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Reader comments
dowingbaAug 01, 2003 at 10:34PM
Sweet.
Steven GarrityAug 01, 2003 at 10:56PM
After beta-testing the service, I think it's totally worth the money (particularly the entry-level $5/month). I'm not going to use it myself (I have my own tool in place that I'm happy with), but it's a great place to send people who ask me how they can get a weblog.
thomasAug 02, 2003 at 1:11AM
The low plans are reasonable for sure. As you go up they become overpriced.
For 15 bucks a month you can get a much better hosting deal. More bandwidth, more space. Add free MT, which does most of what typepad does, and your in good shape.
Unless you hate fooling with code, or don't have the knowledge, typepad pro isn't much of a bargain.
YLAug 02, 2003 at 10:43AM
Has anyone speculated what "domain mapping" will include?
LizAug 02, 2003 at 12:09PM
I assume that means pointing your typepad blog at http://www.yournamehere.com (so you can keep an existing domain.)
YLAug 02, 2003 at 12:20PM
Any idea whether they have partnerships with any registrars? Which is to say, Will TP be a complete one-stop shop for hosting, domain and CMS? If I can go from zero to having a fully functional blog at www.mynamehere.com in five minutes or less, that would be worth $14.95 a month to me.
Matt HaugheyAug 02, 2003 at 12:32PM
Unless you hate fooling with code, or don't have the knowledge, typepad pro isn't much of a bargain
After using Typepad, it seems clear it's not for people that know what "chmod" means, it's for the other 99.99999% of the population of the world. And for them, it's a bargin
For what it's worth, I think it's still reasonable even though I could build my own blog system.
AnilAug 02, 2003 at 3:18PM
Yep, domain mapping is pointing your example.com domain at your example.typepad.com site. We don't have integrated domain registration built into the signup yet, but we plan to add it soon.
thomasAug 02, 2003 at 7:14PM
Yep, domain mapping is pointing your example.com domain at your example.typepad.com site.
I have domains registered at 5 different companies, and all allow you to point your domain whereever you like, so I'm not sure how much of a feature that is.
After using Typepad, it seems clear it's not for people that know what "chmod" means, it's for the other 99.99999% of the population of the world. And for them, it's a bargin
Maybe so, but I don't see a huge audience who knows nothing about 'chmod' paying 15/180 bucks a month/year for the ability to blog. Maybe for others that's small change, but not for me. I think far more will look at the lower plans which are a good value imho.
But time will tell.
DavidAug 02, 2003 at 8:45PM
Unless you hate fooling with code, or don't have the knowledge, typepad pro isn't much of a bargain.
It's a great bargain, for what you get. I'm reminded of my friends who were skeptical of RedHat when it was first coming into maturity. Just because I know how to download a cc and a bunch of source code doesn't mean it's the best way to build a linux distribution. Part of what you're paying for is peace of mind.
toddAug 03, 2003 at 1:42PM
Maybe so, but I don't see a huge audience who knows nothing about 'chmod' paying 15/180 bucks a month/year for the ability to blog.
For many, that may be enough. You could say, "But if you get your own web space, you could have your own site, blah, blah, blah." And that's true, but for many "having your own site" may equal having a blog, a photo album, and a list of links. Enter TypePad.
That said, I think the Pro version is a tough sell. Seems like those who would be most interested in Pro's features are probably savvy enough to set up MT, get their own hosting space, etc.
thomasAug 03, 2003 at 10:34PM
That said, I think the Pro version is a tough sell. Seems like those who would be most interested in Pro's features are probably savvy enough to set up MT, get their own hosting space, etc.
That was my point exactly. (my fault in not getting it across)
megnutAug 04, 2003 at 7:41AM
I think you guys are thinking too much about current MT users when you think about TypePad. Imagine instead a beginner who starts out with TypePad's first level of service. After some time, s/he is ready to migrate to more features/space/etc., and upgrades to a 'Plus' account, and then after a further amount of a time, wants even more. Would it make more sense for this person to a) "go set up MT, get their own hosting space, etc." or b) pay $6 more a month to keep using the same tool and service on which s/he started blogging in the first place? The idea isn't that current "pro" bloggers would switch to TP necessarily, it's that there's room to grow for the new users that sign up. And that's a pretty important feature in its own right.
