Ways to Disrupt a Community

I agree, Ning is much better suited to a group like Grasshoppers.

No reason there can’t still be a page on Facebook, just so people can find it. I see having a Facebook/MySpace page like being listed in the Yellow Pages – tells people who you are and how to contact you, but you don’t necessarily have to conduct all your business there.

I agree, Ning is much better suited to a group like Grasshoppers.

No reason there can’t still be a page on Facebook, just so people can find it. I see having a Facebook/MySpace page like being listed in the Yellow Pages – tells people who you are and how to contact you, but you don’t necessarily have to conduct all your business there.

Hi, Chris. Glad you’re enjoying Ning so far!

One quick comment about our APIs — they are indeed open. All of the APIs that the “Your Own Social Network” application uses are available for developers to do whatever they want with.

Diego wrote a good explanation of how all this works at: http://developer.ning.com/2007/07/07/one_small_rest_call_for_man2c_one_giant_api_for_mankind/

There is API documentation here: http://docs.ning.com/page/page/show?id=492524:Page:25

Best,
David Sklar
Software Architect @ Ning

I like the story that’s developing here.

I like the story that’s developing here.

I hate to call you out Chris, but you’re being 2 faced or I don’t get what you twittered.

You brag in this post about the Ning folks helping you out by giving you the “import 20″, but on your tweet, you rip them as dumb*sses.

I understand you may have been frustrated at the time, but it does make you look two faced.

Hi Rob- I call my best friends dumbasses, too. I should’ve said “dumbapps.” But yes, I Twittered that in frustration at the start of trying something new.

But they were immediately nice to me when I pointed out what bugged me.

Gina and David and others from Ning have already contacted me, and I rescind all dumb-ass comments.

Shall I clarify via Twitter? I will. : )

Thanks for keeping me honest.

I agree that Ning is much better for what we’re doing – I’d much rather have updates in my reader than have to remember to check Facebook several times a day.

I think there’s just some confusion about the ultimate goal of the Ning network – it might be helped by a Wall post on the FB page telling everyone that you want to move the bulk of the discussions over to Ning, and encouraging them to go join and chat over there (assuming I’m understanding the goals here correctly…) =)

I love ning and have put together some networks there myself. I am trying to get one going for the diabetic community as I try to stay informed of things I do wrong. Like drink myself into oblivion in NYC!

I tried to make my group at Facebook, but I started to find that I couldn’t follow it and use it… I hated Ning at first, but, to be fair, checked it out again and saw that it worked well. RSS alone and benig able to plop ANYthing into those Text boxes (we have a chat room on infocalypse and also, my new love, ZOHO works there– although often formatted to big for the colums).

And if you choose, you don’t have to be a Ning member to read and/or subscribe. I’m okay with some stuff being in a walled garden but other stuff, no.

I’m happy to have a social network of 30. Why? Because size/amount of people isn’t what matters to me.

I also agree Ning is the place for Grasshoppers. The ability to get the data out is again key with me as well. Because of this, I’ve created a “Grasshoppers” tag in Google Reader, and can put all the feeds that are important from anywhere in the Grasshoppers network and parse them at once.

Can’t do that with Facebook.

I’m brand new to both, will have to learn the ropes before deciding what’s better. Appreciate the explanation, though.

I think Ning is a better tool for active communities than Facebook; while Facebook is better for keeping in touch with your friends. The diiversity of content you can use easily on Ning is great. But suspect you’re right about needing a feeder site like Facebook :-)

Aw, thanks for the kind mention, Chris. I recommended you reach out to Gina because she (like you) is a superhero of mine — her Ning blog is a must-read for anyone wanting to learn how to build community and success around a product — and as you’ve seen, she’s unbelievably responsive to emails and requests from her customers.

Funny, I added Grasshoppers to my groups on Facebook BECAUSE it was Chris Brogan, who I had made friends with over on Twitter and via Jeff Pulver and other places.

But, I haven’t yet joined the Ning group. Why? I’m lazy. It was easy to join on Facebook because I already was there. Joining yet another place involves a little more work.

I’m tired of joining social networks and it will piss us off more and more as we are forced to join more and more of them.

From now on I’d rather just stick with Twitter or Facebook. I don’t see a good reason to join another network.

