Jun
28
Introduction to Using Ning Sites
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 13 Comments
I’ve written quite a few articles about the Ning family of social networking sites focusing primarily on social marketing and business networking concepts.
In this article I address every type of Ning user.
By using Ning sites, not only can you transact business, you can also make new friends, discuss special interests, and promote favorite causes. You can network with people all over the world from the comfort and privacy of your home, any time of day or night.
I cannot cover every possible contingency, so feel free to ask questions below in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Before looking at what you should do on Ning sites, I must explain one thing that you should never do on Ning or on any other social network.
Thou Shalt Not Spam
Last September, I slammed the practice of spamming in How Do You Like Your SPAM? If you’re not sure what spam is, please invest a few minutes to read through that article.
Spamming is something that you should never do on Ning or anywhere else. You’re spamming on Ning if you push unwanted advertising, commercial or otherwise, on other people by using:
- private or instant messages
- profile or blog comments
- forum or discussion posts or comments
- site, group, event, page or comment sharing
- something I haven’t dreamed of listing here
Be considerate of your fellow site members at all times. If you want to advertise, use only your page’s profile and blog, and watch for my upcoming piece, Promoting Yourself on Ning.
Uploading Your Photo
When you join your very first Ning site, you need to upload your photo. While you can theoretically skip this step, a picture makes your site page friendlier and more credible.
If for some reason you believe that you cannot use your photo — or a family photo — then find another image to upload in its place. Avoid using the dreaded default image, since it implies a lack of seriousness on your part.
Creating Your Profile
Although volumes could be written on this subject alone, here are ten suggestions to help guide you:
- Get clear about who you are and what you represent.
- Study other people’s profiles. What do you like about them? Dislike?
- Know how you want to portray yourself on each Ning site.
- Express yourself in an accurate, friendly and interesting manner.
- Write in the first person. Avoid bad grammar, misspellings, overused clichés, exaggeration, distasteful slang, etc. Learn to write well — or find somebody who will help you.
- Include links to your relevant websites or blogs.
- Fill in the details each site requests as best you can. If the site doesn’t ask for enough, use your page’s Text Box to present additional information and links.
- Revise your profile often, as you re-invent yourself or gain clarity.
- Ask others for their opinions and listen carefully.
- Don’t wait to get started. As Mike Litman taught me: “You don’t have to get it right. You just have to get it going.”
Making Connections
Once you have set up your page, you’re ready to invite people to be “friends” and accept friendship offers from other people.
I know that you’re not naive enough to believe that you can make friends with the click of a mouse, so I must explain to you what it means to be friends on Ning.
Please read the following very carefully:
When you make friends on Ning, you are each giving the other explicit permission to communicate directly using private messaging and Ning’s content sharing features.
E-mail messages will inevitably arrive in your inbox. Some will be spam and others not.
Ask yourself whether you’d mind receiving direct messages from a person. If yes, be friends. If not, pass. However, don’t be too cautious, since you always have the option to remove a so-called friend who has turned out to be problematic.
Communicating One-on-One
When you meet a new person offline, you communicate cautiously at first. You make small talk. Gradually you reveal details about yourselves, and a relationship develops. Approach online communication in the same way.
Be genuinely interested and ask questions to give your new friend an opportunity to open up to you. Reciprocate appropriately as you go along.
Use a profile comment or two to get a conversion going, and then switch to private messaging if and when it seems right. Don’t force anything. It’s better to take your time.
Communicating with the Community
In my opinion, the best way to communicate with all members at one time is by writing blog articles within the Ning site.
If you don’t know how to write, you’ll learn. This is a great way to get practice before starting a stand alone blog on Blogger.com or your own hosting account. Your writing will improve as you do more and more of it.
Write about topics that are important to you. Create a desire within your readers to return and read subsequent blogs. If your articles are helpful, the site creator may feature them, and that will help you to gain readers.
In Promoting Yourself on Ning, I’ll teach you how to promote your blog articles.
Inviting Friends
Social networking sites need new members to grow and thrive. All members share the responsibility for bringing in new members.
