Why not join or use an existing social network?
There are already a number of popular and powerful social networks available, which we will discuss in a moment, so why would we want to create our own social network? We will want to create a social network for the following reasons:
Provide a service: With the site we are going to create throughout this book we will be providing a service through the exchange of knowledge and information relating to owning pet dinosaurs. Having our own social network provides a fantastic platform for sharing and expanding this knowledge.
Improve business: A social network can allow businesses to interact informally with customers, gathering feedback and in some cases giving value to the customer. One particular instance of this that I have noticed is that radio stations often advertise their websites as social network type websites, where listeners can get in touch, connect with other listeners, request songs, share photographs, and so on.
Improve communications: Communicate with users informally, easily, and cheaply—Drupal can be used for Intranets too and can easily handle group communication functions.
They are fun!: Social networks help break down the barriers of time and distance, and are a good way to meet new people in a relatively safe way. Recent years have also seen an increase in the number of niche social websites focusing on dating and real-world socializing.
Some of the reasons I've just listed still don't answer why we should create our own social network, as opposed to using an existing one. Let's look at some of them in more detail.
Provide a service
There are many ways in which websites and social networks provide additional services which are relevant to the social network or the target audience, though these are often through third-party applications. For example, there are features for both Facebook and LinkedIn which can provide a list of books which a user has read; these link off to book retailers so that more information can be discovered and the books can be purchased. Additionally, some social networks contain knowledge bases of information which can be improved by the user.
With existing social networks, any additional service provided either directly through the social network or through third-party applications and plug-ins would, or could, be restricted in a number of ways. The terms and conditions of the social network would be the main restriction, followed by how the features themselves can be added.
For example, if we wanted to add a map of dinosaur-friendly restaurants to an existing social network, it would rely upon:
Data collection / use provisions with the social networks terms of service
Promotion within that social network, which can be a challenge
Provisions for third party applications, which would most likely limit and restrict the functionality and design
Design and user interface guidelines enforced by the social network
Improve business
By tapping into the existing user base of established social networks, we can communicate with a new group of users, increasing awareness, and hopefully improving business. One slight flaw with existing social networks is providing extra enhancements.
Taking Facebook as an example, third-party developers create additional features, and embedded them as applications, and some of these applications add business functionality. One example allowed users to book a table at a restaurant. The limitation with using Facebook is that before information is sent to the application, the user is subjected to several dialogs asking for their confirmation. These dialogues are important to prevent abuse, and to ensure user data is used properly, however it is an obstacle for developers. As more and more applications become available, there is more competition for a user's attention, which recently has led to applications requesting users to invite their friends to use it. These mass invitations have the opposite effect, and discourage users from using the applications in question.
With our own social network, the data and functionality would be hosted by ourselves, giving us the freedom to extend the functionality of the social network to help us improve business as we see fit, leading to a more relevant and user friendly social network!
Improve communications
Social networks remove most barriers to communication, such as geographical location (the only barrier which remains is Internet access), and this is the case for both existing and custom Social Networks. The primary advantage over using our own system is that we are less restricted in how we can communicate with users. With existing social networks you must be connected to the user, and restrictions may be imposed over which communication methods you use within the social network, or which external communication details are shown to you.
Existing social networks
There are many existing social networks available, some of which are already very popular, and have some excellent features. I'd imagine you have heard of all these before, and more likely use them on a regular basis, but let's take a look at the most prominent features of some of these more popular sites.
Facebook is very much a global social networking website for everyone over the age of 13, starting out for students at Harvard University, branching out to all universities, and now available for everyone. Features available include:
A customizable profile
Users can update their statuses
Users can connect with other users by adding them as "friends"
Statuses of friends can be commented upon and users can indicate that they "like" a particular status
Friends can post messages to each other's profiles
Photos can be posted and shared
Events can be posted and shared, with attendees sending their RSVPs online
Groups can be created and joined, promoting specific activities or interests
Topics can be discussed
Third-party developers can create their own applications for Facebook, to add more to the platform
LinkedIn is a business social networking site which encourages business contacts to connect. Features available on LinkedIn include allowing users to:
Customize their profile
Connect with colleagues
See how users are connected to others
Recommend other users with respect to a job
Integrate Twitter with their account profiles
Create and view business profiles
MySpace
MySpace is a social networking website used primarily by a younger audience, very popular with bands, particularly because of how many profiles can be customized with HTML, and how music can be embedded within profiles. Features available include:
Customizable profiles, complete with:
HTML customization, allowing users to customize the colors, look, and feel of MySpace
Music integration
The user's current mood
Comments
Groups: small subsets of users
MySpace TV: video sharing
Applications through an API
Forums: for discussions
Polls: to get user opinion
Twitter is a microblogging social networking website, which primarily deals with very short messages of 140 characters or less. Despite this, it has a large number of prominent features, including:
Profiles can be customized, both in terms of colors and background image
Users can update their status
Users can reply to each other's status updates
Users can repost another user's status update, using the ReTweet function
The ease of use and small set of core features have made Twitter very popular.
