Blog startup Six Apart wants to help you build social apps like Pownce

Six Apart said today that it’s ready to expand its TypePad hosting service beyond blogs — now it wants to power “the next Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.” As an example of what developers can create using the TypePad Platform, Six Apart is unveiling a new microblogging application called TypePad Motions, which is based on Pownce, the startup Six Apart acquired last year.
Companies can use application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect to the online infrastructure TypePad created for its blogs, while building whatever social service they want on top of it, according to Six Apart’s blog post. The San Francisco company says the platform makes it easy for developers to incorporate elements like blogs, posts, comments, friends, activities, groups, and tags into their services, and adds:
For larger publishers and internet businesses, we see the TypePad Platform as a new way to incorporate blogs and social networking into their sites — offering an alternative to completely local software solutions or completely hosted SaaS solutions. With the TypePad Platform, publishers can use the presentation layer and templates of their choice — be it via MT, PHP, Django, Java, etc. — while not having to install and support an expensive back end.

For personal bloggers and TypePad users, opening up our APIs means that TypePad will be built into applications that will help the bloggers and their readers, paving the way for more applications that enhance TypePad functionality.
TypePad Motions is an example of what Six Apart has in mind. It’s way for publishers to create pages for sharing short text posts, images, audio, and video — posted by either one person or a community. The Zachary Quinto community page actually has sections for both.
Six Apart competitor Automattic has also created a rich ecosystem of applications that enhance its WordPress blogging platform.