Social networks are ubiquitous. This book is a hand-holding guide to setting up a social network using the Joomla! application. It walks the reader through the process of setting up a social network using Joomla! extensions such as JomSocial, and alternatives such as Community Builder and the jSocialSuite. Also, it illustrates how to integrate other social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, into a Joomla!-driven social network.
Chapter 1, Not Another Social Networking Site gives an overview of social networks, and introduces us to JomSocial, a Joomla! social networking extension. It walks us through a quick installation of Joomla! as the first step for installing JomSocial.
Chapter 2, JomSocial: Setup and Configuration guides the reader through the following tasks: changing the Joomla! template in preparation for the installation of the JomSocial component; the installation of the JomSocial component, and associated modules and plugins; and determining the initial front-end layout and features of our social networking system.
Chapter 3, Remote Installation and Managing User Profiles takes us through the process of migrating our site from a local machine to a remote server using the Akeeba Backup system. We then start the customization of our social network by setting our default user profiles and privacy features.
Chapter 4, Making Connections with Users and Friends explains how to start making connections within our social network by creating test users, and making connections with other users within the network. It outlines how the messaging system functions as a tool for making connections.
Chapter 5, Creating Content and Sharing Activities illustrates how to create content for our site in order to attract users. It details us how to extend our social network to include a listing and rating system, and how to add features to user profiles. Also, it portrays how to facilitate the sharing of multimedia content.
Chapter 6, Community Building and Interaction documents how to build and manage groups or communities and customize community assets. For instance, it provides information on how to change community avatar, create group content, attract community members, and moderate communities.
Chapter 7, Customizing the JomSocial Template demonstrates how to customize the JomSocial template by duplicating the default template and changing some of its elements.
Chapter 8, Tips and Tricks discusses various tricks that can be used to simplify the user interface. It identifies some code hacks that can be used to make our site adaptable to user needs. For instance, we will make some changes to the JomSocial user profile positions, and integrate JomSocial (our site) with Facebook and Twitter. Also, we address issues related to Joomla! SEF (Search Engine Friendly) links, and modify our site's PHP.ini file.
Chapter 9, Other Joomla! Social Networking Extensions discusses various Joomla! Social networking extensions. For instance, Community Builder, JSocial Suite, Linksutra, CBE, Tuiyo, and Odude. These extensions are to be considered as options available to every Joomla! developer interested in setting up a Joomla!-driven social network.
The following are the software tools and Joomla! extentions used in this book:
Software:
A web authoring tool, such as Dreamweaver, Kompozer, or Nvu
Image editing software, such as Photoshop, Fireworks, or The Gimp
A text editor
Joomla Extensions:
JomSocial Component Pro version
JReviews Component
Jlord Generator
Akeebabackup
JCE Editor
Kickstart (Akeeba)
Roketheme Quasar Template
This book is for individuals or institutions desiring to develop a social network system by using the Joomla! content management system. This book can be used by the novice or the advanced Joomla! user. There is no need for scripting or programming knowledge. All that is required is enthusiasm, and the determination to implement a project.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text are shown as follows: "We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive."
A block of code is set as follows:
<div style="overflow: hidden; visibility: hidden;" onmouseout="joms.toolbar.closetime()" onmouseover="joms.toolbar.cancelclosetime()" id="m5">
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen".
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