TypePad Envy

Blogger Help : Does Blogger support TrackBack?

I’ve been spending a bunch more time with my blog and RSS Reader the last few days (finally), and am developing a deep sense of TypePad envy.

It started simply enough; just a casual glance and a little smile at the category functionality on TypePad sites. My infatuation grew as I eyed all those sexy, well conceived templates… “No no, you specifically designed your blog template to integrate with your site”, I told myself. True enough, but not satisfying, especially when I realized that my template was breaking on each of my individual ‘Post Pages’ (aka permalinks), even though they use the exact same template as my main blog page (ticketless, untrackable support request sent to Blogger… waiting…)!

It finally reached a crescendo however, when I realized that despite being held by a company worth $30B dollars, my blog doesn’t even support Trackback functionality. How could that be? (Oh I’m sure there’s some excuse around scalability, supportability, or some other ‘ility’ word.)

Don’t get me started on mobloging, integrated reporting, and other cool TypePad “extras”.

The truth is, despite what appears to be a great group of people (Pyra), innovation is happening elsewhere… and in a category where innovation helps one get their message out in a timely and efficient manner, that’s worth a lot.

I’m not quite ready to go through the pains of converting over to TypePad (or other alternative service), but temptation has a grasp on me, and I may just let it have its way…