Were it not for wordpress, this blog probably wouldn’t exist. Open source software is free software which can be modified by anyone. No licenses, no fees.
It allows people to try, test and generally ‘mess’ about with software. The end result is a community who end up adding bits and pieces on to the software to enhance it i.e. firefox addons or themes.
Here’s 10 open source clones i’ve picked out which replicate some hugely popular sites. Want to build your own facebook or your own twitter? Here’s where to start…
1. Pligg
Pligg is a a digg.com clone. Digg is a social networking news site which allows users to digg or bury stories. The stories with the most diggs in the shortest amount of time get featured on the frontpage. Pligg is almost a direct clone.
2. Laconica
Want your own twitter clone? Laconica is an excellent place to start. Unlike the real twitter, you can create groups on laconica making it, in many ways, better than the original.
- demo
- download
3. Jisko
Jisko is another twitter clone. The reason i mention a second twitter clone is because this one is very cool. Unlike twitter and laconica, it’s all AJAXy which makes for a great look and feel when using the site. It’s spanish however which is the down side. Don’t get me wrong, i’ve nothing against the spanish 🙂 but me no speak espanyole. But where there’s a will there’s a way (google translate).
- demo
- download
4. kissa.be
I’m sure you’ve all come across ‘tinyurl’ links before. You simple grab a url like this; http://www.smemon.com/how-to-get-attention-ryanair-style/ throw it in to tinyurl and it’ll give you something like this; http://tinyurl.com/bvnns8. It shrinks url’s which is very handy for the likes of twitter where every character counts.
5. askeet
Ever wanted your own version of yahoo answers? Askeet is the perfect solution. Simple, sleek and free – what more could you ask for!
6. phpBB
When it comes to forums, vbulletin is king. All major forums use vbulletin, but it comes at a price. phpBB is a nice, open source alternative.
7. boonex dolphin
Want your own dating site / social network? Try boonex’s dolphin. This is the base my very own BeerChief was built on.
8. elgg
Elgg is used mainly as an educational type social network. That’s not to say you can’t build a facebook or bebo from it – it’s simple, efficient and won an award for the best open source social networking platform in 2008.
- demo
- download
9. Scuttle
Fancy creating your own delicious.com? Scuttle is one of many open source options you could use. It’s a social bookmarking website which allows you to save your favorite links but share them with others too.
- demo
- download
10. jobberbase
Want to create your own job site? Sure why not, people are always looking for jobs! Jobberbase is a superb open source solution. Clean, classy, simple but effective – well worth checking out.
Nice one Sean!
Any clone of about.com around?
haven’t come across one on my travels although i’m pretty sure something similar would exist 😉
Great list but you should have it going from 10 – 1 😛
Free software does NOT mean no license! Licenses and author’s rights are very important in free software. Check this for example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License
I’m sure all the applications you mention have a license.
@Hitmopa, yeah by ‘no licenses’ i suppose it’s misleading… i was trying to say there are no fee’s involved with open source…
In general you’re free to modify open source, but usually have to link back or acknowledge the creator. Slightly different for commerical purposes aswell…
joobsbox.com soon: the complete open source jobboard
i know it’s not open source but i find Social Engine to be the best social networking script out there http://www.socialengine.net does exactly what it says on the tin. currently using it on a project.
funny, i was just talking about this a couple of weeks back.. it is impressive and when i first i came across it on a site i thought it was actually a custom built site – i had to look at the source code to find out what it was using…
because it’s not open source though it limits it’s development and restricts the amount of plugins and stuff that will be made.
dolphin 7 is the best open source social networking platform at the minute and it’ll be released around july…
What i like about it is how simple it looks and is. That’s all i need for the project im working on.
Just had a look at Dolphin, dont like it to be honest. This wouldnt work for a social network im working on.
Now that im here, you wouldnt know any scripts that would do the same things as a Ning network? http://freemanireland.ning.com
Just need something that has a profile, forum, video and photo section and to display the latest activity on the front. Dont know if i’ll go with social engine as its like 250 dollars!
not off the top of my head…
you could always go with joomla or drupal… http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/communities-&-groupware/communities
social engine is pretty sweet but it’s a lot of cash… how about asking them for a discount? they might be willing to lower the price if you can offer them something or simply just for asking..
Cheers jomsocial looks awesome! How does that work in relation to a theme. Is it a theme in itself or does it have to be fitted into a theme and if so can it fit into any theme or are there themes made for it?
not sure how exactly it works but i’d imagine it’s straightforward to install – all joomla plugins are.
downside though is that it costs $150 to remove the links, or $99 to keep the links there..
Great, thanks
Some of Tips are out dated i believe ..
singles
do us a favour and delete my comment above this (and this one too)
Many of my strategies each day include the use of social book mark submission with trending brands to and get a burst of results. I think that the most my website receives is increases in unique visitors.
phpBB is a great platform ! i have personally used it and i found it really amazing ! you can do any thing with it. If you are planning to start your online forum then it should be a positive selection for your work ! Thanks !
Content Writing
Here is a list of the top 5 Facebook clones, it may be helpful if you are looking to make your own social networking site:
http://clonephp.com/articles/top-facebook-clone-scripts/
A list of the top 5 Craigslist clones can be found here: http://clonephp.com/articles/top-craigslist-clone-scripts/
Five years later half of scripts mentioned in this post are no longer maintained. Pligg is still good choice for building digg like sites, phpbb for forums and elgg for social networks of any type. With elgg you can easily build a clone of many popular sites, on this link you can find info on buiilding quora, facebook and twitter clones with elgg and free plugins: http://www.socialnetworq.com/clones
Laconica is now gnu social but there is new software – pump.io which powers identi.ca.
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