Ning!

Prior Knowledge:

I am aware that a Ning is a social networking platform. Kist states, "The name "Ning" comes from the Website Ning.com that provides free networking space for any group of people who want to form an online community" (2010). The Ning is similar to Facebook, in that "participants create a profile and then post comments and questions to the group" (Kist, 2010).  Kist explains that teachers are using Nings as a safe location for students to interact on the Internet using a social media platform other than Facebook (2010).

Wikipedia goes further to explain that "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 supports other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The process:

So two hang ups today. I wanted to sign up for the Educational version of Ning, but their website is currently under construction and maintenance. I, then, went to Ning's main page, where they say you may have a 30-day Free trial experience. What they don't tell you until after you have started the process, is they want your billing information up front. This lovely catch allows them to automatically credit your credit card on the 30th day. I personally do not feel comfortable pursuing this line of investigation, as I do not feel comfortable giving my billing information (especially after a recent credit card fraud experience). I will thus be changing my Proposal.

References

Kist, W. (2010). The Social Networked Classroom: Teaching in the new media age.
     Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

ning-logo2.png. Retrieved from
     http://static.ning.com/about/images/press/assets/ning-logo2.png

Ning (website). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ning_(website)