I’d love to hear some of the answers that you all came up with!

Although yours might be funnier, my answer is that they all have a dedicated social networking group on www.ning.com. And if those topics aren’t your cup of tea, you can find networking groups on just about any topic imaginable. These groups operate very similarly to other networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. The major difference is they are topic specific and you can connect with people that have similar interests with pinpoint accuracy.

Although the benefits above are cool, I’ve left my favorite part for last. Ning.com allows you to create your own social networking group on any topic you’d like. You get to manage it – which means you control who gets in, what gets posted and other important admin functions of the group. It’s like creating your own Facebook.

For example purposes, I just created a social networking group for eBoot Camp. I called it “eBoot Campers” and you can come play around on the site by going to http://ebootcampers.ning.com. Once comfortable, feel free to join other groups or create your own. And like most sites I recommend to you, this is completely F*ree!

You can use Ning.com to engage a vast amount of people in your field. But remember our rules for networking on the Web: don’t be a salesman (or woman)! Act as you would in a normal face-to-face environment. Listen, ask questions, engage people, and, after some good ‘ol fashioned communication, there might be opportunities to learn how you can serve your new network of friends. Business happens everyday on the Internet, but like anywhere else, no one likes to be sold.

Action Steps:

Step 1: Create a new account at www.ning.com
Step 2: Become a member of “eBoot Campers” by going to http://ebootcampers.ning.com
Step 3: Join other groups or create your own!

all the best,

corey