Friday, April 16, 2010

Social Network Platform Comparison

Click Here to see the original Google Docs File


File Sharing
Storage Space
Forums
Groups
Calendar/
Events
RSS
Other notable features
CIPA
Downsides
Bigtent
yes
unknown
yes
yes
yes
unknown
Facebook Integration

Has a built-in money collection tool for group events and fund raisers.

Has a built-in polling feature.
13
URL is not customizable
Grouply
no
100mb
no

Grouply has a message board feature but it does not offer threaded discussions. Each post is independent.
no
yes
yes
Looks a lot like Ning
Admin determines when they setup the group
free version gives very little storage

Does not support threaded discussions

Does not support Groups or file sharing.
Mixxt
yes, but as it's own category. Can't attach files to forum posts
unknown
yes
yes
yes
yes
Highly customizable.

Simple interface.

Has wiki feature
12
Templates are not as visually appealing as other networks.
Grou.ps
yes, but as it's own category. Can't attach files to forum posts
10GB
yes
yes
yes
yes
Highly customizable.

Many template choices.

Easy to use interface.

Looks and feels a lot like Ning.

Has many features that Ning doesn't even offer such as a site search engine, map modules, wiki pages, a file download module, and games.

Integrates with Google Gadgets.

IDK
still in beta, who knows if it will remain free, could suffer the same fate as Ning
WackWall
no
unknown
yes
no
yes
no
Simple interface
IDK
very limiting

no layout or feature customization for admin



Conclusion:

Grou.ps hands down wins this battle and is a serious contender that could rival Ning even if Ning kept it's free accounts.

3 comments:

MarianaLudmila said...

Great information! Tks

Mrs. Tenkely said...

This is so helpful Carl, thank you for taking the time to do it! Have you found a favorite yet? One that you think is the most intuitive?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recommendation and your time doing this research.