I just started using Ning (http://ning.com) and I am enjoying it.  I created a private Ning social network for my family.  It was very easy to setup.  I posted some videos from my Flip video recorder and the upload process and conversion to Flash was pretty good - better than the conversion that happens on YouTube from my Flip.

Back in the old days (2000-2005), you might have used Yahoo! Groups to keep in touch with different groups of friends or find various interest groups.  Yahoo! Groups was rich with features like an event calendar, photos, and even chat rooms, but even still, it's primary use was as a mailing list.  Yahoo! tried hard to draw users out of their inbox and onto the site.  With the emergence of MySpace and Facebook, the shift towards the social web put the pressure on Yahoo! to extract the inherit social network that is burried within Yahoo! Groups.  That hasn't happened.

Hello Ning!  Ning does everything that Yahoo! Groups seems to do - minus the mailing list.  It has a discussion forum, a blog, and the ability to display RSS feeds.  Yahoo! Groups is still huge.  Perhaps I'm no longer the target demographic: upon signing in to Yahoo! Groups today, all 7 of the groups that I am a member of have zero new activity.  So what do you do if you're the guy running Yahoo! Groups?  Groups = Mailing LIsts.  Move it and integrate it deeply into Yahoo! Mail.  Why should Yahoo! Groups and Yahoo! Mail be so different?

If you're looking to create a place online for a group of friends, try Ning.