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SocialGO
Introduction
SocialGO is the latest offering from Bright Things, the company that was founded from senior executives of video game publisher Eidos, and offers a very DIY solution to creating your own social networking site. With the help of some great widgets and plug-in designs you can have your social network visible to the world within just a few minutes.
Of course it has been the case for quite a few years that a novice web designer could create an online community. The pioneers, such as phpBB (the Open Source forum software), have meant that we can set up an SQL database with a host, download some forum software, upload the files, mess about with all kinds of tricky...
...OK, I think I'm starting to see the appeal of SocialGo!
Could SocialGo be the end of the Open Source community creators such as phpBB or Simple Machines? For the purpose of this review it would be good to imagine that you have an idea for a club website. This will include articles about your club and a place for members to hang out and exchange stories, ideas and views. To get a balanced view I have decided to review SocialGO alongside two other alternatives. Firstly getting a web designer/developer to set up a Wordpress Blog and Forum for you and learning the skills required and doing it yourself. Not exactly scientific but I will be as objective and realistic as I can with any estimates used. I will look at all three options in five main categories.
How quickly can I get started?
The front page of the SocialGO site is very nice indeed. Already you feel at ease with the promise of creating your site in two minutes and the three simple steps inviting you to take a tour or to try out some workshops. There are also some site examples towards the foot of the page and clicking on these soon gives you a good idea of what you can create with some time and a few dollars.
On a side note, I do like the colour scheme with the 'Apple' grey gradients and the green but I can't help feeling that this type of web design is getting a little bit tired. Much like 'grunge' did a couple of years ago.
Certainly the instructions on the site are clean and clear and the Youtube video tour of what SocialGO is capable of was useful and quite astounding when you realise what you can do with a full (or Premium) account.
Once I had created my free SocialGO account, as promised there were only a few things to fill out and some simple choices to make and I really was up and running (albeit with a stock design and layout) within a couple of minutes. So, how does this compare?
I have estimated that a good designer could have a Worpress Blog and Forum up and running with three hours effort. Bear in mind that we are talking about default themes for both here. The test is to get a network up on the web in the quickest time possible. It is also worth noting that choice of host can speed up the process considerably as actually installing Wordpress and Forum software is now far easier with Cpanel Hosting and the 'point and click' installation of Blogs and Forums.
The DIY option puts you behind the other two but it is a respectable distance and you will have learned some things about your Blog and Forum that may come in handy later. Having said that, If you want to get up and running quickly, then maybe this isn't the option for you.
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| How quickly can you be up and running? | Two Minutes (yes, it is that quick) | I'd estimate a good designer could have Wordpress and a Forum up and running in three hours | If you have an apptitude for it then you could learn the skills required in a couple of days |
Styling your new Social Network
You only get basic style choices with the free SocialGO account. That said though, I think the layout works and there are plenty of areas of your site to keep visitors interested. The WYSIWYG interface for styling your website is slick and easy to use. There are also some pre-built templates available to you with the Premium Account but these will cost you a little extra. SocialGO also offer a 'Concierge' service where your design is created for you by the SocialGO team. However, for the purpose of this test we can discount that option as it falls firmly under the category of hiring a designer. All in all I'd estimate that a nice looking 'skin' for your network would take 4 to 6 hours effort.
Your hired designer could have your Blog and Forum looking great in just a couple of days. There would, of course, need to be a consultation process beforehand to get the design work spot on.
As for designing your two site elements yourself, I believe that three months from knowing nothing to having something you can be proud of is a fair estimate. Some will pick it up much more quickly and some will never get it. Also remember that design is subjective. A pro designer will take all viewers tastes into account and what you think is a great look may just frighten (or worse amuse) your audience. If you consider the DIY option then be realistic about your abilities.
In all you could have a smart looking Social Network styled in the least time using SocialGO. Just beware of the extra costs involved!
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| How quickly can your Social Network be looking good? | 4 to 6 Hours | Two Days (discounting consultation time) | If you have an apptitude for it then you could learn the skills required in three months |
Maintaining your Social Network
Regular maintenance of a website is a fact of life. When you install a Forum or Blog you will need to perform regular backups of databases and you will inevitably have to fix broken elements.
The easy-to-use interface with SocialGO should make site maintenance almost stress-free. It is worth noting that not all the features you see in the screenshot (right) are available with the free account and that there is no support from the SocialGO team available with the free account either. Having said this, it is not uncommon to spend quite a while with hosting support when you have your own set-up only for them to tell you that they don't support third party software such as Wordpress or phpBB. This can be incredibly frustrating when you have installed this software through the host's Cpanel facility!
