I’ve existed on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for a long time now. My participation however has been somewhat minimal. My idea of social networking usually involves pubs and actually meeting people.
Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the idea of websites which enable you to build your own social network. So I decided to try one out.
SocialGo is one such website that does just that. The service could be potentially useful for freelancers working from home who would like to create a personal network made up of fellow professionals.
The advantage of a website like SocialGo is that it enables you to, in effect, create your own personalised portal where people can trade ideas via blogs and forums or upload videos and photos.
When I first visit SocialGo I’m surprised by how easy it is to set-up. Inside five minutes I’m able to create my own network – and that would have been quicker if it wasn’t for a fiendish security code. There are a number of templates you can use to personalise your site and a swift intro video gives you a guide to the basics.
It’s all very very easy and getting people to participate is done via a simple email invitation process.
The premium features on the site (currently standing at £24.99 a month) offers unlimited storage and the opportunity to run advertising on your network. You also get your own URL. Live audio and video chat is also a handy option.
SocialGo is very similar to Ning which also purports to give you the opportunity to build your own social network. The difference is that Ning has more pricing points, but no free option.
phpFox is another alternative more suited to those who want complete control over design and layout. This looks the most professional looking service (it’s core is CMS) but you get what you pay for and isn’t as simple to get started with as the others.
The advantage of having your own personalised network is that you can have complete control of who you have in your network whilst enabling you to define the parameters of your communication. This gives you the chance to replace the water-cooler conversation you would usually get in an office.
The Facebook’s and LinkedIn’s of this world don’t really give you the same opportunity due to their expansive nature.
Instead, by easily creating your own network you can create an exclusive group to have the conversations you want to have without the distraction of unwanted guests.
