Are These Features Really Just "Eye Candy" or Will They Be Offered Here?
Hello.
I am a new member to the Groupsite community and
have
been reviewing it closely it connection with possibly
using
it for a group I am involved with. I have joined a few groups to better understand the platform, and I am thoroughly impressed with the
features, functionalities and the advantages that Groupsite has to offer over
many of the other services out there, and I truly believe it is head and
shoulders above the rest. I was (and think still am) prepared to proceed with
Groupsite, however, in researching all of the available options, last night I stumbled upon another seemingly similar platform which allows it members to build social networks, and I am trying to evaluate its
offerings compared to Groupwise.
I am a huge fan of Groupsite, and I find it in poor taste to name a competitor on Groupsite's blog so I will not do that; however as someone who is seriously contemplating using Groupsite and looking for the best platform, I want to feel comfortable in knowing that it offers the best and most useful features. I have little, if any knowledge, about web development, design, programing, etc. (which is why I love Groupsite) so I could use some help evaluating whether these advertised features are just "eye candy" or whether they are of true value and also being contemplated here.
I
understand and appreciate Groupsite's “90 - 90 rule” (90% of the
people 90% of the time) which guides the decision making process, but I also
appreciate being offered a breathe of different services at different
price points and letting the market decide which ones it is willing to pay for. Additionally, as someone who is not a designer, web developer and/or does not have an existing website, I am attracted to the fact that they offer easy ways for someone like me, with no experience, to have an impressive looking, professional, fully branded website on par with many of those I have seen here. So here's what I believe they are advertising based on my preliminary review of their site (they use the term "network" instead of "group"):
A Concierge Plan where they will design, configure and set up your network based upon your needs
and be on hand to help you for life with priority support. ($149/month)
.
Premium Package
($24.99/month, 5 GB storage, 50 GB bandwith). As far as I can tell, it includes, many of the features offered by Groupsite plus audio and video chat, groups, a robust widget store (which includes a variety of seemingly impressive widgets, including a Facebook and Twitter widget that allows people to sign into your network from Facebook and Twitter), discussion forums (including ability to have group discussion forums which I don’t believe Groupsite allows), network blog and group blog, video sharing, advanced layout manager, advanced developer access, and a robust set of customization tools, including custom theme backgrounds, ability to add your own CCS content (not even sure what that means or whether Groupsite allows that as well).
For those who sign up for the Premium Package, they are advertising the following additional "ala carte" features at the following price points:
1) Logo service
. You work with their designers to develop a custom logo for effective brand identify ($69.99)
2) Import a database.
If you have a database of members and you want it imported to your network "ready for launch" you can do so. ($49.99 for 2000 members).
3
) Setup & Design. A makeover for your network where they do a complete design makeover and configure your network layout and include a variety of widgets for ($349.99)
4) Advertise.
They
promote your network to the web via Google Adwords so you can build your membership fast. ($149.99)5
5) Ad Budget 100
. Once you've setup your advertising campaign with GO Advertise Setup, you can select how much you want to spend on Google Adwords. This plans includes $100 of advertising on Google (includes 30% management fee). ($99.99)
6) Custom Domain.
I know this is partially offered on Groupsite as well but with their feature,t they say only your domain shows up in the URL and all they remove all of their branding from your site so it looks like your own website all together. ($39.99)
7) "Freemium" service.
They allow you to split your
network into two sections with a Free "try before you buy" section and a Premium paid section, allowing you to restrict the content your members can access based on subscription. ($99.99)
8) News Feeds.
Their team sets up and helps you with your news feeds. ($39.99)
9) Network of Networks
. If you have lots of
networks and want to connect them, their team will integrate them and give users a single sign-in to access them all. ($199.99)
10) Member Billing.
They set up your Member Billing so you can start collecting membership subscriptions through PayPaly or straight away. ($49.99)
11)
Welcome Page. They design your network's welcome page to make an impact. ($149.99)
There are probably more, but I think there are the main one I saw. In addition their CEO offers a written promise on the website that network creators will always own their network and they will never do with Ning did to its group managers (don’t know whether Groupsite has made this promise as well).
As someone who is seriously looking for the best platform, and thinks Groupsite is probably it, I'd like to know whether all of these features described above are really as significant as they seem at first blush and if so, whether Groupsite plans on offering them as well. I know that for the developers on the site or people with a bit of time, knowledge, or "know how", they are already able to do a lot of what is set forth above for free (i.e. adding a PayPal widget, etc.) but for the lay person who is looking for a one stop shop and willing to pay for the convenience of not having to "figure it out", the features seem attractive. Your feedback, comments, are opinions are appreciated.
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I know it's a bit odd
to post a reply to one's own topic but after re-reading my post, I feel
compelled to add a bit more so as to provide a more complete picture. Perhaps I
am only talking to myself at this point, but I wanted to briefly follow up
nonetheless so that my post did not leave anyone with the wrong impression.
Rather than just indicating what I DID see on the other site, I
wanted to briefly indicate that there were things I did NOT see as well, which,
may, in the end may be of more significance than the features they are offering
(which is why I am trying to solicit some feedback). So here it goes -- with a
full disclaimer, however, that I only spent a brief period of time
reviewing the other platform, and these things may in fact be there somewhere
but they were not readily apparent to me in my initial review of the
site:
1) A phone number
where I could actually call someone. Unlike Groupsite, if I wanted to
initiate a call, I only saw an invitation to "IM" the company (at
least as far as I could tell);
2) A physical address
of a real brick and motor location. I didn't see one and I'm still not
sure where there business is physically located;
3) A readily apparent,
transparent and fully accessible team of individuals continually committed to improving
group collaboration amongst members. Again, they may have it but
I certainly did not see a Clarence Wooten, Shaun Callahan, or Diana
Giglio (who I don't know at all) continually answering questions, listening to
feedback and striving to improve the site on the same level that I see being
done here;
4) An identified focus
on group collaboration. As far as I could tell, their focus seems to
primarily be on "social networks" and not necessarily on building collaborative
connected community groups working together (at least from what I could see);
5) A robust
"Champions Blog" chalk full of collaborative information, resources
and tips akin to what exists on Groupsite. They may have something similar
but I didn't see anything as fully developed as the Champions Blog.
6) A searchable
directory of sites that are currently using their platform that shows multiple
groups with thousands of members. They may have this, but I could only
find a handful of sites that they featured on their website. Others may
be private. I just don’t know.
I'm sure I could go on
but since I'm not sure anyone's listening, I won't. I am still interested
in any feedback anyone wishes to provide regarding the types of services they
are offering, however, and whether anything like those are being contemplated and/or will be offered on Groupsite.
Thank you.
Lisa - Please feel free to give me a shout. My direct number is posted on my profile here.
As Chief Involvement Officer, I have direct contact with dozens of our Certified Groupsite Design Partners and would be happy to point you in the right direction once I know a bit more about your project so I can attempt to introduce to the partner that might be the best fit.
Thanks,
Shaun
Thanks, Shaun! Much appreciated! Because this is such a great community, I've actually already had some of the designers/group managers reach out to me individually regarding their services so I think I have that aspect covered.
Lisa,
As someone who is struggling to make the decision between Groupsite and the company you have referred to, I really appreciated your list of what they have and don't have. I for one would certainly appreciate any updates as your evaluation continues.
All the best in your decision.