In April 2010, custom social network service Ning decided that they were going to start charging and do away with their free service. Beginning August 20, Ning will charge the following for usage of their custom social network platform:

(Features included in each plan are not shown because of space.)

As you can imagine, this decision by Ning caused (and is still causing) quite a stir among users and administrators of such networks.  Even if it’s only $2.95, many administrators of smaller groups are unwilling to pay for it, and many are struggling to find effective Ning alternatives, especially nonprofits and “cause” networks. There’s even a Facebook group dedicated to prevent Ning from doing so.

Well, have no fear, activists — Switzerland-based Amazee is stepping up the plate and offering FREE Ning migration service to their platform.

What is Amazee, you ask?

Though it hasn’t caught on in the United States (yet), it’s a popular custom platform for projects and reaching goals, whether it’s fundraising or non-monetary aspirations. It’s very popular in Europe, South Africa, and elsewhere in the world.

Here’s a quick video Amazee made explaining the benefits of migrating to their platform:

Welcome, Ning refugees! from Amazee on Vimeo.

From Amazee’s blog:

First of all you’ll get a lot of the features on Amazee which you’ve been accustomed to on Ning*: You’ll be able to post blog entries, upload pictures and embed videos, you’ll have your own forums for discussion, and have a good overview over who’s doing what in your group and on the platform.

Next to that we are taking your Ning experience to the max: There is no limit to the number of members a group can have (Ning only allows for 150), there are no limits on storage and bandwidth (Ning only allows you for 1GB and 10 GB respectively), you’ll be able to set up events and have people rsvp directly in your group (this is not possible at all at Ning) and you can add an unlimited number of RSS feeds and content boxes to your group (Ning has 1 and 3 respectively).

Furthermore we allow for maximum online collaboration and promotion by supporting a solid Facebook integration: You can easily recommend your group on Facebook, if you like you can even sign in to Amazee with your Facebook account. And the icing on the cake: You’ll get a reliable and competent community management on top of all that. For free, of course.

I’ve had an account at Amazee for over a year and have been (minimally) involved on this platform with a few projects in South Africa, and absolutely love the functionality of it. There are other Ning alternatives, like GroupSite and Mixxt, but personally, I don’t find the others very conducive to the needs of collaborative activism.  Amazee, on the other hand, was designed for that very purpose.

So if you’ve got a cause-based community on Ning, don’t fret – head on over to Amazee and they’ll make migration easy, painless, and free.

Have you found any other good Ning alternatives? Please share in the comments below if so. Thanks!

Note: I got no form of compensation for writing this post.

Oh hai, it’s Reina again.

I was so excited when  I posted that last post about Yappy Hour with the Michigan Animal Rescue League that my drool got in the way of my weather iPhone app that told me how cold it was going to be on Thursday. But luckily, the folks at MARL were paying attention because apparently it’s supposed to be rainy and so cold you that if they held it, anyone that might have needed neutering wouldn’t need it anymore if you know what I mean.

Well, because the hoomins at MARL care about all our parts and don’t want any of them to freeze off, they’ve decided to postpone it until spring. It will still be held at the Royal Park Hotel and we’ll have a new date confirmed soon.  If you already donated and purchased tickets, be on the lookout for the MARL hoomins to contact you soon, you can either have your monies back or get a FREE VIP upgrade for the spring event plus a prize for your pooch. (I suggest the latter, and I’m not just saying that because I like new stuff to chew on.)

I was really looking forward to seeing everybody and having puptails but I appreciate them looking out for us, and now I’m so excited for springtime I could PEE!

But don’t wait until then to look into rescuing a four-legged friend. We need you TODAY, and if you can’t adopt somebody, at least think about volunteering some of your time to bonding with hoomins’ best friends. Go here for more information on how you can help save a life and make a new friend or family member, Michigan Animal Rescue League (and rescue dogs like me) love you for it.

kthxbai

Oh Hai!

So as you can guess, it’s not Stacy writing this post. This blog has gone to the dogs, maybe for just one time!

I’m Reina, (follow me on Twitter @reinathedoggy)  and I pawed by to tell you about this Thursday’s Yappy Hour to support the Michigan Animal Rescue League. See, I’m a rescue dog – and hoomins gave me a second life when I used to roam the streets.