Use the Invite feature to send a short invitation to people whom you know. In the comments area of the invitation, say briefly why you like the site. If everybody participates in this process, everybody benefits from the new faces on the site.
Now It’s Your Turn
Ask questions below, so that I can clarify or elaborate on any of the points I’ve made in this article — or address any omissions.
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Jun
23
What is Wrong with Ning
Filed Under List Building, Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, SPAM, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, Web Marketing | 17 Comments
Nearly a year has passed since my first Ning article, Ning Social Networking Sites.
Since then online social networking has taken some exciting twists and turns. MySpace has lost luster, while Facebook and Twitter have become social media darlings.
Ning Still Facing Obstacles
Ning seems to be in somewhat of a holding pattern.
There have been some changes here and there, mostly for the better in my opinion, but no exciting breakthroughs. There are new apps, a new Ning central networking site, and new flexibility, but site creators and users still have their reservations.
As mentioned in Ning Social Network Controversy, the Ning management has been criticized for its policies and its tactics and, as too many people are aware, Ning sites haven’t been immune to spamming by both Ning members and by intruders.
My Ning sites now all require membership pre-approval, since I know of no better way to deal with persistent outsider spamming.
What is Right with Ning
Despite any shortcomings, I still feel as when I wrote about the Ning controversy, that Ning truly epitomizes Web 2.0. Ning sites are communities of people, and Ning is a community of community sites.
I’ve certainly written a good deal about social media list building including both List Building Paradigm Shift and List Building Using Ning Social Networks. Nevertheless communities are the essence of social media, not lists, and social marketing must therefore favor community building over list building.
Fortunately Ning can be used to build either communities or lists. There are creative ways to build communities within Facebook and Twitter, but Ning networks were designed expressly for that purpose and afford marketers a variety of useful tools and a degree of social media ownership.
Ning Still My Favorite Networks
I still use Ning social networking sites more than all others. I like them for the reasons cited above and for the many other reasons I’ve discussed in previous Ning related articles.
I have so far created four Ning sites of my own and hope to create more in the future:
- Let’s Follow Each Other - This is a fun networking site for Twitter folk who want to gain followers, share ideas, promote themselves and network with each other.
- Beyond Business Coaching - This is a site for entrepreneurs and marketing professionals who are interested in social media, customer acquisition, customer retention and CRM.
- Online Kosher Networking - This is a niche site for orthodox affiliated members of the Jewish faith to network and share their ideas about Jewish values, Israel, religious observance, charities, politics, jobs, business, etc.
- Outside the Box - If you enjoy my blog, but you don’t use Twitter, and you aren’t necessarily business oriented, this may be the right site for us to connect and network together.
In all fairness, I must tell you that Ning has competitors such as SocialGO, GROU.PS and others but admit that I haven’t yet evaluated them. If you have tried other social network platforms, I invite you to share your experiences with them.
To learn more about using Ning, please read Introduction to Using Ning Sites.
Don’t miss any future articles! Subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Apr
5
Ning Social Network Controversy
Filed Under Alerts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 18 Comments
A comment last week to my October 2008 blog post, Ning Social Networking Sites Update, linked back to Ning Exposed - Tech Company Scams its Clients, an article which sharply criticizes Ning’s latest business model and platform, and it alleges foul play on Ning’s part in reacting to complaints by network creators.
As a Ning social network creator and user, I happen to appreciate Ning’s recent platform improvements and tend to disagree with the article’s assessments. While the allegations of censorship are disturbing, my careful reading of Ning’s Terms of Service leaves me hopeful that Ning has acted fully within its rights.
Aggregating Ning Social Networking Sites
I have always looked at Ning as a family of social networking sites. An individual chooses to become a member one or many Ning sites.
Ning members can connect to become friends, and the friendships that they make will extend across sites. Friendships aren’t limited to the site at which they were forged.
I have found managing my Ning memberships and friendships across sites somewhat complicated, so I was pleased when Ning tied everything together for me in one place at Ning.com.
I always viewed myself as a member of the larger Ning community, not just the semi-independent sites which I created or joined, so aggregating Ning sites and Ning members made perfect sense to me. I didn’t view it at all as some kind of sinister plot.
