As we mentioned in early October, hundreds of bloggers engaged in the 2nd annual DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge, a friendly competition during the month of October to see who could raise the most money for or reach the most kids in low-income public schools.

The results of the competition are in! Once again, Sarah Bunting of Tomato Nation blew every other blogger out of the classroom by raising $111,352, and helping over 19,577 students. Sarah demonstrated the power of blogging by producing a campaign ad that asked her readers to vote with their wallets and it worked. Over the course of October, 1,162 donors "voted" and donated.

As the sponsor of the prize for the bloggers who reach the most kids, Six Apart would like to give a shout out to Sarah and the bloggers in each category who reached the most students.

(This is our San Francisco team. Our New York, Paris and Japan team send their thanks also!)

Nearly twice as many bloggers attracted 50% more donors than last year, making the competition fiercer than ever. But leaders emerged in each category, and we'd like to acknowledge their fine efforts.

In the Tech Blog category, Fred Wilson's AVC Blog reached 4,454 students.

In the Science Blog category, David Ng and Benjamin Cohen's The World's Fair blog reached 1,780 students.

In the Topical/Local Blog category, Ralph Alswang Photography reached 522 students.

In the Mommy Blog and BlogHer category, Alice of Finslippy reached 1,676 students.

In the Knitting Blog category, Rose-Kim Knits reached 597 students.

In the Music Blog category, music teacher Walt Ribeiro reached 910 kids.

In the Sports Blog category, Sports Crackle Pop reached 465 kids.

Along with our thanks and congratulations, each winner will receive some choice schwag from our team at Six Apart.

As the creator of three leading blog platforms - Vox, TypePad and Movable Type - and the provider of social media services and advertising solutions, we are thrilled to participate in an event that raises awareness about the power and influence blogging can have, while also raising money for a very worthwhile cause: The future bloggers of America!

Thanks again to everyone who participated.

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Vox Turns Two

Just a reminder that Vox's 2nd birthday party is tonight at the Six Apart Headquarters. Please join us for drinks, snacks, music, and good times. It's also Movable Type's 7th Birthday and TypePad's 5th, so it's sure to be a fun group of staff, bloggers, and friends.

The party starts tonight, Thursday, October 30th, at 6 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. Six Apart is located at 548 4th Street (between Bryant and Brannan) in San Francisco.

If you can't make it (boo!), be sure to visit our Anniversary Page and share your favorite Vox stories with us there.

Hope to see you in a few hours. Cheers!

~daisy

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Whether you're searching for a new job, or looking for someone to hire, it's quite likely you're gathering information from LinkedIn profiles, as well as personal and professional blogs. Since  you spend so much time and energy on your own blog, why not put it right on your profile?

The team that brought you Blog It created an application to bring your blog and your LinkedIn profile together: Blog Link powered by TypePad.

Blog Link is a free, easy-to-use application that allows you to connect your blog to your LinkedIn profile. The application displays a feed of your latest blog posts right into your profile, so you can share your thoughts and insights with your professional network on LinkedIn.

One of the best aspects of LinkedIn is the network you can build, and Blog Link has you covered there as well. The "Your Network" tab in the application shows the most recent posts of people in your network, automatically finding their blogs as listed in their "Websites" list on their profile. And as more of your contacts at the BlogLink application, your own latest posts show up in more places. It's another great way to broaden and enhance your network on LinkedIn.

Blog Link is powered by TypePad, and it supports all blog platforms, including TypePad, MovableType, Vox, Wordpress.com, Wordpress.org, Blogger, LiveJournal, and many more. To learn more, visit typepad.com/features/bloglink and add the application to your LinkedIn account today.

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Vox Turns Two

As we mentioned last week, October is Vox's birthday month and we want you to help us celebrate. And what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a party?!

Please join us next Thursday, October 30th for a casual get together at Vox's headquarters. We're also celebrating 5 years of TypePad and 7 years of Movable Type, so there's certain to be a great group of Six Apart staff and bloggers in attendance.

Where: Six Apart HQ - 548 4th Street, San Francisco, CA
When: Thursday, October 30th - 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Why: Vox is turning 2!
What: Casual gathering with drinks, snacks, music, live blogging and more...

If you'd like to be put on the list for the party, please R.S.V.P. to AnniversaryRSVP@sixapart.com by Friday, October 24th.

In the meantime, visit our Vox Anniversary Page and share your favorite Vox stories and memories.

Hope to see you at the party.

Happy Birthday Vox!

~daisy

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Penelope Turns One

October is a big month of birthdays here at Six Apart: Vox is celebrating its second birthday, while TypePad turns five and MovableType turns 7. Even future blogger-extraordinaire, Penelope Trott, daughter of founders Ben and Mena Trott, turned one year old this month!

Because Vox would be nothing without you, we hope you'll take a moment to share your favorite Vox stories with us. Visit our anniversary page: Celebrating 2 Years of Vox and check out some stories and photos from last year's anniversary. While you're there, submit your favorite Vox memory or meaningful experience. We'll be updating the page all month, so keep checking back to see your story and photos.

