Beyond the realm of common sense: Ning Social Network Announcement Ruffles Some Feathers

Apr

19

Ning Social Network Announcement Ruffles Some Feathers

Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites

This is not the first Ning Social Network Controversy and probably not the last one either.

In Ning’s Bubble Bursts: No More Free Networks, Cuts 40% Of Staff on TechCrunch, Jason Rosenthal, the new CEO of Ning, revealed that his company will let go of staff and discontinue hosting free social networking sites – both in an attempt to bolster Ning’s bottom line.

In an update on Ning Creators, Mr. Rosenthal wrote that Ning will cater to users of its premium services who “represent over 75% of our traffic,” and that he would announce the details of the changes on May 4.

To address the mounting concerns of Ning’s free site creators, he also wrote, “We recognize that there are many active Ning Networks for teachers, small non-profits, and individuals, and it’s our goal to have a set of product and pricing options that will make sense for all of them.”

My Take on Ning

I personally have been unhappy and hurt by many changes to the Ning social network in the past half-year or so. Nevertheless, I want to make it clear that I completely support whatever Ning decides to do with its business.

After all, Ning exists to generate a profit and return on investment. If Ning believes that changes — no matter how radical they may be — are required to improve its service and increase its likelihood of success, Ning must effect those changes.

Many Ning social networking sites will close down rather than upgrade. I’ll be sorry to see some of them go. However, there will inevitably be more broken links than broken hearts, since most free sites with active members will upgrade and pay.

I’ll close some of my own Ning sites but keep Beyond Business Coaching, the companion Ning social network to Online Social Networking — and perhaps one or two others.

Alternatives to Ning

A few good free alternatives exist for Ning site creators who prefer not to upgrade:

SocialGo - Says on their website that their free social networking sites are “free forever.” It will take effort to get your network started again, but this looks like the best choice as of now.

Facebook - A Facebook group isn’t a bad alternative. You’ll need to change your networking paradigm, but in the end, you may be able to attract far more members from within Facebook.

LinkedIn - If your network is business oriented, a group on LinkedIn could make sense too.

Ning - Start a group within a premium Ning social network. You already understand the Ning platform. If you can find the right home for your group, it will benefit both you and the creator of that Ning site, a win-win situation for both of you.

Let’s all wait until after May 4 to decide upon a course of action.

Have any thoughts about Ning or a good alternative to Ning you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below.

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Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Ning social network, social networking sites, SocialGo
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5 Responses to “Ning Social Network Announcement Ruffles Some Feathers”

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher on April 19th, 2010 3:29 am

At one point I had 10 social networks on Ning but also have been less than thrilled with them. I’ve got to wonder what happened to the 40M capital infusion they got last year.

David Alexander on April 19th, 2010 6:22 am

Good suggestions, Larry, as usual.

Laura on April 19th, 2010 6:57 am

I’ve already been invited to SocialGo which looks a lot like Ning and is easy to navigate and learn. Spruz is another one I found.

Chris Boyer on April 19th, 2010 7:10 am

Another good post, Larry. The retiring of free sites will definitely affect my Ning site - www.hospitalonlinemarketing.com, since my site is informational only and doesn’t exist to make a profit.

However, I hold no grudges. I understand what Ning is trying to do and support their ability to make a profit. It might be interesting for you to do a post in the future on how to effectively shift your blogging to Facebook…

Dawn Lawson on April 19th, 2010 9:07 am

Hey Larry,

My Ning group is of Virtual Assistants who live in Illinois. We meet up bi-monthly so I am thinking a good alternative for us might be Meetup.com. For others, Yahoo groups may be feasible.

I really think that someone will come along and take advantage of this opportunity (Ning’s decision to go paid) and mimic their free version. From what I’ve read, Ning made an enormous profit off their ads. I can definitely see someone swooping in to get a piece of that!

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