SocialGO Blog

Tara, creator and CEO of Testify Sister Magazine, wanted a place where a diverse community of women who share a passion for Christ could encourage, uplift, and ultimately support each other in life, business, and other creative pursuits - she found this with the SocialGO platform and with her Testify Sister social network.

When asked why she wanted to create a social network, Tara told us the following, “I was searching for a way to express to my readers that the magazine is as much theirs as it is mine. When they join our network, they have the opportunity to help make Testify Sister a better magazine. Through the network, members are able to access the digital version of the magazine, contribute content, and share their personal testimonies.”

The set up of the network was amazingly simple, “You know, I’ve been designing websites for several years now. It can be an intensive process. SocialGO was very easy to maneuver. It was painless. You guys did all the hard work. I like the freedom that I have to add HTML, advertisements, and videos to my network. “

With our Premium and Concierge plans comes the Layout Manager, our own tool that enables you to completely change the look and feel of your network’s layout with simple drag and drop features. “What I enjoy most is the Layout Manager. It gives me the ability to customize my network and make changes as often as I like.” says Tara.

If you haven’t had the chance to see what’s on offer in the great SocialGO Widget Store, then here are some of the fantastic things you’ve been missing - professionally designed and highly functional widgets that can have a tremendous impact on your networks!

Connectivity and Monetization:

Lab Connect - Provides the power to join a Primary Site with an unlimited number of Sub-Sites so that members can log in with one set of credentials across all connected sites.

LabAffiliate - Allows for the creation of a monetization relationship between a Master Site and any number of Sub Sites. Now it is possible to create a main portal site for all members to join, which then provides them with automatic access and membership to any number of Sub Sites.

LabAds - Simple yet powerful management of Ads and Rotating Banners! The ultimate monetization tool for your network! LabAds provides you with a built-in capability to host, manage, and track all of your ads and rotating banner images using Google Analytics.

Network Builders:

LabSlide - Create an unlimited number of multimedia shows from your own network photo archive, then share them across the Internet!

LabTabs - Provides the power of drop down menus, visibility control, and user permissions. Use by itself, or in conjunction with the standard navigation menu for even more flexibility.

VideoRoll - An easy way to keep your site content “fresh” by randomly displaying unique videos from your site library.

FootDoctor - Provides you with an incredibly easy way to create powerful and elegant multi-column footers with just a few clicks. Full drag and drop capability make it easy to setup and modify at any time.

Entertainment:

LabArcade - More than 200+ compelling games that you can add to your site. You have the flexibility to add only the games that you want to display, and to change them at any time.

LabArcade V2 - More than 200+ NEW and compelling games that you can add to your site. Works alongside our original LabArcade, and increases your library of games to over 400+ choices!

LabTunes - This stylish player provides you with the flexibility to gather and play music from across your entire site.

MiroFeed - Miro has a simple, gorgeous interface designed for fullscreen HD video. Since Miro downloads most videos, you can take your site shows with you, even on an airplane. Quite simply, Miro is a better way to watch all the video you care about.

Membership Interaction:

VisitorRadar - Visitor Radar provides a valuable resource. It allows your site members to instantly know who has last visited their profile page.

DateBait - Date Bait has the singular purpose of allowing two people to anonymously discover if there is a mutual interest to meet and become friends…. or more.

These tiny pieces of code are incredibly engaging and can be added to a network in just seconds. New widgets are continuously added, so your options will always be ever-growing. Be sure to check out the Widget Store, found in your Admin Center, and add some power to your network!

Boxing Community is a social network for boxing fans worldwide, bringing you the latest in boxing news. Hundreds gather to socialize at the network’s forums and to watch boxing videos and browse photos in the Videos and Photos pages.

The network makes great use of some of the widgets available in the SocialGO Widget Store, and the VideoRoll widget, which randomly displays unique videos from your site library, and the LabSlide widget, which creates an unlimited number of multimedia shows from your network’s photo archives, are a present and fully engaging aspect of the site.

