Brainjiuce has updated its weblog editor Blogo to version 1.1. This update puts it closer on par to MarsEdit (my blogging tool of choice) by adding direct text formatting commands and better file format support (i.e. for posting graphics). The user interface has also been overhauled:

A neat Blogo feature it the ability to import the post template from your blog (to the best of its ability). This version also adds support for the “Post to weblog: command from newsreaders (and specifically mentions Safari and NetNewsWire). Bainjuice includes a bookmarklet that you can use as well.
A weird-yet-interesting feature is the inclusion of Twitter support. It’s a full Twitter client and even has a “friends of friends” view mode. Another Twitter integration feature is the ability to send new status updates to Twitter (with shortened URLs) when a new article is posted.

Growl support is also now included, but not very configurable (which means you have to get granular in Growl – potentially – to make it non-annoying). Blogo also now claims to support Drupal – one of the reasons I wanted to try it – but, I’ve not been able to get it to work with my Drupal sites, so until that happens, no nods to that claim.
The application crashed on me several times, making it feel more “beta” than “release 1.1″. The features are good and Twitter support rocks, but the interface is still – at least in my opinion – clunky. If they made it more straightforward and less “glitzy,” it would go a long way towards usability. It has quite a bit going for it, though, and version 1.5 or 2.0 should make for a top-of-the-line blogging & micro-blogging posting engine.
Blogo can be downloaded as a 21-day unlimited trial or purchased for $25 USD from the Brainjuice site. If you’ve tried the new version or used the previous version and have some thoughts to share, drop a note in the comments.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2008\/05\/21\/blogo-gets-social-also-talks-to-strangers\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_eff1180e85dd530bace12f94cb5ae3f5","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}