The real strength with Open Source software is the community support you can get. Join the support forums for your chosen software and there are thousands of people waiting online to answer your questions or who have had similar problems to yours.
I believe that this is where developing your own site is worth its weight in gold. You put it together so you should understand what is required to maintain it. If you hire a designer and there is no maintenance contract in place then you are no better off than you were with SocialGO when it comes to maintenance.
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| How easy is it to maintain your Social Network? | Easy but support has to be paid for | Difficult, once the site is handed over you may well be on your own | This is the best option. Understanding what you are using is the key to maintaining a website |
Upgrading your Social Network
Yep, we are talking Widgets and Plug-ins here. So you've got your basic community website up and running but you are starting to think about new features for your site. Maybe you want to sell the club tie through a shopping cart facility, run Google Adsense to make some extra cash for the clubhouse or allow members to hook up to their Twitter accounts? This is a breeze with SocialGO. There are already some great Widgets available with SocialGO. The only fly in the ointment is that they will all cost you a little bit extra.
If you have taken the DIY or hiring a designer route you can take advantage of the multitude of free widgets now available on the web. In particular a Google account can give you pretty much everything a SocialGO account can but with the added benefit that it is free! All you need to do is to pay your designer or work out how to install it yourself. Google can provide website statistics and targeted site advertising through Adsense and a Paypal shopping cart isn't actually that hard to install.
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| How easy is it to add Widgets and develop your Social Network? | Easy but Widgets have to be paid for | This will require a one-off payment to your designer but, once installed, you have full control | This is the best option. Everything SocialGO offers for a price is free on the web if you can learn how to run and install it |
Cost of ownership
This section will deal with some 'finger in the air' estimates if I am honest but please be assured that I have a good grasp of what things should cost. (NB: SocialGO prices are stated in US Dollars. I will use the exchange rate at time of writing to convert to Pound Sterling.) Lets do some simple maths; a Premium account with SocialGO is £15.49 per month (and you will want the Premium account). If you want your Network to be 'white labelled' then this costs an extra £12.37 per month. Extra storage and bandwidth retails at £6.18 for 5GB storage and 50GB Bandwidth and a smart looking design template from those on offer can cost £24.75. Throw in a shopping cart and an advert management widget at £61.88 each and the cost of running your SocialGO site for five years stands at £1826.29 Even if you have the cash, that is starting to look pretty steep.
If you approached me as a designer and wanted a Blog and Forum design and install then I'd offer you the service for around £1500. The best deal I can find for comparitive storage and bandwidth to the SocialGo example is £54.99 per year. You will, of course, have to purchase your domain name at £30 for the full five years for a .co.uk domain. This makes the grand total for ownership of a designer built site around £1804.95 for five years. Again, for a business this should be no problem but clubs, organistations or individuals may not have a couple of grand knocking around!
Of course it stands to reason that the outlay on a DIY build would be considerably less. In fact you can take the design fee out of the previous calculation and run your site for a mere £304.95. However, this doesn't account for time spent learning about websites but it could be argued that any time spent learning a new skill is well spent and I am a firm believer in this as it was my path into web design a few years ago and I have never looked back.
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of ownership for five years | £1826.29 | £1804.95 | £304.95 |
The result!
OK, here is my final table of results. And my findings? Inconclusive.
| Test | SocialGO | Hire A Designer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| How quickly can you be up and running? |  |
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| How quickly can your Social Network be looking good? | |
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| How easy is it to maintain your Social Network? | |
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| How easy is it to add Widgets and develop your Social Network? | |
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| Cost of ownership for five years | |
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On the face of it SocialGO offers a realistic 'Point and Click' solution to starting your own Social Networking site. The speed with which you can be up and running is a major plus and there are plenty of modification options available. The cost isn't astronomical for what they offer and is certainly comparable with the cost of hiring a web designer. My advice would be that, if you have the time and the will to learn, then do it yourself. However, if you have a life or better things to be doing then SocialGO is an option worth considering.
I suppose that being in the group that came out worst from this test (web designers) should trouble me, but it doesn't. The reason being that I wouldn't run a business through a SocialGO site and I know that, if you want an innovative function or a truly bespoke design then a designer should always be your first port of call. The web is always growing and, if SocialGO makes it more accessible for everyone to have their own corner of cyberspace, then 'Power to the People'.
