Ning Staff Blogs - Blogs - Ning Creators Social Network2024-03-19T03:33:29Zhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/feed/category/Ning+Staff+BlogsChristmas miracles in action: Beard Baubles fundraiser goes viralhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/christmas-miracles-in-action-beard-baubles-fundraiser-goes-viral2017-12-21T17:51:07.000Z2017-12-21T17:51:07.000ZKyryl_Ning_Supporthttps://creators.ning.com/members/GlushchenkoKyryl<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2233579?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p dir="ltr"><span>   Do you believe in Christmas miracles? A creative agency from UK called Grey London definitely does. Their remarkable story tells how a seemingly crazy idea can literally save human lives, proving that funny festive trinkets can have much more power and meaning to them than it might seem from the first glance.</span></p>
<p><strong>   Of Beards and Christmas...</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   If you have ever dreamt of having a Christmas tree right on your face, you will be happy to know that it is no longer a problem with</span> <a href="http://beardbaubles.org/"><span>Beard Baubles</span></a><span>, a charity project initiated by Grey London and inspired by the magical spirit of Christmas and desire to raise awareness to the deadly illness known as malignant melanoma - the skin cancer.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   It all started as a mere experiment in December 2014, when Grey London and Beard Season, a charity organization from Australia, cooperatively launched an extraordinary product called Beard Baubles - a set of festive Christmas ornaments attached to the facial hair. The accessory became a true hit among the men who prefer to have a considerable amount of growth on their faces. In fact, the Beard Baubles became so popular that they were completely sold out in a very short period of time.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   The photos of bearded men with Christmas baubles soon flooded the internet and gave the trend an extra spin! Now Beard Baubles are among the most fashionable and fancy Christmas accessories for men and… well, hairy dogs, as</span> <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2886009/Beard-Baubles-hit-mainstream-festive-face-fuzz-fun-invades-World-Darts-Championship.html"><span>reported</span></a> <span>by Ollie Dearn, who works at the Grey London agency - as it turned out, the trend enthralled not only humans but their pets too.</span></p>
<p><strong>   Can beards really save people?</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   But how do Beard Baubles save lives, you would ask. All the money from the sales of the baubles is donated to the skin cancer research. The creators of Beard Baubles believe that malignant melanoma will be combated sooner if more awareness is raised concerning this problem. Needless to say, donations are very important for fighting skin cancer, but the most important is letting more people in the world know how dangerous the disease is. That’s exactly what Beard Baubles do.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   The founder of Beard Season, Scott Maggs, makes the point: “The real goal of the #BeardBaubles isn’t raising funds, it’s inspiring action, and every day now, hundreds of people are signing up as Beard Season Ambassadors on our website, following us on social media, booking skin checks, and spreading the word”.</span></p>
<p><strong>   Impressed? Taking the next step is easy</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   Ning is always inspired by the stories like that. We know our network creators are compassionate and charitable people, who would be happy to contribute to the right cause - that’s the reason why there are so many altruistically oriented websites on Ning.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   To facilitate network creators in helping others, Ning has introduced a new</span> <strong>Donations feature</strong> <span>that allows users to raise funds for the purposes they consider important.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   You can now set up a “</span><strong>Donate</strong><span>” button on any page of your Ning network, provide a</span> <strong>description</strong> <span>of your fundraiser, explain its importance, and express gratitude to those who agree to donate. You can easily check the results of your charity campaign by monitoring <strong>the</strong></span> <strong>transaction statistics</strong>.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>   So now you can come up with the idea as crazy and ambitious as the Beard Baubles in order to collect money for charity, organizations researching terminal illnesses or helping the children who lost their parents, etc.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Make the world a better place together with Ning!</span></p>
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</div>Migration to Ning 3.0 - Demo and Q&A Recordinghttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/migration-to-ning-3-0-demo-and-q-a-recording2014-05-07T19:36:02.000Z2014-05-07T19:36:02.000ZCrystalhttps://creators.ning.com/members/CrystalC<div><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6JmFm-gtWnU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/94229337">Ning 2.0 to 3.0 Migration Webinar</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ning">Ning</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p>Last week, we hosted our first Migration Demo and Q&A Webinar. Thanks to Juliet for her awesome Demo and to everyone who attended. There were a few technical glitches, but we worked some of those out for the recording and we'll definitely be taking your feedback on things we can improve on for the next webinar. </p>
<p>We'll also be following this up with a post late this week answering the questions we didn't get around to during the hour, so stay tuned for that. </p>
<p><strong>Resources</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://hc.ning.com/contact/upgrade/index.php" target="_blank">Migration Request Form</a> - When you're ready to migrate, request it <a href="http://hc.ning.com/contact/upgrade/index.php" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ning.com/ning3help/what-to-expect-when-youre-migrating/" target="_blank">What to Expect When You're Migrating</a> - a high level look at migration.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ning.com/ning3help/setting-up-your-ning-3-0-network-post-migration/" target="_blank">Setting Up Your Ning 3.0 Network Post-Migration</a> - Tips for how to review and set up your new Ning 3.0 Network.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ning.com/ning3help/content-that-can-be-migrated-to-ning-3-0/" target="_blank">Content That Can Be Migrated to Ning 3.0</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ning.com/ning3help/content-that-cannot-be-migrated-to-ning-3-0/" target="_blank">Content That Cannot Be Migrated to Ning 3.0</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.ning.com/pricing/" target="_blank">Ning 3.0 Pricing</a> - Information about pricing plans for Ning 3.0. You can also find more information in this <a href="http://www.ning.com/ning3help/create-a-ning-network/" target="_blank">Help Center Article</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://creators.ning.com/page/ning-3-0-the-re-imagining-of-our-product" target="_blank">Ning 3.0 Hub on Creators</a></p>
<p><a href="http://creators.ning.com/page/ning-3-0-faqs" target="_blank">Ning 3.0 FAQs</a></p>
<p><a href="http://creators.ning.com/faq/upgrading-to-ning-3" target="_blank">Upgrading to Ning 3.0 FAQs</a></p>