Member Contact Across Ning Sites
The article referenced above mentions a “hole in the system, which is convenient for Ning, which allows people to gather friends across any website using Ning’s technology and then invite them all to join their website.”
The article is referring to the ability of members to share their favorite Ning social networks and content with all their friends across Ning sites as a convenient loophole, not as an intended and beneficial system feature.
I admit that this feature can be and is often abused by members, but that’s not Ning’s fault. The real problem is that people often make friendships indiscriminately. If the friendships were truly meaningful, they would naturally anticipate and welcome contact, even across sites.
Ning Social Concept Epitomizes Web 2.0
As I indicated before, I believe that Ning is true Web 2.0. It takes social collaboration a step farther than Twitter, Facebook, MySpace , LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Individual social networking sites are created and contributed by users, not just the content within these sites.
I applaud Ning for providing us with a unique social networking venue.
Don’t miss any future articles! Subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Apr
1
Free Ringtones Girl Caught in the Act and Captured
Filed Under April Fools, News, Ning Sites, SPAM | 15 Comments
The title of this article is purely sensational — as you might expect on April Fools Day. However, the article itself is real and highlights the annoyances and threats that we constantly face when using the Internet and social networking sites.
Before the Net became part of our lives, we worried about pickpocketing, mugging, burglary, armed robbery and a variety of scams that include make-believe charities, phony investment schemes and identity theft.
Today we must also worry about viruses and malware, phishing and more sophisticated web-based scams including a plethora of silly business schemes, and widespread online fraud and identity theft.
Ning, Twitter and MySpace Attacked
Hundreds of Ning social networks including mine, Outside the Box and Let’s Follow Each Other, were attacked over the past week by “free ringtones” spam. Bogus users popped up everywhere and posted their free ringtones spam on as many member profiles as they could.
Network creators and administrators reacted by changing their site settings to require new member approval. This measure has stopped the free ringtones girl but not without some ongoing inconvenience to both administrators and would-be site members.
Similar spam outbreaks occur frequently on Twitter and MySpace where no simple solution is yet in sight.
Forewarned is Forearmed
Spam is only the tip of the iceberg.
Think BEFORE you click on any link or respond to any pop up including those that offer to upgrade to new versions of your existing software. It’s advisable to write down the name of the software mentioned and check the vendor’s site directly for legitimate updates.
Close pop up windows using Alt-F4 on your keyboard. Do not press ANY buttons, as labeling can be fake and malicious. Pressing buttons can initiate the downloading of some very nasty and hard-to-remove malware to your computer such as Trojans and rootkits.
The most likely places to pick up harmful malware are e-mails you receive, social networking sites, blogs and forums. Make sure you keep your system and virus protection current, but don’t rely on anti-malware programs to protect you. Use caution and common sense.
As far as make money from home schemes are concerned, most of them are time wasters if not outright ripoffs.
If you are serious about finding a legitimate work from home opportunity, contact me, and I’ll point you in the right direction. However, it’s a fact that even the best home businesses usually flop.
Very Useful Information
I found the blog PC Speed Guru very informative and helpful. Any Internet security blogs or websites that you’ve found to be useful, please post them below in a comment.
But no spam, please!
Don’t miss any future articles! Subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Mar
15
When Social Networking Sites Compete
Filed Under Facebook, News, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, Twitter | 14 Comments
When Twitter, Ning and Facebook Compete
Major social networking sites are constantly competing for new users and for a greater share of each user’s networking time.
When Twitter, Facebook and Ning social networks compete, you and I win. Social networking sites are forced to keep improving in order to keep us as members.
Competing Isn’t Easy
However, competing isn’t easy. Simply adding more features will not always produce better results. Added features might make a site slower, harder to comprehend or more difficult to navigate.
There are very many factors that social networking site owners need to consider and to balance when making site improvements. For example:
- Competitive Environment - What is the competition doing and not doing? How well is it working for them? Who are they targeting? How are they positioning and marketing themselves? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can we neutralize their strengths and exploit their weaknesses?
