CNN iReport

This is my iReport in response to the CNN article about Ning.

Ning: the future of online social networking

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/25/ning.social.networking.interest/index.html?iref=t2test_techmon

Imagine being able to create your own network of common interest that has the ability to potentially rival CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, etc. These are entities of common interests. In regards to TV, there are different news networks, sports networks, music networks. There are TV networks for pet lovers, cooking lovers, and more. There are TV networks just for women, men, African Americans, history and documentary buff, etc. You name it and there is probably a TV network for it. Enter Ning, the second generation of online social networking (social networking 2.0) specifically created to give a single individual the ability to create a highly interactive social network of their own flavor and interests.

Just as Ashton Kutcher was able to beat CNN on twitter soon the Social Networks on Ning will be poised to beat out cable TV networks (in fact in my opinion the net is the “New TV”).

I have first hand experience of the success and power of Ning. I have a social network on their platform called ValdostaConnect.com, a social and business networking site for all those who have a connection with Valdosta, Georgia. I launched the site in November 2007.

On July 2008, ValdostaConnect.com was a featured site on the Ning blog.

http://blog.ning.com/2008/07/georgian-networking-at-valdostaconnect.html

At the time that our network was featured, we had 3, 530 members. Today we have over 6,400 members. These numbers may not seem big by the Web’s standards but being that Valdosta has a population around 48,000; our membership is about 13% of this total.

Valdosta is located just 15 minutes north of the Florida line. 4 hours south of Atlanta, about 1 hour 15 minutes northeast of Tallahassee and 1 hour and 45 minutes northwest of Jacksonville. In 2008 we were elected TitleTown USA by ESPN. Natives and residence have included the likes of Doc Holiday, James Lord Pierpoint- the composer of Jingle Bells, Ossie Davis, Sony Shroyer, Demond Wilson, and a host of other celebrities and news makers. Former President Georgia W. Bush completed part of his pilot training at nearby Moody Air force Base. All of this interesting information about our community is being shared on ValdostaConnect.com.

Ning has allowed me to setup a social network for my community where we can get together and help each accomplish our goals and keep up with what’s going on in our community (and keep up with the people that we haven’t seen in years). There are members on the site who are very successful and those that are trying to be. We have an actress who has recently worked with Tyler Perry, several members who are professional athletes, a freelance film/TV producer that has provided work for NBC’s hit show Heroes. We have members in practically all 50 states and there are military service men and women that are currently serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, bases in the Middle East, Japan, Korea, Germany, Spain, and more. Also the “6 degrees of separation” on the site is amazing. We have a member who is my high school classmate that works for a venture capital firm in Burbank, California. He personally knows Ning CEO Gina Bianchini.

Like the Twitter rivalry between CNN and Ashton Kuther, ValdostaConnect.com has also had its own rivalry with Black Crow Media, a company that operates 22 radio stations (several located in Valdosta). Several months after we launched our social network on Ning, Black Crow Media launched their own network, HeYawl.com, on a different platform. A year later ValdostaConnect is still growing; whereas HeYawl.com has been disabled.

Keep watching and reporting on Ning. Better things are still to come.

Eric Jackson

ValdostaConnect.com