As of the 14th of January, 2009, the Smart-Thinker product suite, hereafter known as “SmartSocial”, will become entirely free. This will include all modules and source with no portal restrictions.
To speak candidly, in my experience, Commercial DotNetNuke Module development is not a rewarding or easy market, expecially in the current global environment. I am unable to sustain a successful development and support rate and have decided to withdraw from the commercial module sales arena. This was done to a number of factors such as lack of sales/marketing knowledge and undervaluing the products (a customer buys the complete suite for $69 and generates 30 minutes of support and 10 days of feature requests). I'll save that for a separate discussion.
This day marks the culmination of 9 years of development – the Smart-Thinker Events module was released in classic ASP form in 2000 and morphed into the existing DotNetNuke module that it is today, along with the other Smart-Thinker modules.
I felt that I had 3 options:
- Sell the Smart-Thinker code to a DNN Development Company who could improve and grow it
- Abandon the code completely and remove it from existence
- Make it free and hope the community will grow and extend it
Option 1 was the preferred option as it would have benefitted the most people, mainly you, the customers. I am sure you are all aware that DNN module development is painfully slow and if you look on any software company forum you will see hundreds of outstanding module feature requests. This almost became a reality a few months ago but fell through at the last moment even after I had signed the contract. I learnt many things from this experience on a personal and business level (like don't hand over all your sales data until you have exchanged contracts!).
Option 2 simply hurts too much. Like most DNN developers I started out after a passion for coding (it is still my hobby, as opposed to my job, today). I wrote the Smart-Thinker modules to meet the needs of a community site I was working on at the time (bear in mind this way before Facebook ;). It made sense to package and share them as the income aided my long term goal and provided revenue for my projects. To this day I have always seen the Smart-Thinker modules as a means-to-an-end and have honestly never seen myself as a dedicated Module Developer. To completely remove the code from existence would be too painful to do.
It was therefore Option 3 that became the logical choice. The Smart-Thinker modules would be released as SmartSocial, a completely free download for the DNN community. There will be no more trial modules, no more portal restrictions and it won’t cost a cent. The only restriction is that the software rights are still owned by Smart-Thinker (the license has not changed, it is now merely 100% discounted) so you may not resell it. I hope that more people pick up the source and play with it. SmartSocial will rely on Community Support.
What happens to Smart-Thinker?
Smart-Thinker will still be around and will move more towards DNN services and Sponsored Enhancements (I am experimenting with the concept of CrowdSourcing (multiple users band together to sponsor a feature) which is working well so far).
I am still going to release occasional updates (I use SmartSocial on PokerDIY), where it makes sense (think of Smart-Thinker as one of the hundreds of other users downloading and playing around with SmartSocial) but will do so in my own time. I will also be able to concentrate more on development and less on support. Smart-Thinker will become the overseer of SmartSocial and will manage releases and code reviews. The idea is that developers will add in features and play around with the source and submit it back to me. I will then review it and, if it makes sense, add it into the core codeline and release it for everyone’s benefit. Hopefully SmartSocial with grow with the community and everyone will benefit.
What happens to existing customers?
Firstly, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I realize this news has. Unfortunately I simply cannot afford to continue in the current environment (not to mention the global economic climate). Something had to change and this is a better option than merely disappearing from the scene and removing the code like so many other module developers before have done.
Secondly – there will be NO change in your service for the remainder of your support period. SmartSocial relies on Community Support (ie. People helping other people) whereas all existing customers will retain read/write access to the Smart-Thinker forums and support channels. I will still be releasing updates (including Sponsored Enhancements) and enhancing the modules for my own use so there will be no change in the service to you. I will gain time by not taking on new customers and saving on support time of SmartSocial.
As always, I have tried to be as open and honest as possible (this is probably my downfall in business ;) – I’d appreciate your understanding and I hope to see SmartSocial flourish under this new arrangement. Please let me know on the forums if you have any generic questions or email me directly if you have personal items to discuss. Please be patient as there is great demand on my time at the moment.
Thanks,
Rodney Joyce
Smart-Thinker