Social Network Software

11 replies
We want to set up a niche social network site and wondered if anyone could recommend which software we should use.
We would be very grateful for any advice.

Thanks
#network #social #software
  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    You can set one up easily with Ning.com - if you want more
    control than Ning offers you will have to deal with development
    headaches.

    I'm a fan of Drupal, which has social networking plugins and is
    scalable to handle the demands of a social networking site.

    My suggestion is to keep your interface and focus straightforward
    and easy to figure out. I've seen complex social networks tank
    under the weight of the visionary founders' desire to make the
    site do everything imaginable. Such stuff chews up dollars,
    your time, and bandwidth and also social networks are notoriously
    hard to make money with.

    You can look at Dolphin too:
    Dolphin :: Smart Community Builder :: Free Software
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Gould
    Check out Elgg: elgg.org/index.php
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  • Profile picture of the author grangonzo
    The easier ones are the ones at BoonEx - Community Software Experts

    They are free, specific for social networks, and work very very well...
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  • Profile picture of the author ebizstrategies
    Hi Lou,

    I used Pligg, it's a free open source so it depends on your programming skills. There a few things you have to edit / customize. We built one for testing @ (www)sociallister(dot)com for example. Hope this helps.
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    Dean A. Markham, President / CEO - Monument Commercial Insurance Agency
    Where Customer Service Isn't a Department, It's An Attitude :: compare insurance quotes ::

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  • Profile picture of the author Lou Macdonald
    Thanks Guys, this has really helped.
    Signature

    Lou Macdonald
    Local Internet Marketing Consultant
    http://www.LouMacdonald.com

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  • Profile picture of the author AcePlayer
    Use phpfox....it's one of the best and simplest..
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    • Profile picture of the author darrylmit
      Check out dzoic.com I've used them for two social network sites. Excellent tech support.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ravenaven
    Hi there,

    I've done SO much research... we've finally narrowed it down to three options, I thought I'd share with you so you could see what our research and thorough investigations have lead us to:

    We are still evaluating these three options:

    Amember for the membership management with Wordpress-mu and buddypress.org
    or Amember with PhpFox plugins
    or Just PhpFox (as it does have subscription mgmt.)

    Here's what we were looking for:
    - different membership levels, each of those can see different areas of your site
    - bill your users for an advanced area of your site,
    The users need to be able to
    -chat,
    -write in a forum,
    -to share audio/video and other media with each other,
    -to create profiles, to relate to each other
    and all this with entering only a single password
    - must integrate with Autoresponseplus
    - must integrate/provide instructions for integrating with my payment processor (AND other popular processors - paypal, 2CO, etc.)

    The one's we reviewed that did not meet our specs:

    Social Networking Software Platform & Social Media Community Building Applications - KickApps - paid membership module was not easily integrated, would have to have 2 different databases
    WishList.com | The Only Way To Wish for Registries, Baby Showers, Weddings, Birthdays, Holidays, & more - no
    Niche Socializer - The "Perfect Storm" of Profit-Pulling Web Trends - purchased, but at the time the program just didn't work, may have changed since then.
    Social Network Empire: Build a customizable social networking site - don't know if this will do what I want yet, have a friend that is using and she says the customer care is incredible but she hasn't fully explored the functionalities. (www.curvygoddesslounge.com)
    SocialGO - Social Network Maker - Create Social Networking Websites, Blogs, Forums & More - could not create different membership levels
    Elgg.org - the coding required to create one-login/secure payment/upgrade/downgrade was the reason we said no
    Dolphin - we were excited at first, but cc took too long to respond so we crossed it off

    Hope this helps others!
    Anisa
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  • Profile picture of the author Lou Macdonald
    Wow Ravenaven,

    This is amazing thanks so much for sharing, I have gone through a couple of these already but you have given me a great short cut here.

    Thanks again
    Lou
    Signature

    Lou Macdonald
    Local Internet Marketing Consultant
    http://www.LouMacdonald.com

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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    I'm with Loren - Ning.com is a great place, and it can handle massive communities.
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author jmorris18
    Hey Lou ,
    My good friend Carlos has a great social networking script available. I was actually in the process of using his product but my plans of setting up a social network site were put on hold due to another project I am currently working on and took priority over my plans of launching a social network..

    Anyway , Carlos Garcia has worked extremely hard over the last year building this platform from the ground up - It is a great product that would benefit you greatly. He is always on the forum - check him out - send him a PM.. He will treat you right..

    Take care ,
    Jason
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    Jason Morris

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