First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!
The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.
A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.
Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.
On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.
And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!
~ daisy
As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.
The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.
When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.
It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.
Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.
As always, thanks for your patience.
Britain's population of gray squirrels exploded after North Americans introduced them in the 19th century. But now the Isle of Anglesey is fighting back - by mass extermination of grays and bringing back the native reds.
By Ben Quinn | 11.05.09
* CS Monitor correspondent.
LONDON - They're small, furry, and undeniably cute - and yet the explosion of Britain's nonnative gray squirrel population has long been regarded as a conservation crisis.
But now nature lovers are looking with hope toward the Isle of Anglesey, an island off the northwest coast of Wales, which is the setting for a successful local reintroduction of Britain's native red squirrel.
An endangered species, their numbers nationwide have been ravaged by a pox carried by the larger, more aggressive grays, which were introduced as living garden ornaments from North America in 1876 by upper-class families.
A project on the island has seen thousands of grays, which are highly destructive of hardwood trees, trapped and removed. Reds (which also have their detractors) have been simultaneously brought back, and conservation groups are hoping to do the same in other peninsulas and islands.
Dr. Craig Shuttleworth of the Anglesey red squirrel conservation project said: "There has been pessimism about how the red squirrel can be brought back, but we are close to succeeding here. It's true that we have been helped by geography - the fact that we are on an island - but there are lessons that can be applied elsewhere."
Such projects have not been without controversy, however. Some animal rights supporters opposed the mass killing of grays. Nevertheless, public support has been forthcoming for projects such the Anglesey one.
Dr. Shuttleworth, whose work is supported by the Prince of Wales, added: "People sometimes ask, 'What is the point?' and say that reds are common on the European continent.
"But we can't lose sight of the fact that reds are a very popular part of our natural fauna here in Britain. If we can't safeguard them, then what hope do we have in protecting other species which are less popular with the public?"
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
