Free Social Networking Scripts

Recently I wasted a lot of my precious time with a $1000 Social Networking Script with the worst support I have ever had from an Internet Marketer.

I knew there would be trouble because the script would not work (at all) with the web hosting company I have been using for years. (But it worked at the "Recommended" web hosting company.)

My web host said that it's the script, while the script seller says that it's my web hosting company. I believe my web host.

Not only that, the script would not work properly because it was riddled with bugs, and when I reported these issues, the very slow support department would treat me like I had two heads. I measured the support response time in days, not hours.

I thought that the script would be better developed and better supported than an open source solution because of the price tag and the big Internet Marketing Name associated with the script. I was wrong.

So before you buy a social networking script from an Internet Marketer who knows how to write slick high-pressure sales letters but has no clue what a bug in a script is (or does not care), consider some of the very well developed open source solutions available.

Free Open Source Social Network Scripts

Before you get ripped off for crappy, buggy social networking scripts, check out these well developed open source solutions.

• Elgg
• Pligg
• Drupal
• Joomla

Tip: Your web hosting company might already have these scripts (and many others) ready for you to install using the 1-Click Installer. This feature can usually be found by browsing around your web hosting control panel.

The Benefits of Using an Open Source Solution

Always Under Development - Depending on the age of the project, the script is usually always under development which means that many bugs have been fixed, and existing bugs are continually being ironed out.

Better Support - If you do have problems, there is usually a very active community where you can post questions and get intelligent answers from actual users who have walked the path before you.

Many Programmers Available - Because many people use Open Source Social Networking Scripts, it is faster and cheaper to hire a programmer to modify the script or to create a unique website template for you.

The Pitfalls Of Buying A Script From An Internet Marketer

They probably hired a programmer (nothing wrong with that) to knock-off (replicate) some other script and therefore don't have the capacity to support the script properly.

Don't get me wrong here, I will gladly pay big money for a script which solves my problem. However, I will immediatey get a refund if I find myself wasting time submitting help tickets for things that should work out of the box. In my opinion, by the time a script reaches the $200 price tag, it should be well out of beta!

Never Pay To Be A Guinea-Pig Beta-Tester!

Don't pay big money just so you can waste your life beta testing some crap script.

You buy a script to enhance Your Internet Marketing, to save you time and make you money. You don't buy a script so you can spend your time taking screenshots and reporting major floors every second day!

If the seller says that the script Works Out-Of-The-Box, then hold them up to their promise. Remember to take a copy of the entire sales page so you can remind them of all the promises they made before you purchased. Too often these days they sell a "limited" quantity then take the sales letter down, so remember to take a copy of the sales letter!

If you purchase a script that you are unhappy with for any reason, don't allow the Internet Marketer's help desk to stall you past the so called 30 day refund period. If there is problems, don't blame yourself or call yourself an idiot for not being able to work around badly programmed scripts. You can't make a silk hanky from a pigs ear. Move on.

Works Out-Of-The-Box

A well developed (good) script is never hard to use! Take the Free Wordpress blogging script for example. To date, I have never found the need to get any support for Wordpress. That's because it works out-of-the-box! If a marketer says that their script works out-of-the-box, then it should be as well developed as Wordpress.

Article by Ed Zivkovic - WebTipsPro.com