December 6, 2007
- GMO Media
December 6, 2007
Press Release
GMO Media Inc.
Yaplog! Introduces Domain Name and E-mail Registration Service
Tokyo – December 6, 2007 – GMO Media blog service, yaplog! today releases the new yap! MyAddress function that allows users to operate a blog under their own domain name and to acquire an e-mail address for the domain. Yaplog! is the first*1 blog service in the industry to not only make it possible for users to operate a blog under their own domain name, but also to acquire an e-mail address. At only 367 yen a month*2 it is also the lowest*3 priced service in the industry.
Yaplog! service plans have also been updated and services that were previously only available with fee-based plans can now be used under the free plan. The Pro Plan, previously offered at 997 yen a month, has been discontinued and fee-based plans have been integrated in the yaplog! plus plan (367 yen a month).
Yap! MyAddress
Yap! MyAddress allows users to register a domain name for their blog from the yaplog! administration screen. For each domain one e-mail*4 address may be created per user account.
Using Yap! MyAddress
Eligibility | Customers using yaplog! and yaplog! plus (fee-based service) |
Fees | Yearly Fee: ￥4,410 (inc. tax) (equivalent to ￥367 [inc. tax] per month) |
Use | ・Unique Domain Acquisition Login to yaplog! and select the Yap! MyAddress Plan from the Plan Selection menu. Next do a search to find an available domain, choose your domain *, enter the required information, complete the payment procedures ** and your domain registration is done. ・Sub Domain Configuration Log in to yaplog! and select Sub domain configuration from the Yap! MyAddress settings, enter the required sub domain to complete configuration. ・Mail Address Creation Login to yaplog! and select send e-mail settings from the yap! MyAddress settings. Enter the required user accounts and e-mail addresses and send a confirmation mail. Click on the URL in the confirmation mail to activate the account. |
* Available domains: .com .net .info .org .biz
** yaplog! uses the GMO Media Holdings GMO ID, common ID service for member information handling and payment processing.
Yaplog! Plan Upgrades
Functions that were previously only available with the fee-based service are now also available with the free plan. Fees for fee-based services have also been revised.
New Features in the Free Service
Image Capacity: 1TB | Storage capacity for images, with the exception of video, previously 5GB |
Upload Time Setting | Allows the blogger to write an entry in advance and specify a time and date for its upload |
Access Settings | Restricts access to a blog to specified yaplog! members |
yapme! | Allows the user to register a friends list of yaplog! users ●Prior to the upgrade: 100 users ●After the upgrade: 300 users |
Changes to the Fee-Based Plan
Effective December 6, fees for the fee-based plan are as follows.
Prior to Change | New | |
Service Name | Petit Plan | yaplog! plus |
Fees | ￥367 / month (inc. tax) | ・Basic Plan: ￥367 / month (inc. tax) ・yap! MyAddress Plan Yearly Fee: ￥4,410 (inc. tax) (equivalent to ￥367 [inc. tax] per month) |
Service Name | Pro Plan | - Service discontinued (integrated with yaplog! plus |
Fees | ￥997 / month (inc. tax) | ? |
About the Acquisition of Domains
For the acquisition of unique domains, Yap! MyAddress uses the API service, onamae.com API. The service is provided by onamae.com, an ICANN official registrar operated by GMO Internet. Onamae.com was the first officially recognized commercial domain registrar in the Asian region. Their API service, onamae.com API makes it possible for yaplog! users to register domains and configure e-mail service from within the yaplog! site.
Yaplog!
The GMO Media blog service yaplog! offers a range of appealing blog skins and pictographs and is widely popular among women. Users can add text decorations and consult the yaplog! character yapeus for navigation that makes setting up a blog easy even for first time users.
About yaplog! Users
Yaplog! has around 163,000 active users *5 (Blog Fan, 11/2007), the popular blog service receives around 6.44 million unique users *6 and 84.5 million page views *7 (NetRatings, 10/2007) per month. The majority of yaplog! users are young women between ages 20-35 that use the service as a space for exchanging information.
GMO ID
The GMO ID is an easy and convenient common ID service. Members can log in to GMO ID partner sites with a single e-mail address and password. Members using fee-based services can register their payment details to take advantage of the GMO ID payment processing service. GMO ID is a GMO Media Holdings service.
*1: Based on our own research (12/2007)
*2: yap! MyAddress is available as a yearly contract for the equivalent of 367 yen a month (inc. tax).
*3: Based on our own research (12/2007)
*4 These addresses are only for forwarding e-mail. They cannot be used to send e-mail.
*5: Active User: A user that has updated their blog more than once in one month
*6: Unique user: the number of users that access a website within a specified period of time.
*7: Page Views: A method of measuring the number of times a website is accessed.
Related Links (all links to Japanese language sites unless otherwise indicated)
yaplog!: http://www.yaplog.jp
yaplog! MyAddress service: http://www.yaplog.jp/contents/myaddress_use
onamae.com: http://www.onamae.com/
Media Inquiries
GMO Internet Inc. Group PR Team
E-mail: [email protected]
The GMO Internet Group
The GMO Internet Group is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services in Japan. We hold top domestic market shares in domain registration, web hosting and payment processing and we provide a host of other services including e-commerce solutions and Internet advertising to individual and corporate customers. Striving to redefine the industry and foster a vibrant Internet culture, the GMO Internet Group is continuously working to inspire enthusiasm in our customers and put smiles on their faces.
GMO Media Inc.
Company Name | GMO Media Inc. http://www.gmo-media.jp/ |
Address | Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Teruyuki Mori |
Business Description | ■Media Content ■E-commerce ■Desktop business |
Capital | ￥262,850,000 |
GMO Internet Inc.
Company Name | GMO Internet Inc. http://www.gmo.jp/en (TSE First Section Code: 9449) |
Address | Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Masatoshi Kumagai |
Business Description | ■Internet Use Support (Infrastructure) ■Internet Advertising Support (Media) |
Capital | ￥9,651,750,000 |