<p><a href="http://creators.ning.com/page/product-roadmap" target="_blank">Product Roadmap</a></p>
<p><a href="http://creators.ning.com/page/ning-3-0-feature-improvements" target="_blank">Requested Feature Improvements</a></p>
<p><strong>Bonus Resources</strong></p>
<p>I mentioned <a href="http://www.pixelmator.com/" target="_blank">Pixelmator</a> (paid app download) and <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank">Canva</a> (free web app) as good programs for making a default cover photo for your network.</p>
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</div>How to Monetize Your Online Community [Video]https://creators.ning.com/blogs/how-to-monetize-your-online-community-video2014-04-30T17:50:12.000Z2014-04-30T17:50:12.000ZCrystalhttps://creators.ning.com/members/CrystalC<div><p><span class="font-size-3"><em>This post originally appeared on the <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-monetize-your-online-community-video" target="_blank">Ning Blog</a>.</em></span></p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NnCmfFmbrNg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p class="first"><span class="font-size-3">When people think about monetizing a website or online community, they often think about display advertising – and for good reason. It is a mature medium with many companies and services that exist to support it. But there is so much more. In this presentation, Patrick O'Keefe covers methods of monetization ranging from direct advertising and affiliate links to classifieds, product sales and premium memberships. Learn what's right for you and how to open your community up as a source of revenue without sacrificing its integrity.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Patrick O'Keefe is the author of <em><a href="http://www.managingonlineforums.com" target="_blank">Managing Online Forums</a>,</em> a practical guide to managing online communities, and <a href="http://monetizingonlineforums.com/book/Monetizing%20Online%20Forums%20-%20Ning.pdf" target="_blank">Monetizing Online Forums</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> a guide to generating revenue from them in the right way. We also learned that he's started a new project called</span> <a href="http://www.sodatasting.com/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12pt;">Soda Tasting</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, an online show dedicated to the tasting, reviewing and enjoyment of soda, which probably proves that your success is only limited by your imagination. </span></p>
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</div>Business Fights Poverty: A Community With a Causehttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/business-fights-poverty-a-community-with-a-cause2014-04-30T17:40:25.000Z2014-04-30T17:40:25.000ZCrystalhttps://creators.ning.com/members/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2233575?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><em><span class="font-size-3">This post originally appeared on the <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/business-fights-poverty-a-community-with-a-cause" target="_blank">Ning Blog.</a></span></em></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Business Fights Poverty was established in March of 2008 to pioneer new ways of fighting poverty utilizing economic and business opportunities by groups and individuals. Founder and Director, Zahid Torres-Rahman discovered and implemented the perfect platform for his idea through a chance conversation and a day’s worth of work. “A technology guru friend of mine first told me about Ning over breakfast, and by dinner I had set up the community." Since its creation, the community has continued to evolve and expand its public profile. Business Fights Poverty has bloomed from 1,000 members after one year to more than 10,000 members today.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Openness, community, professionalism, respect, and integrity are the five core values that drive this vibrant network of business professionals, academics, philanthropists, and non-government organizations – all of whom share a passion for fighting poverty through business. Business Fights Poverty utilizes inspiring blogs from members, face-to-face events, and a powerful resource hub to captivate potential members and engage current ones. Their community also serves as the central station for public outreach via social outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. All these components have come together to make it the largest organization of its kind and a vital resource in the fight against poverty.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">We reached out to Zahid Torres-Rahman to get the inside scoop on how his community has grown and helped created a brand with public impact:</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://blog-o.ning.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-07_1100.png?width=176" target="_blank"><img src="http://blog-o.ning.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-07_1100.png?width=400" width="400" class="align-right" /></a></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>What made you start your Ning community?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">All around the world exceptional people are finding new ways to fight poverty – by creating new jobs and economic opportunities in low-income communities.   The challenge we set ourselves back in 2008 was to help turn these individual acts of inspiration into a broader movement for change.   We wanted to build a sense of community by connecting these intense, but often dispersed pockets of energy.  We wanted people to be able to find, engage with, learn from and be inspired by like-minded peers.  Ning made this all possible for us – by offering an affordable and easy way to build an online community.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>Have you achieved this original objective?  How else has your community helped you and your business, brand or mission?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">I think we have come a long way. We’re now the largest community of our kind, with a brand that is steadily growing in profile.  We publish a great story every day, and pretty much all of these come from community members.  We are increasingly active in the real world too, with face-to-face events and publications.  At the same time, I feel that we are only at the beginning of an exciting journey.   We are constantly trying to learn and improve.  We recently hired <a href="http://www.feverbee.com/">FeverBee</a>, following a Ning webinar (<a href="http://www.ning.com/blog/2012/12/how-to-grow-an-online-community-%E2%80%94-recorded-for-those-who-missed-it.html">which you can watch again here</a>), and they have been giving us some great advice on enhancing our member engagement.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>If you had to pick one measure of the success or impact of your community, what would it </b><b style="line-height: 1.714285714; font-size: 1rem;">be?</b></span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3">We track all the usual metrics about visits and member engagement, but for me nothing beats the personal stories that I hear from members about howthe community has helped them – whether to find a new job; connect with potential project partners; or just to be inspired by what others are doing.  I enjoy reading what our <a href="http://www.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blog/list?user=3u7jk8jijwj2g">Members of the Week</a> say they hope to get out of being part of the community.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>How long did it take your community to reach critical mass?