Ning

The ability to customize a profile on these social network sites is great. The concept of being able to set up a whole network from scratch takes it a few steps further. It's immediately appealing, like a nice power tool at the store -- I want it, but I'm not sure when or why I'd actually use it.

On the one hand, there are already so many SNSs out there, ready to go, with so many possibilities for creating private networks, tailored to your own needs and interests, that it hardly seems necessary to go off and start a new private clubhouse. A possible limitation is that of cutting a niche group off from a lot more people and resources out there on the more populated sites.

And, closer to home, I can’t imagine using a Ning effectively in my current job. For group projects, a wiki would probably be the more effective medium. For networking, it would be more practical to pick up the phone or walk down the hall. And for 'hooking up,' well, that just wouldn't appropriate.

But, I can see a Ning being particularly useful for geographically dispersed networks -- task oriented or not -- including subcommittees of ALA, SCILS cohorts, or even extended family networks. I'm going to keep pondering ways to set one of these things up. For now, it's another great tool for my toolbox.