Sigh, why is it so hard... omigosh, I mean, yay, it's so exciting!

So we have to choose between Facebook and Ning, or do something or other...

Anne-Reed Angino sends me to a short intro to the problem/opportunity.

In this article, we lay out three scenarios for how your social change initiative can combine the critical mass of Facebook with the community-building tools of Ning.

For anyone following the evolution of social media for social change, the emergence of Facebook and Ning as complementary tools for engaging people in making a difference is quite exciting.

Facebook has the lure of a big city. It's packed with people and things to do. On Facebook, it never hurts to try new things. Ning, on the other hand, offers all of the benefits of a private getaway with your closest friends. On Ning, a self-selecting group of your supporters can find the space to focus on the specific opportunities you're creating for them to get involved in your cause.

When it comes to leveraging Facebook and Ning, the trick is to align the best elements of both without overwhelming your supporters with extra usernames and passwords, not to mention redundant services.