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">It took us a year to reach 1,000 and four more to reach 10,000.  But one thing we have come to appreciate is that it’s the number of actively engaged members that matters, and that’s where our energy is now focused.  The great thing about Ning is that by massively bringing down the costs of organizing online, it has made it possible to create successful, small, specialist communities.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>What tactics drove the most growth and activity in your community?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><img src="http://blog-o.ning.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-07_1131.png?width=213" width="213" class="align-right" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">We have focused our energy on three areas. The first has been on building the community brand.  We worked with professional graphic designers to develop a strong look and feel for the site, and we invest in great photography to illustrate stories on the site. The second area is around content.  We have put a lot of energy into our editorial calendar – to build up a strong flow of timely, high quality and interesting content, primarily from our own members.  We drive traffic to this content through our weekly broadcast messages, and we are also very active on Twitter (@FightPoverty) and other social media sites. The third area is around member engagement. Every year, we have an active programme of face-to-face and online events, such as webinars.  Through our “Member of Week” and “Star Member” initiatives, we profile our most active members.  We have high hopes for our new member’s Forum, and have other ideas in the pipeline to encourage member interaction.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>What feature(s) are most important to your members?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Right now, our blog is the most popular feature on our site, followed by our events.  Over the next few months, we are looking to grow our forum as a way to generate more member-to-member engagement. We’ll also be more closely integrating our offline and online activities – so for example, we’ll be running online discussions linked to our face-to-face events. Following member feedback, we’ll also be launching a jobs board.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>Do you have any advice for other people building online communities?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">We recognized early on that community management is a full-time and professional activity!  Continuous investment of time and effort is needed to encourage member activity and network growth. On top of that, listening and responding to what your members want is critical.   Recognizing when things are not working is important too! For us, we have been on a continuous learning journey, and are constantly looking to improve the site. I am a fan of the <a href="http://creators.ning.com/">Ning Creators Network</a> – and have picked up many great tips there.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><b>What’s the craziest story you have about your community?</b></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">The craziest story is from our first day. A technology guru friend of mine first told me about Ning over breakfast, and by dinner I had set up the community. I was the first member and my wife was the second. I remember telling the third member – a colleague of mine who was working for a charity at the time, “I know you are only member number 3, but I promise that one day there will be many more of us!”</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">There is an African proverb that has been an inspiration to me: <i>if you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together</i>.  For me that is at the heart of what the global Business Fights Poverty community is about, and I am excited about what the future holds.  I believe that for all the amazing things we are doing individually, if we can do more together – as part of a movement for change, the possibilities are limitless.</span></p>
</div>Looking Back at 2012: Identifying Successhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/looking-back-at-2012-identifying-success2014-04-30T17:36:13.000Z2014-04-30T17:36:13.000ZCrystalhttps://creators.ning.com/members/CrystalC<div><p><em><span class="font-size-3">Written by <a href="http://creators.ning.com/profile/MayraPacheco" target="_blank">Mayra Pacheco</a>. This post originally appeared on the <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/looking-back-at-2012-identifying-success" target="_blank">Ning Blog</a>.</span></em></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3">As the year comes to a close, it's a great time to look to a few Ning Networks that have had great success throughout 2012 for inspiration. <a href="http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/it-s-time-to-brag-about-2012">We asked Network Creators</a> on our <a href="http://creators.ning.com">Creators Network</a> to let us know how their year went, and we received some exciting stories of success and lessons learned.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">These Ning Networks were led by creative, hard-working teams and have achieved their own forms of success due to their dynamic leadership. Using the words of <a href="http://wellkunnected.com/">wellkunnected.com</a> Network Creator, Armani Rouse: "There isn't a hack for had work and creativity!"</span></p>
<h3><span class="font-size-3"><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281637?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281637?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"></a>eCoronado.com</strong></span></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://eCoronado.com">eCoronado.com</a> is the most popular newspaper website and online community resource for Coronado, Calif. During 2012, the eCoronado team looked beyond their online tools and developed successful strategies to incorporate their community with offline events/ giveaways/ discount cards/ sponsors/ pretty-much-anything-they-set-their-mind-to.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">In brief, they hired two paid writers, a site admin, and interviewed many candidates to bring on their 13th intern. They now have 20+ paid sponsors and have launched over 40 physical photo/scavenger hunt <a href="http://www.ecoronado.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=photocontest" target="_blank">contests</a> to drive activity. In their spare time, they hosted an <a href="http://www.ecoronado.com/profiles/blogs/member-appreciation-ecoronado-com-102220121239?xg_source=activity" target="_blank">anniversary party</a> and bought hundreds of local members ice cream, created a <a href="http://www.ecoronado.com/csf" target="_blank">local discount card</a> in partnership with public schools and started rewarding <a href="http://www.ecoronado.com/profiles/category/photo-star" target="_blank">top photo contributors</a> with badges and <a href="http://www.ecoronado.com/coronado-shirts-hats-92118" target="_blank">company schwag</a>.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">We're not sure when the eCoronado.com team finds time sleep between advancing their development strategy and hosting ice cream giveaways!</span></p>
