Ever wanted to create your own social networking (a la MySpace) site to bring fellow creatives or designers together?
Elgg is an Open Source (free) program to do just that, I have been reading a little about it in .Net Magazine and hope to have a dabble with it when I can. Elgg can be downloaded and run from your own server and then looks like it has a lot of the features of community sites such as MySpace, Facebook etc. I was looking into scripts like this a few months ago but then they were costing a few hundred dollars (and I didn’t know if they worked), but Elgg is free.
Features of Elgg
- Blogging
- Social networking
- File repositories for individuals and communities
- Podcast support
- Full access controls
- Supports tagging
- User profiles
- Full RSS support
- RSS aggregator
- Create communities
- Collaborative community blogs
- Create ‘friends’ networks
- Import content
- Publish to blog
- Multilingual
- Branding/customisation
- OpenID support – coming soon
Elgg requires requires an Apache web server with mod_rewrite installed and the ability to send emails, plus PHP 4.3+ and MySQL 4.1+ (Postgres can also be used).
There are a limited number of themes currently available but these are editable with CSS and I am sure as Elgg grows in popularity the number of themes will increase.
If any one tries it let us know how you get on.
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15 Comments
I was talking to a friend about this a few months back, and he wants to use it to set up quite a large European political network.
It certainly seems to be the way to go for experimentation (if you’re not sure if you want to spend any money).
Are you going to be developing a creative network, Tara?
Hi David,
A few months ago I was thinking of creating a tutorial network site, where people uploaded their podcast/video tutorials, but the abandoned the idea as they seemed to be cropping up everywhere. I would like to create a creative network, but at the moment for me everything is on the backburner to the Brand Licensing Show I am doing in October. Once that is out of the way I will think some more about it. Are you planning to experiment with it at all?
Not in the near future. I’ve a few other projects on the go, but it’s something to think about.
I notice you’ve got your ‘featured sites’ section up and running. Good job. I was just updating mine after another advertiser found me through my site. I’ve removed the text link ad plugin, as I’m not sure I want to use their service anymore.
Tara,
I’m just installing it for testing purposes to see what it’s capable of, you know I tested the ning network at.
http://graphicdesignnetwork.ning.com/
But you don’t get enough control yourself to add things so I’ll let you know how I get on.
Hi Toon, I had a look at the ning network – after you invited me to join, but Elgg does look like it has the advantage of being on your own server. Would love to hear how yo get on. If you want to write a guest post about how you get on, I will post it and it might get you a few more members? Up to you. Good luck.
Yeah I’ll let you know how I get on, I left a message with them yesterday to enquire about server integration with what I’ve already got and they still haven’t got back to me, I thought they’d be jumping on new orders with them being quite new but nothing yet. We’ll see.
Nings a tough one as people keep signing up (over 100 now) but I don’t know what it’s meant to actually do, I never did quite get my head around social networks until facebook came along which actually does something.
Hi Tara
That is a great find. I’m going to set up an experimental site and see how it goes. I was thinking about something to do with weddings but it sounds like it has HUGE potential. I LOVE open source.
God, I see a full day ahead of getting nothing done but playing with Elgg and devising more of my “Get Rich Slowly” schemes.
Hi Jennifer, please let me know how you get on.
Strange coincidence – I seem to have lots of those Get Rich Slowly schemes on the go too. Maybe we should collaborate and Get Rich Even Slower
If snail pace takes your fancy, give me a shout and I’ll jump on board.
Sounds like we have the perfect team
If you’re not afraid of some PHP coding, I heavily recommend Drupal. It can be turned into a full social networking site, and you have total control over the installation, design and features. I’ve been working with it and love it, though it does have a learning curve.
If you’re not so interested in the guts of the site, Ning can be good, it’s very easy to set up.
Hi J. Jeffryes I dabbled with Drupal but found it too complicated as I have no PHP knowledge. What have you created with Drupal, it would be interesting to take a look and see what can be done?
Nothing is live yet, we’re building a local design community site with Drupal. Once it’s done, it’ll come in close to MySpace or Facebook in features, with profiles, galleries, discussion boards, RSVPable events, etc. The great thing about Drupal is that the modules to do all that already exist, they just have to be tied together.
It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, however. Skinning it is complicated. And you definitely have to have a PHP coder helping or be one yourself. I do some PHP, but without the help of the coders working with me we wouldn’t have gotten far.
On the other hand, you can set up basic forums, blogs, news, etc. without any coding at all, and applying an existing skin is pretty easy. If you have trouble with it, find a coding buddy, something I suggest for all designers.
You might also look at Nucleus, typo3, phpfox, Joomla or Mambo, all are pretty widely used.
I’m building a social network based on ELGG. I’m looking for a custom theme. Can you help me?
Hi Elbert, sorry but I do mostly print design but I’m sure someone who reads may be interested in quoting the job for you.
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[...] Graphic Design Blog » Elgg, Your Own Open Source Social Network OK can I just say, this could be HUGE! There I said it. Occasionally I see posts in ELance and Craigslist for someone who wants a “MySpace” type application.Well, here it is and it’s FREE! Elgg is an Open Source (free) program to do just that, I have been reading a little about it in .Net Magazine and hope to have a dabble with it when I can. Elgg can be downloaded and run from your own server and then looks like it has a lot of the features of community sites such as MySpace, Facebook etc. I was looking into scripts like this a few months ago but then they were costing a few hundred dollars (and I didn’t know if they worked), but Elgg is free. [...]