The News tab is set to cull the latest boxing related media from the internet and automatically updates itself with the relevant information - this feature is standard to all SocialGO networks and can be modified to look for something specific or left to pull in news in general.

Boxing Community is visually neat and captivating and is a successful network both in design and content - its member base will surely continue to grow.

At Wonderful Britain Community the aim is simple: to build a community that gives recognition to the uplifting attributes of British society. The aim isn’t lodged in a Utopian dreamworld, rather it’s based in reality with the belief there is opportunity to strike a better balance, an opportunity to observe and contribute to all that is wonderful about Britain.

Members have been given a wide array of engaging features on the site and are encouraged to share, explore, and celebrate the positive aspects of their society using these features.

Standard to any SocialGO plan, the site’s Forums section allows members to communicate publicly as a whole community, where topics are broached and all members are encouraged to participate. Members can also make use of Groups - like micro-sites within the site itself - where they can share photos, videos, and participate in forums specific to the group. Photos and Videos can also be shared within the network’s pages dedicated to such things.

The Layout Manager, available with Premium and Concierge plans, allows for great flexibility within the layout of the network, and it’s clear Wonderful Britain Community has made excellent use of this while bringing their own creative design talents to the mix. Wonderful Britain Community is set to officially launch later this month.

BLOG.TV is a social networking site where users can gather to share interests in general, make new friends, and have fun. Members are encouraged to post both text and video blogs or upload other videos, photos, and audio that they like - all of which are standard features with most SocialGO plans.

This inspiration behind BLOG.tv, site owner Louis says, is, “I wanted to provide my members with an alternative to the larger, more impersonal social networking sites that currently exist.” His inspiration paid off - the network is now very successful and is home to thousands of members who regularly interact there on a daily basis.

The set-up process was easy right from the beginning - “I found the set-up process for my network to be extremely easy and pain free… particularly compared to other social networking platforms, some of which I had used before SocialGO.” said Louis. “The SocialGO Layout Manager, with its drag and drop feature, is extremely easy to use, and it couldn’t get any easier for me to design the network!”

The plans include ample amounts of storage and bandwidth, but, should your network become hugely successful and require more, additional amounts are always available. Louis says, “Considering the amount of bandwidth, storage, and features available in the various plans offered, the cost of maintaining a network using the SocialGO platform is quite reasonable.”

My Jotter is a distance learning social network for students who want to gain recommendations on courses and have access to peer-to-peer support created by Urban Niche Social Limited. “The adoption of the SocialGO platform has been the easiest and most customizable solution for the client and will prove to offer more features and flexibility going forward.” says Dave, owner of Urban Niche Social and lead developer in the design of My Jotter.

Another main goal of the site is to provide the distance learning community an unbiased source of guidance and support for making the correct choices in their career ladder. Dave has found a way to unite these goals with some fantastic and professional design and has used SocialGO as the base. The Layout Manager, available with the Premium and Concierge plans, has allowed him to infinitely manipulate the layout of the network to suit design needs.

“The client wants to really provide a base for all potential students to learn and become educated on the different opportunities.” Dave tells us, and, with the girth of interactive features SocialGO offers, all this and more is possible. Groups, Forums, Member Messaging, Videos, and Blogs are just some of the interactive, multi-dimensional features members will have access to through the network’s plan.

He continues, “The research that the client has carried out both within their student base and externally has identified that people want a place to gain a peer-to-peer understanding of courses and experiences.” This trend will likely both increase and remain present in the future, and there probably isn’t a better way to foster educational growth and opportunity outside of the classroom than with a social network.

YourSports has a vision to eliminate the ‘away game’ in college and high school sports and be the place to watch the games that aren’t on TV. Primarily focused on the Pacific Northwest, YourSports covers mainly the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho state regions.

