Mia here at BIgTent. We work with lots of group leaders on a daily
basis, and we know it?s a bummer to lose out on all the time invested
into building an online community.
We welcome any Ning groups that are looking for a free alternative. Our
features include discussion forums; event management and payment
processing; announcements; file sharing; subgroups; member
management and dues collection.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions ?
learnmore@bigtent.com or 415-992-6549.
Best,
Mia @ BigTent
Andreessen-founded Ning cuts staff, free service
Summary
Just a month after Gina Bianchini, co-founder of build-a-social-network service Ning, departed the company, it's cutting 40 percent of its staff and axing its free, ad-supported service.
Topics
Uh-oh. Just a month after Gina Bianchini, co-founder of build-a-social-network service Ning, departed the company, it's cutting 40 percent of its staff and axing its free, ad-supported service.
Bianchini had co-founded Ning with Valley legend Marc Andreessen, and it had raised $119 million in venture capital, including a whopping $60 million round in early 2008 that Andreessen famously characterized as a stockpile for the "nuclear winter" that would help get it through the economic recession.
Jason Rosenthal, the Ning COO who took over as CEO from Bianchini, sent an e-mail memo to company staffers on Thursday that somebody forwarded to industry blog TechCrunch. He explained that Ning will be focusing on premium networks--which come with additional features and are not ad-supported--because that's where the company's business successes have been, thus far.
"We will phase out our free service. Existing free networks will have the opportunity to either convert to paying for premium services, or transition off of Ning," said Rosenthal in his memo.
For more of this story, read Andreessen-founded Ning cuts staff, free service on CNET News.The company's staff reduction will take it from 167 to 98 employees.
Just In
Greedy @ss people! lol Make your millions, get greedy and kick the free service to the curb. its sad. I do have a Ning page but its only for eing connected to the Tea Party and my State congressional group. I guess they just lost a customer. I don't have money to throw away on a website. They will lose a lot of business over this. People wont be happy at all.
Thumbs UP on the article, thumbs DOWN to Ning.
Thumbs UP on the article, thumbs DOWN to Ning.
Search the web and you'll find lots of free alternatives to Ning, and you can install them on your very own server too.
This is very shortsighted. I was introduced to ning through a
free network. Since then I have set up three ning networks,
two free, one premium - it was using it free for a small
network that led me to set up a larger premium one for our
college. Now our premium College ning has nearly 1000
members!
Since ning offers no support for free versions, and includes
ppc, it can't be exactly hemorrhaging money!
Free networks are basically free advertising for ning.
free network. Since then I have set up three ning networks,
two free, one premium - it was using it free for a small
network that led me to set up a larger premium one for our
college. Now our premium College ning has nearly 1000
members!
Since ning offers no support for free versions, and includes
ppc, it can't be exactly hemorrhaging money!
Free networks are basically free advertising for ning.
I recall a law that forbids charging for a service you have given away free.
What a way to go. Give all your customers a free network to build up then later when it's had lots of effort pored into it sat sorry we have to charge you now. Sorry folks it's not going to happen. The existing free networks will remain free but all new networks will no longer be free.
What a way to go. Give all your customers a free network to build up then later when it's had lots of effort pored into it sat sorry we have to charge you now. Sorry folks it's not going to happen. The existing free networks will remain free but all new networks will no longer be free.
RE: "free network to build up." It sounds like you are implying that many of these "free loaders" set out to build viable enterprises on this "free network."
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