Ning

 
Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks, launched in October 2005.

Ning offers customers the ability to create a community website with a customized appearance and feel; feature sets such as photos, videos, forums and blogs; and support for “Like”, plus integration with Face book, Twitter, Google and Yahoo!. Ning, Inc. Is owned by Glam Media and, like the operating company, has its headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

The word “Ning” is Chinese or “peace”, as explained by Gina Balanchine on the company blog. Ning started development in October 2004 and launched its plat form publicly in October 2005. Ning was initially funded internally by Balanchine, Andreessen and angel investors. In July 2007, Ning raised US $44 million in venture capital, led by Legg Mason.

Ning appeals to people who want to create their own communities and social networks around specific interests with their own visual design, choice of features and member date. The central feature of Ning is that anyone can create their own social network for a particular topic or need, catering to specific membership bases or community needs.

A  Ning community can integrate with online services like Face book, Twitter and Google. For instance, people can join a Ning Network using their Face book or Twitter account, and share content from a Ning Network directly to their Twitter or Face book accounts.

Ning formerly had both free and paid options; it switched to three levels of paid service in April 2010. Each pay level allows for different degrees of features, viral tools, customization, and customer support.
Ning added an I phone interface in March 2009, then made networks more compatible with mobile phones in August 2009. In October 2010, Ning launched an IOS application (I phone, I pad, I pod Touch) for network administrators to use to manage their social networks.

Ning has 90,000 customers with social websites on the Ning Plat form. A range of different types of communities, organizations and businesses use Ning as their website.
Ning is currently located in downtown Palo Alto, California and its headquarters are in Face book’s old office space.