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Comment by Kos on May 24, 2016 at 1:50pm

Yes I got the same message from her.  I've been blasting Ning (not too nicely) since yesterday morning.  It's our income that's suffering.  Poor Jen.  We <3 you Jen! lol

Comment by Troy D Bertrand on May 24, 2016 at 1:47pm

I'm here for a brief minute to alert you of this: Jen is unable to access her Ning sites (including jensocial.com) and so she's unable to respond to any message or replies posted to this blog article. 

Quoting a Post From Jen on Ex Creators

Would someone please let Creators on JenSocial know, I still cannot access any Ning site? Thanks! I was given a list of instructions for running a trace route, incredible. Seems some of us cannot access Ning sites, and others CAN access the same Ning sites.

Best Regards

TDB

Comment by Friends of musicians on May 24, 2016 at 10:29am

Yep there are platforms that do 'most' of the things I listed that folks are looking for.  Every platform delivers 'some' or 'most' but none deliver 'all' the things on my below list.

Sounds like you may have found the one right for YOU and your combination of requirements- Wordpress.  For my social network needs WP would not work well at all... I found my joy on Jamroom.  Others will choose yet different solutions and everyone has a unique set of needs and a different budget.  No one platform or support choice does it 'all' for everyone...not ning anymore either.    ;) 

Good luck with your new site Kos.

Comment by Kos on May 24, 2016 at 10:13am

Well I would say Wordpress.org does most of that (no wonder they've got 25% of the websites across the globe) with the exception:

• Updates you must click to update yourself (super easy weekend chore which takes 30 seconds)
• Import Ning data.  Yes, there are problems with their current Ning import tool.  Member data and blogs import but the rest does not....but that will evaporate as soon as my friend completes his plugin.

All you need do it have a domain and purchase the control panel (c-panel cheap per month or pay by year) through your domain provider.  Through that, you can upload WP in one click and begin adding plugins for photos, groups (buddypress), forums (bbpress), chat, etc. 

It's so incredibly simple to setup.  A weekend will do it.  Not months and no CSS required.  Sure you can add it but its not necessary with over 2000 themes to choose from.  I did one last night, selecting a full page layout and we're already chatting as I finish building. 

Now if I'd just get a new Ning import tool, I'd be set.

Comment by Friends of musicians on May 24, 2016 at 9:21am

I feel that many ning customers continue looking for a ning alternative with a set of criteria that is simply no longer possible to fulfill today.

Folks continue to list these requirements and want all of them:

• easy to set up and to run with no coding ability at all
• imports all their ning content including videos, member profiles, photos, etc.
• hosted and maintained for them (like ning)
• excellent support that doesn't cost anything
• full features all included, fully mobile and kept up to date
• everything looks like they want right out of the box without hiring a pro or learning to make site changes themselves by tweaking some css code
• same price range as ning or lower- and no need to hire site designer/coders or pay for an expensive platform, lots of plugins, servers, or support.

The fact is that there is NO social networking platform that can meet ALL the above requirements anymore. Even Ning no longer can.  It's not economically feasible.

It all comes down to either paying a lot more to get all the requirements you want by getting others to do a lot of it for you, ......OR getting some or most of your requirements while paying less by one of two means: 1) learning to do some of your site tweaking and maintenance yourself and owning your own site, or 2) by settling for way fewer features and little control or customization- on a less expensive site that is hosted for you like FB, wix, socialGo, etc.

There is no such thing as a fully featured social network with no size limits that creates and maintains itself for you, pulls in all your ning content, offers 24 hr hands-on support, ...that will cost you the same or less overall than Ning.  

There are platforms and options that meet some or most of your requirements, in various combinations.  Large business sites can afford to purchase unlimited plugins and support and hire excellent site designers and coders to fill their needs.  Small individual or hobby site owners can't afford the same path.  Each person must choose what feels most important for them and determine their course of action based on that.  

It's kind of like the old business saying, something like:  "You want it high quality, fast, and cheap?- pick two out of the three.

