textamerica launches two paid moblog services: No ads, password protection

Moblog hosting company textamerica has just launched two new -- paid -- moblog services. One service eliminates the Google advertisements, banners and required links on pages and the other service provides password protection as well as eliminating ads.

The ad-free service costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year (that includes the first two months free). The password protected service costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (that also includes the first two months free).

With both services, there's a limit of 100MB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth per month, with extra charges for exceeding these limits. I do not, however, see any information about what those charges are.

Overages

Here's what textamerica says about over charges: "Bandwidth is calculated using an average over any given month, should you exceed your alloted bandwidth then you will be charged per GIG of traffic or part thereof. This charge will appear on your account on or about the first week of the month for the preceeding month.

"Storage is calculated based on the most storage used at any given point during the month. If the maximum amount of storage used at any given point during any given month exceeds your alloted storage space then you will be subject to overages.

"Additional storage is presently billed at per MB or part thereof. This charge will appear on your account on or about the first week of the month for the preceeding month."

Other features

With the ad-free service you get "priority customer support" and with the password protected service you get "enhanced customer support." Neither of these support features are spelled out.

Both services include two mailboxes for multiple postings. The password protected service includes a customizable splash page.

The services also allow permit business use of the moblogs. Textamerica's free moblogs are not supposed to be used for commercial purposes.

Fees make sense

It's self-evident that companies offering free services only will go broke. Most moblog companies seem to be run more as hobbies than as profitable enterprises with detailed business plans.

I've written numerous times that I believe most of today's moblog companies will not survive. Textamerica believed there was money to be made in the camera phone business, and it established its free hosting service to explore the market.

In January 2004 I wrote that textamerica was licensing its moblog platform to the San Diego Union-Tribune. This morning I wrote that textamerica said it had licensed its platform to one of the top five cellular operators in the world.

Platform-oriented moblog companies

Certainly there are moblog companies with business plans. Typically their strategy is developing scalable platforms to license to cellular operators and corporations. These companies include Hex Software, NewBay Software and Mensamind.

I've written previously about all three of them.

It's nice to see that textamerica, a small company that established itself as a major -- but free (!) -- moblog hosting company, is beginning to obtain some corporate customers and test the waters for paid services based upon value-added features.

Comments

[Jim Meeker]

Yeah, but where's the fun in that?