Bright Things Share Discussion Threads

[carl79] 16/4/2010 14:08

Ning have forced our hand. We can not grow premium networks at a rate of say 30 per week because we'll get smashed by Ning who will no doubt be very focussed on proving to their investors and management board that they are making the right decision - so they'll be highlighting cost savings (staff, network support functions etc) and they will also want to acquire new premium customers quickly so i'd expect some network updates to get heavily marketed etc etc as they try and declare themselves the premium network specialists...We simply cant compete with them in terms of spending power...

So, what Ning have done is force BGT to make the product better - and it need to be better. If Apple had launched a mediocre but still acceptable mobile phone, they may still have an offering out there but they'd never have been able to really challenge the big guns of Nokia and Sony Ericsson etc - as it turns out the iPhone was sooooo much better than anything else in terms of "what so was supposed to do (exemplary user interface)" It blew the others away and from 0 handsets per year to where they are today happened very quickly...BGT need to emulate this. They cant offer the same (give or take) service as Ning becasue Ning can probably "out market" us. We need the service to speak for itself and in effect make the decision of which premium network provider to choose a no brainer. They need full, SEO integration into blogs like wordpress, they need a slick user experience on the site, they need some bells and whistles that you can ONLY get on SG...And they need this fast becasue it takes months for people to catch up in this industry not years like in some other industries...It will be an interesting test of their capability both in terms of prod development and innovation and business acumen and execution. And if they nail it, we will see a massive re-rate...Ning's actions have imo brought forward our potential b/e becasue they have gifted us loads of potential customers - as i say above, what we do with those customers could make or break us...

[norbus] 16/4/2010 13:11

I think, for what it's worth, these guys have their feet on the ground; they do not want to overspend, overhire or overtrade. I am happy with that.

[ljsquash] 16/4/2010 12:58

Might leave some very helpful employees to acquire, if we could afford them?

[norbus] 16/4/2010 12:54

Carl

I got in touch with DW as I posted earlier on TA's. I raised the exodus from Nong to GO and the heaven sent opportunity to monetise. . They are on it..

Last chance saloon to top up before the papers picks this up as a potential oil field. nay, gold mine! dyor 1st.

[carl79] 16/4/2010 12:10

AH! The penny drops!

So this "new wave" is a load of customers from Ning - it all fits now... On the face of it it seems great BUT I am worried! Here's for why...

Ok, so you'll have seen my recent posts about the two business models - the free ning one which we all knew could not last, and the premium paid for one. In these posts i've said that BGT should perhaps start charging $1 a month for all the free networks - it would remove "dead sites" and probably still elicit payment from people with over 10 members - what is £7 a year to run a mini network...buying a round of drinks for just two people cost more...anyway...So, it looks like Ning have been thinking on those lines - why offer a free product at all when you are as large as they are? They have used "free hooks" to grow at lightening speed and now if they cull 80% of all of their sites in this move they still have a massive revenue generating network base! I think it will probably work out for them...The other potentially more worrying thing is this - now that Ning are focussing 100% on making their platform the best premium platform out there we have real, dangerous competition. Their platform is inherently different and not as flexible but they have a boat load of cash and an army of developers - they also have a massive base and market penetration level in terms of awareness...so BGT is no longer the only (real) place to go for premium sites! BGT need to bring their A game on this one from a product perspective and also from a business perspective...

But BGT will likely get massive waves of new customers wont they? Yes but do we WANT then??! I dont think so - not for free anyway - WHY? Well, quite simply because our model is not and never has been the same as Ning's - if we take on 300,000 free networks tomorrow and add 100,000 a month from then on guess what, we'll be in the same mess as Ning are right now in 2 years time - if we ever get that far - i cant see UK investors throwing £100M at a company that is proposing to follow in the footsteps of a competitor that proved quite eloquently that the model fails!

So what do i hope they do?

I would like to see BGT react in kind to this turn a round from Ning. As has been mentioned on the other thread, i'd like to see BGT make some revenue from the free sites they acquire from Ning be that via a managed integration or something else along those lines - WE DONT (imo) want to dilute our current % of premium networks becasue all that does is tell the market that we are NOT focussing on premium networks...

Finally, I think, as per other post that BGT should still think about charging customers (all). It is true that we are not as large as Ning and changing the model may have a big impact on our numbers BUT this time we have a catalyst...That catalyst is Nings decision. In essence, if a decision to charge $1 would mean 80% of our number dropped instantly that may have previously been a disaster in terms of PR etc. However, with potentially 100's of 1,000s networks being dumped off Ning, all we need to do is charge ALOT less than Ning and these sites may just see SG as the lesser of two evils - not ideal to be perceived in that way (you'd ideally want customers to be very enthused and happy about joining) but hey, we are here to make money - not to provide a home for anyone who wants a free network. If Ning members are stuck between a rock and a hard place, they may opt for the "hard place" because they know a rock is solid - the hard place could be a number of things, non of which as hard as a rock...

In my opinion, having a Free option is not as important as it was last week becasue there is not going to be a free Ning network for people to go and create instead - so it will (or rather could) come down to who provides the best, most cost effective premium network - Ning or SocialGO. With Ning pushing all of their Free customers out to market, what is the point of SG continuing to offer a free option. It was only ever their to offer people a "taste" that would hopefully move them up the value chain. Well, Ning has given them a taste for us so we dont need to - migrate them up the value chain with a BETTER PREMIUM PRODUCT than Ning straight away and do away with the Free option imo - I mean, even if we only got 3% of the networks that Ning will cull onto our premium product (or a cheaper variant) thats still many multiples of our current install base. It seems a no brainer for me but then im wired on coffee as im working on something big just now so have been putting in the hours :-)...

