WidgetLaboratory

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...

It's been a tough night for many folks who just learned about the loss of a valuable resource. It will probably be pretty frustrating to get any true feedback on products and services from a company that has no public accountability or place for folks to express their grievances or questions. It's probably a lot easier to "control" things when you don't have to actually account to your customers?

We think that you are all smart enough to figure out what the motives are behind these actions, and we feel your pain. Never fear, SocialGo and the LAB are keeping our Public Forums open for Business and are going to demonstrate for you and the world that there is an ALTERNATIVE way to operate a Social Network platform... one that MONETIZES and is SELF-SUSTAINING by creating a MICRO-ECONOMY and favorable TERMS OF SERVICE for YOU the Network Creator.

We could not have asked for better timing or a better "gift" from a stranger than this brilliant decision to push all of you curious Network Creators right out the back alley door. It means that you may now have a good enough reason to consider taking SocialGo and the LAB for a test-drive to see what a superior technology, business model, and terms of service can do for YOUR Social Networking concepts.

Don't accept being just one number in a half million or so other numbers... see what we have to offer and then decide for yourself whether you prefer CONCIERGE LEVEL service and quality.

Welcome aboard, get comfy, you're REALLY going to enjoy the ride!

One of the cool things about the SocialGo architecture is that it is compatible with an enormous range of free and useful third-party tools, widgets and gadgets... FREE right out of the box. Unlike other Social Networking platforms you are allowed to even use Javascript, which opens up a tremendous range of possibilities.

Above is an example using Google Translate, one of the best and most accurate translation engines on the market. It is free and easy to install to your SocialGo site. Simply grab the Javascript code from this page HERE and then paste it into a Homepage HTML widget that you create in your Admin Dashboard.

The result is that you can have instant and awesome translation of your entire SocialGo site done "on the fly" with the added benefit that the native English is always at hand in a popup bubble.

Give it a try and see for yourself, or check it out on the LAB in on our LATEST page near the upper right corner.

Evil Genius shows you two of the newest features that are STANDARD on SocialGo:

1) Ability to add and edit your Embedded video thumbnails;

2) Advanced Member Search Capability

For anyone looking to backup their NG network data on to their own hard drive, or better still, to migrate their network or data over to SocialGo... we're about a week or so out from the final release version of our free tools.

Hang in there, things are looking good!

Although this is from April, it is terrific topical startup advice on from David Heinemeier (37 Signals and Ruby on Rails).

I read this today and simply had to share it with you. It was written on September 22nd by Ted Dziuba (formerly of Uncov Fame) and published in The Register:

OpenSocial, OpenID, and Google Gears: Three technologies for history's dustbin

A poke is not a revolution

By Ted Dziuba • Get more from this author

Posted in Developer, 22nd September 2008 01:02 GMT

The future of Social Networking is in your wallet! ...and the wallet of your closest friends, and their closest friends, and so on and so on.

Forget the hype about total networks on each of the many social networking platforms ... it's just that... hype. There is no point in building a platform of social networks without also providing the means, method, and support system to allow those Network Creators and their members to make money... lots of money! The halcyon days of Social Networking version 1.0 are OVER my friends. The world economy, and the Web 2.0 economy, are now into RED ALERT mode.

Unless you plan on surviving the financial "nuclear winter" by living off your rich uncle's inheritance money, you need a PLAN on how you can build a home-grown, bootstrapped business that can generate real profits through Social Networking.

The Secret is in getting back to Basics - Human Nature 101

Humans are pack animals. Call it a "herd" mentality. We like to believe that we think for ourselves, but in reality most of us follow the lead of the others around us and try to pick up the signals of "danger" or "opportunity" in our immediate environment. This reactionary mechanism can be harnessed by those who understand it.

