WidgetLaboratory Turns To Newcomer SocialGO After Ning Debacle

Widget creator WidgetLaboratory got into a public feud this Summer with Ning after being shut out of the build-your-own social network platform over questionable behavior around its Terms of Service. TechCrunch called the third party widget developers “idiots” when they posted e-mail communication between themselves and Ning which didn’t exactly support their case, and when it turned out they flat out lied about the ban at first to gain sympathy.

Now it seems WidgetLaboratory has moved on from continuously bashing Ning on their blog to announcing a new partnership with UK-based Bright Things, who are preparing the roll-out of a Ning competitor dubbed SocialGO (currently in public beta). Like its heavily funded counterpart, SocialGO is a web-based service that allows users to create their own private social network. The company cites unique features like video chat, an open account API and a member billing system to be the main differentiators. Until the end of this year, creating a network on SocialGO will be entirely free. As from January 1, the company will let users choose between a free service or a premium service with more features (pricing has not been decided yet).

Under the agreement, WidgetLaboratory will be the first to join the newcomer’s third party program, enabling them to develop widgets for a fixed fee in exchange for a share of the revenue generated by the sale of widgets to SocialGo users.