Just a short note:

After 5 years Google Apps are no longer considered Beta.
They may not be free for long?  The free version is still available, but takes some digging to find – I wonder if it’s intentional…

Guess who will welcome…

I wrote a blog post about it here – http://daverein...oft-for-google/

And maybe he should charge double for boring one’s like this.

I decided I needed to charge some minimal fee for access to my creativity and innovation website ProxThink.com. But for a variety of reasons, I settled on a more hybrid approach. For $4.95 per year people can access the standard features, with some ads on pages. For $5 more, they get the option to turn ads off. There is another level with more features for $19.95 per year. Also, and this is critical, with each plan, we ask people to proxri based on their use, benefits and the proximity. A proxri might be described as a systems-thinking version of a tip, commission, contribution, thank you or bonus. It’s a way of working with the idea that if you take care of the neighborhood, or network, the neighborhood or network will take care of you. “Proxri” stands for ProxReward, and it is a reward which relates elements in the proximity. The essence of our Proxri Deal is “As you find our relationship rewarding, proxri with the proximity in mind.” It also might be a new way to think about and work with the gift economy.

The ground is constantly shifting beneath our feet. I think networks may shift the emphasis from individual people, companies and governments, to the proximity, and proximities. The proximity consists of elements related or potentially related to a situation, in physical, mental and other ways. It’s a way of taking greater account of environments and contexts. As networks continue to change our lives, I think we need to be open to new ways of doing things, including things which are hybrids, or seem to be at first. I developed the ProxThink Growth Model approach, including proxri, with the idea that it would be robust enough to be the basis of some new standards. People are welcome to adopt and adapt it. In particular, I think it might have potential for the collaborative Web 2.0 world, and fit into some of the developments that Kevin Kelly discusses in his recent Wired piece on the New Socialism.

We just assumed they got rid of the free option and I missed the headline but yeah, this was sketchy. The fact that they changed it after the story makes it even moreso. For that important a product at that big an organization, it seeems like a strange mistake or experiment. Seems much more like an attempt to channel customers unknowing of the free product into the paid option, at least until someone noticed.

Nice job, Michael.

I’ve recommended the free version countless times to folks (even the other day on that Aardvark thing). It’s nice to know I don’t have to put in the qualifying “if you only signed up last week” on the end of the recommendation.

Why do people still have such an issue with Google Apps as an option?

Seriously.