- Functionality - What capabilities does our target market want? What can we offer? How will product enhancements be perceived?
- Design Consistency - How can we add capabilities while preserving our site’s overall look, feel and philosophy? What synergies can we achieve between new and existing functionality?
- Cost vs. Benefit - Social network owners must consider the trade off between benefit and cost of each potential site modification?
- Timing - How long will it take to roll out site modifications? Faster is generally better than slower when facing competition. Windows of opportunity can sometimes be very small.
- Monetization Strategies - How will changes affect the income social network owners derive from the site?
- Anticipating the Future - What is needed down the road? How will changes made now interact will future ones?
- Legal Issues - Any patents, trademarks, compliance, disclosures or other legal constraints to reckon with?
- Site Responsiveness - Are site response times acceptable? Can responsiveness be improved? How will social networking site modification affect responsiveness?
- Simplicity - Social networking sites and their features must be easy for members and prospective members to understand.
- Ease of Use - Sites must be easy and intuitive to navigate. Members need simple ways to achieve their online social networking objectives.
- Visual Appeal - Social networking sites need to look and feel right to members.
- Buzz - Social networking sites grow virally when members invite their friends to join. They need compelling reasons to reach out to their friends and easy-to-use mechanisms that automate the inviting process.
- Fun Factor - Members will not hang out at a site if it isn’t enjoyable. A positive user experience is critical to online social network success.
Twitter, Ning and Facebook are continually evolving. However, recent changes to Facebook seem to have been the most far reaching.
Recent Facebook Developments
Facebook changed the look and feel of the pages used by businesses, organizations and celebrities to make them more similar to personal profiles. As a result, overall Facebook design is simpler and perhaps a bit more intimate.
Furthermore, the way businesses and individuals can now both use the Facebook News Feed seems to more closely follow the Twitter model. This is especially good news for businesses, organizations and celebrities trying to communicate with their “fans” and acquire new ones.
My main Facebook complaints are: its persistent sluggishness, the deluge of quaint applications and requests, and the steep learning curve.
Recent Ning Developments
The way I see it, Ning takes the Web 2.0 concept a step farther than any of their competitors. That’s what makes Ning unique.
Not only do users create site content, they even create the individual Ning social networks themselves.
Ning encourages people to become members of multiple social networks. What has been sorely needed is a way to manage participation across these multiple networks from a central control panel. Ning has recently filled this need by creating a new super meta network at Ning.com that’s conceptually a network of networks.
I applaud Ning’s latest effort, but noticed couple of problems with the new meta social networking site:
- There isn’t yet a capability to manage outstanding friend requests across networks.
- The recent friends list isn’t correctly sorted.
Like Facebook, Ning social networks tend to be slow and quirky.
Recent Twitter Developments
The main thing I see at Twitter is a cleaner web interface with fewer rough edges.
Twitter like Facebook and Ning is doing its share to combat spam. Spam in social media is an ongoing problem.
Twitter is much faster than Facebook or Ning. I would however like to see better performance of the Twitter API as it affects the consistency of Twitter tools running on top of it. I can run Twitter Karma many times and get as many different results!
For me and others site performance can be an overriding issue. When a site is too slow, it can be emotionally too painful to endure. For that reason I spend most of my networking time on Twitter, even though conceptually I like Ning and Facebook about as much.
Don’t miss any future articles! Subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Mar
1
Social Media One Bite at a Time
Filed Under Facebook, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, Twitter | 14 Comments
Short Version of My Story
Today I tell some of my own story and share some of my own social media strategy.
This article is about an idea that was planted in my head and how I nurtured that idea. The article is slightly longer than usual, so please hang in there with me.
Creative problem solving has been a forte since my teenage years as a math whiz and chess champion.
Once I started working, I was able to apply my problem solving abilities and help companies to improve their business processes and to get a better handle on many different types of business and scientific data.
Thirty years into my career I learned about the social media and Web 2.0 revolution from Time Magazine’s December 2006 cover story, Time’s Person of the Year: You. I saw that while I could no longer be one of the earliest adopters of social media, it wasn’t at all too late to position myself at the forefront of an enormous trend.
