The Benefits of Creating a Private Network

When I started my first ning network I was very eager to attract new members, so of course I set the network to public. Anyone and everyone is free to join and view a public network, which fine but it does have its negative side. I was very displeased to find several people had joined my network and decided to post nude pictures to the horror and disgust of other members. I quickly addressed the matter; banning the culprits and changing the network to private. I soon discovered that there are noticeable benefits to creating a private network.

• By taking the time to review and approve each member, I can now ensure that the network is in large part full of dedicated / supportive members. Moreover, it gives me an opportunity to get to know new members and welcome them to the network.

• I find private groups to be more enticing to new members. Whether your network is invitation only or just private, the exclusive nature makes people curious about what your space is all about; wanting to be apart of something others are taking advantage of and/or enjoying.

• Private Networks require less policing because by reviewing the members before hand, I seldom have to ban members or prohibit members from participating in certain unwanted activities.

This post is a part of my blog series / eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘. You can read most of the Chapters of this eGuide on the SistaSense blog. To get the complete guide, with tips not featured on the blog, download your own copy here.

Setting up Your Ning Network – Adding Cool Features

It does not matter if you are web savvy or not, setting up a basic Ning network is fairly easy. You don’t need to worry about learning html code, CSS, or JavaScript. You don’t even need to understand the technical side of building an online community. Ning is designed in such a way that most of the features only require you to answer easy questions, adding your own images and color customizations to create a unique look and feel. Having already created logos and banners for my sites, I was able to easily add my images and transform those pages into new networks in a matter of minutes.
Now if you happen to have questions about setting up your site, Ning has an extensive FAQ for Network creators along with two very helpful community groups: Ning Creators and the Ning Developer Network. If you can’t find the answer to a question in the FAQ, chances are some one has also asked that question in one of the creator communities I mentioned. You also have the option of contacting Ning directly. I have found them to be quick responders and very helpful when I had questions about my groups.

Adding Cool Features to Your Ning Network
In addition to the standard features that each ning network has, the ning develops have made it easy for you to integrate different types of technology into your Network. With a little time and research you can find new and creative ways to make your network stand out. By researching other networks, and tapping into my own creativity, I have come up a listing of several additional features you might be interested in adding to your Network.

• Ning has made it easy for creators to add their own custom pages to their network. I have taken advantage of this feature, creating pages that add better functionality and more entertainment value to my spaces. To find out how to add more pages to your network review the Ning Developers Guide to Adding Pages:
http://developer.ning.com/wiki/Adding_Pages_to_your_Network

For my complete listing of cool features that you can add to your ning network, download a copy of my eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘.

This post is a part of my blog series / eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘. You can read most of the Chapters of this eGuide on the SistaSense blog. To get the complete guide, with tips not featured on the blog, download your own copy here.

Why Create a Ning Network?

I find that most people either want to create a network for profit or pleasure; I personally wanted to do both. Having a particular interest in two niche areas (black moms and black women in business), I decided to create spaces for me to meet like minded individuals and promote both my sites and services. You can create a network for just about any reason, but I personally find this to be a wise investment for online entrepreneurs or active web users looking to share their interests with others.

As I mentioned in my eBook, Turn Your Niche into a Network, today’s online viewers are interested in websites that allow them to both gather information and share their own. We have officially entered the web 2.0 era. “Information Sharing”, “Social Networking”, these are the buzz terms that every one is blogging about, so online entrepreneurs would be wise to get with the times and learn how to incorporate these new trends into their websites and blogs.

Again, creating a network is a task best left to those with a genuine interest in doing so. Creating your own space is a great idea if you want to:

• Start a Social Group Related to a Topic of Personal Interest
• Build a Community for an untapped Niche
• Discuss Your Interests With Like Minded Individuals
• Create a space for your readers or site fans to stay connected with you
• Create a space for your online friends to share
• Turn a Popular Web Theme into a Community on which you can sell ads or services

This post is a part of my blog series / eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘. You can read most of the Chapters of this eGuide on the SistaSense blog. To get the complete guide, with tips not featured on the blog, download your own copy here.

What is Ning.com?

Before I get started with the how to tips and tricks; let me begin by explaining what ning.com is all about. As I previously mentioned, Ning is an online service designed to help you create, customize, and share a social network. Essentially, by using ning you can create a social media site similar to a site like Myspace.com. What’s great about Ning is that your space is completely customizable and free to create. Anyone online, web savvy or not, can easily create their own social site on Ning. It’s worth pointing out that even though they are easy to create, setting up a network isn’t really for everyone. If you don’t have the time to maintain your own community, it might be best for you simply join the networks of other on ning. Above and beyond creating networks, Ning is also a great place to find and join communities of interest to you.
As I mentioned in my eBook, Turn Your Niche into a Network, as a ning network creator you have the ability to build a space on which:

• Users can create and customize their own page (featuring a blog, photos, videos, widgets, and more)

• Users can start their own groups

• Users can start discussions in a forum created and customized by you.

• Users can add music to their pages

• You can create custom pages like an events page

• You can define what questions if any that all users are required to answer on their member profile page

• You can send out broadcast messages to all the members of your network

• You can import your Flickr photos

• Users can easily add your network widgets to social sites like Facebook and MySpace

• Users can easily share and comment on each others photos or videos. Easily adding video from popular websites link youtube.com.

• Your network can be public to the entire member community, or you can create an exclusive group on which you approve all members.

• Your communities overall look and feel is a reflection of your personality, which is what makes Ning such a diverse and wonderful resource for Network Creators.

• You can add RSS Feeds to your site

• You can control the Ads on your site, which is one of several Premium Ning Services available for only $19.95/month. I personally consider this to be a small price to pay when you consider the fact that most free social media networks neither give you a portion of the revenue acquired from hosting ads on your personal page. Nor do they allow you to generate revenue from the popular pages you create on their networks.

• Other premium services include adding your own domain name or adding more storage and bandwidth to your network.

• These are some of the core features on Ning, but there are several others, with new features being added regularly.

This post is a part of my blog series / eBook ‘Create Your Own Ningalicious Network‘. You can read most of the Chapters of this eGuide on the SistaSense blog. To get the complete guide, with tips not featured on the blog, download your own copy here.