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One of the main advantages of Ning is the ability to form customized social networks around common interests while putting the community in center stage rather than the individual in the case of multipurpose social network sites. There are several reasons why you want to do this rather than forming an interest group on Facebook and MySpace.

First, Ning allows you to create subgroups where users are able to delve into specific areas of their interest that are still within the boundaries of the social network. This is a good way to segment conversations into specific topics rather than one big discussion board which can become hard to follow as the number of conversations increases.

Facebook users tend to sign up for several groups while participating actively in only a few. This may be attributed to the mentality of some Facebook users who really just collect contacts, even those of acquaintances. As a member of several Ning-based networks, I've noticed that the conversations on Ning networks are way more in-depth than similar ones on Facebook groups, even though the latter may have higher membership numbers.

Furthermore, without RSS feeds enabled on the Facebook groups, users are often unable to keep up with interesting updates that keep them coming back. In contrast, Ning provides RSS feeds for different types of user generated content to ensure that users are kept abreast of network activities.

There are also several widgets available to Ning networks such as live chat, group events as well as RSS functionality that allows networks to incorporate related content from elsewhere. Members are also allowed to create their own blogs and profile pages that reside within the social network rather than outside in the case of Facebook groups.

One of the limitations of Ning is the ads that show up on the right side of a social network. They take up space that could otherwise be used for customized widgets or even simplifying the design of a social network. The ads can be removed only if the network is converted to a paid Ning account. Another limitation is the lack of support for RSS feeds for music or podcast content. A workaround is available but it will require access to the PHP source code which can be requested.

In a work environment, Ning will be extremely useful as a peer support network for members of a specific department within an organization. Members could share information directly through this network and engage in conversations related to their work. It could also be an avenue where ideas could be thrown around informally before they get crystallized into formal proposals, but this may require the network to be hosted on the company intranet for security reasons.