How much can CollectiveX do for me?

Dave,

Welcome back and glad you like the improvements! Short answer is: check out our "Quick Video Tour" @ http://www.collectivex.com. (We have also added Subgroups functionality and Webmaster Tools since producing that video).

Long answer is:
1. What are the differences in the 'little' upgrades and the larger commitment?

• A la carte: billed monthly, no contract

• Bundle: billed annually, get all fixed price premium features (including new ones we may add over the course of that year) for 12 mos.; price discounted 25+% vs purchasing this combination of features a la carte

2. I need a service where those who pay to be members can gather, collaborate, be it in meeting new jv partners or letting their hair down. I like the option of social AND professional profiles (our niche is working with couples where only one is an entrepreneur).

• We can certainly help you here. CX is a "group agnostic" platform and provides dual-profile personas; the ability to customize your profile information and visibility settings uniquely within each Groupsite; the ability to access all your Groupsites from a single log-in, etc.

3. Preferably, I'd like folks to be able to sign up and pay at the site, rather than using an outside shopping cart, paying someone else to enter their info into the membership site, then ensuring an enrollment letter goes out.

• Don't have this option integrated today - but we are exploring ways to meet this request. We do have groups that successfully promote paid memberships and services from within their Groupsite, transactions managed via a 3rd party. (May want to check out our "Paid Membership" Discussion topic.)

4. Next, I'd like to be able to post lots of content on the site. We're looking at Openzine.com to form more of a Blog'azine, but would still like a content-rich membership site.

• Lots of flexibility for adding content, including our Content Cusomtization feature. And our Content Modules also make it easy to highlight what content is most important. They also make Groupsite content portable (within the Groupsite, or by embedding modules as Widgets onto other websites).

5. Instant messaging would be a huge bonus, as we wouldn't need to use yet another service, such as skype.

• Not integrated today, but can be added via widgets using Content Modules

6.  In an ideal world, I would have ONE web presence that incorporates everything... just where would collectiveX fit into my plans?

• Membership sign-up and instant messaging were addressed above ; sounds like many of the features you want are in Groupsites today, including a Group Blog. Seems like a pretty close fit... why not test a Groupsite out?
  

Thanks for your short-response/long-response answer.  I appreciate you and your time.  I will definitely look into this further.

--Dave