I think Nings have an important place in the "long tail" section of the online social networking arena. It's easy for someone to either find or create an online social network for any particular niche. (Here are just some examples.)
Personally, as one who is still a bit uncomfortable using sites like myspace and facebook, I feel that the option of creating a private networking site is one of the greatest advantages of Ning. The privacy and control features might be especially useful in a school setting where the use of any kind of social software tools is generally looked down upon. Even in a public library setting, I think many customers might feel more comfortable participating in a smaller, private online community, and they can be a great thing to use for book clubs, discussion groups and teen advisory boards.
But not all Nings are "small" and "private". Joyce Valenza's TeacherLibrarian Ning has over 2,000 members and anyone can register to join. Joining (or even just visiting) a ning such as this allows one to quickly connect with people who share common interests more efficiently, I think, than they could on the more "social" social networking sites.
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