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Drupal vs. JomSocial for social networks?

Posted by kristoff0 on September 24, 2012 at 10:14pm

Hello. I am not a programmer, and have no Drupal experience, but am planning to partner with a programmer to form a social network, aiming for a large site for a general audience.

Based on the preponderance of opinions found in my surfing, Drupal is the most robust and well designed core platform for low budget startups. However the opinions are very ambivalent over using Drupal for a social network.

  • One programmer said it took him 50 modules for a Drupal social network, resulting in a nightmare to synchronize and maintain. He suggests JomSocial.
  • In reply to "Positives and negatives of drupal for social networks?" (2011) tkrajcar of Grammy365.com said it was a "serious challenge" to build a Drupal-based social network in 2009, but that better options are increasingly available.
  • BetterNetworker.com social networking site successfully migrated from Joomla to Drupal in 2008 (perhaps before JomSocial existed).

Can someone please help with the following questions?

  1. I find 28 modules listed at: Community Documentation: Community building and social networking modules. Presumably I might get by with just a few of these modules? If so, which are the most essential?
  2. Is it reasonable to suppose that at least 28 Drupal modules would be needed to create the equivalent of JomSocial? And how feasible would this be?
  3. Or is there some all-in-one solution like JomSocial available for Drupal?
  4. If I choose to use JomSocial, what might I be missing from Drupal?
  5. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Comments also welcome on the pros and cons of other social networking software, such as listed at Wikipedia: "Comparison of Social Networking Software": phpBB Social Network, Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware, BoonEx, Dolphin, BuddyPress, EngineY, PeopleAggregator, ELGG, Communifire, Telligent Community, iScripts Socialware, ImpressCMS, PHPizabi, ODS, Oxwall, Jcow, phpFox, XOOPS, WebNetwork, Noosfero, SocialEngine, Kune.

But I tend to assume that Drupal and Joomla/JomSocial are the best options for low-cost and robust platforms that also enable ready-made modules for departures from the stock "social network" features without needing custom modification. (?) (Wordpress/Buddypress are of course well known but according to my reading, nobody seems to take that seriously for a sizeable social network.)

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have u try drupal commons

Posted by duckzland on September 24, 2012 at 11:09pm

have u try drupal commons distribution?

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Depends...

Posted by spovlot on September 25, 2012 at 12:48am

What is your definition of a "social network"? Blogs, chat, friend lists, and status are on many people's lists. But there can be many definitions. What features are you looking for? Drupal can likely handle all of these.

Drupal modules are like building blocks. Having 30 - 50 modules is not uncommon for moderately complex sites. It really depends on the specific functionality you want. See: "Avoiding too many Modules" - http://drupal.org/node/1141442

Two-way Facebook interface + serious blogsite or static minisite

Posted by kristoff0 on September 25, 2012 at 5:09am

Thank you both for your timely assistance!

My understanding of a "social network" is defined as Facebook-like. However you have already helped me to settle the most important questions. According to my previous information 50 modules probably can do the job. According to the article you kindly referenced, "Avoiding too many modules," 20-50 modules seems typical and even 100 can be used although performance would suffer. So I think Drupal is definitely do-able, except it will simply be up to my programmer to decide whether he is comfortable with the number of modules we end up with.

Now that we have settled the general question, I would like to be more specific. My site will be called Popocracy.Org and my primary goals are as follows.

A. Automatic two-way Facebook interface. Popocracy needs to be a social network that makes it painless for Facebook users to join while not needing manually to maintain their Facebook presence. This means...

  1. Popocracy accepting Facebook log-ins so that Facebook contacts can post on Popocracy without needing to join.
  2. When Popocracy members update their Popocracy blog, it can be automatically mirrored on their Facebook page, so their gossip can be visible on the "Walls" of their Facebook contacts who do not visit Popocracy.
  3. And also, Popocracy must have its own Wall-like feature so that Popocracy members can each have a Wall that monitors the gossip of all their approved Popocracy contacts.
  4. And also, Popocracy members must have a page which mirrors their Facebook Wall, to keep in touch with Facebook blogs without leaving Popocracy.
  5. Facebook-like user-level permissions to control who is an approved friend and whether posts are public or only for friends.
  6. Sitewide advertising to generate the income for Popocracy.
  7. (Optional.) It would be ideal if Popocracy could also interact automatically with Twitter, so that Popocracy members could maintain a presence on all three networks, without leaving their Popocracy interface.

B. Serious blogsite or static mini-site. Every Popocracy account also needs to feature the option of a serious blogsite or a static mini-site, such as is easily possible with a Wordpress multisite installation. This means...