If it were anyone BUT Chris Brogan telling me this I’d probably tell him to go jump in a lake.

I do feel used, though.

Sorry you feel used, Robert. If you do, it means I didn’t communicate well.

Why stray from Facebook? No RSS. A TOS that says they can take without giving. Seems like two good rasons.

Reasons to stay on Facebook? It’s a nice platform. It’s smooth, clean, easy to work with, has a big pile of people there.

Point above all points: Grasshoppers is people. If you’re not down because it’s not a FB app, it’s probably there that I’ve lost you in the translation.

I respect your thoughts and opinions.

Chris, The problem is burnout. Many people saw this coming. Seems like every other week there’s another Social network or SN tool popping up on the scene. And of course EVERYONE has to join the new club. It’s come to the point where a lot of us are burned out and are sticking with the ones that work and that we enjoy, whether they have all the tools we want/need or not.

In fact, you seem to jump the gun a lot. A new network comes out, and bam! you’re already finding what’s wrong with it. Ya gotta let it grow man. Sometimes the features are on the way.

Anyway, my point is we’re finally crashing. Many of us are going to stick with a few things that work for us. Some will follow the Pied Piper, but others will stay at home.

Thanks for being the Piper.

Chris,
All I can say is THANK YOU for creating the ning group. I like it a lot. I do not like facebook. I’m probably the only one who doesn’t. oh well…

Ning is easy. period.

Thanks.

Chris,
All I can say is THANK YOU for creating the ning group. I like it a lot. I do not like facebook. I’m probably the only one who doesn’t. oh well…

Ning is easy. period.

Thanks.

First let me say as always-Chris I admire your energy and dedication to do good community/social works. For me, I started an A.Connector group on Facebook to tie in to and offer a connection for friends and people of similar social media interests on Facebook. This was in addition to the blog that already existed.

I can appreciate you wanting to do a non-Facebook presence due to being accessible without having to become a member,etc. So you do a Google Group and and Ning-all good. I agree with Scoble-for me, joining the one Grasshoppers is enough. Not to say it is more righteous to be in the Facebook one, and pooh pooh the lowly GoogleGroup and Ning, just enough for me.

I don’t approve of snobbery, but I don’t approve of overkill either. You of course are free to do as many Grasshopper groups in as many forms as you wish.

I would have guessed that you were hoping to pull in different people at each place than drag your one member ship to all portals?

Anyhow, keep the good energy and community building coming. Peace!

you can ask people to come to your content, or you can bring your content to people. I’m not saying the way FB is playing is the right way, but – they do have your friends neatly aggregated.

Where are the other places that allow this that are also open?

I’m a little disappointed with you Scoble. I understand your point, but “used” is a little much.

I think the whole agonizing about switching platforms – Facebook, Ning, Twitter, Pownce, wherever — is a very short-term problem. It’s a matter of time before technologies like RSS and openID will allow social groups to super-distribute themselves and live in many places at once — so that people can participate in forums, share media, etc. at the destination they prefer. Ning seems to embrace that already with easy exporting and importing of anything that can be distributed via RSS — and soon a group like Grasshoppers could have little outposts everywhere, from this blog to Facebook to a dozen other places, and people should be able to chime in from any of them.

It seems like a simple enough problem, and one that will be solved soon. Portable, transportable communities… the next big thing.

It’s not that there will be a dozen places to check. There will be us. We will make the right choice and it will move us all towards a system where we can be helpful.

This isn’t about the software. It’s not about the bike. Change is scary, but come on. We’re not set in our ways after a few days. Have you been less helpful because of the shift? I’m going to guess no.

Because it’s about that alone. Now, see if you can’t find something on the Grasshoppers group to do. We can keep talking about this, because it’s useful. And we can also work on things.

yo chris – so i read through all the posts and think Robert Scoble has a point about being battle fatigued – one thought is why can’t you keep your legacy group serviced on FB and also cross pollinate with Ning or anything else that resonates with you in time – we don’t live in a fixed virtual world – as lauri anderson once said – “What’s New has been replaced by what’s Next” who knows what the future holds… i just think you alert people to your spreading you wings to Ning or whatever else come down the pike and keep growing and exploring and finding better mouse traps and learning what you need to teach – food for thought geo