WidgetLaboratory

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Many of you have been asking for improvements in the way that SocialGO handles the network Time Zone for blog and forum posts. Ask and ye' shall receive! The team at SocialGO has turned on this feature.

Check out the screen shot below for more details, and ask us for further help if this is not obvious.

Network Creators set the Network Time and Location zone from the "Launch Admin" Button on left side, then click on "Network Details" to get to this page

Mmmmm... what's that delicious smell coming from the LAB? It smells like....

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

Mr. Evil Genius, you say that the new MEMBER MIGRATION TOOL is fully baked and coming out of the oven? After waiting so patiently I can now move over all my Ning site members with just a few clicks?

Awesome....

To get started with YOUR migration NOW:

1. Grab a copy of your Ning Member CSV file by following the video instructions below
2. Go to our Lastest Activity Page and click on the application button that looks like this:

Hi Gang,

just wanted to let you know that we are creating a nice library of "how-to" videos for styling your SocialGO site. One of the highlights of these videos will be how to not only how to create fantastic NEW sites, but also how to keep the look and feel of any site that you may have already developed on another platform.

Below are a couple quick screen-grabs from the video, showing how one of our clients has kept a very consistent look between his old site and his new SocialGO site, and thus has removed any "shock" to his members from making the transition. He's also gone one step further by integrating a link button on his new site to direct these members back to the old site for "Archive" purposes after the move has been completed. You will notice as well that the full base of members has made their way over with the help of our Migration tools.

ORIGINAL SITE

SOCIALGO SITE

Look for the first of these videos coming out soon, and an announcement of other online resources and assistance for making SocialGO your choice for building your monetized online community.

Some quick tips from the Evil Genius on how to grab a copy of your member CSV file from a Ning site and how to turn your old Ning site into a free Archive for all your SocialGO members!

Here is the code you need to paste into your Advanced CSS box if you are following the suggestions contained in the video for archiving your Ning site:

<p>#xg_tab_invite { display:none !important; }</p>

<p>#xg_tab_profile { display:none !important; }</p>

From TechCrunch:

Widget creator WidgetLaboratory got into a public feud this Summer with Ning after being shut out of the build-your-own social network platform over questionable behavior  around its Terms of Service. TechCrunch called the third party widget developers “idiots” when they posted e-mail communication between themselves and Ning which didn’t exactly support their case, and when it turned out they flat out lied about the ban at first to gain sympathy.

Now it seems WidgetLaboratory has moved on from continuously bashing Ning on their blog to announcing a new partnership with UK-based Bright Things, who are preparing the roll-out of a Ning competitor dubbed SocialGO (currently in public beta). Like its heavily funded counterpart, SocialGO is a web-based service that allows users to create their own private social network. The company cites unique features like video chat, an open account API and a member billing system to be the main differentiators. Until the end of this year, creating a network on SocialGO will be entirely free. As from January 1, the company will let users choose between a free service or a premium service with more features (pricing has not been decided yet).

Under the agreement, WidgetLaboratory will be the first to join the newcomer’s third party program, enabling them to develop widgets for a fixed fee in exchange for a share of the revenue generated by the sale of widgets to SocialGo users.

For Immediate Release: Google News

Bright Things plc today announces that it has signed a Stategic Relationship Agreement (the 'Agreement') with WidgetLabratory LLC.

Leading widget developer WidgetLaboratory is the first external developer to be brought in to work alongside Bright Things. It is believed that the relationship with WidgetLaboratory will allow SocialGO network users the opportunity to build highly personalised, scalable, professional networks ripe for monetisation and community building.

The Agreement provides for a fixed development fee to be paid to WidgetLaboratory in exchange for a share of any revenues generated by the sale of widgets to SocialGo users.

A Widget is a small software application engineered for a particular task, such as a messaging service or a reminder tool. The widgets would sit alongside or on the SocialGo platform and allow network creators to add any number of widgets (as they become available) to increase the functionality and therefore potential of their site.

"SocialGO is unique in its approach to partnership," says Spencer Forman, CEO of WidgetLaboratory. "Our struggle with other players in the market has been well documented. We are extremely excited to be building our products on a platform as technologically advanced as SocialGO. For our Network Creator customers, it is even more relevant that they have made Terms of Service and Monetization the focal point of their business-model. This is the start of the next big thing in Social Networking."

Alex Halliday, founder of GOWIT Ltd which created and continues to develop the SocialGO platform for the Company adds, "The development team has been focused on building a product that fills the gaps left by others and answers the questions that people have posed about Social Networking. Anyone who takes the time to look at our service properly will see a whole range of features not seen elsewhere in the market.

The partnership with WidgetLaboratory is an excellent way to kick-off our third party programme and we are looking forward to working with both Spencer's team and other widget developers looking to commercialise their work and in doing so improve our product offering."

The gloves are off, the word is out, and NOW it's going to get interesting!

We've prepared the LAB for battle against the "MYTH" that Social Networks can sustain themselves with Adsense ads and POKE-ME toys. Who would POSSIBLY build a BUSINESS on a platform that toted that as their primary feature and treated their customers like children?

