Six Apart launches cross-blogging Facebook app

Computerworld - Six Apart Ltd., which hosts the popular Movable Type and TypePad blogging tools, today unveiled a tool it said allows Facebook users to post to multiple blogs or microblogs across the Web from within the social network.

Six Apart said that the new Blog It tool is different from the list of existing Facebook blogging tools that limit users to the blogging services of one company. Blog It, now available without charge, supports about a dozen services, including Blogger, TypePad, Twitter, Movable Type, Vox and WordPress, the company said.

"By bridging the gap between blogging and social networking, Six Apart brings social tools to bloggers all over the Web no matter the publishing platform they use," said David Recordon, open platforms tech lead at Six Apart, in a statement. "This is a concrete step away from the silos and walled gardens of the past and toward the open Web of the future."

In addition to letting Facebook users easily post to multiple blogging services from within Facebook, the new tool allows users to notify friends and colleagues about new posts. For example, a blogger could automatically share a post via Twitter and Pownce in addition to the Facebook News Feed.

As of late this morning, 234 users were actively using the application, according to Facebook. Of the few that made comments on it, most said it worked well -- one had even already updated a blog from within Facebook. But some others said they were having trouble accessing Web services passwords to use the new application.

Mashable blogger Kristen Nicole noted that bloggers are beginning to realize the need to broadcast their original content across networks like blogging platforms, social networks and miniblogging networks to alert other users when they have published something new on their blogs.

"The need for an automated distribution tool has been around for some time," she noted. "Most services that deal in social media are now more willing to integrate such options into their own content-creation services. And now that we have open platforms within social media and networking sites like Facebook, the ability to republish and redistribute is quite commonplace. [With Blog It] Six Apart's blogging platform is embracing this concept completely."