Ning’s Gina Bianchini on Using Custom Online Social Networks for Politics and Advocacy

From e.politics:

Unlike general social networking sites, which create a common river of profiles in which everyone swims (think our individual networks of social connections as groups of rafters floating on the current), Ning has built a platform on which anyone can build a defined online community of people interacting around any issue or interest. A MyBarackObama.com in every garage! Of course, as with blogs and so much else online, many of these erstwhile communities will fade for every one that thrives.

Why set up a custom social network? For political or advocacy communicators, Gina sees it as a chance to start and facilitate a conversation among supporters or advocates (and for commercial marketers, among customers). In classic social media fashion, a successful online community tends to strengthen your relationship with your audience. To be mercenary-minded, it can lead more donations and more advocacy actions down the road, but it can also create unexpected opportunities for your grassroots allies to work together on their own. Go far enough, and it might just upend the usual top-driven listen-to-us attitude that nonprofits still frequently exhibit toward their activists (and companies toward their customers).