Build your own Social Network with Ning! for free – starting tonight, according to TechCrunch.   I wrote about Ning last year and I tried it but had no luck geting anywhere with it then – and I was not alone.

But today, I'm told you can build —well, almost any kind of Social Network Application for free. We'll see – I'll review it in full later this week.  Here's what TechCrunch wrote:

"…The New Ning

Ning can be used to create a fully functional and customized social network in minutes (click on image to right for larger view).

There are some screen shots included at the end of the post showing the app creation interface. The first step after naming and describing the new application is drag and drop desired modules- such as text boxes, RSS feeds photos, forums, blogs and videos – into the application in the area you want them. Adding the “members” module, for example, shows a list of the networks most popular members within that module.

Customizable themes and templates can then be applied (again, by clicking and dragging, no coding), a logo uploaded, etc. The creator decides if it is a public or private network, and member profile questions can then be added.

For users who want to do more customizing, CSS and HTML files can be uploaded. Very few aspects of the application are not customizable.

The application is then ready to launch. It’s completely free, and Ning offers a la carte upgrades like the ability to add your own Google Adsense code for $20/month, and domain name aliasing for $5/month."

I'm just wondering what I'll end up building.