I know what it’s like to find your new forever home and how much I love the noms and lovins, and of course, my favorite command, “Snuggles!”

I want every dog to have the same love I get… and in order to help make that happen, the hoomins at the MARL need your help Thursday in Rochester by attending.

But you just won’t help my friends, you can haz “Puptails” from Zodiac Vodka, hoomin treats (“Hound-d’oeuvres”) all on the vewwy nice Royal Park hotel lawn. It’s the nicest lawn I’ll ever have been on. Oh, and there’s dog treats too as well as music by Robin Horlock for the people.

I loves clothes, and I’ll be bringing my pink coat because there’s a best dressed competition, and I’m gonna get a picture with my hoomin. But of course, I’ll be the better looking of us

Follow this link to get your ticket for you and your best friend – it’s from 6p-9p Thursday in Rochester. I’m looking forward to wagging my tail when I see you there!

Reina is the dog-daughter of Jeremiah Staes, President and Chief Online Navigator of Portage Digital Media.

This past Tuesday, June 23, marks the inaugural meeting of Social Media Club – Detroit/Ann Arbor*. A bunch of us social media enthusiasts from all over southeast Michigan gathered at the Claddagh Irish Pub in Livonia to discuss our goals and the direction we’d like to see the club go.

What exactly is Social Media Club, you ask? Well, according to the national site,

Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaboraters. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far. . .

SMC is now a handful of people managing the global organization on a part time basis, and actively working towards hiring full time staff as SMC files the 501c3 and push the organization further into the global space. Thanks to the efforts of our local leaders, we have grown to over 55 active chapters (40+ in the works) with 10’s of 1000’s of people gathering around the world.

Social Media Club has four missions, which are:

1. Expand Media Literacy
2. Share Lessons Learned Among Practitionerss
3. Encourage Adoption of Industry Standards
4. Promote Ethical Practices through Discussion and Actions

Chuck Smith of BlogTalkRadio fame did a great job of capturing snippets of the meeting on video over at his blog, and of course, Charlie of multiple-arena fame was there capturing snippets of everybody and everything for one of his many awesome videos.

Here are some of us talking about our biggest online pet peeve, and I’m (ironically) ranting on how I’ve come to loathe the term “social media”:

What’s your online pet peeve? from Charlie Wollborg on Vimeo.

Also featured in this video are @jesssoul, @chuckSmithMI, @julielyn, @ChrisCCL, @balanon, @sazbean, @rmercader, @davemurr and @bchesnutt. (Follow them, they’re cool.)

I honestly hate seeing myself on video but it’s unavoidable for me these days so I just suck it up and take one for the team. (Besides, I said “people are doing it online,” uh huh huh huh huh . . . )

You can learn more about Social Media Club – Detroit/Ann Arbor at the club’s wiki, including notes from the inaugural meeting, and follow @SMCDA2 on Twitter. There will be a Facebook page soon which will be linked here There is now an official SMCDA2 Facebook page, in addition to the original Facebook group.

Special props go to Dave Murray and Jessica Soulliere for stepping up and putting the club together, and to Tonja Deegan for scribing.

So what would you like to see the SMC – Detroit/Ann Arbor do? Any particular topics you’d like us to cover? And while we’re at it, what’s YOUR online pet peeve?

[Edit - 4:30 PM 6/26/09] Nikki Stephan (who couldn’t make it) commented that she’d like to see the club focus on where social media is going in the future, and that’s actually what I brought up at the meeting. I wasn’t going to embed another video of myself here but Chuck did get it on video so here ya go.  I guess great minds do think alike!

*Technically, I am not really “local” to Detroit, nor Ann Arbor, but all my friends live around there and I hope to be relocating back to Metro Detroit soon.

You may or may not know this, but last week, April 19-25, was National Volunteer Week. I must’ve had my head in the sand because I thought it was next week, and I do quite a bit of volunteering. Oops!

What is National Volunteer Week, you ask? Well, according to the same verbatim copy I’ve found on multiple sites online,

National Volunteer Week began in 1974 when President Richard Nixon signed an executive order establishing the week as an annual celebration of volunteering. Since then, every U.S. President has signed a proclamation promoting National Volunteer Week. Additionally, governors, mayors, and other elected officials make public statements and sign proclamations in support of National Volunteer Week.