Comment by Roxy FUrlong on May 24, 2016 at 7:36am

My ning is now down for the 5 day in two weekends ... I am not at all savvy when it comes to writing code or whatever it is you have to do to create a new site. Do you know of a site where they will transition my ning site over to their platform? I have a lot of groups and members who post videos, photos and interact with each other. Tomorrow is our monthly update of swaps and nobody can enter my site. Any suggestions for someone who's not to savvy with computers and does not have a lot of money to dump into the site?

Comment by Troy D Bertrand on May 23, 2016 at 10:29am

@Writer Chick

Here's my 2 cents

The biggest misconception about self hosted platforms is this thought that people have...they believe they have to know about servers. There's usually no need to go back to the server once the platform has been installed. You don't have to install the platform yourself btw. I can't tell you the last I went to my server for my SocialEngine or WordPress installation. Everything (plugin installations, updates etc) is done via the admin panel with a few clicks. Some platforms require you to go back to the server often but that's not the case with SocialEngine PHP, or Jamroom or BuddyPress.

 

SocialEngine PHP remains the best option (in terms of features and user friendliness) for  most people looking to migrate for Ning. If you're big on customer service (who isn't right?) and don't mind the "dated look" of Jamroom then that platform is your best bet.

 

SocialEngine PHP beats Jamroom in availability of features, user friendliness and in overall looks. Having said that I should point out that Jamroom has offers a lot more features than Ning and most people coming from Ning will be more than satisfied with the available features. Also, the amazing support Jamroom offers will be enough to make the user friendliness issue a non factor for most.

 

No one from Ning should be thinking about moving to SocialEngine Cloud. This version of SocialEngine just doesn't cut it.

 

The only one way to know for sure whether or not SocialEngine PHP is for you is to try it out. All members of Ex Creators are eligible for a 30 day no obligation trial of SocialEngine PHP. You can learn more about this here: Try SocialEngine PHP Before You Buy – Exclusive. 

 

I can't guarantee you'll like SocialEngine PHP but I guarantee you this - a server handicap will not be the reason you decide against the platform.

 

Jamroom now offers a 7 day fully hosted trial of their platform. You can take advantage of this by going here: https://www.jamroom.net/

 

There are other options on the table (like BuddyPress and PHPfox if you don't mind starting over) but I wouldn't recommend these solution in your case. Especially so for phpFox - extremely powerful platform but it's not for the faint of heart. 

 

Regarding your inquires on the Ning to BuddyPress Plugin and the hopes for a new one. I reach out to Boone, the creator of the plugin about two years ago and he said that he has no plans of updating the plugin. Updating the plugin or creating a new one will really be pointless in that it will not address the biggest concern - all your Ning content will not be imported. BuddyPress still does not have native music and video players and organized albums. I never recommend BuddyPress to media driven communities. 

I've been answering questions and addressing concerns along the lines of what you're asking for about two years now. The individualistic approach to addressing these concerns is a good one because people (communities) needs vary but this approach is very time consuming and it robs others of valuable information so I've decided to put to do a very detailed video that will aim to address the most common questions and concerns of those looking to leave Ning.

 

Best Regards

TDB

Comment by Kos on May 23, 2016 at 10:04am

500 errors once again this morning.  I wish I were a lawyer and could compile a threatening statement to Ning to 'push' them.  "your failure to maintain the website in a functional capacity (500 errors) has continually lost me my customers and income.......and your failure to design a promised export tool, thereby leaving us helpless in your plan, leave me no choice but to seek legal steps".................anyone know a lawyer who can put this into legal-speak?    What I would give for five minutes with Nings top guy.  This is just disgusting

Comment by JenSocial on May 22, 2016 at 2:38pm

Thanks, Kos!

Comment by JenSocial on May 22, 2016 at 2:38pm

Yeah, not good to say the least. I just don't know what to say or think about Ning's lack of implementation (features and export), and communication. :\

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