Nonprofits | that damn redhead

Amazee: A winning alternative to Ning for cause-based communities

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.

Get off your ass & DO SOMETHING!

volpreview 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. volunteer

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.)

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