Ning
From LIS 460 Summer 2007
Contents |
Ning
"Ning is the only online service where you can create, customize, and share your own Social Network for free in seconds."
This quote comes from Ning's homepage. And while the phrase "in seconds" is entirely subjective, the rest of the above sentence is a fair, accurate description of this platform. But it's a short one. Here is a linkto an in-depth description of the Ning platform.
Unlike social networks like Facebook and Myspace, Ning can be customized by the user. One of the founders defined platforms succintly in one of her Ning Blog entries:
A platform means people can create, extend, and customize their application to meet their own particular needs. The result is a thousand or million variations that are the exact right perfect thing for you.
With a platform, you don’t have to appeal to the company behind the service for the features you want. If you have the time and the inclination, you can build them yourself.
It’s the software equivalent of Home Depot.
Of final note: once you create a ning ID, it works on any ning social network--you don't have to sign up again to join, just use the same ID.
Ning and School Libraries
Ning offers many possiblities for services to School libraries. The most obvious would be for professional development from creating school librarian networks. There are links to such Ning networks at the bottom of this page. Ning could be useful for working closer with district librarians, not just peers.
School librarians can cater to narrow student interests by building nings that allow a few students in their school to connect to many others.
What about Students? Perhaps, unlike one-size-fits-all social networks like myspace and facebook, which usually come with black eyes to school and network administators, Ning could present opportunities for students to not only create all manner of social networks, but do so safely within the schools computer network. Also, not that students are not attaining and growing all manner of literacy skills when creating pages on facebook, ect., but the Ning platform provides opportunities for computer technology education, since the code can be customized.
Every club or organization affliated with the school could build a ning. They could connect to students globally with similar interests.
If Nings take off, schools can create all manner of nings. For example, each incoming class can form one, and maintain it as an alumni group. It's a great way for a school to stay in touch with graduates and maintain support from alumni. It would be like a yearbook that never got old. Perhaps the Ning model will reinvent the yearbook format altogether.
Ning in the News and on the Web
news story from Techcrunch
Issues and Concerns
To put it bluntly, creating a Ning is more complicated than other products that could essentially do the same thing. Facebook, Gather, Myspace are easier to figure out. For a school librarian trying to sell a reluctant staff on new technologies, the Ning platform could be too involved, which could lead to the school not only avoiding social networks, they might not be as eager to listen when you, the librarian, makes another pitch for something new!
Conversely, this could also be a strength, since concerns about Internet safety would be assuaged if students were interacting in the Ning platform instead of Facebook or Myspace.
School-Related Ning Networks
yalsa ningfor new librarians
youth services ning
