Ning.com gives you a chance to start up a free social networking site. There are ads that run on your site, and you only get a certain amount of storage, but I have tried it out, and it is like 2000 pictures or 500 videos uploads. There is an option to pay to remove ads, but if your site becomes popular. You can put up a pay pal link, so people can donate money to the site, which is really cool.

Ning.com lets you create your own site title, and domain, but it will have ning in the address, but you can get rid of this with a paid subscription of the service. You can upload videos, pictures, and your members can even upload their own music, and customize their own profiles, and music players.

when I started my own ning site, and people were coming to the site signing up, and leaving me great feedback. I got really excited. You can also assign a member rights to run the site with you, which is very helpful when your site starts becoming populated. There is an option you can use to totally customize your homepage from css codes, which you will have to know, or learn, but they do provide sample homepages to choose from.

There is chat on the website, rss feeds, forums to create, blogs, site badges with descriptions, birthday reminders for members, featured videos, picture slide shows. You can also make your site private for personal use, or open it up for the public to see and join. You can send messages back and forth through your inbox.

Another awesome feature is that everyone's profiles have a comment wall, where you can leave messages, and even leave html graphics on their pages. I know it sounds to good to be true, but a site had 300 videos, 50 members, 200 pictures, and forums and everything, and the site was still running free. It is truly amazing to play around with this, because with more time of learning the basics from ning. You will have a great site up and ready.

You can also take your time, and set it all up before you publish your site. When your finally ready to reveal your site. You can use the e-mail invite feature that is included with the site. this takes all e-mail addresses from your e-mail account, and sends them an e-mail saying your site is up and ready.

You can also send out broadcast e-mails to members announcing that you have special events coming up, or just let them know what new, cool feature you have added recently. Whatever passion you have, you can create your own vision, and share it with friends and everybody. You can create your own network icons, and questions before people sign up that will be displayed on their profiles.

Everyone that signs up can customize their own profile just the way they want it. There is no catches on this site. It is all fun, and exciting, You have control over the whole community. It gives you that sense of business, and you're constantly thinking of new ways to improve it.

Sign up for ning today, and give it a try. You can cancel if you like just by hitting the cancel link on your manage tab. Ning is very addicting, and if you become popular, then congratulations.

Creating your own homepage banner is also fun, and customizing your whole layout, and interface is simple as 1.2.3. Your possibilities are endless, so go out there and have fun.