I don’t know how this one missed my radar, but the rumours are true: Six Apart, which produced the Movable Type content management system and the TypePad blogging service, has just purchased LiveJournal. (See announcements from Six Apart and LiveJournal.)
Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, and I can only hope that this merger means the two companies will pool their resources together to improve both products. Personally, I’d like to see more flexibility with customization from LiveJournal and easier installation from Movable Type. (I recently dropped Movable Type as my main blogware in favor of WordPress.)
This merger doesn’t truly worry me, though… at least not just yet. Then again, I also thought last year’s merger between G4 and TechTV could potentially be a good thing, and we all know how that story goes, right?
Further reading:
» Salon.com: Turmoil in blogland
» InformationWeek: Blog Software Maker Moves On Competitor
(Illustration from Salon.com.)