Developing with Ning

Fred Wilson thinks Ning might lower the cost of entry for creating web applications designed to fulfill a specific need very well. Based on my experience, I don't think so, but I have a suggestion which might help.

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Yesterday, I signed up for the Ning developer program, and today they accepted me. Ning is a platform for developing interactive web applications like this little bay area restaurant guide, an Ann Arbor version of which is depicted here:

Fred Wilson has suggested that Ning might lower the cost of entry for point web applications, i.e., those designed to fulfill a specific need very well. In its current state, I don't think so. In the example “Things around Ann Arbor” app I tried above, there were three items that were configurable without programming: the number of items to display on a page, the map image to show, and the google maps key. Everything else required modifying code intensive php pages. Examining these, it quickly became apparent that I was going to have to spend some time with the API documentation to make any real progress beyond showing Ann Arbor on the map.

Now, my work might lower the cost for someone who wants to simply copy my application (a process called cloning in Ning), but having to learn the Ning web app structure is a clear cost increase to me for just getting started. I have a recommendation that might help.

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Bud posted this on October 5, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)