June 2, 2013
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The Real Xangaville
Since people are so freely stating their opinions one way or another on the topic of Xanga asking for people to pay to blog, I figure I'd toss my own into the hat.
There's nothing inherently wrong with Xanga asking for the community's financial support. I've been on many social networks, dating all the way back to CompuServe (for those old enough to remember). Both CompuServe and AOL (as a start-up) were paid services. You couldn't even log on without paying. Sure, those days have come and gone. But I just want people to keep in mind that pay-to-play service is nothing new.
Nowadays, we see it all the time with apps for smart phones. You can download the free version and play up to a certain level, but if you want to play advanced levels or get additional enhancements, an in-app purchase is required. Xanga is woefully behind in this, and many other areas.
WordPress, on which I've had an account for several years now, is similar in that you can create a blog for free, but there are enhancements that require payment... certain themes, upgrades and the ability to customize your URL.
Some people have asked the legitimate question, "Why would I pay for something I can get on WordPress for free?" I think the part that you may be missing is the fact that Xanga is not going to be a rebranded WordPress with a Xanga logo taped over it. WordPress is simply the engine over which to build Xanga's new blogwagan (so to speak). Much like Ford or Honda make engines that can then be used to build other types of vehicles. Xanga is not asking us to pay for WordPress. Although we don't yet know what the new car will look like, we're being asked to invest in bringing the prototype to market. If I were to guess, it'll probably be similar to the revamp of www.Lovelyish.com, if you haven't yet seen it.
For me, Xanga was never about who owned it or was in charge of it. It's always been about the people who chose to make a home there. Here's my crappy analogy... you don't buy a house in a particular city because you like the Mayor. You buy a house because you love the location, the schools and the community. That's what Xanga has been and still is for me.
So look at it like this... it isn't a campaign fundraiser for Xanga mayor, this a fundraiser to improve the neighborhood with new parks, street maintenance and a more effective community-led police force. If you enjoyed the community before, I think you'll enjoy it after the improvement are completed. Sure, there may be a few places still under construction when we move back in, but in the end it'll all be worth it.
You can donate here: Xanga Crowdhoster
Comments (28)
i love how you're championing the cause. up until now i had no idea how so loved xanga is by so many
Good analogy.
Thanks for explaining
BTW glad you made the xangaville facebook page 
Good entry, I like paragraph 6. location is important for me, I hate being stuck in the sticks with little public transport.
We will definitely talk some more on this topic in our upcoming show together.
About time you threw your two-cents in Riis. hehe
I think you explained it well. There is nothing inherently wrong with them asking for funding for an upgrade.
What you said makes sense,
Good post! Makes sense!
I agree with you. I will also say I like the Mayor of xanga. Most of the criticism leveled at the xanga team over the last 48 hours has been unfair.
Let me use my own poor analogy. A third grade student told his teacher she sucks at teaching. But the reality is that the third grader has been in school for 4 years including kindergarten and is really just a student with some experience in school. We have no shortage of "programming experts" on xanga that have never run a website that was one of the top 100 websites in the World. Not one of these critics fall into this category. Most of the programmers on here have started websites from scratch. But they have never deal with the issue of changing a social network with the consensus of millions on the user base side. It is complicated. I am not saying we should not give input. But based on my poor analogy, I am saying it is like a third grader giving input to a third grade teacher.
Well said, and I totally agree!!!
Well, I had a home bought for me in Xangaville for "Lifetime" - Xanga Lifetime. Now I am being told that even if Xangaville is improved, I need to move out and can't blog anymore unless I pay yearly rent.
Screw that. In a real society, that would precipitate a social revolution. Or at least a recall to throw the bums out of office.
As far as I am concerned, the end of my "Lifetime" is the end of life for Xanga.
Lovelyish now looks a lot like WordPress with Lovelyish taped over it... I'm not hating on the people that do decide to pay for Xanga, but I, personally, don't see the point. I'm even willing to pay for premium WP; because it comes with perks. Xanga isn't promising us any perks beyond what we can already do everywhere else for free. If we're sticking with the car analogy, I feel like I would be paying the price of a BMW for a Ford Fiesta, that may or may not even have paint on it, because, as you said, we haven't seen this new model yet (and won't until they have our cash).
My other concern, and reason for not contributing to the "Save Xanga" campaign, is that the community isn't going to be the same if only the people that can afford to pay for it stay. Many of the people that I love reading are coming out and saying that they can't afford it or can't justify it. With those people gone, the riff-raff out of our new fancy-spmancy gated community of pay bloggers, I don't want to be here.
