Everybody is into social networking. Every day we hear about them � forums, blogs, and sites that let you find your friends online and be their �virtual’ friends as well. Some of these sites are made for specific niches. The members of the community could have the same hobby, or same interests, and the same cause. These sites try to bring people together in order to share ideas, points of views, as well as knowledge.
A forum is a good example of a social networking site. A user would create a topic for others to view. Others would be able to post their own comments on the given topic and these comments will be displayed in a linear fashion. A web log, or a blog, operates in the same manner. The blog owner would post and the followers of the blog are welcome to leave their own say at the matter. Unlike a forum, however, the content of the blog rests solely on the owner. And then there are the sites that allow you to link up with many people whom you may or may not know personally. On these sites, you can setup your virtual profile � age, gender, religious, as well as political view. Some of the classic examples of such sites are Friendsters, MySpace, as well as Facebook. These sites houses millions of users all around the world, all with one goal in mind: to be connected to as many people as they can.
If you would like to create your own social network site, you would of course need a social networking software. While there are premium software available in the market for a price, you can get your feet wet using open source software. You don’t need to pay in order to get the feel of it. There are dozens of free alternatives on the Internet. One example is the Elgg software.
Ever wanted to combine the powers of web logging, profiling, groups and notification in one place? If you answer yes, then Elgg is for you. Elgg is open source software, which means it is free to use. Elgg can be used as the backbone for any social environment. It features several powerful functions. First is the profile system. Once you install Elgg, it immediately comes with pre-built profile fields. You can then expand these fields depending on your needs. It also comes with the very useful activity stream. A single glance will show you the activity across your site, the activities of your friends as well as your own. If you are dealing with a lot of people, there will be different interests. You can easily sort this out with the Groups function of Elgg. And if you feel like blogging, no need to setup a separate blogging system � Elgg comes with its own. The different powerful functionalities make Elgg a solid choice for a social networking software.
