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

Question

I did do some googling and searching on this site but did not find exactly what I was looking for.

I'm hoping that someone can point me in the right direction here. I'm an ASP.NET/SQL Server developer and would like to develop a (intially) basic social networking site (gasp). Before I start from scratch with a blank solution in ASP.NET, I'm wondering if there are any frameworks out there ASP.NET specific that would serve as a good starting point. I'm already thinking of using the Google Maps jquery control for my Google Maps integration, as well as the 'sharethis' control for my social networking website sharing integration. Captcha for human authentication... But other than that I'm not sure what I can leverage... Nothing on Google jumped out at me on my search terms.

I'm also wondering if anyone else has done something similar and could share their post mortem/war stories with me.

I'm also open to learning a new platform/language if it would mean saving time - my experience is mostly in ASP.NET, so that is what I plan on using if it makes the most sense. My initial requirements are basic and realistic - profile setup (images, information, etc.), 'group' creation, Google Map integration, calendar controls shared by groups, SMS support, discussion forums among groups, searching for groups, OpenID integration most likely, etc. I am not going to try to build the entire site and then release it, but take baby steps and release pieces of functionality at a time.

Any advice is greatly appreciated for a broad question such as this. Thanks again.

I've found DotNetOpenAuth which seems to be a nice API for handling OpenID for ASP.NET web forms. They also have an ASP.NET MVC version

I also found MS Web Platform. This looks like some good stuff. Anyone ever use it and think it would do well for this sort of app?

I found a library for DotNetNuke called ActiveSocial. It's priced right ($500) and has more than the features I need but lacks some. I wonder if anyone here has ever used AS before. Is DNN easy to extend so I can add Google Maps functionality and such? It doesn't say anywhere on snowcovered (the vendor that sells AS) if AS comes with the source. If it didn't, then I might be screwed because I wouldn't be able to integrate the functionality I want.

Thorathoracic

+1 for the DotNetOpenAuth find. – Stigmatic

Answer 1

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.

Bonneau

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 – Thorathoracic

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

There products look great - but I'm looking to build a slightly non tradtional social networking site. I dont need blogs and even forums, at leats not at first. I just need memberships, groups, etc. I'm looking for something lean & simple that doesn't promote people to stay on the site for too long doing cliche things such as blogs or forums. It seems for my requirements - the learning curve of 'buying' and configuring to my needs might just take almost the time as 'building' from scratch – Thorathoracic

Answer 2

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.

Vichy

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 – Thorathoracic

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 – Thorathoracic

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. – Vichy

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? – Thorathoracic

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. – Vichy

but kigg is a Digg like script – Astringent

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... – Thorathoracic

Answer 3

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!

Stigmatic

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! – Thorathoracic