Question: What is a "ning" and what are people doing with them?
The IT Guy says:
Ning is a web service that lets you set up your own "social networking" site. (Just as an aside, I have to say again that the weird names given to different software products and web services is probably getting in the way of being taken seriously!) What does that mean? It means you can create a website that people can sign up for as members, where they can exchange messages, post articles and discussions, and a customizable variety of other options. Nings (which is what a single site is called) have been set up for conferences, professional organizations, fan clubs, and thousands of other groups, some serious, some silly.
The basic service is free, but that means you have to put up with Google ads on your site. If you want to be ad-free (or choose the kind of ads your site hosts and collect the revenue for yourself!) you need to sign up for a paid version, presently costing $20 per month. If you have a fairly network-savvy group of people that need a virtually online meeting place to exchange ideas, chat, and share resources, this might be the option for you!
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