WidgetLaboratory

We are looking for a few good Networks!

Below is a list of the most popular networks from Ning according to Alexa. If you are the owner of any of these sites, or know the owner, WE WANT YOU to receive or convey our invitation to join PROJECT X (Click for More Details about Project X). Of course, even if you are not on this list WE WANT YOU if you feel that Project X might be right for you.

We are looking to fill the initial Project X test group with 250,000 Subscribers. Channel Creators will be provided with the information they need to share with their members. The test period will be free of charge with no obligation to continue or to pay. Any Channel Creator or Subscriber that participates will be given preferential standing for entry into the final product environment.

All requests to enter the PROJECT X test group should be submitted through our convenient registration form. If you have any questions, you can always direct them to us at help@widgetlaboratory.com

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What is Project X?
An all-in-one application for dynamic interaction, communication and media sharing across multiple channels of niche content. Project X is designed to compliment and enhance your SocialGO or other online presence.

What will it do?

For Channel Creators:
In one turnkey package, Project X provides a way to create reliable and high quality Audio/Video, Chat, Instant Messenger, Multimedia Sharing, Status Feed and other contagious features for your “niche” channel. You control the editorial content, style, and relationship tone for all subscribers to your channel. Control your own unique and secure server space and total cost of ownership. As Channel Creator, you profit in direct proportion to the size of your subscriber base, freeing you to focus your energy on building and improving your channel popularity.

For Subscribers:
A simple and unique way to obtain a LIVE and “always-on” connection with those whom you wish to share and interact. Select your own custom “lineup” of content and relationships with whom you can interact instantly. Unlike traditional social networking, this communication will be dynamic and real-time rather than post/respond/post/respond. You can customize your personal dashboard environment, select the content from various channels, and filter your relationships in a way that makes sense for your own tastes rather than those imposed by any particular Channel Creator.

Subscribers will have the ability to manage their own media (Photos and Video) offline in order to prepare and organize the same for sharing with other Subscribers. The online aspect of the application will require each Subscriber to submit a select quantity of multimedia for use in the communication tools or for sharing. This selection requirement is designed to ensure that Subscribers actively limit the content they share to their “finest” material only. This will keep the channel content fresh and eliminate the burden of having to filter through stale multimedia. Other Subscribers will be able to tag and download their favorite multimedia from other Subscribers during the time that it is shared online.

Online Marketplace:
Project X will provide a trusted environment, and an intermediary currency, for the exchange of virtual/real world goods and services. The use of an intermediary currency will allow for all participants to balance the relative “value” of any exchange, and will further eliminate any friction that might otherwise be created through typical merchant processing systems.

How will it work?

Project X is a stand-alone application that uses Adobe Air. This will run on Mac or Windows and does not require a browser to operate. By utilizing technology that is optimized for speed and scalability, we have allowed for exponential growth by popular channels without adverse effects on the Project as a whole.

Project X provides each Channel Creator the ability to create branded “channels” that can be associated with a Social Network or work independently. The Channel Creator has complete control over how they will operate their channel and subscribers and complete ownership of the content on their channel. The focus of Project X is on Interaction and Communication, and not on replicating other Social Networking features such as blogs or forum posts that are available elsewhere.

Each Subscriber has the ability to build his or her own unique personal space and persona. They may selectively subscribe to any niche “channel” that suits their tastes. Subscribers have complete control over what features they wish to acquire or add to their own personal space, including feature enhancements and virtual/real world goods and services. Subscribers are not limited to only that which is offered by any particular channel creator, but can actually build their own “personal channels” as well, and thereby become Channel Creators.

Registration and Interaction inside the common spaces of Project X will be free, but participation on each channel will be by subscription only. When a Subscriber has found a niche “channel” that is attractive, they will be able to instantly subscribe to that channel for a low-friction subscription price equal to one US dollar per month. This subscription will be processed via an intermediary monetary system that is independent of any particular merchant processing system. Acquisition of “currency” in this intermediary monetary system will be at the Subscriber’s discretion via multiple methods (credit card, PayPal, Amazon, Google Checkout, Phone Bill, Cell Phone, Gift Card, etc.). A percentage of each channel subscription will be distributed to the creator of that channel and the rest will go towards supporting the operation and maintenance of the Network as a whole. Channel Creators will profit in proportion to their efforts in creating popular subscription channels.

Subscribers will be able to interact amongst themselves and to further utilize the intermediary monetary system for the exchange of virtual/real world goods and services. It is anticipated that this exchange system will allow, for example, a Subscriber to provide “consulting” to another Subscriber in exchange for an agreed quantity of intermediary currency. This currency could then be utilized to pay for the recipient’s subscription costs, purchase of virtual goods or services, or ultimately “cashed out” of the system by purchasing discount (gift) cards for real world goods or services from partnering Merchants or Subscribers.

How much will it cost?

