Ning Network Creators Go Crazy After Losing Widget Laboratory Apps

First, let me start by saying I'm a Network Creator on Ning and I also used a significant number of Widget Lab­s (and other) third party plug-ins across multiple social networks I manage.

I've started a discussion forum for this issue to be a 'safe harbor' so to speak to people can speak freely about the issue in a place that is neither Ning nor WL.

You can find that discussion link here:

http://www.nichesocials.com/ning-and-third-party-widgets

UPDATE: TechCrunch has posted an update to this story here. It mostly focuses on the documents released by WL.

There are also a bunch of related links to this on several sites, including Tech Crunch.

While Widget Labs has posted a slew of e-mails back and forth between the companies, it still is pretty hard to know who is really at fault. Fact is, if WL doesn't return to Ning then we'll probably never know unless there is a lawsuit with public information. It does seem this was brewing for some time and in early August there was some indication the relationship between WL and Ning -- in whatever form existed -- was going downhill. It is hard to truly determine tone in e-mail, but the e-mails show a strained relationship and some words on both side.

Before anyone makes their own opinion, I'd really encourage you to read the e-mails along with the posts on both WL's temporary blog and the Ning Network Creators.

There are quite a few Network Creators chiming in, but honestly so many of those are folks with not a lot of practical business experience who are simply passionate about their networks and more inclined to support whoever provided the widgets that helped them grow their network, verus rationalizing this is a business for both WL and Ning, and at the end of the day both parties are going to look out for themselves first and foremost. Hopefully that means they are both also looking at their customers first, too. But ... seems all is pretty much lost in the relationship between WL and Ning at this point.

As long as my personal information and that of my networks' users is not being used inappropriately, nor any third party widget slows down our networks -- or limiting the ability for Ning to expand its core platform without impacting the several thousand using WL's widgets -- I think third party providers like Widget Labs, Scripts4Ning and others are a great service to what, in my opinion, is really one of the best core applications for social network creators. But they've only been around 18 months really in terms of their social networking application and it wouldn't seem like the barrier to entry for someone who offers more -- and more white label options, hosting, control, etc. -- could step right in.

That of course assumes any existing or up and coming provider could easily help existing Ning Network Creators move all of their data from Ning to another platform. For sites like mine, that is the most critical element. It is hard to contemplate moving to another platform unless it was seemless for my users. Unless their profiles, friends, relationships, comments, content, etc. are able to move -- the fact is Ning still holds the controls. And using Ning you know this -- or should know it. It is the trade off in using a very robust platform for a reasonable price, versus going on your own.

Ning is less likely to put all the 'facts' out there because much of that is probably well behind the 'firewall' of a lawyer, where WL has fewer choices and seems more inclined to take an aggressive stance to try to rile up support from what is reported to be somewhere around 1,700 networks that were running Widget Labs products prior to the shutdown Friday morning.

Whether there will be a real long term impact PR wise to Ning won't be known for awhile. While 1,700 seems small with 300,000 or so networks across Ning, it does encompass a good number of the most active Network Creators.

Then again, in a week or two anyone new who comes to Ning won't even know WL existed. And if Ning starts creating a structure as suggested to 'authorize' certain third party providers, then it could end up being good for the overall network creator community to know who is trustworthly and safe to use and who isn't.

I'll probably post more on this if there is any interest, but this should spur some discussion for now.

Related Links

http://networkcreators.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=492224%3ATopic%3A318...

http://networkcreators.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=492224%3ATopic%3A316...

http://widgetlaboratory.blogspot.com/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/23/widgetlaboratory-strikes-back-at-ni...

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/22/ning-shuts-down-premium-developer-w...