What's the "carrot"?

[Sherry Booth]

I'm curious ... what's the carrot that lures you into Ning in Education (or other Nings for education professionals, such as Classroom 2.0)?
I'm a doctoral student at NCSU. As part of a research project, I'm trying to identify the factors that underlie effective use of professional social networks in education. I've interviewed a few folks in our university community that have set up Nings. It seems the big question is how to pull people in to participate. So I'd like to turn the question to you -- users of Ning in Education -- and ask what is it ... specifically ... that engages you in using this Ning?

[Deborah]

Sherry,
I would say that educational social networking sites are valuable to me and others in that they enable one to quickly and easily set up communication networks. I use Ning for a craft social network that I've set up and it offers a place for individuals to communicate with others with like interests. It's also helpful for folks wanting niche networks. I particularly like it over say MySpace in that users can create their own smaller networks. Sometimes the larger networks feel too large. In a smaller network individuals can focus on more specific interests. Too, the Ning in Education network is free from advertising. That's great for instructors wanting to design for high school students.

Deborah

[Nancy Bosch]

Several things--I like the ADHDness of it. There is always something to think about and discuss. Unlike blogs the postings are short, generally not self serving promotion. If you throw something out there you usually get a response quickly. Blogs are harder to track and many times without the give and take discussions that occur at ning.