Changes at Ning Won't Affect She Writes
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Some of you have reached out and asked questions about whether recent changes at Ning, the network that hosts She Writes, will effect our membership. The answer is no; Ning is changing from a free to a paid model, but She Writes has been a premium network from the beginning, meaning we pay a monthly fee for the service with additional support. (One thing we pay a monthly fee for, for example is to have the word "Ning" taken out of our url.) We will now become a Ning Pro network, for $49.95 per month. One thing I am trying to figure out is whether as a Ning Pro network we will still have Twitter and Facebook integration, a powerful functionality that was added recently to Ning and which I'm unclear will survive the transition. But I will keep everyone posted and share everything I know about the changes come July, when Ning will roll out it's new plan.
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I run a Ning site too and am familiar with the changes. I think you should be okay with the level of service for which you're paying. It's the most expensive option and darn well better keep everything, especially now that you're paying for it. Drop me an email if you'd like any help/suggestions for dealing with Ning.
Are you going to add a CafePress shop? That could mean some extra revenue for SW to cover the monthly fees and swag adds to promotional opp. Perhaps post a contest for the illustrator/writer types to come up with more than the letter logo?
I haven't checked out the Twitter and Facebook integration, but I would participate much more in Ning if the "follows" resulted in receiving actual text/content instead of just a link (I want what Facebook or Goodreads gives you). Just getting a link every time someone posts a message to a group you're following is a d-r-a-g.