Ning v/s BoonEx Dolphin v/s Drupal
Pick of the “how to create” Social Networking Software ~ Ning v/s BoonEx Dolphin v/s Drupal
Social Networking mania has hit the World Wide Web and has even surpassed the once popular gaming industry. Everybody wants to be active on the Social Networking medium and irrespective of differences in countries and cultures Social Networking has caught on pretty well in many countries. Analysts predict this trend to only grow from here onwards as new innovations are driving the networking industry. Yes, it is True the phenomenon of Social Networking has taken gigantic proportions.
Many organizations throughout the world consider it a wise bet to enter into the Social Networking industry and tap in the huge revenues in the process. The choices are many when it comes to investing your time and money into a Social Networking software which is an essential first step towards launching a Social Networking platform.
Popular choices include industry leaders like: Ning, BoonEx Dolphin and Drupal
In this post I would like to share with you my experience of using each of these mediums:
– Ning is no doubt amongst the most popular platforms wherein you can build up a Social Networking website. If you are looking for that free-option of making your networking forum operational and do not believe in the adage that ‘Quality comes with a Price’, you can easily opt for the services of Ning. A wise men also said, “Nothing Comes FREE’, quite true in this case as well when you observe the fact that you have to shell out money to remove Ning branding, ads, etc ($50/month) and custom changes are not possible (except for design/css). ‘No Investment’ is the biggest and possible the only plus I saw with Ning besides it provided no customization option and the user had to work around limited functionality options which were embedded in to Ning. Also, anything that gets created is on the Ning network thereby becoming their property in a sense. Therefore, my advise would be to opt for Ning only if you are convinced that your needs would be fulfilled with the limited-features that Ning has to offer.
– BoonEx Dolphin is an open-source platform for designing web sites. Dolphin was introduced with a bang promising high levels of flexibility to the user, power, support and a host of many other appealing features. But after having used the Dolphin interface I would be sure in concluding that Dolphin lacks the high levels of customization that a user requires, all the necessary tools for scaling up a web site and poor module library. Above everything else, I found it ridden with bugs which obstructed a smooth experience. Overall I feel much of work needs to be put in to Dolphin so as to match it up to the high standards set by its competition.
– Now comes Drupal . . . My kind of interface and definitely the Best amongst the lot. I have seen Drupal get better and better over the years with each new version. Drupal as of today is one easy to use technology for building efficient Social Networking platforms. Faster page uploads and a high degree of customization is what makes Drupal stand out. Drupal has a vast module library which is a collection of tried and tested modules and absolutely bug-free. Drupal is Free, however there is a nominal cost associated with engaging a Developer to build on to your project. I would say a small price to pay for Quality to create social networking website in Drupal.
I hope my experience shared with you would come in handy for you to choose that perfect platform to build your Social Networking Web Site.