@CharleiMaria - regular wordpress won't have what Xanga 2.0 will. That being said, it is good to get familiar with wordpress.   I would suggest that you'd contribute - if you're able to.  Spread the word to encourage others to get involved.    Archive and download your blog - which we all should do anyways - and then see what happens.    When 2.0 launches, then see how you can get involved.   Your account will migrate over, so you'll be able to comment and subscribe.  :)   Just my suggestions.

@CharleiMaria - The fundraising money is going to the upgrades - new facility/servers/equipment, and to get some programmers - as they've shared on their fundraising page.

@DarklyLitWords - I understand your perspective.   Xanga is utilizing wordpress as the new platform, rather than their own proprietary program.   

WordPress premium costs $30 per month.  Ad onto that the extra plugins and bundle packages, for starters, and that's another $99 per year.    So cost was we'd blog for much less than having our own premium site with bells and wistles, and on top of that have the community aspect of what Xanga is about.   
@AOK4WAY - Thanks for your kind words.  What's the URL of your site?

@sonnigenmai - slowed down, yes, but not stopped.   We've actually gained 20 new backers in less than two days. 

@HUMOR_ME_NOW - glad to be of service, Frank.

@CanuckFascist - Thanks for the kudos on the name of my blog.   

I agree, many have issues when it comes to actually paying for something.

@Celestial_Teapot - That's one way to look at it, but I disagree at the analogy.  If we want an ad-free space with longevity - then Xanga has to change their business model.

@coolmonkey - @bloggicus_maximus - Ok guys.   You both are great at criticizing what is going on, I give you that.   Perspectives differ, to that I will agree to disagree.     I will challenge you to come up with a solution - rather than pointing at 'potential' problems.    

Working in the environment I do, I never go to my client - or boss - and say "here's all the problems with what you are doing" and provide no solution.    
So, what is your solution.   What can Xanga Team do to resolve what you are providing as problems?

If you're unable to provide a cohesive plan - then why are you staying around?  why haven't you moved on?  What makes you stay?    
The reality is two-fold:1 - Xanga's use of the ad-revenue based model is NOT working.  This is the model that has provided us a free blogging platform.2 - Xanga's current platfrom is unable to provide it's users with what they've been wanting for many years.
Now - provide a practical set of solutions to address each challenge that has been presented.   With your talent and knowledge - I'm sure you can come up with something.  

I look forward to reading what you may be able to provide.

@coolmonkey - good ideas.

Let's discuss what you are sharing as possible solutions.   This is just a discussion with my opinions... but let's dive in...

To address the first problem of branding - I completely agree.  I do think it will take the community to assist in this issue, would you agree?   If we as a community don't welcome newcomers, then why would they want to stay?    If we treat newcomers as a community with an improper attitude, why would they want to stay?

I think we both agree that we as a community didn't help in that area in the past, but as we move forward, we can change things.    It will take all involved to address the branding issue.   I concur with your statement on the issue of Branding, and I think we will be in the midst of a rebranding for some time.

Traffic isn't just declining due to community issues, but also the functionality of what people are getting for free.    Xanga 1.0 is based on old web technology.  It is not flexible.   There are a few popular youtubers who were extremely popular on Xanga, but because the platform didnt' provide the service, they had to move elsewhere.   This has been happening for several years.

Ad revenue depends upon traffic, and not just any traffic - but quality traffic.   With popular sites also comes spammers and sploggers.   This issue alone just about shut down Autisable in terms of slowing down it's load time and people being able to register.    Ad revenue that pays bills also depends upon how well each blog is consistent with it's topic.   With new SEO and various google updates, ad servers like google adsense view blogs as much less valuable than before.   The only way for bloggers to earn substantial income/revenue is to be consistent on one topic - so the relevant ads can be applied.   

In regards to ad revenue (ads vs click-thru's) to really garner revenue to pay the bills of several employees and servers, etc... you have to have a lot of popularity and traffic.  Add onto the fact many people are utilizing plugins on their browsers to remove ads altogether... and that trend is increasing.    

Advertisers are being very particular on what sites they will purchase ads for.   If a site doesn't have the audience or demographic they are looking for - they will not by the big ticket ad units that are being offered.   They will go where the big popular sites are, as that's where they can find the ROI.   