<h3><span class="font-size-3"><strong>IAVA.COMMUNITYOFVETERANS.ORG</strong></span></h3>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://iava.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://theponyhof.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/iava-logo.jpg?w=300&width=300" width="300" class="align-right"></a>Some networks define their success by the number of members they attract, while <a href="http://iava.communityofveterans.org">iava.communityofveterans.org</a> has amassed 24,500+ members, this is not where they see their triumph. The IAVA community is part of the largest nonprofit organization helping Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">The IAVA community team sees their triumph in the very real resources they have developed for their members. They implemented a Crisis Response SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) this year which was used to connect members with suicidal urges to life-saving resources. As Jason, the Network Creator, puts it: "Running a mental health / veteran network provided endless excitement. It's been a crazy year on our network."</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">They also had the opportunity to personally officiate a wedding of two long-time and active members of the community — who actually met because of the network — and secure a couple of grants to get some part-time support and a redesign for 2013. We look forward to continue to hear inspiring stories from this community in 2013. If you'd like to support an organization that <em>Time</em> magazine says remains the most important organization representing the new generation of veterans, please head to their <a href="http://iava.org/their-service-our-stories">donate</a> page.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><img src="http://theponyhof.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/sound-check.jpg?w=300&width=300" width="300" class="align-right"></span></p>
<h3><span class="font-size-3"><strong>FOTOGRAFIAPUNTODINCONTRO.COM</strong></span></h3>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Italian photographer network <a href="http://www.fotografiapuntodincontro.com/">fotografiapuntodincontro.com</a> defines its success by the elegant, clean and efficient community they have created thanks to their decision this year to enable the option to have all new photos approved by administrators before they become visible. <a href="http://www.fotografiapuntodincontro.com/profile/RiccardoRossini">Riccardo</a> believes this enables <a href="http://www.fotografiapuntodincontro.com/">fotografiapuntodincontro.com</a> to deliver the highest quality photos to enrich the member experience. "We are proud to offer in Italy something different about photography site, thanks to approval photo."</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Check out some of their <a href="http://www.fotografiapuntodincontro.com/photo/photo/listFeatured">featured photos</a>; they truly are stunning. We'll be keeping an eye on their network to see them grow and to enjoy more of their masterful shots in 2013.</span></p>
<h3><span class="font-size-3"><strong>PARENT-CHAT.COM</strong></span></h3>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281647?profile=original" width="300" class="align-right" height="112"></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Three weeks ago, self-proclaimed web novice Jennifer realized her dream of managing an online parenting community with <a href="http://parent-chat.com">parent-chat.com</a>. Having no</span><br> <span class="font-size-3">experience whatsoever, she set about getting her network up and running and now has a solid founding-member base. The Network Creator, Jennifer, promises: "I am only related to 5 of them!" Creating something tangible from an abstract idea is definitely a great leap forward, so we'd like to congratulate parent-chat.com for launching their network in 2012!</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"> </span></p>
<h2><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Defining Success for Your Community in 2013</strong></span></h2>
<p><span class="font-size-3">It's important to remember that each community defines success differently. The end of the year marks a great point to look at your own community and decide what you define as success. Whether it is defined by page views, engagement, or financial profit, we wish you the best of luck in 2013!</span></p></div>The Ning POV: How Custom Social Communities Can Change the Worldhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/the-ning-pov-how-custom-social2011-06-21T17:00:00.000Z2011-06-21T17:00:00.000ZJasonhttps://creators.ning.com/members/Jason<div><p>There are over 90,000 social websites on Ning worldwide. As a social platform that integrates with major social tools, Ning is in a unique position to observe patterns across the entire social ecosystem. The new <a href="http://about.ning.com/press_release_062011/" target="http://about.ning.com/press_release_062011/">Ning Point of View (POV) Report</a> examines trends in community engagement across the ever-changing social ecosystem that all inspired organizations and businesses can apply to spark change with as few as 20 people.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://blog.ning.com/2011/06/the-ning-pov.html"><img class="align-center" width="433" src="http://blog.ning.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ningpov.jpg?width=433" /></a></p>
<p>To read more about our findings in the <a target="_blank" href="http://about.ning.com/press_release_062011/">Ning POV Report</a>, check out Christina Lee's post to the Ning Blog <a target="_blank" href="http://blog.ning.com/2011/06/the-ning-pov.html">here</a>. Let us know what you think!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://blog.ning.com/2011/06/the-ning-pov.html"><img class="align-center" width="400" src="http://go.ning.com/pov_q2_2011/pov_q2_2011.jpg?width=400" /></a></p>
</div>Create a Mobile App For Your Network and Save 20% in Decemberhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/create-a-mobile-app-for-your2010-12-16T21:00:00.000Z2010-12-16T21:00:00.000ZKyle Fordhttps://creators.ning.com/members/KyleFord<div><p>Hey all! I wanted to share a special offer for interested Ning Pro NCs. We've worked closely with Mobile Roadie (one of our Ning Everywhere partners) to provide a significant holiday discount on their mobile app creation services.</p>
<p>If you're interested in creating a native iPhone, Android or BlackBerry application that can integrate with your Ning Network, you'll be able to <strong>save 20% on setup fees through December 31st</strong>.</p>
<p><a href="http://about.ning.com/everywhere/holiday.php" target="_self">Check out this offer page</a> for more details and some product tour videos. Happy holidays!</p>
</div>Empowering You to Stop Bullyinghttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/empowering-you-to-stop2010-11-17T18:00:00.000Z2010-11-17T18:00:00.000ZJasonhttps://creators.ning.com/members/Jason<div><p>In the past month, the nation has come face-to-face with an alarming epidemic among its youth: bullying, cyber bullying and teen suicide. As a platform that enables any person or organization to create a social website, we intrinsically understand the power of the social Web. It lets people gather around and connect directly with the organizations, artists, politicians, non-profit and brands that matter most to them. Anyone can instantly share, engage in a conversation, and connect with other people who share similar interests—to be social online. But just like in real life, bullying can happen online too.<br />
<br />
Ning is the platform that enables people to freely and safely share their ideas and thoughts. As an employee who’s constantly in touch with members of our platform, I want to highlight the handy tools we have to empower Ning Creators to prevent aggressive, hateful behavior within their social communities:<br />
<br />
<br />
• <a href="http://about.ning.com/safety/">Ning Safety Center</a> and <a href="http://about.ning.com/ncresource/safety.php">Network Creator Safety and Policy Resources</a> – Here you can learn all things related to creating a safe and secure online community<br />
