Is there any plans to open up EE to allow more “Social Networking” style features? So things like:
• adding other members as friends
• allowing members to have their own customizeable profile pages
• member blogs
• etc (i think you know the basic routine)

or is the direction of EE going to stay away from such features? I guess what I am asking is will I eventually be able to build the next myFacester with EE in the future?

james Brown - 15 March 2008 01:24 AM

Is there any plans to open up EE to allow more “Social Networking” style features?

I might be mistaken, I don’t think EL have any intention of making that core functionality. I suppose a module could be built, but it would probably be a third-party one.

• member blogs

That’s probably not even possible, given the current license

or is the direction of EE going to stay away from such features?

That’s my (personal) guess, yes.

well i know given the current setup/license a lot of this isn’t possible… hence it being in Feature Requests

Personally, I’feel that’s a feature that comparatively few people would use, and that probably would not justify the ressources required to implement. Given EL’s track history, I don’t see them going down that route.

This is going to sound silly, I know, but it works - if you want “friends”, change a few language variables and use the Ignore List.  Instant Friend List! :-D

At one time there was talk of a community module. Haven’t heard it mentioned in a long, long time though.

Derek Jones - 15 March 2008 07:46 AM

This is going to sound silly, I know, but it works - if you want “friends”, change a few language variables and use the Ignore List.  Instant Friend List! :-D

Well I was thinking of more than a hack

While it is true that the numbers for social networking sites is comparatively low, it is an area with growing interest and numbers. I have personally had requests/consultations on 3 myself in the past 6 months. This is something that both the Drupal and Moveable Type platforms can do. Maybe it’s not something in the default EE package, but an expansion like the MSM. I could see people paying a decent amount of money for it. Especially if it has EE’s traditional ease of use and customization.

Even things like allowing members to post comments/testimonials on other members profiles would be nice. And a license type or expansion that allowed for members to have their own blog.

It was decided just this week on a project to go with Drupal to build a social site… I thought I was gonna be sick! Unfortunately I couldn’t recommend my ol buddy EE. I’m just hoping at least some sorts of more social features will be added in.

It would be cool but I don’t think this is a high priority for them. A third party app in the future & I’ll buy it if priced reasonably.

james Brown - 15 March 2008 11:19 AM

While it is true that the numbers for social networking sites is comparatively low, it is an area with growing interest and numbers.

I support this request and I think EE already has many of the required features in the members module: there’s a buddy field, an ignore list, messaging, etc.

It would not take much work expand on those, first by providing a friendlier UI and then a bunch of simple features like list of friends, showing friends who are online now, giving more proeminence to comments from my friends, etc. would go a long way.
A rating module would be nice too.

Social networks are natural extensions for forums and wikis IMHO and since EE has both, it would make sense to strenghten it further in that direction.

—ben

I agree that EE could get there pretty easily. I think the biggest change would be if Members and their profiles took on a model similar to a weblog. So weblogs can be commented, searched, styled and manipulated in lots of easy to implement ways. If members could function similar to a weblog, then I don’t think it would be too difficult for us to come up with more social networking features.

Like it or not (I’m actually not a fan of social networking), people are wanting more of these type of features for their site.

Yes, being able to comment, post, add pictures, etc. on the users would take us 80% there. Being able to customize their profile page (by adding photos, choosing a theme, etc.) would take us to 90% and with EE flexibility I don’t think it would be a huge undertaking.

I can understand the reluctance to support MySpace-type platforms from a licensing point of view but enhancing the member module would take us very far.

james Brown - 21 March 2008 03:32 PM

Like it or not (I’m actually not a fan of social networking), people are wanting more of these type of features for their site.

More or less the same here: I’m on Facebook, Linked In, etc. and I hate it.
But it is clear that a number of visitors to my site are clamoring for more networking features. If you have a site that works for a user group, they end up asking for tools to share their experience, etc.

This could be a special module (extra $$) like the forum or MSM.