I had previously experienced and benefited to a small degree from online social networking and social networking sites such as Ryze and Direct Matches, but the Time Magazine article opened my eyes to a world of possibilities bigger than I had imagined. I made a decision in January 2007 after reading the Time article to master social media and to see where that mastery would lead me.
Online Social Networking
Rather than master all social media concurrently, I elected to focus on social networking and to develop a first version of my online social networking strategy. These early conclusions I based on my observations at MySpace, Direct Matches and Yuwie, social networking sites that I have since largely abandoned.
By September 2007 I was contemplating my next step.
Blogging and Search Engine Optimization
At MySpace and Yuwie I experimented with blogging. The next step for me was to start an independent blog, and I chose Wordpress.org as my blogging platform in connection with my web hosting at Go Daddy.
Before launching my Online Social Networking blog I spent a couple of months reading about blogging and SEO and a short time conducting keyword research. The time I had invested reading and researching paid off, because it got me started on the right foot. Keyword research had joined online social networking to become an important area of competence.
I began blogging in November 2007 and devoted a year to learning how to write, promote and optimize my online publication. By October 2008 I no longer viewed myself as a novice at blogging.
At present Online Social Networking has more than 350 Feedburner subscribers, receives more than 2,000 search visits per month, and is ranked in the top 100,000 websites by Alexa.
Ning Social Networking Sites and Twitter
First Ning social networks and then Twitter captured my attention. These two social media platforms are very powerful and are both growing rapidly in popularity.
Just as I had done with online social networking strategy, search engine optimization and blogging, I set out to master Ning and then Twitter, writing articles on each that have since been read many times and featured by top new sites.
I created two Ning social networking sites:
- Outside the Box is a companion site to my blog where members can network with each other, present their own ideas and brand themselves. Outside the Box has 265 members.
- Let’s Follow Each Other is a companion site to Twitter where members can network, make new friends and share ideas. They can also promote themselves and their other social networking sites. After only three days Lets’ Follow Each Other already has its first 146 members.
My @larrybrauner profile on Twitter has more than 20,000 followers, and thousands of Twitter members have explored my blog.
“One Bite at a Time” Works
The key to my progress is internal motivation coupled with focus.
Rather than go off in many directions and spread myself too thin, I apply the 80/20 Rule taking a bite at a time out of the social media giant. This strategy has worked well for me and can work for others.
What’s my next bite?
Stay tuned, but Facebook is at the top of my social marketing list, and along the way, I’m building my personal brand, helping a few clients, and looking for more clients.
Like this article? Please subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Jan
5
List Building Using Ning Social Networks
Filed Under List Building, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 10 Comments
List building is an essential part of online social networking, and Ning, if used properly, is a powerful list building tool.
Here are some strategies that I believe will help you with list building on Ning.
Creating Your Own Ning Network
You can create your own Ning social networking sites. Ning was designed with that end in mind. My new Ning site is Critical Thinking Outside the Box.
Your Ning site will help you to grow your online list virally, and you’ll be able to use the many channels that Ning social networks provide such as broadcasts, forum discussions, blog posts, private messages and profile comments to communicate with your list.
As tempting as it might be to start your own Ning social networking site as quickly as possible, I advise you to wait until you develop a substantial online following before taking that step.
I have seen many Ning sites die off from a lack of momentum. However, once you can personally enlist 100 to 200 people to become members of your site, you might very well be able to get it off the ground.
Joining Other People’s Ning Networks
You can start building a list by joining other people’s Ning sites. The best sites to join are those that attract the kinds of people you’re looking to meet online.
Don’t be afraid to join a new network that might not be right for you. You can always leave the network if you wish or you can create a profile, abandon it and move on. On the other hand you might really like what you find once you join, so if it looks interesting, give it a try.
When you join a site, you’ll be connected as friends with anybody there whom you befriended at another Ning site. This makes perfect sense, but it can work against you.
Messaging Restrictions on Ning Networks
You can only send messages to your friends, so of course you’ll want to add friends when you join a new site. You will be able to mail to them individually or as a group, but the latter is usually more effective.