• <a href="http://about.ning.com/safety/teensafetytips.php">Teen Safety Tips</a> - Tips on protecting privacy and staying safe for teens<br />
• “Report an Issue” link - It’s at the bottom of every page and allows your members to report objectionable content to you<br />
<br />
If there's anything that should be reported to Ning, don't hesitate to <a href="http://hc.ning.com/ning_contact_us.php">contact us</a>. If someone you know is a victim and in need of help, you can reach out to one of the following national suicide prevention lines:<br />
<br />
<br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.thetrevorproject.org/youth/lifeline" target="http://www.thetrevorproject.org/youth/lifeline">Trevor Lifeline</a> - 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386)<br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" target="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> - 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)<br />
<br />
<br />
To anyone out there feeling alone or different, you’re not alone. There are many communities on the Ning Platform where you can also find support:<br />
<br />
<br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://prototype.nodumbquestions.org" target="http://prototype.nodumbquestions.org">No Dumb Questions</a><br />
• <a href="http://out-tv.ning.com" target="http://out-tv.ning.com">OUTtv Socialize</a><br />
• <a href="http://bullysuicideproject.ning.com" target="http://bullysuicideproject.ning.com">The Bully Suicide Project</a><br />
• <a href="http://swirlradiosf.ning.com" target="http://swirlradiosf.ning.com">Swirl Radio</a><br />
• <a href="http://ocequality.ning.com" target="http://ocequality.ning.com">Orange County Equality Coalition</a><br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nationalmarriageboycott.com" target="http://www.nationalmarriageboycott.com">National Marriage Boycott</a><br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://queertoday.com" target="http://queertoday.com">QueerToday.com</a><br />
• <a href="http://cafeqsac.ning.com" target="http://cafeqsac.ning.com">Cafe Q – Sacramento</a><br />
• <a rel="nofollow" href="http://somethingawesome.org/" target="http://somethingawesome.org/">The Something Awesome Project</a><br />
<br />
<i>Reposted from <a href="http://blog.ning.com/?p=24498" target="http://blog.ning.com/?p=24498">The Ning Blog</a></i>.</p>
</div>Details on Last Week's Ning Platform Instabilityhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/details-on-last-weeks-ning2010-05-18T19:30:00.000Z2010-05-18T19:30:00.000ZSridatta Viswanathhttps://creators.ning.com/members/SridattaViswanath<div><p>We have always prided ourselves on our uptime record. In March, we had 99.999% uptime. However, Ning Networks experienced slowness last week and brief downtime on Thursday evening. I wanted to take a few moments to walk you through what happened last week and what we’re working on to improve on situations like this going forward.<br />
<br />
Starting Tuesday morning we saw sporadic instability in our servers, resulting in slowness that many of you experienced. Our operations and engineering teams investigated a variety of potential causes for the instability including a back-end release that was pushed out on Monday. We rolled the release back as part of our investigation and continued to look for the root cause.<br />
<br />
On Thursday morning we believe we identified and addressed the primary cause of the instability: we had started testing a prototype to deliver real-time information to Ning Networks on Monday. We stopped the test and continued to monitor the platform. At around 8pm that day a cluster of cache servers that had become slightly unstable during the investigation started failing. At this point, we began an unplanned maintenance to restart them and it took about 70 minutes to complete the restarts and go live.<br />
<br />
Whenever there’s an issue on the Ning Platform, we pursue the following protocol: First, our on-call engineers begin investigating what might be causing the issue. Then, for larger issues like this week, we escalate it to all-hands on deck. We also strive to get information out to you as fast as possible through several channels including the Ning Status Blog, Creators Ning Network and Ning Status Twitter account. Longer-term, we are working on an NC landing page with an announcement bar for important messages and a separate, lightweight “Report an Issue” link, which will allow NCs to quickly and simply report an issue they may be experiencing.<br />
<br />
Following this incident, I wanted to highlight two specific areas we have identified for improvement:<br />
1 It took longer than we’d like to identify and fix the problem: To address this, we are continuing our work on a series of projects that will simplify the platform and improve our ability to identify problems quickly when they happen. I will share more details with you early next week.<br />
2 -We were not as effective as we could have been in communicating both the state of the platform and what we were working on: To address this, we are reviewing our internal and external communication processes to ensure that we can give you the most accurate and timely information on what is happening.<br />
<br />
Keeping your Ning Network online and speedy is our top priority. Thanks again for all of your patience. As always we appreciate your feedback, so please let us know if you experience any problems on your Ning Network or have ideas for how we can improve the service.</p>
</div>National High Five Day?https://creators.ning.com/blogs/national-high-five-day2010-04-14T23:30:00.000Z2010-04-14T23:30:00.000ZLaurahttps://creators.ning.com/members/Laura326<div><p>I can't really say it better: "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com/">National High Five Day</a> falls on the <strong>third Thursday of April</strong><br> each year, which falls this year on <strong>April 15, 2010</strong>. "<br> <br> That's right! Tomorrow is the Day to Celebrate high fives, by indeed, giving out high fives as much as possible. We're going to be offering virtual high fives here on Creators, to all of you who contribute positively to the conversations here.<br> <br> Have you thought about celebrating this on your Ning Network? To help, here are a few high five graphics:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/tanooki-4-18-02.gif"></p>
<p><br></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/files/zakY4WWkpVASh-jdzrTLRfA6BldDAUsERKTjJzfNybL0lsRtZwQRJD6Ugp8Pl2OjQAM7EKtH-o84hi*CSBdIaw1gciomMDyQ/6a00d83453352869e20120a564e9d7970cpi.jpg"></p>
<p>Check out more content (including <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com/category/videos/">videos</a>!) at the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com">National High Five Day</a> website.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br></p></div>Win a Year of Box.net’s Business Service (worth $2,400)https://creators.ning.com/blogs/win-a-year-of-boxnets-business2010-04-13T16:53:04.000Z2010-04-13T16:53:04.000ZLaurahttps://creators.ning.com/members/Laura<div><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1868332?profile=original" alt=""></p>
<p></p>
<p>Can content enhance your Ning Network?</p>
<p>Yesterday <a href="http://blog.ning.com/2010/04/interview-box-nets-cloud-content-management-system.html">we interviewed Box.net Platform Manager Jeremy Glassenberg</a> about the Box.net Ning App, and how Ning Networks can use it to help manage and share content. Today, the friendly people at Box.net are giving away one year of Box.net Business service for 20 seats — a $2,400 value!</p>
<p></p>