For Channel Creators:
Each channel will be established as a unique server instance and in the name of the Channel Creator or their designee. Project X will provide direct assistance for the creation of the same, and each Creator will be directly accountable for the monthly costs associated with their own Channel space and transactional services. These costs will be minimal up-front due to the nature of the hosting environment, yet infinitely scalable at a reasonable cost as a network grows. Project X will provide the software and support to connect a Channel Creator’s instance to the Project as a whole. At all times the Channel Creator will have FULL control over their own content, storage and space and this will not be intermixed with any other channels.

It is estimated that the average Channel Creator will fully offset any monthly costs after they have achieved a certain level of active subscribers per month. This will vary depending on the online bandwidth use by their subscribers. Each Channel Creator will receive a fixed percentage of the gross monthly subscriptions, therefore more subscriptions equal greater income for the Channel Creator.

For Subscribers:
Each Subscriber will have complete control over whether they wish to browse, or actually participate. After having public interaction in the common space of any particular channel, a monthly subscription can be obtained for a low-friction subscription price equal to one US dollar per month. It is likely that Subscribers may join more than one network per month so as to access a broader range of interesting content and personal contacts.

It is estimated that the average Subscriber will spend the equivalent of between $1.50 and $2.50 per month, per channel, for basic participation and feature enhancements.

Any other benefits?

Project X is a turn-key solution for Channel Creators that can be profitable with little or no previous experience. Project X it is not designed as a content provider and will not have any contact whatsoever with the nature or content of any particular Channel. Each Channel Creator will be provided with a complete white-label SAAS solution that has a built-in monetization component, ownership and service guarantee, and an intermediary currency. There will be further enhancements such as Age-verification and Section 2257 compliance built-in for those with 18+ Channels.

Today we received an interesting email from Neetz, indicating that (like Ning) they are capitulating to their Sugar Daddy (Google). Bye-bye adult content networks!

We believe that this now leaves SocialGO in the unique position of being the only company smart enough (or brave enough) to pursue a business model that is not based on nursing from the bosom of Adsense.

Running a business based upon selling a valuable product/service at a reasonable price to those who use it (rather than abuse it) seems like a pretty good place to be for an upstart.

It's too late for Ning or Neetz to change their business model and wean-off Google.

Timing is everything.

Who says that you can't cause "change" in this world? Here at the LAB, we believe that the TRUTH will always prevail.... so long as you call it like you see it and don't let someone push you around.

The LAB released several tools to help you migrate your members and photos off of Ning at a time when they were claiming it was "impossible". After our public outcry and challenge to Ning to honor their promises (along with a ton of publicity in various tech journals and most of you taking our advice to demand your data), they have finally RELENTED!

Here is part of the Form Letter that Ning is now sending out to anyone who requests in writing that they be provided with their data.

If you’re looking to export your content from your network, I want to assure you that you WILL have access to your content and you’ll be able to export all of your content before we make this transition. Please confirm with us that you want us to export your content for you. Once it is ready for you to download, we’ll drop you a note with further instructions. This should be within the next 2 weeks.

If you’re looking to export your members' profile information, just go to the Manage tab of your network and click on the "Members" link. Once there, click the link to "Export all member data" at the bottom of the page.

Our advice from this point forward is to keep the pressure on Ning to deliver your complete data in a USEABLE form... one that will allow you to take your actual photos, videos, blogs, etc. and put them somewhere else. Maybe.... somewhere like SocialGO!

We're always hard at work inventing new widget ideas.

Here's a little preview of our latest...

From Ning: We're working now on figuring out a way to ensure that all content from adult networks is available for export before January 1st. You own it today and we want to get you the ability to easily export it as quickly as possible.

Does anyone really believe that Ning cannot provide you with a migration tool? We were able to create one ourselves in a couple hours, without any internal access to Ning.

What is their excuse again?

Well, we couldn't sit tight with just having a two-way video chat feature. So, how about three or four (or more?) way conference? Here's a live experiment for you to play with while we continue building our suite of tools for the SocialGO Widget Store.

Just click on the LabConference button on the left column and have a friend or two join in. We're not sure how many people this will support yet... so help up find out?

Remember, this is not a product yet... only for fun. Enjoy!

Two Way Conference

Three Way Conference

For those of you who may have missed it, we've now added a new "twist" to our little experiment. Now we've thrown in the ability to have PRIVATE CHAT as well as public.

The cool thing is that it is still pretty darn zippy... give it a try and play around. All these little test are being done as part of our ongoing development of the final product.

Just Click on Button on Left Column to play around.

This is not a finished product, only a test of the underlying server technology. Have fun playing around... expect it to go away at any time while we work out some things.

While we work with SocialGO on completing the final BETA testing of the platform, the LAB has also been having some fun! We've been playing around with developing some new ideas that "may" someday make it into our products. Here's a take on the "photobooth" concept. Just click, take four pictures, and share your montage... contagious!