Digital Trends

Blogging software maker Six Apart has acquired micro-blogging service Pownce...and is shutting it down, giving users two weeks to grab their data.

Blogging company Six Apart, makes of Movable Type, TypePad, and Vox—have announced they have acquired micro-blogging service Pownce…and will be promptly shutting it down. Pownce will be shutting down operations on December 15, 2008, and users have until then to use a new export function to get their postings out of Pownce and into services like Vox, TypePad, or WordPress.

Pownce's Leah Culver and Mike Mallone will join Six Apart's engineering team, with an eye towards integrating social blogging technologies and features into Six Apart's products. Pownce's Kevin Rose and Daniel Burka will operate as advisers to Six Apart.

"We have been impressed not only with the vision for Pownce but the great work of Leah Culver and Mike Malone and are very happy that they will be joining us," wrote Six Apart's Chris Alden in his company blog. "The Pownce team and Six Apart share the same passion for social blogging and we're really proud to have them on board.

Pownce offers micro-blogging services similar to Twitter, but with the added capability of easily sharing files, links, and event invitations.