September 12, 2003
Yet another reason to blog...
Free at last! Since Google has the cash, the Blogger Pro features are going to be rolled into the unleaded version of Blogger. Those who have already paid for the Pro features can get prorated monetary refund or a $24 Blogger sweatshirt.
I would probably take the sweatshirt.
Google-owned Web log-creation site Blogger is eliminating its paid version and folding premium functions into its free service, bucking a trend toward making people pay for Web site extras.The creation of Blogger Pro, which cost subscribers a yearly fee of $35, came about as a result of financial necessity, Blogger co-founder Evan Williams wrote in an e-mail to subscribers. Now that Google owns the service, that need has passed.
"Pro subscribers helped keep us going as a struggling start-up, when servers and bandwidth were at an extreme premium," Williams wrote. "We wanted to keep basic Blogger free, but we needed to start charging in order to keep the lights on…Today, as you may know, Blogger's situation is much different. For one thing, we're part of Google. Google has lots of computers and bandwidth. And Google believes blogs are important and good for the Web."
[ Blogger bucks premium-services trend @ CNET News.com ]
Posted by akvalley at September 12, 2003 02:07 PM | TrackBack