If Network Creators are provided with a means, a method, and a support system to create MICRO ECONOMIES within their own particular niche, then the entire world of Social Networking will be turned on its head. They can draw other members of their own "herd" who have similar interests and who likewise are spooked by recent economic events to focus their energy and spending on focused activities, both business and pleasure. These members will also want to participate in the profit-generating potential of a niche Network that is empowered with the proper membership tools.

Rather than thinking that people simply want to create destinations based on a hobby, activity, business, or a sport - we should be thinking that people want to create ECONOMIC destinations based on these niches, and give them an ability to utilize the wealth of information and interaction that goes on within each of them.

It's the DATA stupid!

It is patently absurd for a platform to suggest that Network Creators can create any sort of network they wish and take their data with them -- when in fact it is technically impossible without hiring a special developer to write custom tools or programs at a cost exponentially higher than that platform's premium membership fees. Why would a person interested in creating profit waste time with this nonsense?

Instead, the future of Social Networking is with platforms that provide INHERENT TOOLS that give FULL CONTROL to the Network Creator to build MICRO ECONOMIES that generate extremely valuable DATA from the interactions between the members of that niche network. This data can be recycled within the network itself for a multitude of purposes that perpetuate the financial cycle, including, but not limited to:

   1. Cross Marketing between members;
   2. Trading Posts / Barter exchange between members;
   3. Advertising by members to others that come to the niche network for information;
   4. Reselling of premium content generated by members themselves;
   5. Aggregation of data by many members regarding shared events or reference points, where the sum of the whole is worth more than the individual pieces (crowd-sourcing);

Who shall lead us to the Promised Land?

One word... TRUST! Is the Emperor wearing any clothes today? Are you being told one thing and then given another? Does the leader of your platform have a history of behavior that is contradictory to the goals that they promote publicly? These are all relevant questions to ask.

Those who survive the present "panic mode" will do so because they turn LOCAL instead of GLOBAL, and try to focus on making the most money from the smallest group of similarly situated members. They must also TRUST that the PLATFORM they choose has a business model that is designed to make this possible. Once a Network Creator commits to building a network on a platform, it can be a DISASTER if that Platform's leader decides to exact a pound of flesh and BAN or DELETE the Network or Network Creator from the platform - destroying months of work and hundreds of thousands of valuable data objects.

When smaller IS better!

The PLATFORM must not have a goal of creating the greatest number of total networks. This merely creates a dilution of the Platform's capital and resources. Rather, the Platform must create tools and services that allow a SMALLER group of networks to make a larger NET PROFIT. The less mouths there are too feed, the more likely it is that the tribe will survive.

Why would a Platform brag to its tribe members (Network Creators) that it has hundreds  of thousands members ... when the reality is that all of these tribes are feeding from the same plate of Platform resources? The only possible rationale would be an desire to sell out the tribe to a bigger tribe down the road since the more mouths there are to feed, the less resources are available for each tribal member.

Instead of trying to grow infinitely large, a platform should give each member the tools to go out and hunt and gather for themselves... with each successful kill being shared up the chain with the tribal leader (Platform). This symbiotic method ensures the survival of both the indidudal Networks as well as the platform as a whole.

Who's your Daddy?

Let us not forget the most important three letter word in the dictionary... FUN! It is a proven fact that people who are having fun are more willing to spend money. Can you say "VEGAS" anyone? Why should Social Networking be so serious?

The future of Social Networking involves a RELAXED and self-effacing educational process for Network Creators. The PLATFORM must have an open and supportive environment for the Network Creators who are trying to learn how to build profitable MICRO ECONOMIES. It should not be PUNITIVE or RETRIBUTIVE towards those who express their opinions, fears, concerns, or complaints. The Successful Platform will be the one that LAUGHS AT ITSELF when necessary, while also making sure that there is no hypocrisy in their own actions. It is FINE to be the guardian of the greater good and to sequester trolls when needed, but this does NOT mean censorship of those who indicate that the platform's PROMISES have not been met. And when the time comes for an explanation... PUHLEASE... "just the facts ma'm"... no hyperbole or double-talk!

MORE TO COME...