This is my Favorite NING

[Rita Holcomb]

I belong to several Nings but I do believe this is my favorite one. I don't know if it's because there is no pressure about posting to SELL, or if it's because this type of stuff just touches my soft spot, or if it's just the fabulous people in here..............I don't know why but I do LOVE it here.

SIGH! OK, that's enough schmaltz for one day.

[Mike Ferguson]

Rita,
Thanks. Of course I take no credit. I just set the table and keep the lights on, the rest is accomplished by the guests and I applaud the participants here along with you.

-Mike

[Rita Holcomb]

Mike,
The most important aspect of being a gracious Host is to make your guests feel comfortable and to make everything seem easy..............and you are a Most Gracious Host.

Perhaps we should start calling you the "Host with the Most"

[Alana]

You know I joined a couple of Nings over the past month and all of them I have since closed. I love the Ephemera Network, not only is it the first Ning I ever signed up for, but it has valuable resources, support and a "real" group of collectors who enjoy sharing and offering their expertise and experiences.

I am not being pressured to post to sell, the discussions are real and not all about advertising a shop, sight or store or worse yet about the owner trying to open an auction site or shop for all of us.

I believe a social site such as this one should be about our passion for what we collect. Sharing knowledge and experiences with each other, and most of all showing off our great finds. Reaching out helping other sellers with a little bit of support; but most of all, we are collectors and dealers and we are here to socialize, grow and learn and connect with each other.

Social networks don't need to be pushed by the administrators to force interaction with it's members to determine what they should be when they grow up. They are just social networks that the membership finds valuable and enjoys connecting shared passions.

What I have experienced with other Ning networks is post after post after post of here is my shop, go here buy from me, or the sight trying to identify how they should advocate for sellers and start some kind of selling sites as a whole group.

Sometimes I feel sold out by some of these sites because I joined them to connect and share on the topic of antiques, collectibles, etc..and I am finding my first emails coming in asking me to join a selling sight or get involved in planning for one, etc... I can not explain how the feeling comes across to me but it is very uncomfortable.

Sure we want to sell our product and sure we want to get out there and get some exposure, share some links, even exchange a few and support others selling sights. But most of all what happen to the topic of collecting? Are we all there to just put up our links and hope for some extra indexing exposure?

What I find here on Ephemera Network is a real passion for ephemera and a real sense of sharing that interest and less of a "lets get together and start a selling sight, or some other "we need to form an alliance as antique sellers which is much needed etc.. etc....

What I see here is substance and a real desire for the topic of interest. Not a group trying to take its membership into some money making or organization of something or another. I may be more cynical about social networks that attempt to organize it's members to advocate in some way, then others. However, it is a real turn off for me. I sell on my own websites, and have been doing so for over four years. Feedback is great, but will I ever want to sell anywhere else? No, been there done that and not interested in doing that. Not interested in supporting those type groups either. Why? I don't care to share my products in some kind of selling site or auction site in competition with other sellers. I don't want to organize into a group of sellers selling antiques and collectibles. I want to run my online stores independently. That doesn't mean that type of selling isn't attractive to others, but my venue experiences are over.

The Ephemera Network is a learning and growing and often emerging site that its members take an active role in sharing because it isn't so much about look at me I sell this and my driving force for being here is to use this network to get more back links or exposure in searches. There is a real passion here. It has the feeling of going beyond what appears to be how to put its membership in one group and more towards sharing individual experiences.

The members here talk about a number of things, and the resources we share are valuable to us, and we show passion and independence and are not trying to be one thing but showing a clear choice of direction and ideas.

What I love about Mike is that as he says it so elegantly, "I just set the table and keep the lights on, the rest is accomplished by the guest".

Thank-you Mike for such an informative and valuable social network of passionate collectors.

[Frank DeFreitas]

I second everyone's motions. A ning can only be as good as its members make it. So far it has been a wonderful experience.

[Mike Ferguson]

I really appreciate your thoughts on TEN. In about a week I will board a plane bound for a coffee conference I have been working every year for 10 years. It was on this flight last year that the idea for TEN occurred to me. I have to say that TEN is becoming just about what I imagined, starring out the window of the plane. Your feedback will help me to not screw it up. The only real strategic goal that I have for TEN is to one day (finally) attend The Ephemera Society annual convention and hand out pins to everyone there who belongs to TEN. They will read, simply, "I'm A TEN"

[Leslie]

I have to agree with Alana. Since I'm NOT a seller, just an interested bystander (and potential buyer), I'm more interested in information and social time than pushing a store or business. I've noticed on alot of the other sites that all the groups or forum discussions are dead except for those ones in which people are allowed to promote their businesses.
I'm brand new but I've posted a badge on my Myspace page and in a bulletin to let people on my friends list know about this place. Many of them "met" me because they liked the way I grouped my old photos and postcards. Many of their pages feature old postcards and photo images as well.