joi Ito, is a Japanese activist, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist.Ito has received recognition for his role as an entrepreneur focused on Internet and technology companies and has founded, among other companies, PSINet Japan, Digital Garage and Infoseek Japan....
 and his Neoteny Co., something which allowed the company to hire additional employees, acquire a French weblog publishing company, and unveil plans for what was to become its hosted weblog publishing system, TypePad. In 2004, Six Apart completed a second round of funding with August Capital, a move which allowed it to make acquisitions of other companies. In January 2005, Six Apart purchased Danga Interactive
Danga Interactive

Danga Interactive is a software and Internet company most widely known for its LiveJournal service. The company's slogan is "We make cool stuff." The company was founded under the name Bradfitz, Inc., on August 27, 1999, by Brad Fitzpatrick, who also created LiveJournal....
, parent company of LiveJournal
LiveJournal

LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free software and open source software Server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
, from owner Brad Fitzpatrick
Brad Fitzpatrick

File:Brad Fitzpatrick by Anton Nossik.JPGBradley Joseph "Brad" Fitzpatrick , often seen on the Internet under the nickname bradfitz, is an United States programmer....
, who was named Six Apart's chief architect. In March 2006, Six Apart announced the acquisition of the SplashBlog camera phone blogging service. The combined user base is now over 7 million, and the merged company has more than 100 employees. June 2006 saw the release of their new Web 2.0
Web 2.0

The term "Web 2.0" refers to a perceived second generation of web development and web design, that aims to facilitate communication, secure information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration on the World Wide Web....
 blogging platform, Vox
Vox (blogging platform)

Vox is an Internet blogging service run by Six Apart, which launched on October 26, 2006. Originally, it had the codename 'Project Comet'.The service claims to be more streamlined and easier-to-use than other blogging tools available....
.

Its CEO is Chris Alden
Chris Alden

Christopher J. Alden is an United Statesn entrepreneur best known as a co-founder of Red Herring , a magazine focused on the business of technology, and Rojo.com, an early web-based RSS reader....
. Prominent weblogger Anil Dash
Anil Dash

Anil Dash is an early and influential blogger who began his weblog in 1999.Previously an independent technology consultant, and a new media developer for the Village Voice, Dash was the first employee of, and now works as a Vice President for, Six Apart, the makers of Movable Type, TypePad and Vox ....
 joined the company in 2003, as did the former head of Wired Digital Andrew Anker. Six Apart's Board of Directors consists of Barak Berkowitz, Mena Trott, David Marquardt
David Marquardt

David Marquardt is a co-founder of venture capital firm August Capital. Marquardt has served on more than 25 boards of directors during his 20 year venture capital career including Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Seagate , Adaptec, and Grand Junction Networks ....
, David Hornik, Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman is an United Statesn entrepreneur and angel investor.Hoffman is best known as the founder of LinkedIn, a social network used primarily for business connections and job searching....
 and Jun Makihara.

On September 6, 2006 Six Apart bought Rojo.com
Rojo.com

Rojo is a free web-based news aggregator and social networking, founded in June 2003 by Chris Alden, Kevin Burton, and Mark Graham. It may be used for browsing and discovering weblogs and other sources of web syndication; it combines social networking and Tag to create a body of shared syndications, stories, and objects....
. President Chris Alden
Chris Alden

Christopher J. Alden is an United Statesn entrepreneur best known as a co-founder of Red Herring , a magazine focused on the business of technology, and Rojo.com, an early web-based RSS reader....
 became executive vice president of Six Apart and general manager
General manager

General Manager or GM for short is a descriptive term for certain corporate officers in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry....
 of Movable Type
Movable Type

Movable Type is a blog software developed by the company Six Apart. It was publicly announced on 3 September 2001, and version 1.0 was publicly released on 8 October 2001....
. CTO
CTO

CTO may refer to:* Chinese Trademark Office* Central Telegraph Office, London UK* Cancelled-to-order, a postage stamp that was cancelled by the postal administration before being sold to stamp collectors...
 Aaron Emigh became executive vice president and general manager of core technologies.

2007

On Sept 15, 2007, Chairman and Chief Executive Barak Berkowitz stepped aside and was be replaced by Chris Alden, who had run the company's professional software unit.

On December 2, 2007, Six Apart announced it was selling LiveJournal to SUP Fabrik
SUP Fabrik

SUP is an international online media company, founded in Moscow during the summer of 2006 by Andrew Paulson and Alexander Mamut. Its ownership is split between Mr Mamut, Kommersant Publishing House and management....
, a Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
n media
Mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a mainstream such as the population of a nation state....
 company which had previously licensed the LiveJournal brand and software for use in Russia.

2008

On April 21, 2008, Six Apart said it acquired Apperceptive, a New York social media agency, as part of its new strategy. It declined to disclose financial terms of the deal. It is also partnering with advertising agency Adify. Just as in an advertising network, bloggers will be able to sign up and participate in advertising campaigns managed by Six Apart.

On December 1, 2008, Six Apart announced the acquisition of micro blogging website Pownce
Pownce

Pownce was a free social networking and micro-blogging site started by Internet entrepreneurs Kevin Rose, Leah Culver, and Daniel Burka. Pownce was centered around sharing messages, files, events, and links with already-established friends....
.

On December 15, 2008, Six Apart shut down the micro blogging website Pownce.

External links