Create Your Own Social Network

When I say social networking is not something to be feared by parents because kids will be using online networks for school work and, one day soon, in the workplace, this is the kind of thing I'm talking about: Ning.com.

It's a make-your-own social network web site where you can use different templates to set up private social networks to collaborate on projects, share videos and photos. As this Cnet article notes, the site has tools that allow users to customize a social network to make it unique, yet private.

One of the site's founders is Marc Andreesson, also a co-founder of Netscape. In her NetFamilyNews blog, Anne Collier links to a Wall Street Journal article on how teachers are using Ning.com to share private discussions on literature projects, and social activists are creating public ones to drum up support for causes. It's free, though you can pay for storage options if you upload a lot of photos and videos.

Social networks are not always just about socializing, but they are about communicating and community.