Ancient History Group in Ning
Most of you will be wondering what Ning is. To my opinion, this is one of the best social networking platforms that could serve effectively the needs of our clan. I found out about it from a small but interesting book called ‘Tribes’, written by Seth Godin, a social media guru. My initial reaction was one of scepticism at the content and dismay at the style of writing. Despite the volume’s shortcomings, I was intrigued by the information it included on Ning. So, I set out for a new online adventure; that is, trying out the platform and reporting back to the community about the outcome. I have already created a group in Ancient History that immediately attracted the attention of eminent scholars in our field.
The platform operates in a similar way to facebook. For example, in the main page you can leave short messages or update your status. You can upload photos or videos and you can communicate directly with the other members of the community. Given the similarities, my first impression of Ning was that it did not offer anything more than facebook. Well, I admit that I was wrong. The videos and photographs you include become immediately a permanent feature of the main page. They do not come and go in a stream of news, as in facebook. So far, I downloaded around 26 educational videos from youtube and 20 photographs from my own archive. All of them can be used for teaching and some of them may be used for research. There are a few that are there for fun; jokes appreciated by Ancient Historians only. Furthermore, Ning provides us with a calendar of events, which I update regularly based on the information I receive on academic activities in the UK. I also included a blog, where some of my best and most relevant Love of History Blog articles appear.
Ning is not the site where you would exhibit the most personal of your photos or the place where you would hook up with friends from your sinful past. Instead, it facilitates the building of online professional communities. In our case, it is the perfect platform for bringing together ancient historians or enthusiasts of Ancient History, who are willing to participate actively, to share their published, unpublished or unpublishable material online, to express their views about current affairs and to communicate directly with the other members. Above everything else Ning allows us to network in an efficient and yet informal manner.
If you want to become a member of the Ancient History group in Ning join us at http://loveofhistory.ning.com/