JesperAug 04, 2003 at 12:14PM
I have domains registered at 5 different companies, and all allow you to point your domain whereever you like, so I'm not sure how much of a feature that is.
The difference being TypePad is a webhost, not a domain registerer. TypePad can map your domain name to a weblog in their system if you only do the pointing.
Owen van DijkAug 04, 2003 at 2:46PM
I think TP Pro _is_ a bargain. I am spending more than 15 bucks a nite when i go out having a drink with my buddies. In fact i am gonna sign up asap ( and have a drink at home instead... )
Yes i know there are better hosting deals out there, yes i know how to download and install MT, yes i know how to install Smartypants and Textile and MTCodeBeautifier and all the nifty plugins out there, hell i even _know_ how to code in Perl.
But i am choosing TypePad instead, basically because i am doing all of the things above all day long ( well the programming part ) and when i want to blog i don't want to deal with all these things...and TP provides me with an easy-to-use and nice looking service. And Blogger is not an option...i don't trust my money to a company with such an ugly looking logo. ;)
and that's why i am choosing TP over a do-it-yourself-hack-it-yourself-weblog anyday...
JonathanAug 04, 2003 at 3:06PM
Owen you've got it right. $15 is a ridiculously low price for an online publishing tool as cool as this Typepad system. How do certain products or services get branded with prices that seem so misplaced when the products or services are compared side by side?
Maybe they should price it relationally. For instance:
::Pricelist::
Service Price
Typepad Basic..........$Grande Mocha Frappuccino, extra whip
Typepad Plus............$Fish and Chips at Ivar's in Seattle
Typepad Pro.............$Half-Rack of Corona and a couple limes
For anyone who says the price isn't right, they are not reasonably considering the time savings that a preinstalled, preconfigured service of this caliber is realizing.
jubuAug 04, 2003 at 5:57PM
TP seems to include lots of the cool features that have been on the "in development" list for MT, such as posting by email/moblogging. I wonder if there is a new MT release coming with those upgrades, or if those will only be available for paying TP users?
thomasAug 05, 2003 at 4:28AM
Would it make more sense for this person to a) "go set up MT, get their own hosting space, etc." or b) pay $6 more a month to keep using the same tool and service on which s/he started blogging in the first place?
I'd go with A. Pay less for hosting, get more, learn more. And I know I'm probably in the minority. Time will tell. I wish them all the luck in the world.
$15 is a ridiculously low price for an online publishing tool as cool as this Typepad system.
I fully understand (as well as one could without being there) how much sweat and energy they put into typepad. That's not how you price something. You charge what the market can bear.
Ridiculously low priced? Not sure about that. They priced it where they thought it was best, not ridicously low. And with hundreds of discounted available accounts out there, they're even letting it go cheaper.
I do think saving the photo album feature for the pro version was very smart. It's the only feature I feel a majority of users really want that's not in the other two.
Steve RhodesAug 05, 2003 at 3:50PM
You can get photo albums with the plus plan. The main features of pro are unlimited weblogs (as opposed to 3 for plus), muliple authors, and the advanced editing of templates, plus 100 meg more space and an extra gig of bandwidth.
Yes, perhaps $12 might have been a better pricepoint for pro, but it works out to about that if you pre-pay for a year.
I don't know how to set up MT, but I will be able to use pro to set up a site for a writer, post updates, and let him post when he has the time. Another group I've been working with with more tech expertise to draw on will use MT.
Donover Sandra Corsover Dec 10, 2003 at 11:48PM
What else can i say after all this ?!
Golden Brigham Dec 21, 2003 at 2:04AM
There is no benefit in the gifts of a bad man.
Baron David Jan 10, 2004 at 3:28AM
I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.