Xanga has only been paying any bills by google adsense and other supplementary ad options they could find over the years to accommodate for the free blogging model.   But, advertisers aren't biting.
so, as a solution to help stabilize their revenue, Xanga is changing from a free blog platform, to a blog hosting platform.

ok, that's my initial thoughts to your first possible solution.
However it leads me to #2 - 

Even free blogging platforms have a serious upgrade option, which averages out to anywhere from $10 to $50 per month.   Cost per value is competitive, in some of my calculations, it's a good deal for those who want to do some serious blogging.

The fundraiser is just for the upgrade and get Xanga relaunched.   The monthly cost they are asking is competitive to other blog hosting sites that are currently on the market.
There will be opportunities for people to blog for free.   We have to first get moved to the new platform and get settled before a free option can be discussed again.
I do know that a free trial option like HULU or Netflix is on the table, along with a lot of other marketing ideas to get Xanga back on the map.   For now we have to get Xanga upgraded before we can move forward with a complete rebranding.
Good insight, and again, I do agree with a rebranding campaign - but i don't think the rebranding will cost a lot of money - but it will take a lot of work on all our parts.

@coolmonkey - I agree that improved communication needs to happen.   I do, however, see improvements in that area. Hopefully we'll see more in the weeks ahead.

@dw817 - We should be expecting some things soon, as per their latest update.

@bloggicus_maximus - I'm rather disappointed in your response.  I don't hear of a solution, other than what coolmonkey shared.  c'mon, man, you're better than that.   Given what is currently presented, what practical advice would you provide that would improve the current situation?   You've provided some very insightful critique's of thexangateam and current events, but where is your solution.   What would you do?

@bloggicus_maximus - 

I didn't ask you to write a business plan, and we don't own Xanga.  I'm asking you again to provide practical solutions to these issues from where Xanga is today.      

@bloggicus_maximus - Only one note here: "to bring in people with proven experience in the social media industry" - they are.

For the rest, great insight.  Thank you.

@Ghillies_guide - I don't mind dissenting views, in fact I learn from them.   What I get frustrated about is dissenting views that don't provide practical ideas for improvement.

In regards to the boss/employee analogy, thank you.  But the analogy can be used not just from employee to boss, but also from friend to friend.   I wouldn't present a problem to a friend, without having some type of solution.. or at least an explanation why I think what they are doing is a problem.     In short, constructive criticism is to be constructive.   To build - rather than to destroy.
If you've read what I receive from Autisable, you'll realize it isn't about the money.   The reality is that ad-revenue based blogging platforms don't make a lot of money... not enough to have a long sustaining life span.    Autisable has impacted thousands of people's lives in a very positive way.   The upgrades that Xanga is doing with 2.0 - will be rolled into Autisable - and I want to see that happen.   There are hundreds of families dealing with Autism that blog about their journey, and many also sell products.   2.0 will allow for this to happen... but more on that in a moment.

Some have argued that Xanga was mismanaged, I disagree.    Xanga has been around for 14 years.   It has done very well for a platform that hasn't been substantially upgraded during that time.   One of the founding members of Xanga moved on and developed twitter.   Many of the concepts that this web 2.0 site has developed are now commonplace in social networks worldwide.   It was a platform that used to be ahead of its time.

Xangateam tried their best to keep the current business model, to keep Xanga a free blogging community with ad based revenue compensating them for what is needed to run the site. 14 years is a fantastic run for a site that hasn't been upgraded too much. However, a change had to be made - in fact, it was inevitable that some changes needed to be made. 

If you were in their shoes, where you poured your heart and soul into a project, wouldn't you try to keep it going for as long as possible?   To say they mismanaged it is truly not understanding what they've done to keep it going as long as they have.  Hindsight in many instances is 20/20.

Now I would agree that how they went about dealing with this upgrade and fundraising could have been handled better, but I'm not them  - and I leave my criticism in discussions with them.  I praise them in public, but discuss matters that I disagree with them on in private.

I deal in analysis, and look at return on investments everyday.   The major change on what they are doing is as subtle in the wording of what they are going to do.

