Alternative Solutions from JP of Skins4Ning - Freemium Social Network Alternatives

[JenSocial]

Alternative Solutions from JP of Skins4Ning

This discussion/review of Ning alternatives, was written by JP of Skins4Ning. I think his assessment, and knowledge on these alternative platforms is excellent.

Please see original discussion here: The Best, Most Reliable and Trusted Freemium Social Network Alterna....

My name is JP and I am the Founder and CEO of Skins4Ning. I have been running my premium Ning network since 2007. I am an expert when it comes to Social Network Communities and have helped over 5,000 Ning network creators with their Social networks in some shape or form.

There are going to be websites trying to get your business because Ning is changing their policy on freemium Ning networks. Most of you will have no clue who to go to and who to trust.

I want to talk to you about the best free solutions available to you as a free Ning network creator. I know about every social network solution on the internet free and premium. I have over 30 test accounts spread across the World Wide Web.

Below is a list of alternatives for you that are free. The free solutions below are the closest you will get to a Ning like network, without paying a premium fee. I have personally spoken with the Founder or CO-Founders of these companies and either have or have had a business relationship with them. I trust them and therefor can list them below with complete confidence that they will fill your needs when searching for a new freemium solution.

I am going to list them chronological order with the first one being my strongest choice that I would recommend and will be the closest free choice to Ning that you will find anywhere on the internet.

1. Spruz- is a very flexible Social Network platform and is my number one pick if I were to move my free networks off of Ning.

I have built many client and personal sites on Spruz. I find their Social Network platform to be the most robust, feature rich, and highly customizable alternative to Ning bar none. As with any new platform, your transition will not all be easy. Most in part with the administration of the network. You will all have to learn how to upload and manage your content on this new platform. It is very similar to Ning but different in other ways.

Their customer service is top notch and they are your best and most reliable choice when moving your free networks from Ning. Their platform is as fast and reliable as Ning's platform.

1. SocialGo- is a very flexible Social Network platform and is my second choice if I were to move my free networks off of Ning.

I have also built client and personal sites on SocialGo. They are also a very robust and feature rich Social network platform. There back end administration area is not the greatest and needs improvement and their network speeds are still not yet up to par with Ning or Spruz. They would be my second choice only if they had something that Spruz did not have.

1. Grou.ps- is a very flexible Social Network platform and is my third choice if I were to move my free networks off of Ning.

I have had a test network on this platform for over two years and have seen many changes incorporated into their platform. Their speeds are very slow and their up time is very sporadic. They have tons of features built on a platform that has yet to scale and meet the needs of today's web 2.0 standards.



Now I will talk about why I did not list premium Ning alternatives.

• I did not list premium alternatives, because Ning is not shutting it's doors and they are the most robust and reliable choice available when it comes to running a monetized professional hosted social network website. I support Ning and there premium version and have been a premium Ning network creator since 2007. I can tell you this, because I have used everything thing available to me on the internet and Ning is the easiest and the most feature rich hosted Social network solution available.

Well this information will definitely help you make the right choice with your move from Ning, if you should decide to leave Ning over paying premium fees. In my opinion, I think a lot of you should seriously consider paying premium fee's before leaving Ning. There are no alternatives that are better or exactly like Ning.

"Cheers"
JP

[The Pagan Umbrella]

I wouldn't have a problem adding a premium service to my ning site if I knew that in a month, the prices would be the same. Also, for some, they just don't have the extra money (not that I really do) to add premium.
My plan is to get a domain name and add the use your own domain premium service.
I have shopped around for alternitive sites and I really just don't like what I see.
I pray that no matter what choice I make, I won't loose friends (members).
What happens is up to how ning handles all of this.

[Oisin]

What are the mail options on Spruz for emailing members and broadcasting messages, which is a very important tool for any Network Creator? I had a look and they don't look good unless I have missed something.

[Cafeist]

If the details of the new scheme of premium service still make sense to me, then I will go to Ning premium. The main concern to me is the method of payment. The following is a conversation with one of my Admin just few minutes ago.

Quiet frankly I starting to like Spruz. The forum is more organized than Ning´s platform. I have fewer and fewer reason to stay at Ning. If the new details published and still make sense, then I start to find the way how to purchase the premuim. I wont do that before the details publicly announced.

I am still waiting for the staff for chat-support from Spruz to get online. If they allowe me to purchase their (Spruz) premium level without me having to deal with credit-card, then I prefer to purchase their product. So in the future there will be no more moving around.

If I have to follow the current method of how to purchase the premium, well not everyone in the world depends on the source of the bubble of the economy: bank credit.

[The Pagan Umbrella]

I thought about waiting and seeing what ning would do about premium service, but decided to move afterall. I chose spruz and am quite happy with that choice. Though things are different than ning, it has proven tobe the best choice over all.
One of the features that I like on spruz is the donation button. You can add it to your page and as members donate, the funds are set aside and go strictly to paying for premium service.
Though I have not added this, it is something that I am considering for the future as the new site grows.