<p>Entering is super simple. All you need to do is comment on <a href="http://blog.ning.com/2010/04/win-a-year-of-box-nets-business-service-worth-2400.html">this blog post</a>, and let us know how your Ning Network would benefit from Box.net’s Cloud Content Management capabilities. Please include both your Ning Network’s address (http://) and how you would use Box.net in your comment <a href="http://blog.ning.com/2010/04/win-a-year-of-box-nets-business-service-worth-2400.html">on the blog post</a>. One winner will be chosen by overall best use case. Hurry! We’re accepting entries up until Tuesday, April 20 at 5 p.m PST.</p></div>DESIGN TRICKS #4: ADDING A TWO-COLUMN HERO BOXhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/design-tricks-4-adding-a2010-03-31T04:42:19.000Z2010-03-31T04:42:19.000ZKyle Fordhttps://creators.ning.com/members/KyleFord<div><p>Welcome to the fourth in a series of Ning Creators blog posts focusing on simple design tricks you can use on your network.<br> <br> <b>Trick #4: Adding a Two-Column Hero Box<br></b><br> The following code, used on the <a href="http://creators.ning.com/">homepage of Ning Creators</a>, will insert a "hero" module that spans two columns at the top of your network's Main page content area. This area could be used to insert an image, a custom Flash/JavaScript piece or just a simple text introduction.</p>
<div>
<b>Here's an example:</b>
</div>
<div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1868356?profile=original" alt=""></p> To get started, visit the "Appearance" area inside the "Manage" tab, then paste the following CSS snippet inside the "Advanced" section (underneath any other code that may already be there):
<br>
<br>
<code>.space {height:270px;} /*Height of the Hero Area */<br> .module_text .xg_module_body {overflow:visible;}<br> #spotlight {margin-left:-245px;width:741px;}<br> #spotlight img, #spotlight embed, #spotlight object {padding:0; margin:0; max-width:741px;}</code>
<br> Next, visit the "Analytics" area inside the "Manage" tab, then paste in the following snippet (underneath any other code that may already be there):
<br>
<br>
<code><script type="text/javascript"><br> if (typeof(x$) != 'undefined') {<br> x$("#xg_layout_column_2").attr({_maxembedwidth: "741"});<br> }<br> </script></code>
<br> On the "Features" area inside the "Manage" tab, add one new Text Box at the top of the left column, then a second Text Box at the top of the center column. Save your changes.
</div>
<div>
<b>Here's an example:<br></b>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1868385?profile=original" alt=""></p>
</div>
<div>
Back on the Main page, click the "Edit" button on the new Text Box in the left column, then insert the following snippet:
<br>
<code><div class="space"></div></code>
<br> Now click the "Edit" button on the new Text Box in the center column, and insert this snippet:
<br>
<br>
<code><div id="spotlight" class="space">ADD HERO CONTENT HERE</div></code>
<br> Replace the "ADD HERO CONTENT HERE" text with your custom content (whether it's an image, embed code, HTML, etc.), then save your changes.
<br>
<br> Enjoy!
</div></div>How a social network can help your non-profit - Lessons from South by Southwesthttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/how-a-social-network-can-help2010-03-25T23:55:13.000Z2010-03-25T23:55:13.000ZLisahttps://creators.ning.com/members/Lisa<div><p>Last week, I returned from five days at <a href="http://www.sxsw.com/interactive">South by Southwest Interactive</a> – an annual conference that focuses on technology and social media. The most interesting panels and talks that I attended while at SXSW focused on the ways that new social media technologies - like Ning! - are shaping the newest generation of non-profits.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kiva.org">Kiva</a>, a non-profit that is arguably the most well known microfinance organization today, has engineered a fantastic online social network for their organization. The engineering team at Kiva has built a robust social network that allows lenders to connect with entrepreneurs in the developing world, which includes photos, descriptions, and updates on the portion of the loans that the entrepreneurs have been able to pay back. <a href="http://www.donorschoose.org/">DonorsChoose</a> is another non-profit that's been helping support teachers for the past decade. They're using a social network to allow donors to choose which projects they want to contribute to, and they've done a fantastic job of building a website that's truly interactive. When someone adds a donation on their website, they encourage them to write a note explaining why they decided to give money. It's a great example of using a social network to create an authentic and personable experience for donors.<br />
<br />
While these organizations may be building their own websites with the help of a team of engineers, many of the strategies that are working for them can be applied to non-profits using Ning to provide the framework for a non-profit network. I can't think of a better place than the <a href="http://creators.ning.com/">Ning Creators Network</a> to share the lessons I learned!<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Be transparent.</span><br />
People like to know where their money is going. The more that you can do to explain what happens to the money after you’ve deposited a check (or accepted a donation through Paypal), the better your donors will feel about giving you money. Use the <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3493">Pages feature</a> to create a help center on your Ning Network, and let people ask you questions directly using your <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3491">Discussion Forum</a>. You can use the <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3485">Blogs feature</a> to update your Ning Network with the latest news from the organization. Ask your employees to create <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3668">profile pages</a>, so that donors can see the faces behind all your hard work.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">them</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">spread the word.</span><br />
You don’t need to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to telling people about your organization. Let the people who are already supporting you be your advocate. If people believe in your non-profit, they'll want to tell their friends. Encourage the members of your Ning Network to <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3580">invite their friends to join</a>, and you can focus your energy on creating the best possible way for them to learn about your cause. That said, it never hurts to show people what your focus is. <a href="http://creators.ning.com/group/greetteam/forum">Greet new members</a> who join your Ning Network, and reward members who invite their friends with <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3719">Award gifts</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Use your Ning Network to build a relationship with your donors.</span><br />
Once someone has joined your Ning Network, it's much easier to keep them involved. Send out <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2949">broadcast messages</a> to announce new initiatives, and update your Blog to let your members know what's going on. Ask your members for feedback using a Forum discussion, and find out what you can be doing better. Here on Ning Creators, we get loads of ideas about how to make Ning better and what we can do to get our Network Creators to love us. This can work just as well for your non-profit!<br />
<br style="font-weight: bold;" />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Connect with Twitter and Facebook.</span><br />