While I understand your viewpoint, I disagree.  And that's ok.   I really appreciate your feedback.  In fact it's very insightful and prompts me to respond with what I hope are constructive ideas.

I'm curious if you've had the opportunity to listen to my radio show from Theroadlesstaken, where I talk about what is going on, and the future of Xanga.

What xanga has provided very clearly for us is a vision.   

The standard model for many websites is for the company to take lead and do all the development, etc..   

Xanga wants to do something a bit different.   They want our involvement.   They want us to help develop Xanga.   We are the ones on the front lines of blogging, and with these upgrades, they will have the tools to work with us closer.   Deliverables on requests we've been asking for will have a better turn time.   Some sites already doing this type of community development are very successful.

For example - many balk at $4 per month.  This price per month is competitive.   Xanga's becoming a blog hosting site, rather than a blogging community site.   A subtle take on words, but a big difference in terms of business model.   They want to bring what is good about the current site, and take it to the next level - not just do the same thing over and over again. 

With 2.0 - we can add an online store to our blogs through a plugin.   We can sell our own art, our own books, our own ebooks, t-shirts... whatever it is you'd like to sell.    If you're big on advertising and you have an audience that advertisers want to buy in on... you can have your own ad units for your blog - besides google adsense.     You can offset the $4 per month cost rather easily in any of those options.   
The community aspect of Xanga is the people, but let's look at the current platform on how easy it is to friend and subscribe to people.  To connect to anyone easily, and to keep up on their blog posts and updates - and commenting and interacting... this provides a blog with an audience - and with an audience base that can provide the traction for a blog to really take off.
Now, I've shared that they've always wanted our involvement before - but now they will have the tools to make it happen.  The Ideas section of the current site was established to provide a feedback loop for better service and deliverables.   However, the platform itself was the biggest challenge in making these concepts a reality.   So, change the platform so you can serve your customers better.
Is this something I would invest in? Absolutely!  Or I wouldn't be so passionate about it.
The xanga team has the vision, the rest of us xangans have the talent and ability - and by working together we can really make this thing happen.

The reality is I'm investing in our community - as these are the tools that we've been asking for.  Not only am I investing for these tools, I'm seeing the vision on how 2.0 can benefit people that are already here.

In any business, non-profit or for-profit, a company has to have a vision and a sense of direction.   Personally I think this past year or two thexangateam has been trying to get a handle on its vision and direction for the site.    It's a lot of pride swallowing and planning.    I would suspect that when the servers went down in Jersey in december - it was a serious wake up call as well.

What's past is past, and we have to focus on what is here and now.   If past performance is any indication of future potential - I see a website that has done well overall during it's 14 year span.   I would invest in the overall history and in our community in a heart beat.
Thank you again for your response, much appreciated.

@bloggicus_maximus - what if they wanted to bring on folks like you and me to make it happen?   You're a smart individual with great ideas... why not you?   

would you hire yourself to get this restarted?
They're already working with Myxldove and I on expanding in social media - twitter, facebook, and we're currently getting a pinterest account established.   After that a Youtube account.   Instagram and other social media accounts are being looked into, but it's one step at a time.
They know they've missed out on several things, but they are working with us already in improving things.
It will take some time.   Will it be too late?   I don't think so.  I think the timing could've been better - obviously - but we don't live in a perfect world.    But it's very do able and will require some serious work.
My compensation for all of this is what will happen to Autisable.   I have several promotions already in the works, many working with local theaters and national autism organizations nationwide, and Xanga will benefit as a by product of one national campaign that will promote Autisable to over 120 million people nationwide.  Another promotional campaign that will reach out to over 50 million people utilizing Roku and Xbox 360 and other smartTV's.  Do I discuss the details of these promotions yet? no, but I will when we're ready.
I'm very excited for Autisable, because not only what it is currently doing, but what we are planning to do for it.   Much of what Xanga is doing with Xanga 2.0 will benefit Autisable in major ways.   But beyond that, it will benefit significantly people that are already here.
I agree that Xangateam needs some serious help in terms of talent and marketing.   I think, however, we can help significantly in that area where we are now.    We may differ in opinion, but I think that's where our strength resides.  
Thanks again for your response.