Comments on: NING Cuts Staff, Turns Off Free Model

By: mixxt » Welcome to a new social networking experience and a reliable Ning-Importer

Sun, 02 May 2010 22:24:40 +0000

[...] course this doesn’t help the networks that will become homeless. Many social network creators and bloggers have started looking for (sometimes strange) alternatives. That is where mixxt comes [...]

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:30:26 +0000

I’m not sure yet if our Mixed Media Workshops artist group will be leaving Ning or not. We have already been paying for Premium Services for nearly a year. I’m more concerned that there must be some financial messes to deal with. Laying off 40% of your staff signifies something pretty serious.

Customer Service has always been very slow there (usually a week to get help) and you had the option to buy faster service for a fee. What?

So if free is bad, how then has YouTube made it work? Ning has ads all over the place. I’m just sayin’.

By: Nicky Jameson

Nicky Jameson — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:22:05 +0000

I am not at all surprised, either at the game-plan change or the cutting off the free service. The free model was always going to be unsustainable. Someone has to keep the lights on and that means money. Free is always risky – and you really do get what you pay for. They are probably going to look at the SocialGo model…and SocialGo might end up with some Ning refugees… looking at the Ning prices they are going to be pretty similar… SG might even be cheaper. But there are all sorts of social networking sites up there… the better ones are not free.

By: Marty McPadden

Marty McPadden — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:36:59 +0000

You make some good points here. I’m working with a couple of colleagues regarding developing community related online businesses and have steered both of them toward paid services and tools. Free services are fine to use as long as it’s understood “you get what you pay for.”

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:42:07 +0000

i heard about ning shutting down their free accounts.. i saw on webs.com that they offer the same things as ning, and have even more cool options.. i have a webs.com account, and you can build a free social network website in a few minutes and the interface is very easy to use..

i mean it’s definitely worth checking out:

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Fri, 16 Apr 2010 02:19:02 +0000

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