Kevin Burton’s NEW FeedBlog

WordPress To Launch Hosted Service:

Details are scarce, but Matt Wullenweg, developer of WordPress, has announced that WordPress.com (as opposed to distribution site WordPress.org) will offer a hosted version of the popular free-of-charge blogging program. Observers are positioning this development as competition for TypePad. More directly, it seems like competition to Bluehost, PowWeb, TextDrive, and other generic Web hosts that offer WordPress pre-installations. wordPress.com will have to distinguish itself not just by virtue of the software (vs. TypePad), but by superior service (vs. other WordPress hosts).

I still feel that WordPress should focus on their standalone software and ditch hosting. Let someone else deal with these problems. If you look at what happened with Moveable Type they were making solid progress up until they created TypePad. Now WordPress wants to do the same thing. I talked to Matt about this and he seems pretty confident that they will be able to negate most of these issues.

Update:

The Blog Herald has more info:

Take a day off to get rid of the mother in law at the airport and look what happens….in my absense some 200 km North and internet free for some 28 odd hours, Matt Mullenweg, the guru and all round good guy behind WordPress has annonuced WordPress.com, the much rumored WordPress commercial arm that will see a commercially hosted version of WordPress compete directly against SixApart’s TypePad. The details are a little sketchy but I remember when a WordPress commercial service was first discussed amongst some of the WordPress people earlier in the year and the idea was that most of the profits went back into supporting the development of WordPress. I can only hope that Matt takes a cut as well, I cant think of anyone more deserving.