In case you haven’t heard, the news was just released that Ning is making some major changes. Those changes include no more free network, Oh No! According to Techcrunch’s article entitled, “Ning’s Bubble Bursts: No More Free Networks, Cuts 40% Of Staff“, networks will either have to convert to a paid version or migrate to a different service.

For long-time Ning network owners, this can present a problem, but if you plan well, you can come up with a great solution. One of these solutions is to migrate over to BuddyPress to create your social network. One of the best things about this combination is that it is still free.

BuddyPress uses a combination of WordPress MU and a plugin called BuddyPress to allow you to create a social network very similar to websites such as Facebook, Ning and other networking environments. If you are technically inclined and understand the WordPress MU environment, then this would be a great solution for you. If you find that you are not technically inclined and would like to migrate from Ning to WordPress/BuddyPress, then contact me to discuss your options.

Special Note: Single WordPress can be used with BuddyPress. Just know that your users can’t make individual blogs. To find out more, click here.

Many have decided to launch their website using WordPress.com hosted services. This is a good idea but you need to make sure you understand the rules about WordPress.com. Using WordPress.com can help you learn about WordPress and how to manage it as you use it to enhance your online presence.

If you are a business owner and you want to develop your online presence using WordPress.com, there are a few things that you should keep in mind regarding WordPress.com Terms of Service:

• WordPress.com Terms of Service: make sure you read the information that WordPress.com provides regarding how you can use your hosted website.
• Understand the Advertising rules for WordPress.com: they have specific guidelines to what you can and can not do regarding advertising on your WordPress.com website. Make sure you read the information that they provide.
• Review types of blogs on WordPress.com: to help you understand the types of blogs/websites that you can create, you should review the list that WordPress.com has provided.
• Learn about the WordPress.com Privacy: make sure you read about the privacy that WordPress.com ensures for its users.
• WordPress.com TV: check out this section dedicated to TV shows all about WordPress.com.

When I develop a membership website for a business owner, I always try to get to know the business owner first. I then work with him or her to develop  a membership website that will meet the needs of his or her target audience. The website also meets the varied needs of the business owner so he or she can easily manage the membership and site.

By getting to know the business owner, it helps me understand his or her need for a dynamic membership website. Over the past few years, I have compiled a list that can help business owners get a better understanding of how a membership website should work.

• Content: make sure that your content is rich with information that will be helpful to your target audience.
• Ease of use: ensure that it is easy for your target audience to log-in and connect with your content to learn from the knowledge that you share.
• Fees: research and ensure that the price you have set for your membership
• website is in line with industry standards.
• Private member area: create a section on your website that is just for your subscribed members.
• Downloadables: in your membership section, include files that can be downloaded by your members, such as: audio, video or eBooks.
• Affiliate program: create a way for others to help spread the word about your membership website and for them to earn passive income from their referrals.

These are some of the necessary areas that you should consider when developing your membership website and to gain an understanding of your membership website. I have found that one of the key things to do is create a plan that will help you implement your membership website and understand how everything will work together.

I though it would be great to share a little bit of comic relief with everyone about social media that would help you remember many things that occurred in 2009 regarding social media. To help me share this comic relief with you, I have included a video below by Robert Cottingham who created all of the drawings included in the video.

In Robert’s own words…

From the election of the first American social media president… to a nod to social media from the mainstreamiest of mainstream media (Oxford Dictionary…)… it’s been a big, tumultuous sprawling toddler of a year, prone to tantrums and potty accidents but adorable nonetheless.

For those who love Google Chrome or for those who’ve been waiting for additional functionality to be added, then the time has finally come. The latest BETA version of Chrome now allows you to install extensions easily so that you can add functionality to Chrome.

To install the latest BETA version of  Chrome, click here and then to find out more about the extension that you can install, visit here. Some of the extensions that you can install are:

• Google Wave Notifier: notifies you when you have a new Wave message
• IE Tab: Display web pages using IE in a tab
• Xmarks Bookmark Sync: Backup and sync your bookmarks across computers and browsers. Xmarks is also available for Firefox, Safari and IE.

OK, so I’m going to stop the list here because there are at least a couple of hundred extensions that you can add to Chrome. I have to really monitor myself or I could go crazy by adding extensions.