[Imc-alternatives] transition towns social network

[Jonathan Lehman]

So, I just joined the US transition towns social network, it's got
tons of awesome features!  Like the ability to upload and tag media,
creation of local events, blogs, creation of social clusters / groups,
chat, discussion threads, messaging, rss feeds, addition of
specialized third-party developed apps (I don't know if their platform
is open or not), etc.

Check it out here:
http://transitionus.ning.com/

Friend me if you join!
http://transitionus.ning.com/profile/bikesnotbombs

It's all based on the ning.com technology ... where anyone can create
a social network.  I'm not sure what software they're using, but I'm
imagining the alternatives site to function in a very similar way, yet
with more diversity (maybe more like a network of networks).  I think
that without a high level of social functionality we're not gonna see
a lot of relevant content creation or information sharing going on.

Ning seems very similar to Crabgrass in some ways, but it's much more
developed and user friendly at this point.

I really like transitionus.ning.com because it has the capability to
deliver localized, relevant content to user's through a dashboard or
main page.  However, the issue with this design is that it is
targeting folks with only *one* type of content, whereas with the
alternatives IMC we are talking about having numerous topical issues.
So it would be cool if on the altIMC a user's main page could be
custom tailored based on what types of information that want to
receive, e.g. information on *one* specific topic, or an info mashup
like videos, discussion threads, and blog posts about law & security
*and* permaculture.  Or whatever.

Anyway, not wanting to shift our conversation to more theoretical
design blah blah blah.  I'm just excited about the capabilities of
Ning and wanted to share.

j!