Squarespace

23 Jul 2005

I know there’s more than a few emerging weblog hosting services out there, but I just discovered Squarespace via a text-based advertisement in Opera’s banner (I’m astounded how unintrusive they are… I think I’m actually appreciating them, which is amazing!), and was instantly impressed by their website’s interface and copy.

Apparently it’s been creating some noise in mainstream media, too. I look at it and I don’t see another content management system people are trying to sell — the website looks, feels, and reads as though it’s a small community project. Which it probably isn’t. I’d imagine they’re making loads of money off this thing. And good on them: it appears they’ve jumped on the Cluetrain, come up with a killer offering, and it’s worked for them.

“Killer offering”, by the way, is not just weblog software. It’s also not just managed weblog software or even web services… it’s commerical, managed, web publishing services that people are crying out for. Six Apart have sort of leant in, but they’re first and foremost a blogging company, whilst Squarespace positions themself in a broader market: they’re a publishing company, that lets you do blogging, if that’s your thing.

I’ve observed all this in the course of about ten minutes, by the way. I haven’t even tried the service yet: this is all in response to their presentation and promotion. Incidentally, Squarespace also have their own blog — part of that whole Cluetrain thing — and have content on it available to anyone under a Creative Commons license. What a cool tech company…