Australian-based Mig33, instant messaging and mobile VoIP provider, has snached up a cool $10 million in venture capital, reports Red Herring. Mig33 is centered around the mobile communications business and competes against such names as Talkster, Sooner, VoxLib, Nimbuzz, AIM/Google Talk (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo! Voice (NASDAQ: YHOO), and eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY) Skype. Mig33 claims it can save mobile phone users significant money with its international calling card services. I fail to see what services that Mig33 offers to consumers beyond the tried and true standard fare also offered by its competitors, but given the fact that it already has a reported 4 million users, it is obviously doing something right.

What strikes me as being very different about Mig33 is the ability it gives to its subscribers for earning discounts, and even generating profit, by acting as brokers for Mig33 calling services. Mig33 refers to its customers as "affiliates" and will allow these customers to act as secondary marketers of prepaid calling credits. Affiliates are even allowed to buy calling credits in bulk and then may create and market their own prepaid mig33 calling cards. To some people this may look like a pyramid type arrangement on its face, but it's nothing like that. The reality is that no one is required to act as a sales agent simply by virtue of being a subscriber. Secondary sales are completely voluntary and are a benefit of Mig33 services provided as an adjunct to its standard services.

More and more we shall see the "give something back" proposition becoming a facet of successful business models. As companies such as Mig33 offer revenue-generating options to its customers, we shall see those companies reap the rewards. It is this type of revenue-enhanced customer service, similar to Google Adwords and MetaCafe, which are now setting the new trends. Now, is it possible that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is considering a working agreement with Mig33 as the next phase of its own VoIP program?

Ummm ... could be!