  1. For serious bloggers, something that does not look like a "Facebook page," but looks more like a Wordpress blog.
  2. Also for the small business, such as a hairdresser or restaurant, the ability to have a static Home page and content pages like a traditional website, that does not resemble a Facebook page nor does it resemble a blog. (This is done easily with Wordpress by choosing between 'static page' and 'blog post.')
  3. A Commission Junction module so that bloggers can easily post their own commission advertising. This should replace the administration's advertising after paying a monthly fee.
  4. The ability to activate each mini-site as an independent dotcom domain, as available with Wordpress Multisite Installation.
  5. A "permissions" system so that the above features can be given selectively to paid members.
  6. Please note that I do not require all of the options and editing features available with Wordpress. On the contrary, I wish to enable each Popocracy account to generate a Home page looking like a Wordpress site, but only having the most simple editing features.

Any suggestions about which modules I should consider, and how many modules all of this might require, would be appreciated. Thank you.

--Kristoff0

Advice - probably not what

Posted by John_B on September 25, 2012 at 11:53am

Advice - probably not what you want to hear, and probably won't be taken but here goes:

1. Plan the project, not just the site.
2. Get a few features working well rather than going for all-out launch. Facebook started relatively simple and added features gradually.
3. Get a reasonably beefy server. Do not even think of running this site on shared hosting.

From time to time people ask how to build a Facebook style site, There was one thread in paid services where someone was offering something like a thousand dollars, which sparked off a long thread, on the basis that if it cost Facebook millions to build and host what they have, how can someone build a similar site quickly and cheaply (of course they cannot - Facebook has not spent millions because it too stupid to do the job cheaply! -, and to be fair to you, you do not say you expect that, but some people do expect it). I would start with a few core features (I mean core to the aims of your project) and make sure they are really stable and give a good UX, then add features and improve UX, just as Facebook have during their history.

Unfortunately the Drupal for Facebook suite of modules has a history of bugginess. Since you will probably need to use it, it would be great contribution to the community of you get involved in giving back to the community the contributions you make improving that module. But if you can avoid using it, you will save yourself some headaches in what is anyway sure to be an expensive project in terms of time and / or money.

Digit Professionals

Modules

Posted by spovlot on September 25, 2012 at 2:12pm

I should say that I am not a Facebook or "social network" expert.

For Facebook, I suggest the either of following:
Drupal for Facebook - http://drupal.org/project/fb and http://drupal.org/node/195035
FBConnect - http://drupal.org/project/fbconnect and http://drupal.org/node/453414

Twitter - http://drupal.org/project/twitter

Blogs - Drupal includes a default blog module. But there are several others available depending on your needs.

For domains, you might want to look at Domain - http://drupal.org/project/domain

There are other standard modules such as Views, Token, WYSIWYG and PathAuto that are usually needed.

I hope you are choosing an experienced Drupal developer for this project.

Either section A or section B would be enough to start with.

Posted by kristoff0 on September 26, 2012 at 5:41am

Thank you SPOVLOT for the essential specifics for basic consideration! Yes I am hoping to team up with a Drupal enthusiast. I have an ad running under Paid Drupal Services: Low-cost idealists wanted for developing nonprofit Facebook alternative. Response in other forums has been skeptical, since I am offering only $10/hr up-front plus an I.O.U. of $100/hr. If I do not find someone with outstanding skills, then as suggested by JOHN_B, I will be starting quite simply.

Thank you JOHN_B for the excellent advice and perspective. In reply to your list of suggestions...

  1. Not sure what you mean by planning the project vs. the site. I am ready to compromise to whatever extent needed so as to minimize whatever technical complications turn up, if that is what you mean.
  2. Right you are. It has been my intention to begin as simply as possible. I neglected to clarify above that I am prepared to launch the project with either the "A" or the "B" features listed above--not necessarily both. Also if necessary, the combination could be achieved with separate installations.
  3. Right you are. I have a good VPS, and am paying extra to an expert to maintain it optimally and securely, who also will manage migration to a fully dedicated server as needed.

Right now, I am just trying to get a feel for the capabilities of Drupal and what modules I should examine most closely. Then if I can find a partner or a low-cost contractor, we will be discussing all suggestions made here.

I would definitely prefer to start out Popocracy.Org with a Drupal core. But by myself, I am barely capable of maintaining several Wordpress Multisites and have no room for another CMS in my head. So, starting with Drupal depends on my finding a "low-cost idealist" who has solid Drupal skills and likes my nonprofit agenda enough to work mainly on an I.O.U. basis. Otherwise, I can build the project myself, but I would have to resort to two installations: a Wordpress Multisite with which I am familiar, plus an out-of-box JomSocial.

Thank you both for helping me with the much-needed information and perspectives to clarify my options at this critical time. And of course if you or anyone else has more comments, I will be interested.

--Kristoff0

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