Guide Note

Online service Ning allows users to create and share their own social networks without any need for specialized know-how or programming skills. Ning social networks can be public or private and can include blogs, forums, photo and video sharing (like Flickr or YouTube), and a host of other community features.

Fast Facts

Launched: October 2005
Founders: Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini
CEO: Gina Bianchini
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
Total Funding: $104 million dollars as of 2008
Supports the Open Social API
Original Name: 24 Hour Laundry
There are more than 275,000 user created networks on Ning
Ning is the Chinese word for peace

Cost Options

Ning is free for network creators as long as they are satisfied to host Ning's advertising and have ning.com as part of their web address. For those who prefer an ad-free social network or want to profit from their own ads, Ning costs $20.00 per month. Additionally, the ning.com address can be masked for a fee of $5.00 per month.

Quotes

"Ning can be used to create a fully functional and customized social network in minutes."—Michael Arrington
"By New Year's Eve 2010, Ning estimates, it will host some 4 million social networks serving up billions of page views daily."—FastCompany.com
"Today’s social networking services are fantastic, but they are very similar in approach to AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy in the early nineties. They have a fixed and rigid view of what people can do."—Ning founder Marc Andreessen

Categories

Socially Built Pages | Technology | Internet | Web 2.0 | Social Networking

View Note History

Ning

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: Ning | Popular Networks
Official Site: Ning Developer Network
Official Blog: Ning Blog
Wikipedia: Ning
TechCrunch: Ning In Full (February 26, 2007)
Article: Ning's Infinite Ambition (May 2008)
blip.tv Video: Make a Network with Ning (Time: 6:17)

Ning Company Information

Official Site: Ning: About Our Company
CrunchBase: Ning Company Profile
Alexa: Ning.com Traffic Details
Hoovers: Ning, Inc. Company Overview
ZoomInfo: Company Profile: Ning
TechCrunch: Ning: All Our Charts Point Up And To The Right (March 20, 2008)

Founders

Marc Andreessen: Blog | Wikipedia | Mahalo
Gina Bianchini: Blog

Ning News and Articles

BusinessWeek: Marc Andreessen's New Gamble (May 16, 2008)
Clarionleger.com (Mississippi): What Is This Thing Called Ning? (May 1, 2008)
Guardian.co.uk: Europe's Answer to Ning (April 29, 2008)
Business Journal: Social Networking Company Ning Raises $60M in 4th Round (April 22, 2008)
CMSWire: Is Ning The Next Facebook or MySpace? (April 14, 2008)
EDUCAUSE: 7 Things You Should Know About Ning (104 Kb)

Interviews with Ning

CNET News.com: History Lessons with Marc Andreessen (April 24, 2008)
Steve Hargadon: Interview with Gina Bianchini | Interview with Marc Andreessen (2007)
Folksonomy: Interview with Ning (April 24, 2007)

Ning Blogs and Forums

Official Blog: Ning Blog
Official Forum: Ning Network Creators Forum
Techmeme: Ning Posts
TechCrunch: Ning Worth Half A Billion Dollars (April 18, 2008)
GigaOM: Ning: Let ‘000 Social Nets Bloom (February 26, 2007)
Steve Hargadon: Big News From Ning: Ad-Free Student Networks (November 1, 2007)
Mashable: Build Your Own YouTube, Flickr or MySpace (September 26, 2006)

Ning Tips, Tools and Support

Official Site: Ning.com FAQ | Network Creators Forum | Tips & Tricks
Official Blog: Ning Tricks Posts
NingZone: Tracking Code Hacks
Steve Hargadon: Making a Ning Dashboard (May 26, 2008)

Ning Videos

TechCrunch Video: Ning Demo Video
CNN Video: How to Build Your Own MySpace
Intruders.tv Video: Interview with Ning CEO Gina Bianchini (Time 16:22)
ZDNet Video: Ning, King of Custom Social Networks? (Time: 12:58)
blip.tv Video: Marc Andreessen (Ning) at Web 2.0 Expo SF 2008 (Time 31:43)

Ning Competitors

Notable User Created Ning Communities

Ning: Popular Ning Networks
MahaloDaily.Ning: Fans of Mahalo Daily
Education.Ning: Using Ning for Educational Social Networks
Friends.Mavs: Ning for Dallas Maverick Fans
TheIntentionExperiment.Ning: Mind over Matter Experiment Network
ProfessionalStoryTeller.Ning: Story Sharing Network
YouthActors.Ning: Youth Action Partners for Development
Dance-Tech.net: Interdisciplinary Explorations on the Performance of Motion

Related Searches

Marc Andreessen | MySpace | Facebook | Flickr | YouTube | Flux | Pluck | KickApps | Social Networking | Web 2.0