TechCrunch reports that Ning is in trouble and will soon phase the free version out. I’m not inclined to move to premium for multiple reasons, so I will soon phase out the Capital Mind Ning forum and introduce a different forum software on this site. Sorry for the trouble.
On a different note, the TechCrunch report does say there’s great traffic but no money is “not good enough”. What they really saying is: Eyeballs don’t matter. Free is good, but only till it makes you money some other way. And that, sir, I agree with.
Free has worked for long enough, and valuations on eyeballs is so 1999. Now it’s all about revenue again, and Google/Facebook aside, we’ve gone back to – the same guys that use our software need to pay us. (Versus, the guys who use it will look at ads, the ad guys will pay us). I wish Ning all the best! Now to look for the right forum software.
