It’s easy with a site called Ning.

What is Ning, you ask? According to Ning, “Ning is the social platform for the world’s interests and passions online. With Ning, you can make your brand social, amplify a cause you’re passionate about, or simply forge strong relationships with like-minded people.” Fancy for: a platform to create your own social platform on.

Ning allows you to get your custom network up and running in less than 30 seconds, and better yet the basi

c version is free! Each network comes equipped with visual templates, or for a more advanced amount of customization, the CSS can be modified. For a small fee, more space can be purchased if you anticipate your creativity to exceed 10GB. Ning allows the use of custom urls, and makes them very easy to implement with sites like Go Daddy.

Once users begin to join your network, there is an option to export membership data (name, age, email, birthday, etc.) to be used as backup, or for additional marketing purposes. Each site is equipped with automatic Twitter integration, email invitations and branded media players to allow your site to go viral.

Ning allows the creator to moderate privacy and membership in its network, as well as the user generated content within the site. In addition to monitoring content and privacy, the creator can choose from a number of apps to include within the network (including a brand new Facebook app, just introduced today!)

If you are interested in monetizing your network, it is an option for a fee. You can choose to implement Adwords on your site, run your own ads, or show no advertisements at all. If you do not choose to make money on your network, Ning’s Adsense ads will be present on your site.

If creating a new network isn’t your thing, check out the thousands of already-established networks on the site. You are sure to find something that sparks your interest!

For more information, visit www.Ning.com.