Thing 6 - Ning

So, I browsed Ning.com and Flat Classroom Project.com and can see that for a specific focus group this would be very beneficial. If an individual or company wants to promote self, a product, or ideas to a select group, then this forum appears to be one way to achieve this connection. I did not personally find anything of interest when I simply went to Ning.com. I did enjoy browsing Flat Classroom, because it was a seemingly active site used by highschool classes.
As I moved on and Googled, Ning and 5th grade math, I was pleasantly surprised to find an active site that provides a wide range of forum topics.
I can see that joining a topic, specific Ning would connect your with people in your same field, or that have common interests.
I have been a little gun shy about signing up because of a negative experience that I had several years ago on the Science List Serve. This is an email based forum, designed for science teachers to share and post ideas. My inbox was constantly flooded with what I considered, time wasting arguments, that I had no interest in. When I asked to be removed from the List Serve, I was verbally accosted by a pompous fellow who thought he knew more about my time management than I did! Thank goodness that technology and the internet have created new, effecient methods for browsing, linking, skimming and scanning the overwhelming amount of information and discussion out there.