Planet Cancer Ning Case Study from Greenlight

Web 2.0 on Planet Cancer

Heidi Adams

Founder / Executive Director

Social Media: Getting the Word Out in the New Information Age

Panelists:David Neff, American Cancer SocietyHeidi Adams, Planetcancer.orgConnie Reece, Every Dot Connects

Moderator: Tim Wilson, Bulldog Solutions

This case study came from this presentation –

The Who and the Why

Audience

− Young adults in their 20s and 30s who have or have had cancer

Goal

− CONNECTION: Create a community of peer support, a voice, and a distinct group identity for young adults with cancer

How? (And how MUCH?)

Option 1− Totally custom social networking solution

− $35,000- $50,000

Option 2 − Beta test custom solution adapted from another market

− Free--for now.

Option 3− Ning

− ≈$50/month + cost of some basic initial customization

www.ning.com

Why we chose Ning

Off-the-shelf, customizable platform with lots of features and ready support

Cheap

Potential networking among hundreds of thousands of other Ning communities

Did we mention cheap?

Familiar interface á la MySpace

Constantly updating and improving based on user feedback

Aaaaaand……cheap. :-)

For the extra $50/month…

Remove Ning promotion links

Remove ads

Use your own domain name without “Ning” (ex: myplanet.planetcancer.org)

Buy more storage and bandwidth

My Planet -

main page

Some cool features….

Personal pages

Groups

Forum

Other cool features

Real-time activity stream (member/site)

Viral widgets / network badge

Facebook integration

Upsides

Support on demand, 24/7

Ability for young adult user to define their own experience through groups and multiple methods of communication

Everyone gets to tell their own story in their own way

Faster, more effective promotion of PC activities, opportunities

Downsides

Registration is with Ning username only

Template limitations

Ended up with two separate and not-so-equal sites

Challenges of My Planet

Staying ahead of the dynamic evolution of boundaries

Great communication among members not always a plus for organization

Maintaining strong organizational presence

Privacy concerns

Keeping up with “housekeeping”

My Planet by the numbers

2,111 registered users and growing! (90 last week)

Average time on site - 9:12

Almost 20,000 visits / month

1,307 forum topics

2,027 blog posts

141 groups

Impact on Planet Cancer community

Interaction has exploded

Much stronger bonds developed among members

Increased participation in face-to-face programs

Faster, deeper promotion of PC activities, opportunities, fundraising

At the end of the day…

“After seeing the "$10.00-Donate!" button on this website every time I use it, I decided to donate! After all, I am enjoying this new social network SO much! It is exactly what I wanted when I was first diagnosed three years ago. It didn't exist then, so I had to search for other ways of meeting young adults with cancer.

Basically, this website is worth more than a co-pay, more than my deductible, and more than my doctor's fees. Thank you all for being here and finally providing the support I've been needing.”

Blog posting prompted 3 more member donations within a day.