Unfortunately, if you have more than a hundred friends at a site, Ning will not let you mail to them as a group. To avoid hitting the 100 limit, you should try to add about eighty friends max on each site.
Pre-existing friends will count against you. If you join a site, and you already have forty friends there, you’ll only be able to add forty new ones on that site before reaching your eighty target.
In addition, the overlap between this site and others will cause your friends to receive duplicate messages across networks each time you send an announcement.
Yet despite Ning’s messaging restrictions, you should eventually be able to directly mail to hundreds across all the networks to which you belong.
Exceeding the Messaging Limit
If you join a large Ning social networking site and end up with more than 100 friends there, you won’t be able to mail them as a group.
Don’t despair — add even more friends!
Later, when you find a site you really like or start your own Ning site, you’ll be able to invite friends from this site and others to which you belong all at one time using Ning’s “invite friends” feature.
You’ll even be able to invite them more than one time, as long as you don’t make a pest out of yourself.
Using Messaging to Build Your Brand
Don’t spam your friends. They’ll quickly tune you out.
Send useful information that positions you as a leader or as an authority. If you have a blog, you can send blog announcements to attract new readers and subscribers.
Eventually you’ll have the influence and following you need to start your own thriving Ning social networking site.
Like this article? Please subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Nov
2
My New Ning Social Networking Site
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, Outside the Box, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 10 Comments
Yet Another Ning Site?
In Ning Social Networking Sites Update I wrote about recent changes on Ning social sites and how to cope with them. One suggestion I made was that you could “start your own Ning social network“.
I knew that sooner or later I would build my own Ning social networking site. After all, the ability for anybody to create their own social networking sites is the most noteworthy feature of Ning.
I had already laid the groundwork to launch my own social network. I had many contacts who were involved in social networking whom I could invite to join. I had also received much encouragement from other site owners.
So on Wednesday, October 29, I set up my new site, and as of this writing there are 86 members from 11 countries.
Critical Thinking Outside the Box
My new Ning social network, Critical Thinking Outside the Box, “Larry Brauner’s Business and Social Network for Thinking People”, is intended as a companion site to my Online Social Networking blog.
It’s a networking site where you and I can brand ourselves. The site is of course strongly branded to me. The best way to brand yourself there is for you to start and participate in discussions on the forum.
If you participate and also bring a bunch of new members, I’ll feature you on the site.
You’re Officially Invited
Please join on Critical Thinking Outside the Box, add me as a friend, and leave a comment on my profile mentioning that you came through my blog.
Like this article? Please subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail. Let’s get acquainted too at my About and Connect pages.
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Oct
19
Ning Social Networking Sites Update
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 23 Comments
Coping with Recent Ning Site Changes
The Online Social Networking world will never stand still. You can count on that. Social networking sites and the culture surrounding them will always be in a state of flux.
When I wrote Ning Social Networking Sites, I anticipated that before long Ning would add features enabling business networking sites to protect members’ privacy and reduce spam.
Now that these changes are a reality, you as a Ning user may need to adjust.
New Privacy Feature
A new optional Ning feature permits individual sites to hide their members’ affiliations with other Ning sites.
You can still manage your friends on each site. In fact, it is now much simpler to do so than before. However you can no longer manage your friends across Ning sites, nor can you view the other Ning sites to which your friends belong.
Unfortunately I do not have a work around for this. It looks like Ning has plugged the holes, but if I find something, I’ll let you know.
If you want to see all the Ning sites to which you belong, that you can do. Log on to Ning and click on “My Social Networks”.
New Anti-Spam Feature
Another new Ning feature permits individual sites to limit bulk mailing to friends. You can mail to 100 of your friends at a time. If you have many more than 100 friends, this mailing restriction will be somewhat of a nuisance.
You have several options:
- Live with the restriction, as annoying as that might be.
- Participate at sites that have not implemented this restriction — if you can find any. Ning may have plugged this hole too. You can invite friends from one Ning site to join you at another Ning site using the “Invite Your Ning Friends” option.
- Start your own Ning social network. As the site administrator will be able to mail all of your members.
