If you’re an active Facebook user and involved in creating groups on their network, you might want to strike out on your own and design a highly-customized standalone site. Business professionals are developing networking hubs while hobbyists are getting their ‘Ning’ on forming online clubs. The have a fan group following and College alumni groups have found a new way to keep in touch with their school mates!
Ning, first founded in 2004 by Gina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen, one of the developers of the Mosaic Web browser by Netscape Communications. Ning says its platform has been used to create 1.5 million networks with 33 million registered users.
The more than 90 apps now available are based on OpenSocial APIs (application programming interfaces), which allow applications to run on multiple Web sites without developers having to change them.
Cartfly, now available on Ning is a social commerce store network that enables online merchants to turn their storefronts into portable widgets and distribute them across major social networks.
Ustream.tv enables video streaming and chat for anyone with a camera and an Internet connection. In less than a few minutes anyone can become a broadcaster by creating one’s own Ustream TV channel and embedding it into your Ning social network.
The options on Ning Networks are endless. Here’s a list of some of the other popular apps available to Ning social networkers.
For Artist, Musician or Entertainment Ning Networks
* Sellit online store to sell merchandise
* Ticketmaster or LiveNation to sell event tickets
* Qik to stream mobile video
For Activist and Non-Profit Ning Networks
* Social Giving by Pinc to support fund-raising efforts
* Marketplace Classifieds allows you to post & search local ads for more volunteers & resources
* BlogTalkRadio to host live radio shows
* PollDaddy to rapidly gauge members level of involvement
* Huddle to share workspaces and collateral
* Tungle.me to schedule meetings and mobilize members
* WordPress to display blog posts
For Sports Fan or Extreme Athlete Ning Networks
* NewsShare to share highlights and stories
* Emote to share real time reactions to games and players
You can also review the full Ning Apps Directory here.
The Ning Apps are completely integrated into Ning Networks by design. They support gadgets skins, allowing them to automatically inherit the visual style of the Ning Network to which they’re added. It’s a very cool way for non-techies to jump in with both feet and create a network from scratch with all the bells and whistles…and the bonus is…it’s free! And if you are a professional developer there is a Ning Developer Network to provide you with an even more advanced approach in putting together your network.
If you’ve got a itching to form your own group, getting your ‘Ning’ on is a worthwhile investment of your time… even if you only have a few members who want to join!