The archives of the site are broad - hundreds of videos can be found in the Videos section of the site, including everything from some of the greatest games in NCAA sports history to user-generated programming. With the SocialGO Premium and Concierge plans you can upload tons of videos for you and your members to enjoy and comment on. Feel free to select whether you want members to have the ability to contribute with or without your approval.

The Groups function, standard to any SocialGO network, has a big role in accommodating members as it provides them with a truly localized placed to gather, like a mini-network within the network itself, with its own forums, photos section, public wall, members, and much more. Groups can be made private and invite only or public so anyone can join. YourSports uses Groups brilliantly with a large number aimed at specific schools in the region.

YourSports is one of many bright examples of what some custom CSS and a little help from the SocialGO Layout Manager can really do, and it’s established itself as the premier online presence if you’re a part of the high school and college sports circuit.

Beth Cole, owner of web consulting company Web Servant, created the Web Servant Community to “support my clients who are mostly coaches, consultants, and service professionals. We offer video tutorials for Wordpress, and other software, as well as monthly events, a blog, and a discussion forum.”

“I chose to go with a SocialGO network so my clients and members could find support from me and also from others. I also wanted to use a tool that would allow members to blog and post their own information so others could benefit.” says Beth.

With Beth’s vision and a little help from the SocialGO Layout Manager, the site materialized seamlessly. Beth tells us “I thought it was easy to configure.” The site is beautifully designed - the blog, standard with any SocialGO network, if framed perfectly by the rest of the network and is contributed to by members.

“I like the Events feature and how I can message all attendees quite easily. I also like being able to upload or embed videos. The ‘Message All Members’ feature us really handy when you need to tell your members about something.”

The interactive features with a SocialGO network are vast - the Events, Videos, and Message All Members abilities are just more of the standard features that come with all networks. More features and customization opportunities await you in the Premium and Concierge plans.

“Our community is new, and I’m looking forward to more interaction from the members as we grow.” says Beth. With great tutorials, beautiful design, and more than a pocketful of great features, the Web Servant Community is a place its members will always return to.

The Phuket Board Riders Club is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to strengthen local surfing talent and create camaraderie and friendships among local and visiting surfers alike while promoting surfing as a sport in Thailand.

“We really wanted a social networking system that all of our club members could build together and share their surfing experiences through.” says Chanin, president of Phuket Board Riders Club.

He continues, “We wanted it to be as interactive as possible with our members - we wanted feedback from them after each surfing event, and we wanted members to upload photos and videos of their surfing experiences. SocialGO was perfect for this.” Members can quickly and easily share photos and videos with the photo and video upload function, and site owners can either allow this to happen automatically or only with their approval - full privacy and access settings are available.

“With the SocialGO Layout Manager, the site was very easy for us to create - the drag and drop element of it is great. We also purchased a nice template from the SocialGO Theme Store - we saved a lot of time by doing this, and it made our site look really cool!” Chanin tells us. Both the Layout Manager and Theme Store can be accessed through your network’s Admin Center.

Jonathan formed his site, Pengbook.com, with the intention of making it a social networking ground for lovers of the online game ‘Club Penguin’. Hundreds of members make use of the bounty of features available to them - they submit relevant articles to the public blog, exchange favorite photos and videos, send private messages to one another through the member messaging system, and, of course, discuss one of their favorite online games.

“I wanted a social network because there are several out there, and I thought I could build one, too!” says Jonathan, who also notes the ease of use he experienced setting up his site on the SocialGO platform. “I like everything about SocialGO - the status updates are the best!” he says.

With some custom CSS code and the Layout Manager, a piece of built-in software that’s standard with all SocialGO Premium and Concierge networks, Jonathan was able to create a beautifully designed site for fans of the game with some visual inspiration taken from Facebook - “The name Pengbook is the words Facebook and Penguin put together.”

“I like designing my site and experimenting with custom CSS.” states Jonathan. The site’s vibrant look and active member base will continue to keep Pengbook an active, fun place, likely drawing in many more fans of the game along the way.