You NEED a BILL OF RIGHTS and Service Agreements to feel SECURE that you are RESPECTED by your host and SUPPORTED in a way that isn't a DAILY SURPRISE that something new has been taken away from you. And you need POWERFUL TOOLS to build your own empire.

We intend to demonstrate definitively that Social Networking provides the perfect vehicle to create a MICRO-ECONOMY from a niche community of friends or associates. WidgetLaboratory and SocialGO have the platform and tools to deliver you financial victory.

WELCOME TO SOCIALGO AND WIDGETLABORATORY

Get a raincoat...because from this day forward, we are going to be unleashing a torrential downpour of information, video, news, releases, how-to articles, and more.

Those of you who are SERIOUS about MONETIZING your Social Network will find the LAB to be your ONE-STOP destination for all the answers, tools, and personal assistance you require, along with the written guarantees that you NEED to set up your permanent home.

Social Networking 2.0 -- ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

How does that old stand-up joke go...? "A funny thing happened on the way to building my network..."

Unfortunately, it just isn't funny today to be the owner or developer of a Ning site with hundreds or thousands of members, months of data, angry customers, and hundreds of hours of time invested. Since we believe that the Internet is a pretty amazing tool for finding EVERY LAST PUBLISHED STATEMENT and PROMISE of a corporate CEO, we have a question that we'd like to ask on behalf of the silenced Network Creators of Ning:

"WHY DID YOU LIE TO US?"

Ok, maybe "LIE" is too strong a word. Let us try something more diplomatic like... "Why did you tell us one thing for two years and then overnight DO exactly the opposite?". Maybe that reads or sounds better?

Unfortunately, we're afraid that no matter how you slice it, this is never going to be answered properly. Why? Because the answer is obvious.

BECAUSE THEY COULD.

Now that their Network Creators Forum has been removed and their Developer Forum has been Neutered so that the ONLY questions allowed involve how to create a Chuck-Norris-Kung-Fu-Poke-Me gadget using Open Social, there is really no way for anyone to question the KING Ning. All one can do is to blindly accept another promise from them that THEY KNOW what's good for you and will eventually get you that pesky data you were whining about.

Back in the good old days of August 2008, they had a sticky problem called "public scrutiny". Those days have been replaced by the magical discovery of the delete key, the IP ban, and the "removal letter".  It is now far easier to provide a public perception that all is well with their captives Network Creators because there is no messy problem of having customers share your dirty laundry with the world.

It is also very "convenient" to abandon more than Two Years of PUBLIC API  (REST) technology literally overnight on the eve of WidgetLaboratory releasing their FREE MIGRATION TOOL. Coincidence? Conspiracy? or just Obvious Motive? Much much easier to seal the borders of the Peaceful Ning Nation than to risk anyone getting out to SocialGO via the LAB with all that valuable data they YOU own...??

We're wondering whether anyone else feels that this 180 degree turn from their promises and the overnight border closure indicate a complete and utter CONTEMPT for YOU, their customers? Seems like any company that is trying to avoid a publicity nightmare might give some consideration as to whether their customers are so "timid" as to not hold them accountable? To think that they could get away with this and not have anyone call them out must take the mind of a "true" Evil Genius.

Mmmmm.... maybe it's time for me to give up the title to someone more deserving?

BREAKING NEWS! ... NING LOVES YOU SO MUCH THAT THEY'VE DECIDED TO KEEP YOU (forever...)

Rumor has it that, as part of this morning's "Surprise" announcement that Ning has completely shut down their (cough cough) "Platform" for customizing and building your own Social Networks, a special purchase has been made for all of you who were hoping to migrate your sites and members elsewhere, such as SocialGO. Guess part of that $100m had to be spent on something to accomodate the 537,000 inmates Network Creators?

(Good news...There's a Basketball court on the top!)

Remember, Ning has been advertising and promoting since way back in 2006 that you "own your own data" and can take it with you any time you want. Perhaps this actually meant "you own your own data so long as you take it from one side of your cell over to the other side"? Or better yet, maybe Marc Canter from Broadband Mechanics had called Ning out correctly on this from the start?

Either way, there is sunshine and kitty cats at the end of the Rainbow for all of you. None of you really thought that LAB was going to leave you hanging did you? What is that saying... "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?" Well, suffice it to say that the LAB has a full bag of tricks up our sleeve to ensure that YOU GET what you are entitled to have:

1. WRITTEN BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPECT FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS OR LIVELIHOOD
2. COMPLETE GUARANTEE OF CONTROL AND TRANSPORTABILITY OF YOUR DATA
3. MONETIZATION AND MICRO-ECONOMICS BUILT IN TO YOUR NETWORK
4. OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOURSELVES AS NETWORK CREATORS AND YOUR HOST

We suspect that you will hear more of this from Ning today and elsewhere. Likewise, we feel that some very important news will be coming forward from other sources, including SocialGO, as to how they can ensure that Ning's contempt for you as their customers turn into a happy ending (not that kind).

Stay tuned to this channel for more breaking info...