Ning

I've signed up for Ning, and I'm trying to get myself oriented. Right now the site feels very foreign and hard to use. I'm not sure what it is exactly either. "Online platform for people to create their own social networks" is a bit confusing. According to Wikipedia, its for people who create their own social networks around specific interests with their own design, features and member data. I figured the best way for me to explore the site would be to find something that I am interested in, and so I joined a group called "Pet Rats Indiana" and started poking around. Apparently I have my own page within this group... so I'm thinking that "Pet Rats Indiana" is like Facebook and I'm creating my own profile... but I don't really understand what happens to Ning and where they come in. I think I'll have to find someone who uses it and have them explain it to me, because it's pretty confusing right now.