Google Helps Offer Blogger Pro For Free

Khazunga writes "News.com is reporting that the Google-owned Pyra are releasing the formerly-$35/year Blogger Pro weblog service for free. This is backed up by an announcement from Evan Williams at the Blogger Pro site, as well as a list of the newly free Blogger features. It's the dot-com frenzy all over again! Free services with no business plan... run for your lives!"

Comments

business plan...

[Pandora's Vox]

1. release formerly profitable software for free
2. ???
3. Profit!!!

are they doing tose little google text ads or what?

-Leigh

Re:business plan...

[ErixTr]

No. The reality is;

1. Profit
2. ???
3. Release formerly profitable software for free

Re:business plan...

[Neo-Rio-101]

Or maybe it's: 1. Profit 2. ??? 3. Release formerly profitable software for free 4. Entice more users 5. ??? 6. Start charging for the service again 7. Repeat step 1

Re:business plan...

[Channard]

4. Other people choose free blogging rather than the pay service. 5. Go Bust 6. 'Would you like fries with that?'

Re:business plan...

[gekkotron]

So this is only available in Soviet Russia?

Bloggers are smarter

[OMG]

From the free features list:

Spellchecking: Fewer typos. Look smarter.

I say: Spellchecking is for wimps. Be smarter. ;-P

Re:Bloggers are smarter

[Xpilot]

I say: Spellchecking is for wimps. Be smarter. ;-P

...said the guy on Slashdot. Oh the irony.

Re:Bloggers are smarter

[Anonymous Coward]

Their's no way I can spell wrong with a spell checker, is there!

Now where'd that grammar checker go?

Re:Bloggers are smarter

[daveo0331]

Even with spell checking, it will bee easy too tell who knows how to spell correctly, who van avoid making typos, whom knows how to use grammar correct, and who can avoid using, improper punctuation.

Re:Bloggers are smarter

[jejones]

Now (in theory) blogs will be a lot more literate - or at least slightly less illiterate.

No, it's just that the illiteracy will be of a different sort; computer-aided, so to speak. A spell checker won't save people who confuse "there," "their," and "they're" or "its" and "it's," use "loose" where they mean "lose," or use apostrophes for plurals.

Do a web search for "my tail is dun." I burned out on the Xanth series long ago, but I would love to see that little scene from Centaur Aisle handed to everyone entering junior high. Humor drives points home very well indeed.

we don't need no stinkin' plan

[RevDobbs]

It's the dot-com frenzy all over again! Free services with no business plan.

Who needs a business plan? Just make sure that the numbered item before "profit" is "???".

Yeay!

[qmrq]

Now we get to listen to all the little teenie bopper girls out there talk about makeup problems, who the cutest boy in class is, who kissed who behind whose back..

We also get to listen to middle-aged women who do the blog thing bitch. Woo!

Re:Yeay!

[qmrq]

yea, i kno it stnks when u cant undrstand ppl who talk lik this!!!11! :((

But hey...

[squaretorus]

... as long as there are a stack of short term, overpaid, worthless stock laden jobs up for grabs who's complaining!!

Let the good times roll (briefly) (again) (maybe)

Re:Squatters

[Anonymous Coward]

Reminds me of the story I heard about a company that wanted a site developed called News Exchange. The domain name they wanted? newsexchange.com.au
The developers made the company realise the folly of the plan by making the title of the site "NewS exChange"

Re:Former members

[nacturation]

I would feel pretty bad if I payed my $35 to find out it's free 2 months later. Do they have any advantages over free users?

Sure there are advantages, like the new built-in spellchecker which would tell you that there's no such word as payed but that you're likely looking for the word paid.

Some thanks!

[teamhasnoi]

Here's a picture of the Blogger guys making fun of a poor handicapped person at Google. Geez, they think they own the place.

I am so going to blog about this.

Spell-checker - is there a 13-y-o angst mode?

[KNicolson]

Cuz lst tym 1 luk'd @ rndm blogz 90% wuz thiz kinz f shizz.

Ugg, even more painful to write than read!

But I've already got free blogger software

[kfg]

It's called "vi."

KFG

Re:But I've already got free blogger software

[switched4OSX]

Emacs is the only way to go

Re:Pro now free because they're not hurting for ca

[blowdart]

the e-mail I got from Evan Williams said.

E-mail? Wasn't everyone reading his blog then? <g>

First Unabashed-Lovefest Post

[lewp]

How many companies just do downright nice things anymore? Wild speculation aside, until there's a reason for me to feel otherwise, I fucking love you, Google.

Re:Why the typical slashdot Hate?

[rmohr02]

News flash: slashdot is a blog.

Explorer versus Netscape all over again?

[EnlightenmentFan]

Is anybody else reminded of the way Microsoft "outcompeted" Netscape's much better browser software? First it started giving away its browser for free, and when that wasn't enough to switch people away from Netscape's (then better) browser, it went on from there.

Google bought Blogger, Google controls Blogger, and Google has an obvious stake in getting people to use its very own software. Is Blogger the best blogging software you can use? Consider this unscientific "Google research" of various strings:

"I hate xxx" + weblog

xxx = blogger 121
xxx = radio 39
xxx = manila 0
xxx = movable type 0

"I love xxx" + weblog

xxx = blogger 233
xxx = radio 212
xxx = manila 101
xxx = movable type 160

"xxx is down"

xxx = blogger 760
xxx = manila 1

"something is wrong with xxx"

xxx = blogger 27
xxx = radio 0
xxx = manila 0
xxx = movable type 1

"xxx just ate"
xxx = blogger 279
xxx = radio 2
xxx = manila 0
xxx = movable type 0

"xxx sucks"

xxx = blogger 1070
xxx = radio (here I added "userland" to eliminate stuff like "Denver radio sucks") 136
xxx = manila 45, many of them referring to a city in the Philippines
xxx = movable type 58

I've used both Blogger and Manila, and let me make that 1071 for the next google search: Blogger sucks.