You can also share your favorite Vox memories by answering today's Question of the Day.

Vox was created for the people who told us they wanted to connect with family and friends on their own terms. Today, Vox is an amazing community full of passionate people willing to share their stories, photos, and lives. To those of you who have made Vox your home: Thank You.

Vox Turns Two

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2008 Donors Choose Blogger Challenge

How would you like to make a difference in the life of a public school students?

For the second year in a row, Six Apart is participating in the DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge. The challenge runs all throughout the month of October, and we'd love for you to participate along with us. Just as we did last year, Six Apart is sponsoring the award for the bloggers who reach the most kids.

How It Works

The Blogger Challenge is a friendly contest amongst bloggers to raise money for low-income public schools. Here's how it works: teachers from all over the country post items for which they would like funding, such as writing supplies for a journalism class, equipment for a science lab, or music instruments for a band class. Bloggers choose their favorite projects and link to their challenge page in a post or via a giving widget on their blog. The bloggers who raise the most money or reach the most kids will win an award.

Here's how you can participate:

• Go to the Donors Choose Blogger Challenge page and find a blogger's giving list you'd like to support.

or

• Set up your own challenge and let your readers know in a blog post or by installing the widget (it just takes a few clicks).

No matter which way you choose to participate, you should feel incredibly proud of yourself for helping to bring resources to students in struggling classrooms.

Donors Choose will announce the results in early November, and we'll reveal the winners of the Six Apart award for bloggers who reached the most students shortly thereafter.

Are you going to accept the Blogger Challenge? Tell us about it (and link to it) in the comments!

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BlogWorld

The BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas on September 20th and 21st is the largest blogging conference in the world and Six Apart, Vox's parent company, will be there in full force. The only question we have is: Will you be joining us?

If so, we hope you'll be sure to attend the opening keynote where Six Apart's CEO, Chris Alden, and VP, Anil Dash, will speak on "The State of the Blogosphere." Considering over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog, and over 57 million Americans read blogs, we're very curious to find out what they have to say!

There are so many amazing speakers and panels at BlogWorld, we know you'll be incredibly busy, but we'd really love to meet you, so please take time to stop by the Six Apart booth and introduce yourself. While you're there, you can meet other Six Apart Voxers, learn more about our new website, Blogs.com, and get any questions you may have answered.

Are you attending the BlogWorld Expo? Let us know in the comments.

See you in Vegas!

-daisy

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Blogsdotcom

One of my favorite things about working at Six Apart is that it's a company founded by bloggers, for bloggers. As a result, not only do we want to provide bloggers with the best tools (like Vox, TypePad and Movable Type), we're also committed to helping bloggers find a broader audience, and helping readers find the blogs that matter to them. And with over 175,000 new blogs created every single day, this is no easy feat.

Luckily, with the launch of Blogs.com, Six Apart is making it easy for you to find the best blogs on the web. Hand-picked by a team of passionate editors, and organized by the topics that interest you, Blogs.com will help you find blogs on a variety of topics from Life, to Entertainment, to seasonal topics like Student Life. You can also catch up on the latest buzz on the web by reading featured editorials or checking out the top ten lists.

Wondering how you can submit your blog to the Blogs.com editors for consideration? It's easy -- Just fill out this quick form. In the meantime, check out Blogs.com and let us know what you think in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

-daisy

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The Happy Couple

"When was the last time you were at a wedding that had a death defying hike, rogue waves, a luau, ultimate fighting, a presidential candidate and a budding bromance?" asks Papi Chulo. For most of us, the answer is never, but luckily, Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch took the time to Vox all the amazing moments during their unforgettable Hawaiian wedding on 08.08.08 so we could all take part in the festivities.

The story began last February, when Papi Chulo popped the question and  Secret Agent Scotch said yes! Since then, they've kept us in the loop about all the details, from the bride's veil to the wedding song to the final To-Do List. And throughout it all, they inspired us with their love for each other. (I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than knowing your future husband thinks you are The Perfect Girl.)

It's an amazing love story and we are thrilled they shared it with us. Watch the video of the ceremony and please join us in wishing Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch the fairytale ending they deserve.

And What's a Team Vox Post without New Themes?

Spice up your Vox blog with one of our latest themes (found in the design area under "New") or any of our hundreds of themes. From shopping to sushi, comics to cycling, there's something for everyone.

Vox Themes August 08

Can't get enough of the wedding? A few lucky Voxers - Krissy, djchall, and Beau Smith - made the trip to Hawaii to take part in the celebration. Check out their Vox blogs for more pictures and stories.

Congratulations again to Secret Agent Scotch and Papi Chulo! Enjoy the Honeymoon!

~daisy 

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At Vox, we believe that change is a good thing. After all, you wouldn't wear the same t-shirt day in and day out, so why should your blog have to suffer the same fate? Give your blog a new look with one of our latest themes (found under "New"), or pick from any of our hundreds of themes designed with your passions and personality in mind.

Vox Themes July 08

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