Is Ning doing anything about cross-network invitations?

Thank heavens for this decision. I have not had that much of this myself but it is obvious that others were getting swamped, and of course I don't really know how many of my members were affected.

But definitely a smart move by Ning to remove something that is at odds with a lot of your customers (paying Ning customers). A bit of confidence returns.

Will the share Buttom on disscusion remove share with friends on diffrent networks? will it share disscution's only with members of our net?

Thank you for making this change!! This is one of the best decisions Ning has done as a company!

In the Ning blog it says:

"Yes, we’re retiring the Invite All Friends feature. While many found this feature valuable, we think there are a slew of new, better features we’ll be working on that will be even better for driving viral invitations and new members to your and other Ning Networks. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, we’ll be removing the option to “Invite All Friends” this week from Ning Networks and in early October for Ning.com."

What are the slew of new, better features you are working on for driving viral invitations? This scares me...

We hope you will continue down the path of eliminating cross-network promotion or at least offer a way for network creators to turn it off. We work very hard to build our networks for vultures to reap the benefits.

it's not like facebook would put a link on MySpace saying "click here to invite all your friends from facebook to MySpace.

We really appreciate this one guys, thanks !

Brian F, great point!

Network A and Network B on Ning, although on the the same platform, are essentially two separate social networks with totally different interests.

You can still join any Ning social network you want, make friends, post discussions/events, etc about your network, but if you violate the particular network’s rules they can ban you and then you will no longer be able to invite their members. Before it was just to easy to bypass the Network Creator (banned or not) and this was totally unethical. Now you actually have to PARTICIPATE on the network to convince members to join your network. Sorry, no more leeching! :)

I'm not happy of this decision.
The members haven't informations on the website about what they want. They don't know the function of email on their page, in the setting.
We are cut of others and when we are creator, but member of other sites too, some one like what's happend in other groups.
It was nice too, because we have to control what they others made to didn't make the same things.
We have the possibilities to get other members of Ning with the function share with Facebook, Twitter, etc...
I'm not sure it's a good decision. A better information would be better I think.

I talk with an other creator and a question comes to me.
What do you want to make with Ning? Have a lot of members or give informations? If the site is interesting, where is the problem? I don't understand what the creators want. I'm frustrated, because I don't receive some "spams" (I'm not sure it's the right word, because it's not publicities) and I cann't fellow them now.
If the people have a lot of "spams", it's because they suscribe themself to a lot of sites and make nothing after. Don't cry after, but give good informations with the settings email of pages

I woke up this morning to my group getting spammed by "kid rock" site. So cross spamming isn't cured.

I also still receive invitations to other networks by 'friends' i never even heared of or don't even know?

Hmz, ok Phil, thanks, sorry for my 'blonde moment' LOL!!!

Ok. I understand all creators who paid for services. But it's finish to make internationnal websites free.

hmmm, unfortunately among my industry "friends" there are many different ning sites set up (you cant join them all) and we rely on information being sent to all contacts as apposed to going to all the ning sites and sending the same message, blog, discussion, etc. I can speak for many when I say, this is a real hinderence on our networking.and communication. Its very simple to send unwanted emails to spam or delete your account or change your email settings on the particular site. There is quite a few thousand of us that have grown accustomed to choices. Now we have to find another method of doing what we have been doing up until recently. Thanks for the surprise.

Legion.

Actually, Ning is not closed now, you just have to work a little harder for your members, that's all.

Instead of stopping the Invite All we should have a feature that stops ourselves from being invited. We should be able to invite people and cross advertise. To stop that takes away from the very word "Network". Me and several of my friends who are Network Creators do this with each other and we work together as a Network. We have seperate networks to keep the content seperate. But we work as a team with the very feature that is now gone.

If you don't want to be invited, select that and you won't be. But don't ruin it for those who like to be invited to many networks. In my opinion it should be left as a choice of individuality. Otherwise, like I said, this isn't a network anymore. MySpace is taking away various ways to advertise. Facebook is doing it. MyYearBook is doing it. Why should we? WE are supposed to stay a step ahead of them. Make it a personal choice. It is the same thing as a "block this person" feature.

You have to agree that I make sense with this. To wipe this feature out, you ruin the Network. Bring the Network back!!!

While I disagree totally with someone on another network being able to go to a rivals network, befriend the people there, and then spam them with invites to leave and come to another network, I do agree with it being an optional thing to turn it off, but for a NC for the entire network as well as at the member level. That gives everybody control - NC can so No for 'their' network, and if turned on members can say no individually.

General website go to great lengths to protect their members so their emails can't be harvested for spam. Same here. NC should have the ability to stop all cross network invites for their members where it is not suitable or they don't want it. But in other cases it may be suitable as Pyrotsj suggest.