Am I missing some epically great point or what? :-/
I just did a similar blog here. Link
Do you think Xanga can thrive and grow with the pay to blog model? While I hope they do, I'm puzzled how they can "sell" this model to potential new bloggers.
"If I were to guess, it'll probably be similar to the revamp of http://www.Lovelyish.com, if you haven't yet seen it."
that's not much motivation. i think lovelyish looks like crap now.
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - No, I don't think you're missing anything. And I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. I just think there are work-arounds for the pay-for-service obstacle as some people see it. For one, many people are paying for multiple year-long memberships that can then be given to those who can't afford it. The other option is to assist with building the community itself, and receive free membership as a reward. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but I don't see the structure as completely prohibitive. I'm personally going around to people I've grown close to here, and if they can't afford to pay, I will sponsor them or figure out some other way to keep them connected... but only if they want to be.
@flapper_femme_fatale - I think it looked like crap before, so... LOL Again, that was just a guess. It could have a completely revamped look and feel to it that no one expects, but everyone could love.
@ElusiveWords - exactly my thoughts. If there isn't the same attraction for new bloggers, then we won't have the same kind of social make up and interactions. Would people really still come and comment if they can't blog for free? Would we befriend them if there are no blogs for us to understand and learn who the commenter is?
I would argue no, and that vision of Xanga doesn't sound nearly as interesting as it is today.
Oh yeah, I paid for life time and they didn't even say a thing about us die hard members. I'm sorry, but this stinks.
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - you're not missing the point, it's all the people who think raising $60k for Xanga will preserve it... they're missing the point.
@ElusiveWords - I do think it can grow and thrive. Why? Because of the same reason it grew before, the people who make up this awesome community.
@MyxlDove - "The other option is to assist with building the community itself, and receive free membership as a reward." ... The blog that I read stated that that would be the case some time in the future but, "At first, though, we would only be able to offer money options..." I think they're going to lose a lot of people in the in between time; sadly, a lot of those people have been here the longest and would be most valuable in their volunteer positions posted on the relaunch blog. Kudos to you, truly, but not all of us can afford to buy memberships for all of our friends and that kinda makes me want to stay even less. No offense, but it's inviting the cliques with the most funds to take over. From what I've seen, you've always been a stand-up guy and I assume that your friends are, too. It just sounds like the community that we're used to is just gone and lost forever, one way or the other.
I guess I've gotten my money's worth out of Xanga. I, too, used to use CompuServe back when you could get on for $6/hour with a 300 baud modem or $12/hour with a 1200 or 2400 baud modem. After racking up a bill for $800 that I couldn't pay, I had to quit until they came up with monthly fees for unlimited use. As for paying for Xanga, I don't use it enough to justify the cost, even though I've been here for over 10 years. I joined in 2002 sometime when MDD seemed on the verge of closing. I'm just glad I was able to archive my posts and images.
@MyxlDove - My biggest hangup is with what you just said. It COULD be totally awesome, but we have no idea. We've not even been given a screencap or mockup of what they have in mind. They say they're 'working on it' but as yet there is no proof of concept. And yes, wordpress has 'enhancements that require payment' but you have the option not to have the enhancements. It doesn't seem like xanga is offering that option.
I'm broke. I can't afford to pay to blog, plain and simple. I could chip in maybe 5 dollars to the fundraiser, but their minimum contribution being $48 leaves me out. And I don't have enough time in my day to 'volunteer' (still not clear on what they mean by that, either). If xanga goes on, it's gonna have to be without me.
I'm just so sad. I just don't have the money to hang on to my Xanga, not on SSI. I totally would if I could because it means so much to me. I've been here since late '99 and I am pretty sure my Xanga is the only thing that kept me alive during the worst years of my life. The support I found through my blog during those times went a long way to keeping me from killing myself. And that's a Xanga thing, not a blog thing. And honestly? I'm scared. What if I go through a dark period like that again? I'll NEED it. It just sooooo sucks. I am so upset, I don't know what to do. I can't really depend on being able to volunteer because my ability to do things is unreliable and varies by the day because of the very reasons I'm on SSI in the first place - otherwise I'd have an actual job and be able to afford to keep it. Once the shock wore off I've actually found myself crying over this here and there.
I'm sorry I'm whining... I just feel really hurt that the rug is being pulled out from under my feet because I'm poor and I am sure other poor folks are experiencing this as well and it just makes me SO sad.
I don't have time now to leave long comments, but I totally loved this post. I couldn't agree more.
Since I recently paid for another year, I would use the analogy of paying for a car in advance and then being told by the dealership that I can't have it. And $48 IS too much.
You did great in explaining this.