Best PAID/PREMIUM social network options - JenSocial: Social Web Directory and Ning Tips2024-03-29T00:54:03Zhttp://jensocial.com/forum/topics/best-paidpremium-social?groupUrl=alternativesolutionstoning&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks for taking the time to…tag:jensocial.com,2010-08-17:2154984:Comment:2596432010-08-17T16:58:55.570ZC4 Business Networkhttp://jensocial.com/profile/MarcHarrison
Thanks for taking the time to reply, and for your suggestions.<br />
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I'm leaning more towards Ning the more time I spend on this. I still am worried about my site looking like all other Ning sites, and there are a couple of features I would like that aren't there, but I might have to get over that.<br />
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I have experience with Wordpress, and have my business site plus a couple of others on that platform. i have also played around with Drupal and Joomla sites in the past. Tonight I also set up an Elgg…
Thanks for taking the time to reply, and for your suggestions.<br />
<br />
I'm leaning more towards Ning the more time I spend on this. I still am worried about my site looking like all other Ning sites, and there are a couple of features I would like that aren't there, but I might have to get over that.<br />
<br />
I have experience with Wordpress, and have my business site plus a couple of others on that platform. i have also played around with Drupal and Joomla sites in the past. Tonight I also set up an Elgg site to see how that went. With all of these options the reliance on (largely hobbyist) add-on developers is my biggest reservation. I may pick an option today based on the one with the best set of add-ons, but if one or two developers lose interest in updating their products then a major feature of my site may be lost. It seems like once you stray form the very largest add-ons, there is usually just one person working on it and very little chance of someone taking over the project if they stop updating it. Relying on one company to keep their product alive is one thing... relying on a half a dozen add-on developers to stay interested is another.<br />
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Finally, a budget above $1,000 is fine, provided I'm getting value for money. I am willing to invest in my network and back myself to make it at least moderately successful, and that investment includes both days of my time and at least $1,000. Even if i only value my own time at $10 an hour, my time is almost sure to end up being the biggest investment, and I'd like to think my time is worth much more than that!<br />
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<b>Does anyone else want to chime in with any thoughts on the range of paid options out there?</b> First. I do not know of any h…tag:jensocial.com,2010-08-17:2154984:Comment:2596182010-08-17T15:00:55.985ZCarny Townhttp://jensocial.com/profile/TomHoey
First. I do not know of any hosted social network that has all of your requirements. Ning has most and their "road map" indicates they are in the planning stages on the others. Also, they are a VERY big company with many millions invested so even if they went out of business (unlikely, right now)...somebody would absorb them. You can ignore the carping of people who are unhappy about them doing away with the freebie sites. Nobody is every happy when you have to pay instead of getting it for…
First. I do not know of any hosted social network that has all of your requirements. Ning has most and their "road map" indicates they are in the planning stages on the others. Also, they are a VERY big company with many millions invested so even if they went out of business (unlikely, right now)...somebody would absorb them. You can ignore the carping of people who are unhappy about them doing away with the freebie sites. Nobody is every happy when you have to pay instead of getting it for free. And there support is average. Sometimes above average. However, networks are such a technical challenge they sometimes take extra time because they are learning how to do it, before they advise you.<br />
Secondly. I would budget at least $1000 because any network you choose will require subscribing to scripts that you will probably need...extra video storage etc.<br />
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My suggestion (if you have access to a hosting account on a server like GoDaddy) is to look into Wordpress ... not .com but rather wordpress.org and host it yourself. With the thousands of plug ins available you should be able to accomplish all of the above...however, there will be an extended learning curve. You can add the Buddypress plugin and turn the Wordpress blog into a combination of Blog, Pages and Network.<br />
If you are starting from scratch. I suggest that. A server account will cost you around $8 a month an initially that will be your only cost since Wordpress is open source and free. Buddpress at this time is also free as are most all the plug ins. If you decide to go in that direction, I suggest using the bundled theme with the child theme Ten Weaver for the greatest versatality in design. Don't let the CSS and HTML stuff scare you...if you don't know anything about it...you will in a short time.