Social Networking: Ning

Ning: Create your own social network for anything. ©

Perhaps I’m taking the easy way out here, which I find rather disconcerting on my part. The disconcertment comes because I have started sending my e-mails to students with the sign-off signature “Do Hard Things,” which is also the title of a book I’m reading. Nonetheless, I chose to do my assignment on Ning because we are using Ning in our EDU 255 course, I knew nothing about it, and I think it is a platform that I can use at my high school.

Ning was started in October 2005, initially as a free networking service that would allow groups, teams, organizations, companies, etc. to set up small (?), private (?) social networks. Since April of 2010, Ning has discontinued its free service and has transformed into a pay-to-play service, with rates starting at $1.67 a month, based on number of members allowed, amount of service support available, and one or two other factors.

According to Wikipedia, Ning’s rivals include MySpace and Facebook. However, since Ning has 7.4 million U.S. visitors, and Facebook has over 500 million world-wide, I think Ning’s rivals are more like the MyChurch social network—which also charges members on a monthly basis.

Interestingly, I found a Tea Party social network while researching Ning. According to their web site, this group had a Ning account but switched when Ning started charging a fee, or when Ning removed the Widget Lab feature that was used on their site.

Much like Google Blogger, Ning is considered a “white label” service; that is, through personalization choices, you can make a blog or social network site look like a self-built, created site, rather than something you created from a template.

I think the popularity of Ning is that it is based upon interests and common goals of cohesive groups rather than on “friends.” Its purpose seems to be much more practical and functional than Facebook or MySpace.

Would I consider creating an account on Ning? Don’t be silly. (I mean, of course—but don’t tell Cathy.) I have already created one. After all, why not? If I want to teach computer apps in the 21^st century, I think I should at least have a rudimentary understanding of how these networking sites are being used in the academic world. And, on a more practical level, I think we can use it in my classes to collaborate, discuss, and develop ideas.