Ning is an online platform that lets users create private or public social networks. At NetSquared’s we’ve found that some groups choose to use the Ning platform over Meetup.com for situations in which Meetup does not support their community’s language, they prefer to have more social networking functions for their group, or they have more time to invest in designing their online space.

In July 2010 Ning stopped offering an entirely free service. Existing and new customers can now choose from a more-limited-than-the-free-service for $5/month, a mid-level plan with extra functions for $200/year, and a premium service. Some existing users opted to move their sites to grou.ps, which offered both free hosting and an automated process to move a Ning site to the new service.

Programmatic Details

Many of the same principles apply to using Ning as they do for Meetup, including welcoming your members, taking advantage of the tools to enable the most connection and sharing amongst members, and so on. To review the insights about Meetup, visit the wiki section titled Using Meetup.

Case Studies

Groups Using Ning examples:

Seattle, WA, USA – Sarah
Warsaw, Poland – Kris

Available Resources

There’s a group on Ning to help those new to the platform explore and learn. Visit the group, join, and start trying it out at:
http://theningfordummies.ning.com/