uSphere and Twitter and Ning used in the same sentence...

We've had an interesting week here at uSphere headquarters. Some of it is subtle (uSphere vs. U Sphere), and some of it a lot more blatant. All in the name of helping kids and colleges connect.

And, on Saturday, we had a really interesting exchange that can actually justify our using uSphere and Twitter and Ning in the same sentence. Here goes:

Our nascent (SAT word) social network, which you can join by clicking here, is hosted by a company called Ning. Theirs is the DIY social network tool and we're big fans.

Yesterday, though, we ran into a minor blip -- what turns out to have been less than 20 minutes of downtime. And what helped fix it? Twitter.

I sent a note to Ning's customer service team and, while I was getting impatient, posted on Twitter (you can follow me here) that I wasn't happy. Within minutes, MINUTES, I was twittered back and told that all was fixed -- there were a few networks with the same issues, the tech team was on the case, and downtime was minimized.

And I have a new friend, http://twitter.com/lauraoatning.

We've seen schools have similar success with twitter (Butler's admissions team, for instance), and, in this instant gratification society, well, it's another way to connect and get answers, like, now.