Microsite.com

This topic really has nothing to do with Microsites. But it has a lot to do with the future of marketing because it reinforces an unstoppable trend taking place online. The concept is Open Source (not sure if it’s a formal noun, but I’m going to capitalize it anyway.)

Today, Google plans to launch a subscription-based version of its Google Apps hosted services for businesses, which offers more storage and customer support than the free, ad-supported version.

We (The Well, the company that supports this Microsite) have been using Google Apps in its beta version since it came out last August. It’s fantastic! And it’s tough to beat the price – free! So for the price of $0, we have a robust (yes, I used the word “robust” to talk in IT terms) email solution, an enterprise-wide calendar solution (more IT talk), and the ability to create and collaborate on speadsheets (aka, Excel) and word processing documents (aka Word). It also supports Gmail on BlackBerry devices. And we can access it anywhere around the world because it’s an ASP.

Sure, the free version has ads. Get used to it. The world has ads. But if it really bothers you, spend a little for the Premier edition.

Some critics complain about Google’s ubiquity and access to all information in all places. But, here’s another thought: Get over that, too. Any thought of online privacy went out the window years ago, and was confirmed when AOL accidentally released the search histories of some, oh, 600,000+ of its users.

In short, Google Apps – or something that looks a lot like Google Apps – is the future. Technology is free or close to it. It’s shared and improved by its users, while closed, proprietary systems are reserved for those who are either paranoid (perhaps for good reason) or like to get fleeced. Maybe the two are related?