No. Not us. they are another thing entirely. if you are confused. i exhort you to read on it in this post
I am glad to see WidgetLaboratory, the Social Network Widgetdeveloper previously based on Ning is back on its feet with SocialGo. SocialGo is one of Ning Competitors and some say it is the most promising one from the bunch. i guess that WidgetLaboratory new partnership or agreement gives them some extra points. after all. they know Ning very well. you could say they know it inside out. this of course a knowledge and tech deal. the kind of Knowledge they got on Ning will be extremely useful for SocialGO to build on. WidgetLaboratory on the other hand can simply apply what they already now in order to adapt quickly to SocialGO and model how Widgets or Widget-apps should work in SocialGO. so both of them win. Widgetlaboratory fight with Ning was quite of a deal to Ning. after all. They were their Prime Widget and Widget-app developer and as they got more leverage it was obvious that Ning got nervous and started to pick on them and put them into a entrapment. this caused Ning to say “the hell with it, this is not going to happen againâ€. so they went with a OpenSocial Approach. coincidence?. sure. sure. (not).
Many will wonder why i post on this. well. i enjoy entertaining feuds. this is certainly one. a good example of bad blood is some poking from Widgetlaboratory CEO Spencer Forman towards Ning when the story was covered in Techcrunch:
Good Morning,
The LAB was created on Ning for the purpose of showing how to make money through social networking. We feel that our own “flavor†of unique products, service, and sometimes shocking honesty is what catapulted us into the position of having such wonderful success on their platform. We are unrepentant as to anything we’ve accomplished, said or done since we started this adventure in November of 2007. Obviously this comes at the price of being a polarizing force for those who know and love Ning.
At this time, we are thrilled to be in a new home that has actually allowed us to do what we do best, instead of fighting us step by step along the way. Although we stand by our legal and ethical position for the events that went down this summer with Ning, that’s old news. Ning has chosen to take an entirely new path for themselves that is unrelated to what they started in 2006, and it can be seen and judged by anyone who cares to inquire. There is nothing stopping anyone from using more than one platform for more than one goal.
And that is our point. WidgetLaboratory was always about showing people how to MONETIZE their social network. Our customers were able to make several hundred dollars or more per month in net profit from tools they purchased from us for as little as $19.00. SocialGO “gets†this, and WidgetLaboratory will prove it to anyone that is interested in moving out of the Social Networking version 1.0 mode and into the version 2.0 mode… where micro-economies can exist between people with similar interests through the use of scalable and modular products that enable commerce, barter, marketing, advertising, etc.
We think it’s wonderful that TechCrunch has chosen to feature us for another brief moment in time. We love even more the fact that the author has made it very clear in the first paragraph that we are liars and idiots. We’re pretty sure that this will generate a reasonable number of comments by the readers as to what Ning has done since WidgetLaboratory was kicked off the platform. As a former litigator myself, I was surprised that Mr. Arrington chose to give his legal opinions in his previous article back in August, as I didn’t think TC was about making legal conclusions as much as publishing facts. Nevertheless, I was glad that he did. The readers comments expressed a balanced opinion of why there might have been a reasonable legal and strategic reason for airing this inside communication, and they also pointed out certain potential conflicts of interest involving TC50 and Marc Andreessen.
Either way, time will demonstrate which company had the right business model, and which company respected the true demand in the marketplace for what people need to do in order to build a financially successful social network. The entire SocialGO platform will be underpinned with a rock-solid Bill of Rights for Network Creators that ensures them legally of complete and total control (in fact) over their members, network, and data. It is worth noting how Ning has subsequently changed all of their legal terms in a way that removes NC rights instead of creating or enforcing new ones.
There is plenty of room for fun Kung-Fu-Poke-Me Open Social Gadgets on Ning, while SocialGO and the LAB focus on building productivity and monetization products for entrepreneurs and small business.
We say… let the consumer try each and judge for themselves which one meets their needs.
Spencer Forman
CEO
WidgetLaboratory
It is not that delightful?. i will save my comments on all this beyond what i wrote above. but as i said i am glad they landed on their feed because the healthly the Widget Space is the better and that is a interest a blog like this is guilty of having.
via TC
