A comparison of Facebook, Ning and Elgg

	Facebook www.facebook.com	Ning www.ning.com	Elgg www.elgg.org
What is it?	Public, hosted social network for individuals to create user accounts; they can then create groups if they wish	Hosted social networking platform to create private social networks; others can then create member accounts	Social networking platform (hosted or self-hosted) to create a private social network
Free/open source	Free	Free	Free, Open source (licensed under GPL)
User base	Over 250 million users	Over 1 million groups	Unknown number of networks based on Elgg (tens of thousands of downloads in recent weeks)
Numbers of networks/groups that can be created	Users can create as many groups as they like within the Facebook network	Individuals can create up to 10 Ning networks (although each network can have multiple sub-groups)	Users can create as many groups as they like within the network
Who can join the network?	Any one can join Facebook	Anyone can join Ning and set up a network. These are either open or closed. Members can be approved first by network creator.	Network creator can enable self-registration or access controls in to approve membership
Who can create a (sub-)group (within a network	Any member of Facebook	Network creator can decide if anyone can create a sub-group or if groups need to be approved	Anyone in the network can create a group (group approval can be implemented if required)
Who can join a group	Groups can be set up to be open (anyone can join) or closed invited only) in which case joining determined by group owner, or secret group (not displayed in	Groups can be public (anyone can join) or private (moderated membership)	Groups can either be open (anyone can join) or closed (invited only) in which case joining determined by group owner
Delete/ban from network/group	Facebook can ban member. Group owner can block members	Network creator can ban member from network; Group owner can ban member from group	Network owner can delete member from network, and remove member from group
Group customisation	Limited in terms of functionality; same look and feel as Facebook	Good in terms of functionality and look and feel (very visual)	Completely customisable in terms of functionality and look and feel
FUNCTIONALITY
User profile page	1 profile page	1 profile page per network (so if a user belongs to multiple Ning networks, this means multiple profile pages)	1 profile page
Personalisation of profile page	Personalisation via applications but not of themes	Personalisation via apps, and of theme can be allowed by network creator	Can be supported by network owner
Social networking	Across Facebook	Within networks, but can have visibility of contacts across networks	Across the network
Internal messaging	Yes	Yes	Yes
Discussions	In the individual groups	In the network's central Discussion Forum (and in any sub-groups if set up. This can be confusing to some users	Only in the groups
Online chat	Yes	Can be enabled	Can be enabled
Social bookmarking	Private bookmarks, via Links. Group bookmarks via Links	No	Can store personal bookmarks or share with others
Blogging	No personal blogging although with FB app you can post and share your content across multiple platforms	Personal blogging (on profile page)	Personal and group (multi-author) blogging
RSS feeds	Via FB app	Site feeds can be set up by network creator; members can set up feed(s) in widgets on profile page	Feeds can be saved and viewed individually or within site feeds
File uploading and sharing	Photos and videos can be uploaded in personal area as well as group areas (where enabled by group owner)	Videos can be uploaded where enabled by network owner. Other files can be uploaded by users into postings etc but can't be deleted	Files (of all types) can be uploaded in a personal space as well as in a group space.
Create web pages	No	Network creator and admin can create pages	All members can create web pages
Wiki pages (for collaboration)	No	No	All members can create their own wikis for personal or group use
Micro-blogging (Twitter integration)	Twitter feed can be incorporated into status via FB app	No, although Twitter Tracker widget can be added to profile page	Yes, via the wire, can send to Twitter account
Events	Yes. Users can set up events and manage	Can be enabled by network owner and determined who can add events	Can be enabled by network owner for admin and group owners
OTHER FEATURES
User privacy permissions	Members can set privacy permissions across types of resources but not for specific resources.	Members can set privacy permissions across types of resources but not for specific resources.	Every member has control over access permission- for every resource they create as well as for personal data.
User notification control	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobile notifications	Yes	No	No
Own domain name	No	Yes as a premium service	Yes
Age restrictions	No one younger than 13 can join Facebook	No one younger than 13 can join a Ning community	Networks can be set up for users of all ages
Ads on site	Yes	Remove default (and add own) as a premium service	As desired
Ease of set up	Easy	Easy (although some users might require) help	More complex But help is at hand! Our Elgg Services
Ease of use	Easy	Easy (although some users might require) help	More complex, might require support to ensure that all the functionality is appreciated But help is at hand! Our Elgg Services
Sign in	One login via Facebook	One central login via Ning OR login to individual networks of which you are a a creator/ member	One login via the network (single sign-on with other systems could be set up)
Terms of use/Privacy	Terms of service include terms like "By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States" and "We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer."	Terms of service include "In its operation of the Ning Platform, and its provision of its services to Network Creators and Third Party Application Developers, Ning collects, uses, and retains all information, including Personal Information and Network Member Data, that you disclose to Network Creators in your use of Networks."	Creators of a network determine terms of use and privacy policies; data is not controlled, owned or managed by Elgg.
SUMMARY
MOST SUITABLE FOR	Individuals for their own personal use to connect with others, and to create/join personal groups as well as groups across the large FB membership base - primarily for *social* networking and discussion`	Individuals/ Organisations that want to create one main network (with a number of sub-groups) for users who have a personal choice whether they wish to join or not - primarily for *social* networking and discussion	Organisations (businesses/ education) with a need for a private, organisation-only membership for social networking or with groups for social learning and/or collaborative working
FOR YOU if you want/require	Personal networking Access to huge user membership base for networking Ease of use	Ease of set up and use Visually attractive look and feel Networking for a well-defined group of people	Social-media rich (integrated) platform Functionality for collaboration Fine control of privacy permissions Complete customisation of functionality and look and feel Secure and private personal and/or organisational data A platform without trivial content
NOT FOR YOU if you want/require	Functionality for collaborative work Secure and private personal and/or organisational data Granular privacy permissions	Functionality for collaborative work Secure and private personal and/or organisational data Granular privacy permissions One profile page across multiple networks	One-click set-up
EXAMPLES	-	25Tools Workplace Learning 2.0	c4lpt.NET