A strategy worth considering is joining many Ning sites and limiting yourself to 100 friends on each. When you exceed the 100 limit, prune away inactive friends and refine your targeting too as you go.
Is Ning Shooting Itself in the Foot?
You must have the ability to mail all your friends if your online social networking strategy is similar to My Online Social Networking Strategy.
I hope Ning isn’t shooting itself in the foot by eliminating group mailing and other features that are useful for serious business networking.
Like MySpace, Ning may learn the hard way that business networkers are a very fickle crowd.
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Aug
15
Ning Social Networking Sites
Filed Under Best of 2008, Blogging, Communication, Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Ning Sites, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 32 Comments
When Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini started their work on the Ning social network back in 2004, online social networking was still pretty much a teen thing. True there were marketers like yours truly making a home on Ryze and other business networking sites, but we were the exception rather than the rule.
Ning once completed would allow people to create and manage their own miniature MySpace-like social networking sites.
Ning’s founders probably envisioned a platform on which families and circles of friends would stay in close contact through their very own private social networking site. However, since launching 18 months ago, Ning has found its way into the business world as well as many other sectors of society.
You can start your own plain vanilla Ning social network for free, or for a fee you can exercise greater control over your site and add lots of bells and whistles.
Examples of Ning Social Networking Sites
In Web lifeline for the troops, the Naperville Sun writes that two local men, Ed Domain and Josh Lowe, launched Troop Space, a Ning-based networking site for the brave men and women of the United States Military. Troop Space “is geared toward US troops, their families and anyone who wants to become more personally connected to the military”.
Jim at medXcentral started his Ning community to network “the medical and health care universe” and to “stimulate great achievements and forward motion towards resolving many issues faced by the medical industry today”.
Diane Hochman built the online headquarters for My Private Classroom on the Ning foundation. I joined My Private Classroom several months ago to learn more about social media and to introduce free and low-cost marketing methods to network and direct marketers.
You can now participate in Diane’s social marketing training program for free. Read My Private Classroom Opens to Public for details.
I created the Ning social network Critical Thinking Outside the Box as a companion to this blog, and you are welcome to join me there.
What I Like About Ning Sites
From a user’s point of view here are some of my favorite Ning features:
- When you make a friend at one Ning site and you each belong to another Ning site, you’re connected at the other site too.
- You can browse friends and friends-of-friends and so forth to see what other Ning networks people belong to. In this way you can discover new and relevant places to network. While many Ning sites are private, there seem to be just as many sites that are open to the public. You can also browse Ning’s list of popular social networks.
- You can broadcast a message to all of your friends at any given Ning site. Be careful not to abuse this privelege. Spamming is not effective, and network administrators will typically not tolerate it. This broadcasting feature has allowed me to attract readers to my blog and gain new subscribers.
- In some Ning social networks you can also broadcast messages to fellow members of groups you join. This feature encourages spam and is therefore disabled on many Ning sites.
- You can customize your page’s theme and embed videos and widgets just as you might on MySpace and many other social networking sites.
- Much of your profile content can be taken from an existing site and easily reused when joining a new site.
And What I Don’t Like
Here are some of my least favorite Ning features:
- Most Ning sites have very small memberships that are just a little too cozy for marketers like me building their lists.
- A very high percentage of profiles are abandoned, so you can end up with lots of unaccepted friend requests. At some point you may need to delete some friend requests in order to remain eligible to make new requests.
- Very many Ning sites are not much more than recruiting pipelines and sales funnels for the sites’ owners. I find this aspect of Ning annoying, but I tolerate it. For this reason I’m slow to invite friends and business connections to join me on new Ning sites. I want to wait and see if the site is a safe enough place to bring them.
Show and Tell Opportuinity
You can find some of the many social networking sites to which I belong featured on my blog’s sidebar.
Do you have favorite Ning social networking sites? Have you started your own Ning social network? Do you have an interesting story to tell?
Feel free to comment and share with us.
Keep in mind that I’m responsible for the quality of my blog and legally responsible for its content. I therefore reserve the right to edit any comment as I see fit.
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