What do they have in common?

They all use Ning.com to host a private social network on their sites.  They give their fans an opportunity to upload photos, make comments, and engage as a part of the brand experience.

The best part?  Ning is free.

Why wouldn’t you create a ning social network?  Barack Obama and my University want to keep their social networks close, so as to tie data back to their main databases, which makes sense.

In any case, shouldn’t you be creating a social experience for your customers or prospects?  Aren’t they expecting it?  I mean, if The ‘Hoff is doing it…