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The Future of Cigar Box Nation

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to write a few words to talk honestly about the health and longevity of Cigar Box Nation. As usual, the post ended up being longer than I intended. So, here’s a summary:

We don’t know why there have been so many recent downtimes and issues with the site, and we haven’t been able to get any answers out of Ning (the platform CBN runs on).
We hope and trust that the company that owns the Ning system (Mode Media) will continue to operate it for years to come - but we have no guarantees.
Cigar Box Nation has become more than just the original site of CigarBoxNation.com, now with a strong presence on Facebook, live broadcasts and more.
While it may sometimes seem like more attention is being given to other platforms, CigarBoxNation.com remains the flagship and we are committed to its continued growth and role as the hub of the worldwide cigar box guitar movement.

If you want more details, here’s the long version:

When Shane Speal first founded CBN back at the end of 2008, MySpace was still fairly strong and Facebook still pretty new and small. At that time the Ning social platform (on which Cigar Box Nation runs) was as much an up-and-coming network as any of the others. It was a perfect place to found a new Cigar Box Guitar-focused social network, and in the years since it has served as the cradle of the Movement.

In the years since, Facebook has grown to mammoth proportions, Myspace has faded away, and the Ning platform hangs in a sort of limbo. Bought out by a larger company (Mode Media), its future has become uncertain and these days it has become nearly impossible to get any sort of answer out of them about what their plans are for the site.

Lately CigarBoxNation.com has had periods of downtime and errors, and while they eventually clear up, we have few ways of finding out (despite filing helpdesk tickets with Ning) what caused them, what is being done about them, etc. We hope for the best, but with all honesty we have no guarantee as to what the future holds for it. For now, aside from the bugginess and downtime, all systems seem to remain “go”, but it’s a scary thought that Mode Media could decide to kill off the Ning platform. I’d like to think that they wouldn’t just chuck a bunch of paying customers out the window, but who knows.

Now, some good news. Cigar Box Nation remains the online home and rallying point of the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution and homemade/handmade music movement - and we have been working hard to expand Cigar Box Nation to be more than just the original CigarBoxNation.com site. We now have a strong presence on Facebook via the CBN page there, we are creating live video broadcasts as Cigar Box Nation TV (broadcast live on Facebook and then archived on Youtube and the CBN.com site), and more. We are doing everything we can to spread the word about cigar box guitars and other handmade/homemade instruments, and taking advantage of everything social media offers is a big part of that. All of this is being funded by C. B. Gitty, and the ads you see on Cigar Box Nation are a part of that.

We try to keep the original CigarBoxNation.com site involved in as much of this as possible, posting feature content and linking back to it from Facebook and elsewhere, featuring member videos and photos, group discussions and more. It may seem sometimes like we are ignoring the original site, but I assure you that is not the case. We are working hard to keep people coming back, and new users coming in. It all takes a lot of time and effort, and frankly, a good bit of money too, but it’s worth it.

So, that’s about it, for now. The CBG movement continues to grow and expand, and Cigar Box Nation will continue to be at the heart of it, no matter what.

Ben “Gitty” Baker

May 31, 2016

20 members like this

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JL on June 2, 2016 at 11:22pm

Cigar Box TV is an EXCELLENT reason why they have expanded to FaceBook.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 1, 2016 at 9:04am

Thank you Ben, Shane and all the others involved with keeping the Nation alive. It's still my first choice of Cigar Box Guitar information. I will admit I visit facebook when on line, but prefer web sites that cover my likes to "social" media, which many times seems to be very anti social these days. Don't care for all of the political BS and other crap that ends up there and facebook is a big time suck trying to find the information you want.

Keep up the good work, this is still "Home" to me.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 1, 2016 at 9:31am

Ensign Mayo - "I got no place else to go..."

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Permalink Reply by Dave Lynas on June 1, 2016 at 9:35am

Thanks for the words Ben. I love CBN and post all my stuff there. I'd hate to loose it and start over. We must all remember how much we get from your efforts. How fleeting great things are. How fragile our house of cards. Thank you very much. I hope we can continue and prosper. ... Dave

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on June 1, 2016 at 1:11pm

Just FWIW,

I use my real name. that's my brand.