Simultaneously taking place during National Volunteer Week, thousands of volunteers also participate in local community service projects.

I thought it was next week because my friend Julia, Director of Volunteer Services for Resource Genesee, has been working hard to put together and promote our area’s Volunteer Expo & Celebration, which is this Saturday, May 2nd.

There are many benefits of volunteering, other than the obvious fulfilling your probation or  “making a difference” in your community. Warm fuzzies are nice but they don’t pay the bills.  However, if you’re one of the many people today that are out of a job, there’s a good chance that volunteering your time and talents can lead to one. It did for Julia, and it could for you.

Even if you’re not looking for work, volunteering can help you “build your ark before you need it,” because you never know the contacts you’ll make. Yes, everyone knows I’m a big advocate for online social networking, but really, nothing compares to honest-to-goodness, face-to-face interaction with people.

I think Volunteer Week is a great idea, but we need to remember that volunteers are needed year-round, not just one week out of the year. And it’s not just helping out in soup kitchens — there are literally thousands of organizations in this country alone that could use your help — whatever you can give, whenever you can give — because a little goes a long way.

After the jump I’ve listed just a few of the many places online where you can go to find volunteering opportunities in your area, because while you’re here and reading this, you might as well check a couple out.

(I must warn you, though — if you have a weakness for all things cute and furry (like I do), lending at hand at the Humane Society might not be the best idea. A friend of mine in Cleveland did that some years ago and next thing you know, she had 17 cats in a one-bedroom apartment.)

Volhere.org - This is actually a local site for my area — Genesee County, Michigan, and part of Resource Genesee. If you are local, I invite you (and highly encourage you) to attend their volunteer expo this Saturday, May 2nd at First Presbyterian Church of Flint, 746 S. Saginaw St, from noon – 4 p.m.

Idealist.org – I like this site. They’re very gung-ho social media and incorporate that into a lot of what they do with podcasts, a blog, and other stuff. Not only is it interactive like that, but it’s not just a volunteer opportunity finder — it’s a community and there are even job postings on there. I’m making a mental note to explore this one more. From their site: “Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.”

VolunteerMatch.org -  This organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Just plug in your zip code and a couple keywords of your interests to find opportunities in your area.  This site is very interactive and has tons of interesting content, from maps to contests to highlights of volunteers and nonprofits. Definitely worth checking out.

Serve.gov – This is the official government one, with President Obama’s stamp of approval, mugshot, and all that jazz. Another one where you plug in your zip code & interests and get to see what pops up. (Most of them are like this.)

Volunteers of America – This one is a national faith-based nonprofit over 100 years old. From their site: “Through thousands of human service programs, including housing and healthcare, Volunteers of America helps more than 2 million people in over 400 communities in 44 states.  Since 1896, our ministry of service has supported and empowered America’s most vulnerable groups, including at-risk youth, the frail elderly, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions.”

NationalService.gov – another government-official one. This one is chock-full of content but not every pleasing to the eye nor user-friendly. Somehow tied in with the Peace Corps. I can’t tell you much more, the lack of usability scared me away. Still, I’m sure it’s good.

Volunteering in America – this one’s also from the governmental, and directly tied in with the one above. It’s easier to use but looks like it was made on FrontPage ’98. It’s got a lot of interesting statistics inside if you explore, though.

PointsOfLight.org – From their site: “Points of Light Institute was created by the merger of the Points of Light Foundation and Hands On Network in August 2007. The result is a powerful, integrated national organization with a global focus to redefine volunteerism and civic engagement for the 21st century, putting people at the center of community problem solving. . . Points of Light Institute operates three dynamic business units that share a mission to equip, mobilize and inspire people to take action that changes the world: HandsOn Network, MissionFish and the Civic Incubator.”  . . . they look like they get a lot of corporate sponsors for stuff, too.

Obviously, there’s no wrong answer here and no site better than the other, so just explore the different ones and find some different opportunities. What’s important is that you give back, because you never know what kind of things you’ll get in return. And really,  because it’s just the right thing to do.

So get off your ass and do something!

“Don’t ever question the value of volunteers. Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals.”