The thing is, Ning need to make more things configurable by NC, rather than making decisions for them. This should have been optional for NC to stop invites from other networks.

NCs have been asking Ning for control of their networks since the beginning. Ning continues to ignore our request for control of the networks we create, build, and maintain.

On the word of things not getting to the members of the network. There are ways to getting this done. Standardly, we have a Main, Invite and My Page. If it was set up as a standard for all networks to start out with drop downs from My Page or Main, that links to descriptions of How To. Then Ning, can't say it wasn't there as an option. Also the NC can't say it wasn't there.

I personally do like the option of cross advertising. But I don't want to be a pest either. To give the members the right to opt out of invites, puts it into their individual hands. They are responsible for either being "spammed" or not. And as I said, with the option I listed in the first part of this, Ning and the NC would have both had the option available. It does not come down to the NC or Ning as responsible for them getting spam.

As an NC, you should definately have the option to opt out as well. It would override the members options. If the NC does not want cross-pollination, it doesn't happen. Period.

It may take time to figure out the coding for all this to work. I know that Ning can pull it off. Until then, my vote is for putting the feature back so we can cross the very boundaries that have just been blocked. Think outside the box. Don't shove yourself inside it.

Hello guys,

It's my first threat I read on here and while usually I do not get involved so quick I feel I have to step in here too:

Short forestory-
For over 2 weeks I am working on an idea on how to grow a niche specific social network...so far, I was sure I was going to use NING for various reason...

To get to the point, make this idea work...I will have to spent around €5000-8000 upfront on offline advertising + I will have to work for the first 2-3 Month about 16 hours daily and probably emply at least one full time person, using all my good offline connections and doing quite a few imprtant meetings trying to get partners. etc... so why would I build up this "BUSINESS" on NING's platform to later take it at risk because of those free riders (spamers) on here...???

I agree totally with one of the first post here:

"Pamela - Are you kidding me? First, if you don't have money to advertise, then don't start a business. I know several NCs who have spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars promoting their network (OUTSIDE OF NING) and it is downright rude and not fair to them to have a bunch of freeloaders join their network and promote their cheap and free network."

Finally my suggestion:

Whatever ning will decide... network creators should be able to choose if other networks are allowed to cross promote....or keep that option at least for the serious "premium service" business builders!

I hope for a good and fair solution!

Roberto S.

Hi
I'm surpised than you spend 5000-8000€ on a social plateform. With this money, you can open your own page on the web or going on speciality domains.
But you will see, if you want to make your webpage on Ning, you will be frustrated too, to have not the possibility to join other members of Ning.
Ning offer the possibility to members to desactivate the own page to don't receive the invitations of other groups. You must learn them with a system of "FAQ". It's really easy to make this.

Hi geneghis,

The 5-8 grand it’s not for the platform, it will be the amount I will need initially to advertise offline, and that's a small amount comparing to a 100 -250 grand for a decent aggressive advertising campaign...I don't have that much of funds of course. This was the reason I considered ning because it would only cost me around $150 a month for two networks and I don't have to deal with the hassle of letting build one from scratch or finding someone who can deal with jamoola and configure the whole system the way I need....I prefer to spent my energy on what I do best....marketing!

But of course after all I have read...and after seeing the even bigger impact my "yet little" idea could have and the huge potential of growth I am seriously rethinking if it's not better to launch few month later and build it on a system where I have ownership of my own business. I can’t afford to waste my time, energy and money to build a business on sand after my almost 2 years of hard and very tuff time I went through.

I don't understand WHY ning would not want to consider to sell white label software, they have a great system in place...they have spent the money and time to develop this system and for sure there would be many middle size company or entrepreneurs interested in this option or even on a monthly basis, but complete white label for let's say $199 monthly, ... it would be extra cash for them, while on the other hand they will lose this kind of potential clients and get nada, zilch, zero... but we will see... I’ll be watching and will wait few more weeks anyway before I decide which rude I will take.

By the way... it makes me happy to hear that at least my hard recruited offline members will be not able to being robbed by other ning creators who are just sitting there and wait that someone else does the work to than just go in and spam them to join their networks,,,which most of my niche members would not be interested at ALL in, I am sure, but it would annoy them and finally lead to stop getting involved in my own network and my network would die out before I lose it eventually in a different way later anyway...

The creators on Ning aren't all profitors. Some creators want just to pass a message on their sites and want a forum of discussions. They don't want make business with their site. And if they send invitations, it's just to have members who must be active on the discussions.
Some creators aren't tieves and the members stay where they feel well, and go out if they haven't interest.
I don't understand why some creators are too afraid!

I am sure that not all creators are thieves. And I respect also all creators who build a community as a hobby or any non profit interest.