And there is zero chance of finding me on Facebook, or writing or reading tweets and I have no reason to expect that to change, whatever else happens. If CBN migrates fully in that direction, you will still find me on the porch, with my banjo. Or something......

Hope it continues here, and grows. Or another forum site if necessary.

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Permalink Reply by Bristol Blue on June 1, 2016 at 1:39pm

I would hate to lose this proper CBN site .

I'm not on Facebook currently and am extremely wary of it !

I really don't see the point of CBN on Facebook . Facebook just seems to be a place where teenagers are rude to each other and family members post photos of their dinner ....

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Permalink Reply by Perfesser Blue on June 1, 2016 at 2:04pm

For those who have been wondering about Facebook and its risks to users:

Facebook is in the hub of the surveillance state

It is a directory of 1/4 of the worlds population. Big Brother's wet dream!

It is closely connected with the CIA. Check the list of board members and directors. Compare the lists. Same people. Dont believe me, check it out for yourself.

Facebook will track every keystroke and use algorithms to see who you know and who they know. It tracks every click. It has facial recognition software to identify every person in every photo. It is 24/7 connected to ALL of the govt security and spying and policing agencies and it is connected to many corporate surveillance and marketing outfits.The spyware on FB downloads into your computer so they can follow everything you do online.

Facebook is CIA.

(Google also is a close bed fellow. Your searches are also subject to analysis.)

FB USURPS COPYRIGHT!

As soon as you post to FB they OWN YOUR MUSIC AND PHOTOS!!!

This is not tinfoil hat talk. It is current events. I have been following the news. It has been a common knowledge among informed Americans for years.

I will not go to FB. I will not recommend anyone to do so.

FB is a virus. It is malware. It is surveillance.

It is definitely against all basic security protocols for an individual user.

If you love your country and your family, Dont volunteer for this kind of mistreatment.

Check it out for yourself. DO the research, tell your pals.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on June 1, 2016 at 2:20pm

Ben,

Thanks for the update. Having lived most of my life in IT, I get the issues. Your supplier should have SLAs to maintain, and accountability to you, but it sounds like there are some issues...

The other option, of course, is to somehow backup the data and port it to another platform... Which could take weeks, not to mention the loss of the data or trying to get threads rebuilt, etc. Add hiring a hosting provider, selecting new software, ensuring secure configurations, etc... Ugh.

I hope it goes well. I would hate to lose CBN...

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on June 2, 2016 at 12:56am

Well explained and good to know. Thanks, Ben.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on June 2, 2016 at 1:14am

The most obvious thing to me with all this,is the potential to lose a trove of information/experience if the site bombs.Whilst the search/archive system is a bit unwieldy,that's mostly due to the way the product was input originally,there is an awful lot of good stuff there,sometimes from members no longer active,i know there's 3 or 4 ,I look up when i hit a problem,and it's shown me that our posting can improve by adding relevant 'tags' to our posts,something i've never really done myself,but will in future,the option is there when inputting new content,and sensible use of it will get like minded items a bit closer linked

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Permalink Reply by Kentucky Mojo on June 2, 2016 at 5:02am

I don't think the average users understands how much you put into this thing, Ben. I am a builder/seller of Cigar Box Ukuleles, so I am in the minority here as far as type of instrument and what most of the guys build here. That being said, I was on a deadline one friday night to get a Ukulele shipped out the next day, and was in final assembly. I was using some parts from one of the C.B.Gitty CBU kits someone had given me, and couldn't get the tuners to fit correctly. I sent a panic email (after hours, at around dinner time) hoping to see a reply the next day, but Ben replied within the half hour! WOW! I needed to remove the ferrels to make the friction tuners fit properly. I had used one of the kits before, but didn't recall having to do this step. I really appreciated the speedy response and respect as a builder that you gave me, even though I had made a stupid mistake. I am glad to know that I have resources like CBN, and Ben Baker behind me when I build, cause this stuff ain't rocket science. Rocket science has mathematical equations that always produce the same results! Which reminds me... see ya in Rocket city (Huntsville)!