The company had the story leaked from an internal memo, but as of 10am EST nothing about the news on their blog.
This is a PR disaster for Ning. I think we all understand the economic realities of the current recession. But when you run an online social community platform, and are not prepared to release information on your website shortly after chatting with your employees, be prepared for the consequences.
I'm sure a lot of Network managers will understand the issues with the company, but I really think Ning could have approached the delivery of news in a more coordinated way.
I helped set up the Ning social media community strategy for the Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
4/16/10 Update: Shel Holtz has written a great post about the Ning PR disaster. His comments regarding the super non-profit social networks are well taken. He suggests the removal of the free option, and intention to drop support for existing networks is a betrayal of trust with customers. I think he is right. Though my complaint is more about how the situation was handled I actually believe it would be possible for Ning to remove free support, but they should grandfather any existing free accounts, and give them a lot of incentives to move to the premium model. I also think Ning should be open about the situation and using their blog and twitter to talk to people. Otherwise the company will continue to lose credibility from its communications fumble.
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