• Forbes, Sunday, August 23, 2009 8:19 PM

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has been experimenting with social networking outfit, Ning, on an online meeting place for female entrepreneurs. The MSLO site on the Ning network is called "Dreamers into Doers." It allows users to post tips about running a small business, share videos about their companies and meet other women grappling with the challenges of building a company while raising families. The site operates much like a small biz-focused mini-Facebook.

Martha Stewart Living asked Ning to help them build the network earlier this year after realizing that articles about female entrepreneurs on its main Web site attracted lots of interest from advertisers and readers. Through the new Ning site, Martha Stewart's staff can keep up with the specific issues that a narrow segment of its readers care about and create new content targeted for that group.

"This is the way for traditional media to counterprogram social networks that are already strong in the market," says Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning. Bianchini is focusing harder on pitching Ning's network-building capabilities to traditional media companies like print publishers and television networks. The Martha Stewart deal is the first agreement Ning has made public.

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