For about six months - based on some hunches about the trajectory or strategic planning of NING, the social network that functions as a slick, user-friendly (til now) FREE program, supported by an ad model - I’ve kept the ART FOR HUMANS Nings [AFH MONSTER COLLECTIVE, ARTIST PORTRAIT PROJECT, US COMMONWEALTH PARTY, INTERNATIONAL ARTIST UNION] in a holding pattern. Those concerns about NING’S development/evolution have been borne out.
Today NING announced that it would be phasing out the FREE Ning Networks like AFH’s and phasing in a fee-for-service structure that brings Ning in line with some of the other Content Management Systems in the domain. The Ning for $$$s roll-out begins in July 2010. Here are the links and details:
Hello!
We’re writing today to let you know about some new and exciting changes coming to Ning. In July, we’re doing two very important things:
1. We’re introducing new plans and pricing.
We’ve created plans for nearly every type of Ning Network, from the smallest group to the largest business. You’re already an expert at getting your members involved, and these new plans were designed to help you go further and monetize your Ning Network in new ways. Prices start as low as $3/month — an unprecedented deal that even allows you to go ad-free.
The plans will be available in July, but you can get a sneak peek at the details here: http://about.ning.com/announcement/
2. We’ll be phasing out all free Ning Networks.
We want to provide a new level of innovation to Network Creators — including all the valuable features Network Creators have asked us to build. To get there, we need to focus 100% on paid Ning Networks. This phasing out of free services won’t happen until July, so you’ll have plenty of time to weigh your options. We’ll do our best to provide you with a migration path if you don’t wish to continue with Ning, but we’d love to have you come along for all of the exciting future developments.
- Jason Rosenthal
CEO, Ning, Inc.
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A NOTE [on why; from the Ning people]:
EDUCATORS: A major educational company has offered to sponsor Ning Mini Networks for educators globally in primary and secondary education. More details to come soon! [I look forward to finding out who NING’s ED partner is… I smell a Gates, or Buffett, DeVos, or other SUCKer “venture philanthropist” - PJM]
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As a result of NING’s new pricing protocols, ART FOR HUMANS will no longer be using Ning for these projects, and will break the AFH Nings down over the next few weeks/months. Thanks to all who participated in the projects.
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NING’S new price summaries are:
- NING mini: $2.95 per month, $19.95 per year for a very minimal set of features and no ads
- NING plus: $19.95/month or $199.95/year [see link above for features]
- NING pro: $49.95/month or $499.95/year [see link above for features]
The services/features array puts NING in a competitive niche of CMS providers, whose client-base is very heavy on corporate, academic and other organizational usages. I chose NING from a set of CMS [some open source, some proprietary] options based on NING’s approach at that time, relative to the other providers, of which there are now many more. At this point, the AFH projects we began with our AFH Nings will be folded into a more comprehensive production [4DPop], which as I’ve alluded to in some notations posted through the AFH networks, will be advanced in earnest after I move to New York City later this year. You can expect more news on the progression along the way. We’ll keep ya posted!
A note for amplification, clarification of AFH’s position on outside online service providers, networks, etc., following a note about location, plus a comment from MILO:
As I shared in AFH updates & blog notes, it became apparent to me that Los Angeles, as an art/cultural environment was not amenable to the type/scale productions I & the AFH core crew have envisioned for our long-term goals. Certainly, the Broad/Deitch axis was a tipping point, but there were many straws piling up on that camel back (decision-making process re: AFH siting). The promise of EGS [the doctoral course I begin in June in Switzerland] as an incubating/support force in AFH’s near-term future also pushes/argues an East Coast/Euro configuration.
As for AFH reliance on corporate-owned social media networks, Art for Humans does not view those relationships as sustainable. AFH on Myspace, due to the Murdoch/News Corp ownership of MS, will not last. AFH on FB, given FB’s unfolding privacy/marketing conflicts, will not last. AFH on Google or Twitter or any of the other Web 2.0 vehicles we currently use are evolving relationships. Continuation of any or all of them is contingent on constant evaluation. Do our AFH work/priorities mesh with Social Network X’s? I regularly consider the appropriateness of the exchanges we make with any of free online social networks, as “content providers” or “users.” The most important criterion arises out of AFH’s mission as a vehicle for ARTISTS and NATURAL PERSONS. Truth is, any of our arrangements with the online services can be modified or terminated at any moment, by them or by us. Therefore, to be realistic, these relationships have to be thought of as optional, which is how I view them. For instance, the archives on YouTube and Flickr are helpful, but, even though it would involve a significant amount of effort, we could re-locate them within the AFH nexus, if necessary. The reality is that I/AFH provide the social network websites more than they provide us, in value, from my perspective - given an adequate understanding of their business models and aspirations. However, I recognize that nobody at Facebook would shed a tear if we shut the AFH FB portal down. It’s been really fun to re-connect with friends on FB, and I would miss that. I guess I’d have to go back to using the phone and the Post Office, or email.
Ultimately, we [AFH] will return to a consolidated online operation located at www.artforhumans.com, for a number of reasons, mainly of the “exposure” variety. I’ve had too many friends - like Christian Moeller, who was apparent without cause shut down on Myspace, after accumulating a massive network of friends/contacts and investing thousands of hours work into the project… only to discover he was essentially without recourse - whose experience illustrate the control dynamics at play when one relies on any of these media sites for too much. Further, there is often some very blurry legality involving property/privacy rights for users exchanging whatever convenience/access the Web 2.0 sites provide for whatever the corps. who own them are selling to other corporations - most often your identity; your “likes;” your humanity in community.
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MILO: Real, natural art production is local, first. Global art is artificial, until it exists locally. Art is not electric/electronic. Art is BONE.