Chances are you already have a Facebook fan page and/or a Twitter account to keep donors involved. It can be daunting to manage all of these social media outlets, so let your Ning Network help you with this! Connect your Ning Network to <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3770">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3788">Facebook</a>, and you can push your status updates to all three places with a single click.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thank people in public.</span><br />
Show the people who have contributed how much you appreciate them by thanking them on your Ning Network. Use profile comments or <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3720">customized gifts</a> to say thank you, or use the Pages feature to post a donors directory. Just had a volunteer event? <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3501">Post photos</a> on your Ning Network to show off how well it went!<br />
<br />
<br />
The best part of my job is seeing the way Network Creators like you are using Ning in creative ways. If you have more suggestions for using a Ning Network to help grow your non-profit, let us know here!</p>
</div>Ning.com Network Search is back! [Now Live]https://creators.ning.com/blogs/ningcom-network-search-is-back2010-03-25T19:30:00.000Z2010-03-25T19:30:00.000ZBrent Vincenthttps://creators.ning.com/members/BrentVincent<div><p class="MsoNormal">As we <a href="http://creators.ning.com/profiles/blogs/current-progress-on-ning">announced last month</a>, Ning.com Network Search is making a comeback!</p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have been working hard to make it easier than ever to find Ning Networks for your interests and passions. So we’re happy to announce that in the next few days, search will be back on Ning.com! We’ve heard a lot of feedback about how important this feature is from Network Creators as well as from members looking for Ning Networks.</p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For your Ning Network to appear in Ning.com’s Network Search, it must:</p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;">Be <strong><span style="font-family: Cambria;">public</span></strong>. Prospective members won't know too much about or be able to join your Ning Network if<br />
it's private, and we want to protect the privacy of private Ning Networks and their members.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;">Be <strong><span style="font-family: Cambria;">active</span></strong>. If your Ning Network has thousands of members but hasn't had new content in months,<br />
it's not likely to be ranked highly in searches.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;">Be <strong><span style="font-family: Cambria;">launched</span></strong> and accessible. We don't want to showcase Ning Networks that aren't yet ready for prime time!</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;">Not contain content that violates our <a href="http://about.ning.com/legal/tos.php">Terms of Service.</a></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For information on how to optimize your Ning Network for search, or if you have any search-related concerns about your Ning Network, please contact us through the <a href="http://help.ning.com/?faq=3794">Help Center</a>.</p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,</p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brent</p>
</div>The 90-9-1 rulehttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/the-9091-rule2010-03-22T17:45:33.000Z2010-03-22T17:45:33.000ZLaurahttps://creators.ning.com/members/Laura326<div><p>A fantastic blog post was put up last week, which has lead to a number of great discussions about member traction and engagement within communities. Dr. Mike Wu, Ph.D. posted metrics based on his study of over 200 online communities <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lithosphere.lithium.com/t5/Building-Community-the-Platform/The-90-9-1-Rule-in-Reality/ba-p/5463">here</a>.<br />
<br />
As he writes, "The 90-9-1 rule simply states that:</p>
<ul>
<li>90% of all users are lurkers. They read, search, navigate, and observe, but don't contribute</li>
<li>9% of all users contribute occasionally</li>
<li>1% of all users participate a lot and account for most of the content in the community"</li>
</ul>
<p>The data he present generally backs this up. The comments both there and in a related <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=15826271&gid=1173397&trk=EML_anet_qa_ttle-0St79xs2RVr6JBpnsJt7dBpSBA">LinkedIn</a> community explore how he defined his terms, constraints of the data, and how to encourage engagement.<br />
<br />
Do you agree with his findings? Do you see them reflected in your Ning Networks?<br />
<br />
I look forward to his future posts, where he promises to "dive deeper into the contribution level of the hyper-contributors, you community's real superusers."<br /></p>
</div>Hello Creators! My name is Jason Rosenthalhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/hello-creators-my-name-is2010-03-16T22:55:14.000Z2010-03-16T22:55:14.000ZJason Rosenthalhttps://creators.ning.com/members/JasonRosenthal<div><div>Hi everyone,</div>
<div>Over the last 18 months, I’ve met many of you in person or online. For those I haven’t had a chance to meet, let me introduce myself — I'm Jason Rosenthal, and I'm honored and very excited to take on the role of CEO at Ning. When looking at the 2.3 million Ning Networks that have been created to date, I’m amazed at what you've all accomplished and inspired by your creativity. As CEO, you can expect to see us continue to rapidly innovate the Ning Platform, strive to provide you with the support you need when you need it, and to keep listening to and learning from all of you.</div>
<div>I'd also like to take a moment to thank Gina for building Ning and infusing our employees and you, our Network Creators, with her passion and enthusiasm. Gina built an amazing team at Ning, and I am lucky to be working with some of the most talented people I've met in my career. I share Gina's vision for Ning as the place for people's interests and passions, and plan to continue to build on what she — and our team here — have already achieved.</div>
<div>Thank you for making Ning what it is today, and I look forward to many more conversations with you in the future.</div>
<div>Jason</div>
<div>PS: You can always get in touch with me here on Creators with feedback, ideas and suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you!</div>
</div>Don’t Blame Canada: An Update on Ning Anti-spam Measureshttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/dont-blame-canada-an-update-on2010-03-12T00:38:06.000Z2010-03-12T00:38:06.000ZJohn McDonaldhttps://creators.ning.com/members/JohnMcDonald<div><p>Many Network Creators continue to report high levels of spam on their Ning Networks.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">What are we doing about it?</span><br />
<br />
First of all, I want you to know how seriously we consider this issue. Spam isn’t just an annoyance for Network Creators and their members. Spam gets in the way of member participation and interaction, which is the lifeblood of a successful, vibrant Ning Network like yours. We have a dedicated engineering team that is focused on spam prevention led by Martin Westhead.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the current spam attack promoting “Canadian Pharmacy” is a sophisticated attack attributed to a <a href="http://spamtrackers.eu/wiki/index.php/Canadian_Pharmacy">Russian cyber-criminal organization</a>. As with other sophisticated spammers, this organization employs dozens or even hundreds of people to create accounts, resolve CAPTCHAs and verify email addresses, then passes the accounts to a large botnet to post spam from thousands of computers, each with a different IP address.<br />