So in conclusion I am posing this question and i only really see two options.

1/ Should SocialGO open the doors unconditionally to Ning (free) customers and for that matter keep their own Free service?

2/ Should they can their Free offering too and start charging - even if only marginally?

I guess there is a third option of taking them as free but with a view to charging further down the line when they have critical mass but that is something they would probably not publicly state until just before the change so we wont know...Welcome any thoughts from our regular posters...

[buzzsnip] 16/4/2010 11:56

Interesting article on Ning!

[norbus] 16/4/2010 11:16

No doubt at all that the wired PR was through a Vickram connection and made specifically to capitalise on the opportunity they saw coming. GO can do a nice business first Qtr/ year free hosting, charging for resettlement help from concierge team, and sale of widgets...Happy days I feel, sorry I did not buy that last 2 sold.

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 11:06

Good to hear Norbus, cheers - will be interesting to see what they come up with in the shape of plans and pricing, and moving over ning networks that fancy a new home.

A lot for them to consider, but obviously they were onto it in a flash judging by Alex's "new wave of network owners" comment yesterday (including link to the news) on the SocialGO blog and also the press release in response to it from Dom.

Things must be very exciting in the London offices right now

[norbus] 16/4/2010 10:44

Heard back, they are on to the Ning thing. When they succeed menetising, capitalising on this opportunity, it will project the BGT to a higher orbit.

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 10:20

Another job:

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 10:17

The ad mentions a national lottery network and over 150,000 networks in total

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 10:16

Whilst ning are hiring, SocialGO are hiring:



PHP / Symfony Developer at SocialGO
Location: United Kingdom
URL:

Type:
Full-time
Experience:
Mid-Senior level
Functions:
Information Technology
Industries:
Information Technology and Services, Internet, Computer Software
Posted:
April 16, 2010
Referral Bonus:
$500 for Anyone.
Job Description

SocialGO is looking for a new senior architect to join the team to assist in the development of the next generation of our platform. You will be joining a team of 7 to continue to develop our growing network of sites. SocialGO launched it's premium services in February 2009 and has continued to grow a strong base of users creating networks in every walk of life from politics, to sport, to the National Lottery! SocialGO has a staff of 20 and an office in San Francisco. Started in July 2007 we have over 150,000 social network using the platform today for every imaginable application.

SocialGO is a great place to work, based out of our office near Liverpool Street we offer a relaxed, creative atmosphere and aim to foster an environment which encourages innovation and great ideas.

We are looking to interview in the next few weeks so please get in touch asap.

[norbus] 16/4/2010 08:42

Contacted Dominic W. Hope they will not forgo monetising the exodus from Ning. Many ways to skin a cat..This is looking really good. I'd be gobsmacked if Vickram did not know how to take advantage of the situation.

[norbus] 16/4/2010 07:07

strange to see a buy this early

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 06:57

I can't even log on to socialgo.com right now - deluged by traffic?

[norbus] 16/4/2010 06:44

Critical turning point for GO now; they have made their own luck to a great extent; Vickram will be foxy enough to take advantage. They will have to make a charge, for hosting, widgets or a service . I've no doubt they will not act stupid.

A relocation charge for assisting in the move, 1 year free hosting and selling widgets and services ought to create the income stream


SP rise today, can confirm the size of the opportunity. Maybe that's the source of the tip given to the guy asking for the form a couple of days ago.

Don't spend it all at once

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 06:35

I agree Norbus, they need to make the right decision very quickly - should they cancel their own free offering to new customers?

I think it would be a mistake for them break their contract with people that already have a free network on the platform, but I'm also thinking they may need to rid themselves of the free offering at some stage

[norbus] 16/4/2010 06:28

Irrespective of what Dom said about paid for or for free, GO have to charge even a nominal to accomodate ex-Ning tenants. And if no charge made, that should be conditional on spending on widgets or other items to a value.. Everybody knows there is no free lunch anywhere. What an opportunity !

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 06:25

"Social networking. Check. Layoffs. Check. Hot CEO. Uncheck. $750 million valuation. Check. Making money. Uhm."

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 06:23

SocialGO sponsoring an ecademy event next month:

"Offline Social Media Workshop
SocialGO has teamed up with acclaimed social media experts and authors Penny and Thomas Power to hold the first of many offline Social Media Workshops. To be held in London on 14 May from 9am to 5.30pm, Penny and Thomas will show attendees how social media and social networking is successfully being used to create a business or market an existing business. They will draw upon real world examples, including their own hugely successful small business social network www.ecademy.com. Penny will also draw from her book "Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me", to outline a simple framework that makes social media success accessible to everyone.


Tickets for the full day event are £20 (discounted from £199 due to SocialGO's sponsorship of the event)"

[the analyst] 16/4/2010 06:21

Several hundred thousand networks?


"So you're a digital agency and you want to sell "social media solutions" to your clients, but you're not quite sure how. Don't worry, SocialGO is here to help you. We can give you a helping hand to come up with a social media solution for a client or help creating a client pitch through a "brainstorming session" with our marketing team. With several hundred thousand networks having been created on SocialGO, we know what works and what does not. So let us help you."