My colleague, Manny Hernandez, has written the "Ning for Dummies Book."
Manny is founder of The Diabetes Hands Foundation, a non profit that operates two niche social networks for people touched by diabetes: TuDiabetes (in English, with close to 8,200 members) and EsTuDiabetes (with close to 3,200 members, which is turning it into the main community destination for Spanish-speaking diabetics). Both have been runaway success stories. You can read more here.
For anyone who works in nonprofits and wants to know the secrets to success of setting up and running a "branded" social network on Ning, Manny's book is your best resource. He knows about community building.
Here's the good news. Manny kindly sent me 5 copies! I'm selfishly keeping one to read (and get an autographed at the NTC Day of Service where Manny is volunteering his time). So, that means I have four copies left to give away.
Here's the deal:
Leave a comment describing why you want create a Ning site for your community, your goals, and how you will measure success or if you have an existing Ning site how you want to improve it. I'll pick four lucky people will be selected to receive a free copy of Manny's book.
Resources:
Manny's Blog
Nonprofits Using Ning by Beth Kanter
Social Networks from WeAreMedia
The Long Tail of Community by Chris Brogan
Essential Skills of A Community Manager by Chris Brogan