Kristin Bennett

After Laying Off 40% of It’s Workforce Ning Says Things Will Be Different

Yesterday after getting an email from my husband, who had gotten an inquiry from one of his colleagues about the ‘changes’ at Ning, I didn’t pay much attention. Said colleague was asking about alternatives to Ning because they were going to be charging soon, my assumption was that this was likely the result of going over bandwidth or something of that nature.

I was surprised later when I got the link to the creators community where the announcement was clear as day… no more free communities. More news to be released over the next two weeks, free community creators will have the opportunity to upgrade to an undisclosed payment plan or will have to begin their transition elsewhere.

Many of the replies to the thread where the announcement was made are full of anger, many creators have spent hundreds of hours creating their environments, others are bummed but acknowledge that it probably makes sense as a business decision. There are even some who have created many communities, over 20 in some cases, and their frustration about how quickly even a small amount would add up is understandable.

Most of the comments come to the same conclusion though, they are asking the question, “How much will it be.”, and this has not yet been disclosed.

As a Ning Community Creator I am hoping it isn’t too much, I have about 4 different communities the largest of which has an international membership spanning 6 countries bringing moms who have Multiple Sclerosis together. My hope is that the small premium fees I pay will be enough to keep it going, but I’m doing my research just in case.

Sources:

http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/ning-update?xg_source=msg_com_forum&id=4244211%3ATopic%3A151365&page=1#comments

http://www.fastcompany.com/1618615/5-things-ning-got-right

I am available for work in the following areas:

-Creating an online presence for your business
-Beefing up your online presence
-Designing/updating your site
-Helping you (or your parents) get online and comfortable with social networking/email
-Providing your company with the latest in Netbooks and other Mobility Solutions
-Helping you with organizing pictures from your digital camera on your computer or onto a USB drive

I am starting with posting ads on craigslist, but if anyone sees this and has any of these needs in Seattle or somewhere else via phone please contact me: StrawberryTech at gmail dot com

Organization is a word that I have never been comfortable with.

Occasionally, I will get motivated and get REALLY organized…however soon that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the picture and either meshes with another area in the house or my husband tries to help and confusion follows etc.

Part of the problem, for sure, is being ‘into’ SO many things at once. What can I say, life is interesting to me!! I have bills out so I can pay them soon as I have enough money, I have pictures out so when I get a chance I can put them up on the wall, clothes on their way to the laundry (actually that shirt’s clean I think, maybe I’ll wear it!), toys of course, bags I’ve used that have various books in them I need to keep track of. Books, ahhh the books. Between me and my husband we’ve seriously considered opening up our apartment as a library for friends to come borrow from, huge variety of business, self help, atlantis, ancient history, technology, tarot/supernatural, and so much more. Oh, then there’s my businesses! I have my Arbonne of course, then there is the Trump Network, and also I am a rep for the Passion Parties. Then there is the groups I’m involved in…a daycare board, trying to get on a non-profit board to protect the rights of children, there’s the MS Society where I’m trying to fit in but haven’t yet, there’s my “Moms with MS” site that just launched and is doing well, my blogging for Working Mother website, which I haven’t touched much since getting laid off, meetups for the local Moms with MS and Seattle Hip Mamas groups and believe it or not much more…right now I’m distracted because munch is telling me she just spilled a ‘little bit’ of tea on the floor…hmm…

My mental health specialist I’ve seen a few times recently recommended I explore finding a sort of grant of some sort for getting organized, apparently this is something that other people with MS have trouble with as well. If you ask my husband, he is straight up convinced that it is because I (like him) have ADD but that I (unlike him) cannot take the medications because I’m nursing Hazel.

Now that I wrote all that I’d like to go try and clean up…actually packing is something I should do as well considering we are trying to be in the house being renovated right now within a month. Which is a whole other can of worms I’m not even going to touch right now. I’ll just say it’s going however it’s meant to and I have faith it’ll all happen.

Maybe if I do one of my simpleology exercises now…maybe that’ll organize my brain…