—ben

Derek Jones - 15 March 2008 07:46 AM

This is going to sound silly, I know, but it works - if you want “friends”, change a few language variables and use the Ignore List.  Instant Friend List! :-D

It’s not silly but it’s not a friend list either.
Following your suggestion, I have been running some tests and it’s a step in the right direction but it’s not quite what is needed (or I missed something). So, again, many of the building blocks are already in EE…

To help explain what I would use the feature for:

- around a site, a community is being built. People comments on posts, people contribute to the wiki and you see the same people commenting again and again. Over time there is some sort of a community that is growing, in our case that’s a community of photographers.
That community does not need another Flickr but what it could use are features to follow one another more closely. For example, some of our users are found of B&W;photography, others like using tripods, others like flash photography, others like a given lens, etc. but (and this is key) they get to know each other through the comments, etc. So what they could use is a friend list that allows them to follow each other activities.

I can use the ignore list to see that my “friends” have posted 3 comments… but I don’t know what the comments are and, unless I have missed something, I have no links to those comments. What would be needed is, when I log in, a message telling me “3 new posts from your friends.” I click on the message and I get to a page that offers links to those posts: comments, private messages, wiki contributions, forum posts, photo post, adding a friend to their list (because a friend of my friend may become a friend of mine…). I want to see any activity on the site from my friends because, most likely, they’ll be discussing subjects (tripods) that I’m interested in.
I tried linking to the profile but the profile does not have links to the actual comments… and it does not include wiki contributions either.

This is a useful feature because it helps drive traffic (people checking to site to follow activities from their friends) and it encourage users to contribute (I’m adding an article to the wiki because I know my friends have been expecting it).

- adding public messages or comments on the profile is the other feature missing to turn it into the friend list.
Obviously I don’t want to comment on the people I ignore but I would want to comment or send public messages to my friends: it’s a very different thing saying “love the test of the Gitzo tripod you wrote on the wiki” if it’s a public or private message.
If it’s public, it’s an endorsement and, again, people love that.

Same benefits: foster a sense of community, drive traffic to the site, etc.

I realize not every site needs this so I would be very happy with a paying module, similar to the forum module.

—ben

I think that member profile comments/testimonials (same thing different name) is something that would probably have a broader appeal for many types of sites…beyond just “social networking” sites.

If you are looking for some social networking software try out Elgg. If clients come to me asking for a social networking app built on ExpressionEngine I generally say no although I know that Erskine built Beat Portal on EE which has quite a lot of social networking type features.

hmmmm…i think i had read something about Elgg before.

Of course I would love to at least get EE to incorporate some of these type of features since it is my weapon of choice. And I’m not likely to want to learn another platform.

Shape Shed - 27 March 2008 12:25 PM

If you are looking for some social networking software try out [url=http://elgg.org/]

I think we are talking of different things here. Elgg, I believe (I have not tested it much) is a mini Ning/Facebook/LinkedIn… It’s probably a great software if you want to start building a true social networking site. I’d rather open a Ning S.N. than going through the trouble of hosting Elgg… but that’s me.

But I’m not sure if there’s a huge market for dozen of social networking sites. In photography, for example, Flickr holds the space and few people (no-one?) is interested in joining another social network.

I think this feature request is about some social network features being built into sites that are not primarily social network, as a ways to drive trafic and retain a regular audience. I believe over time this will take the form of support for Open Social or a similar initiative.

—ben

George Ornbo - 27 March 2008 12:25 PM

If you are looking for some social networking software try out Elgg. If clients come to me asking for a social networking app built on ExpressionEngine I generally say no although I know that Erskine built Beat Portal on EE which has quite a lot of social networking type features.

Beat Portal looks great with a nice feel of community, but what gives?No licence issues creating this site with EE?
Really like the user profile page…hard to belive it is EE.
Thanks!

Yep Erskine built Beatportal (although it is now in the hands of a local maintenance team). 

There’s really nothing too special going on, just a number of different “weblogs”, the content of which are aggregated and filtered in a number of different ways throughout the site. And there’s definitely nothing on there that would have license issues.  It’s not a hosted blogging service…simply each member can submit a variety of content which makes up the “Community Feed”.

smallbeer - 09 May 2008 07:28 AM

...simply each member can submit a variety of content which makes up the “Community Feed”...

Content = each user can write a weblog (preset weblog), have a personal gallery?
I suppose lic. is a in gray area then.
I have already steared away few friends from EE since they did wanted social site…as in users having rights to write into weblog (not just commen on) called “news” etc.
I am wih Benoît on this one…if users are invloved into non-profit or “social” site chances they want more interaction and more features to feel like they are part of it.
In any case, Beat Portal is quite nice…kudos to who ever runs that show.
All the best!