Ning Networks: Will Anyone Pay For Them?

Social media is heading in all different directions at once, but it’s clear that it’s headed away from free.  Companies that once touted their ability to provide fantastic service for free are now scrambling to find a price that will keep them running without driving away their users.

In an unprecedented move, Ning networks have chosen to phase out all free accounts and introduce pricing plans for all of its social networks.

Wait, What Is Ning?

Ning was launched in 2005 as a platform for users to create their own social networks.  All you needed was a topic or a focus group, and Ning provided forums, chatrooms, and instant messaging, as well as the opportunity to share photos and movies with users.  The initial versions of Ning were meant to be supported by advertising and all free Ning networks came with advertising on a regular basis.

On April 15, Ning CEO Jason Rosenthal announced that Ning networks would no longer be free as of July 2010.

Why Are They Closing Down Free Sites?

As it turns out, the advertising model simply did not work for Ning.  They attempted to invite users to pay for ad removal and for special features, but this similarly did not provide enough income for the sites to remain active on a permanent basis.  Some users did take them up on it, which is why Ning has decided to move to a paid only model.

Ning is now planning to offer three tiers of social networks.  The cheapest, Ning Mini, is very basic with limited customization, but only costs $2.95 (US dollars) a month or $19.95 for a year.  The expensive option, Ning Pro, is $49.95 per month or $499.95 per year.  This offers every paid feature Ning has, including the option for extra storage and bandwidth as well as API access when introduced.  Ning claims that the comparison with its current charge features is favourable, and users will now be saving money.

Ning Mini networks will be free for U.S. public education use thanks to an unknown donor.

Will Anyone Continue Using the Site?

I am actually a member of a Ning network at present for book blogs and I know that ours will probably be moving elsewhere.  It is a good place to connect with publishers and get information, but at present it is too large for the basic fee and since it’s full of spam, it is not worth paying $20 a month to maintain the site.  I’ve had a look at a variety of other Ning networks and they suffer from the same problem.

Sure, there are some huge networks that are very popular, so I imagine they may remain on Ning.  A quick look in the Creators forum indicates that some larger network owners are already paying for premium features.  CEO Jason Rosenthal says that 80% of creators pay for premium features already.  But for smaller networks, it seems a little crazy to pay for something that is free elsewhere.  A variety of other social networking sites have stepped in to take up networks that will undoubtedly be leaving Ning when the changes take place in July.

It’s also difficult to imagine that anyone will create a Ning network in future unless it’s for a very small group that will instantly sign up.  Building membership and creating an audience can be a lengthy process; if there are free sites that will host your social network, there’s no point in paying for Ning.  A site like SocialGo offers free sites, and if your site grows or becomes more advanced you can upgrade to a paid plan then.  This seems to me like a much smarter way to go about things, because free networks will still get your ads and therefore provide you with some income, even if paid networks make up the bulk of your revenue.  It’s true that almost anyone can afford $3 per month, but will they bother when they can have the same features for free elsewhere?

As social media attempts to monetise for profit, we will probably be seeing a lot more of these moves by companies which previously offered everything for free.  Personally, however, I doubt that Ning’s new paid features are going to be a huge success.