Gmail, the free Internet based e-mail service developed by Google, has been suffering a series of outages over the last several weeks. A major outage last week left thousands of Gmail users without service to either the e-mail program or Google Calendars and Documents.

Although the outages were widespread, there seems to have been an unusually high number of problems in the metro New York area, with some users experiencing limited functionality, and others not able to log on to their Gmail accounts at all. Even on the other side of the country, there were reports of the Gmail user interface loading very slowly, as well as unusual error messages popping up.

But because Gmail is a free service to begin with, users can only complain so much. On the other hand, when Google Apps suffered an outage last week, paid users of the service quickly became irate. Webmonkey.com reports that Google Apps went down last Thursday, and was off-line for over 24 hours. Business users who pay a fee to use the Premiere Edition of the program saw business come to a standstill, and many were unable to communicate with employees or process customer service e-mails.

Overall, it was one of the bumpiest weeks ever for Google, who have an enviable reputation for software stability and so-called uptime. But the outpouring of concern, confusion, and even a rage that accompanied the Gmail outage is testament to the immense popularity of the program.

Many users have come to see Gmail as just another utility, like the phone company or the electric company. Accordingly, they rely on unhindered access to the program in older to communicate with friends, family, business associates and customers. In fact, it is getting to the point where everyone needs to have at least one Gmail account, the same way that everyone has an account with one of the phone companies.

But Gmail makes for an unusual utility, because it is in fact still free. And even though there has been speculation for years that Google would begin charging users for their accounts, the company insists it has no plans to monetize Gmail in such a fashion. Gmail uses contextually based advertising to present relatively unobtrusive ads beside user’s e-mails. The system provides advertising revenue for Google, and is considered a minor inconvenience for users, if they mind at all.

This system has worked pretty well for Gmail, and it has provided a business model that other companies are seeking to replicate. Facebook and MySpace, for example, have recently begun presenting contextually-based advertising on member’s home pages, clearly a nod to the success of the Gmail model.

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