<br />
Due to the sophisticated nature of the attack, there aren’t any quick fixes. We have already implemented <a href="http://creators.ning.com/profiles/blogs/an-update-on-spam-prevention">several steps</a> to block spam and plan to deploy a number of other features in the next few weeks. These measures are already blocking and disabling thousands of spam accounts each day. Here’s an update:</p>
<ul>
<li><font size="2">Yesterday, we significantly tightened our rules for new blog posts, which has been the primary type of spam for the “Canadian Pharmacy” attack. These rules identify and remove spam accounts automatically. You may have noticed a decrease in spam based on this action.</font></li>
<li><font size="2">Next week, we will test and begin implementing temporary blocks on members that look suspicious based on their recent activity.</font></li>
<li><font size="2">Within the next two weeks, we'll roll out a new feature for NCs — you'll be able to give specific members of your Ning Network the ability to easily flag and hide spam on your Ning Network.</font></li>
</ul>
<p><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How can you help?</span><br />
<br />
We are using the data from the “suspend for spam” feature to automatically disable thousands of accounts across the Ning Platform each day. Please continue to use this feature when you suspend spammers.<br />
<br />
We recommend that you turn on <a href="http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3607&p_created=1239839953&p_sid=UjnIaDWj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9OTAsOTAmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWJsb2cgbW9kZXJhdGlvbg**&p_li=&search_method=">blog approval</a> on your Ning Network. This will help you block new spam posts. While it's not optimal for some larger Ning Networks, we also recommend that you consider turning on member moderation.<br />
<br />
As we implement increasingly stringent anti-spam measure, we are working hard to minimize the number of legitimate members that are incorrectly blocked or disabled. We apologize if this happens to any of your members. Please have them write in to our <a href="http://hc.ning.com/ning_login.php?p_next_page=PortalTickets/AskUsAQuestion">Help Center</a> and we will re-enable their account as quickly as possible.<br />
<br />
John McDonald<br />
Vice President, Advocacy<br /></p>
</div>An update on Spam Preventionhttps://creators.ning.com/blogs/an-update-on-spam-prevention2010-03-05T19:00:00.000Z2010-03-05T19:00:00.000ZMartin Westheadhttps://creators.ning.com/members/MartinWesthead<div><p><font size="2"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Many Creators have noticed an increase in spam in the last couple of weeks on their Ning Networks. Starting around President’s day weekend we saw an increase in the amount of spam reported, reflecting an <a rel="nofollow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10462103-83.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20">industry-wide increase</a>, particularly from Canadian pharmaceutical companies. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10462103-83.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20"></a></span></font></font><br />
<br />
<font size="2"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>What are we doing about it and how can you help?</b></span></font></font><br />
<br />
<font size="2"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We are aware of this issue and have been working hard to provide short term fixes for this increase and long term solutions to harden the platform against these trends. A lot of our work is in the background and not directly visible to Network Creators or Members.</span></font></font><br />
<br />
<font size="2"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">That said, here is a run down of some of the features that you may see:</span></font></font><br /></p>
<ul>
<li><font size="2"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We continue to tighten and refine our rules for identifying and removing spam accounts automatically, which you should see as a decrease in unwanted activity.<br /></span></font></font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">We recently released the “suspend for spam” feature. We are now using this data to automatically disable accounts and analyzing it to help improve our ability to spot and remove these accounts more quickly.<br /></font></span></font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">Last week, we introduced a Captcha feature for Ning Networks who do not use member moderation.<br /></font></span></font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">We are working on a feature that will allow Members designated by the Creator to flag content and hide it from view...more details to follow.<br /></font></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p><br />
<font size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">We’re very aware of how spam affects Ning Networks and we are working hard behind the scenes to tackle this issue. In the next few weeks and months you should see significant improvements in our ability to block spammers before they hit your Ning Networks as well as new tools to help you manage unwanted content on your Ning Networks.</font></span></font><br />
<br />
<font size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">Martin Westhead (Martin runs the Spam and Abuse Prevention team at Ning).</font></span></font></p>
</div>Ning + Austin Winners Announced!https://creators.ning.com/blogs/ning-austin-winners-announced2010-03-05T18:48:16.000Z2010-03-05T18:48:16.000ZLaurahttps://creators.ning.com/members/Laura326<div><p>Thanks to all the amazing Network Creators who entered our Ning + Austin contest! We’re thrilled to announce the three winners:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.swapmamas.com/"><img style="float: right;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/OmBcC3KK1H5kuaukDlUsYoG26v4hZ9KetBwj0Imp2R*Io9Gul4z5ESpSbBeE8BSYdUE9jTkhxADOr5wYHQq33Wy95FBjWQ1f/Picture11.png"></a></p>
<p></p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.swapmamas.com">Swap Mamas</a> is about getting to know other parents, making connections, and doing a little old school trading with friends. The more you give, the more you get.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ampednation.org"><img style="float: left;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/XbLhfjsIBI7GpE-hJPtASIPa*gXnzT2k0avlL1MxOP2FhduO6Af8k2ekmi3FGlI8fRqL*-pbLnDLm25sGZXSyE8U1tDJ909d/Picture9.png?width=145" width="145"></a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ampednation.org"></a><br> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ampednation.org">Amped 4-a-Cure</a> uses the universal language of music as the vehicle to deliver the message to the masses of the importance of getting behind the efforts of cancer research.</p>
<p><br> <br></p>
<p><a href="http://www.20sb.net"><img style="float: right;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/oPYYrL3fTRYQsYXTWNTjTs-A*DrYjvEsEeVU8sqqMX5ciaC7t*20QdK8*9wpRlynlQhLEjte94UFyfX2EwbdD7BHk94zRXzp/Picture10.png?width=103" width="103"></a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.20sb.net">20 Something Bloggers</a> has brought together thousands of bloggers from all over the world, and spawned a vibrant community of like-minded, fascinating people who thrive on one another's support and feedback.</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>Stay tuned – we’ll be announcing another Creators contest this Monday - open to every member of Creators!</p>
<p></p></div>