SixApart (developers of Movable Type) have bought LiveJournal. What’s next, Google buys SixApart and Flickr?

But as I’m just about finished knocking out an abstract for BlogTalk Downunder on blogging technologies and the co-construction of genre, what interests me is the possible impact that SixApart’s need to clearly differentiate their products might have on blogging practice at the grassroots, eg:

We have a service intended for individuals to interact with family and friends through LiveJournal; a hosted service for avid webloggers who want more flexibility and power with TypePad; and the leading server-based solution for power users, corporations and institutions through Movable Type

A nice, neat example of the ways a highly gendered continuum of technological mastery gets mapped on to the construction of economic value (‘mere’ communication with friends and family is always low-end, witness advertisements for a whole range of digital products, from cameras to PCs). Nifty.

Some very good reflection on the cultural and technological differences between the two platforms from Danah Boyd.