Everyone has different interest and if mine would be to create a NING community just for fun I would not care at all...even if I would create one for business and it would cost me nothing...than at least I could not complain as it was my choice to use this free method.

However, if I consider to build a serious business and have not only to pay around $150 for premium services but also invest a huge amount of money to advertise OFFLINE, because I do NOT intent to choose NING to grow my community trough other NING networks, but choose NING as a choice of platform...

I think its logically that any creator under this situation would be concerned or do you not think so?

If I have to chose when buying a house, or even any offline business, like a franchise... i.e. why should I pay a franchise fee to McDonalds if they will have control over my restaurant and even allowing to get PR's inside and outside my McDonalds giving out flyers to come eat Hamburgers for half of the price in Burger King?

This was a stupid example... because if I would not have open that particular McDonalds in the first place, Burger King would have most of that clients anyway... in the case of NING ....NOT...
I live in Spain, and if I invest let's say only $3000 on OFFLINE advertising...employ 1-2 fulltime stuff.... making offline meetings and JV partnership to get the ball “hopefully” rolling...

well all that people who would come to my network...would be in ONLY because of my HARD effort so why should I not worry if those members will get hammered with NING comunity "JOIN my network"...Join my network" if those members intention was just to sign up to enjoy the promised and advertised benefits and probably a few never even heard of facebook yet???

Of course everyone is free to choose where to go...and probably from each 10000 member I recruit to my network 50-100 will join others (probably a bit more, as they will have no clue what they are letting themselves in to, lol) and I would have absolutly not a problem at all with that...but I guess that over the half around 5-6000 will get annoyed and wonder what the heck is going on and leave from my site and lost all what has taken me a long and hard work just to please few "free riders" on the NING network to get few new members out of my network!!!

I know and understand that if that’s NING policy, it my mistake if I choose NING for business propose...but how I wrote in my first post, I had no clue what was going on in NING until I came across this place (and still don’t really know what’s going on)...but how I stated, I will see what's coming and will have to make a list with "pro's and Con's after I read and done more researches and decide what’s best for me.

I don't want to change anything...It's only not understandable why NING wouldn't consider taking "white label" downlable option, to be used on once own server for a higher price tag...especially if they are (how I have just seen while researching the net) other alternatives already and for sure soon many more to come...we live in a high speed world...everything is moving quick especially technology (look at Myspace, there where the big phenomena and all at once comes facebook, now let’s see and wait what’s google soon to be released new flagship “Wave” will shake) ...and I believe that if NING don't take the chance to position themselves leader in our niche... "Small entrepreneurs" they will lose the chance and someone else will take that part of the cake...it would be a shame.

For me right now, from all alternatives I have seen...if I had total ownership and control, I would 200% use NING, because the ease of use and the speed in getting started...with NING I could do the most by myself, while the other option involves at least for me another tech. person, because I don't want to deal with all the technical stuff...I need my time and energy marketing the hell out of my city!!

OK, that's enough!

I hope for the best...and for all of us.

Roberto

P.S: I totally understand the viewpoint of you guys, but I hope you can also see the point of us small entrepreneurs.

P.P.S: Not sure why I write all this...most will not care anyway...lol

Why is there still bellyaching on this? This is actually a very GOOD thing. I for one have been hard on Ning and their policies, but in this case they have done us all a solid. Folks... MOVE ON!

If I undertsand the last comments, you want use Ning only for the promotion of your own business. You want Ning is only a plateform for this and other sites Ning for causes doen't be on this plateform!
The creators of free sites aren't thieves and you have the possibility to haven't "spams". Your members too and you must teach them how use this possibiliy.
You can go on the settings and put functions with them you won't have spams in the futur.
It's nice to have plateforms for creators and, if you doesn't pay, you haven't a of possibilities. If your site is interesting, why are you afraid your members are going to see others sites. A lot of members suscribe in a site and never go after.
Sorry for my bad english

Good Lord Geneghis, until you have something to lose you will NEVER understand why we don't like "poachers", so, let's do what DerekB said and MOVE ON!

I was going to answer but left it because it came into my mind what you just said fedMedic...few will NEVER understand because they will NEVER have anything to lose. Is just a different mindset which has NOTHING to do with BUSINESS and it has nothing wrong about that, everybody its free to live life by their own choice.... I MOVE ON!

Someone has payed for more functions has more possibilities to make a fine and nice site.
The creator doesn't pay has just the possibility to have a basic site and he must engaged more himself to get a site with actions of members.
It's not good for a free site to have members who don't make anything else to be friends with others and make invitations for their own ning site. But it's the play.
This fact doesn't hurt me, but the copy what I do hurt me a lot. I find it's more important to fight this problem!