Framework /starting point for social networking site in .NET?

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+2 Q:

Framework /starting point for social networking site in .NET?

+2 A:

I went through this exercise about 15 months ago when I built a SNS for a client. Hoping to find some basic framework for Friends, Chat, Profiles etc I was pretty disappointed.

That said, in retrospect I wish rather than building one that we would have purchased a solution like Community Server. As with most projects I looked at the problem scope with beer, no strike that, ambitious goggles on and the level of work to cover all the edge cases was more than I imagined.

Tread careful my friend, tread careful.

keithwarren7 2010-02-16 20:34:51

Thanks, I looked into Teligent Community and it seems to fit my requirements perfect. I have sent them an email to find out about pricing. Hope it doesn't cost arm + leg =P

dferraro 2010-02-17 06:54:31

About 5K for entry level when I looked awhile back.

keithwarren7 2010-02-17 15:16:38

dferraro 2010-02-17 20:21:33

+1 A:

While not exactly intended to be used for social networking sites, both of these frameworks can help you so you don't have to start from scratch:

DotNetNuke: http://www.dotnetnuke.com/

Umbraco: http://umbraco.org/

Also, for an out of the box solution (no code involved) you could always try this: http://www.ning.com/

Good luck!

Ricardo 2010-02-16 22:03:24

Thanks for the reply.. I had not heard of umbraco or ning before. Ning seems to fit my requirements perfectly - but looking more into it, it seems like it is hosted on their machines and also you are stuck on their domain name. I will have to look into it further but if that is the case then it wouldn't be worth it. Umbraco looked interesting - I will have to do more resarch on both. Thanks again!

dferraro 2010-02-17 06:59:15

You are welcome.

Ricardo 2010-02-18 15:28:39

+1 A:

I think this is what you're looking for. Kigg is an open source ASP.NET MVC app that would be a good starting point for what you want. Here is the url: http://www.codeplex.com/Kigg

You can also find a site that is using this here: http://dotnetshoutout.com/

At the very least you will learn the ASP.NET MVC framework which is fantastic.

WVDominick 2010-02-17 00:36:24

Thanks.. this looks pretty cool. I had originally pondered doing the site in MVC (as part learning experience) but after thinking more, I think it would be a more realistic goal to code it in ASP.NET if I were go the custom development route. Since I have no MVC experience I would be struggling with both learning a new API in combination with learning a new development platform + with the own problems of creating the site itself. But I will definitely do more research on it and think about it more. It really would be an aewsome learning experience to have, its so tempting. thx again 4 the link

dferraro 2010-02-17 07:02:27

Also, I did look check out the site and the discussion forum. Had very stale activity - I know it's open source, but without any support at all I could really wind up being screwed. Again would have to look more into it, maybe there's already a community built around it somewhere

dferraro 2010-02-17 07:08:31

I understand what you're saying about the activity. I highly suggest learning the MVC framework. I was thinking the same things you were about a month ago and now I'm so happy I started learning it. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be and the freedom it gives you is well worth the effort.

WVDominick 2010-02-17 15:26:00

Man, I had originally thought of doing it in MVC. I started reading tutorials and got a week worth of learning in part-time. Then work got real busy again and I dnd't have any free time... It seemed like it could take a solid month learning curve if just doing part time.. are your feelings similar?

dferraro 2010-02-17 20:12:13

I think it's best to just focus on a couple things. Understanding the model view controller which is initially hard to understand, but once the light comes on in your head it becomes super easy. The next is Linq and LinqtoSQL. Focus on the method implementation (.where() for example) rather than the query-like syntax.A huge helper for me was tekpub.com. Great... I mean GREAT screencasts on the subject. It's not free though, but worth every penny.

WVDominick 2010-02-17 21:24:21

but kigg is a Digg like script

Professional2Hire 2010-02-18 21:16:54

I have a good grip on LINQ already. I tihnk the big learning curve for me will be jQuery. I haven't used it at all, and there's no server controls in MVC, so it's all jQuery. I think getting past that might be the biggest learning curve...

dferraro 2010-02-22 21:51:07

ansaurus

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Framework /starting point for social networking site in .NET?

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