Host your own community online with these systems

You too can have your own online social network. For many of us this seems like an odd aspiration, but online social networks like ActiveRain and WannaNetwork are beginning to populate the virtual landscape. My personal interest is in participating in these groups and learning from my peers about how to best help them market themselves online. My goal being to incorporate some of these tools into the 4MySales.com service offering.

However for those brave souls that want to create a virtual social network to attract others with similar hobbies, let me tell you about a few that can help you with that endeavor. The first is community is Me.com. This simple society allows you to create your own online network to support any topic of your choosing. The photo upload feature is great, as is the profile home page. The only drawback is that access to the blogs is fully password protected.

If you are looking to get a professional community up and running fast, Community Server is the way to go. The have a hosted version that is currently in beta and a full API version that can be uploaded to your own servers for full customization. They appear to have a pretty robust system and although they are more pricey, they seem to have a lot to offer.

If you are looking for a premier API, i.e. really expensive, you can take a look at the Pluck SiteLife system. Pluck has a great product and serves an A list of clients and fortune 500 companies. However, their pricing may be well out the range of most individuals and small businesses.

That’s all I have for tonight. Everybody have a great holiday and I will be back late next week to continue this great exploration of real estate and online marketing materials for REALTORS.