User Profiles
• Multi-part profiles
The user profile
page is perhaps the most important part of your social
network. Along with the user's profile data, all of the user's
photos, blog entries, comments, groups, friends, statistics,
and other items can be displayed here. This page is often used
as a point of contact between users, so various options are
available to viewers (such as "Send Message", "Add Friend",
"Block User", and so forth). As the admin, you decide what
goes on your users' profiles.
• Customizable profile fields
The information
that your users will provide about themselves will define your
social network. Thusly, you should create profile fields that
make users provide information that is relavant to your social
network's unique theme. For example, if you are building a
social network for businesspeople, you might create fields
like "Current Employer", "Position", "References", etc.
Similarly, if you are creating a dating network, you might
create fields like "Height", "Weight", "Eye Color", and so
forth. Profile fields can be one of several types: Text
fields, pull-down boxes, multi-line text areas, radio buttons,
dates, etc.
• Dependent profile fields
If you create a
pull-down box or radio button profile field, you can give it
one or more dependent profile fields. For example, if your
pull-down box profile field is named "Marital Status", it
might have possible values such as "Single" and "Married". By
creating a dependent field named "To" for the "Married" value,
users that select "Married" can specify who they are married
to.
• Regex field validation
Each profile
field that you create can be given its own regular expression.
If the data provided by the user does not match this
expression, you can choose to display an error message of your
choice. This ensures that users are inputting their profile
data in the exact format you want.
• Keyword links
If enabled, some
profile fields will be "linked, separated by commas." This
means that whatever data the user provides in these fields
will be separated by commas and linked to browse pages. For
example, if you create a field called "My Favorite Music" and
a user enters "classical, jazz, soul", each of those words
will be linked on the user's profile page. Then, when a viewer
clicks "jazz", they are taken to a page that lists all other
users that have listed "jazz" in their "My Favorite Music"
field.
• Birthday fields
Date fields on
your users' profiles can be set to "birthday mode", which
allows you to calculate the user's age. With some minor
modifications, you could use this to notify users of upcoming
birthdays.
• Personal photos (avatars)
If allowed, users
can easily upload a photo of themselves, which is
automatically sized down and used as their personal photo
(also known as an avatar). This is displayed on their profile,
in search results, when they send a message, and on many other
areas of your social network.
• Profile privacy
If allowed, users
can select from several privacy levels when managing their
profile. This limits who can view and write comments on their
profile. You, the admin, can decide what privacy options are
available to your users.
• Comments
If allowed, users
can post comments on each other's profiles. This is an
excellent way to encourage user interaction. If an
inappropriate or unwanted content is posted, the receiving
user can delete it from his or her profile. Users also have
the ability to choose who can post comments on their profile
(if allowed by you, the admin).
• Custom CSS styles
If allowed,
users can insert their own custom CSS styles to give their
profiles a more personalized appearance.
Network Structure & Customizability
• Subnetworks
Your social
network has the ability to organize users into "subnetworks"
based on profile information they have in common with each
other. You can use this to limit access and privacy between
subnetworks, display subnetwork-specific content in your
templates, or to simply organize your users. For example, you
might want your social network to be comprised of two
subnetworks: "Males" and "Females". Or, perhaps you might want
to split these up into "Males In California", "Males Outside
California", "Females In California", "Females Outside
California". This is particularly useful because you can show
different content (or advertisements) to users based on what
subnetwork they are in. This allows you to serve them
information or ads that are specifically relevant to their
interests or personal characteristics.
• Several friendship structures
You can select
from four distinct friendship structures: 1) Nobody can invite
anyone to become friends, 2) Anybody can invite anyone to
become friends, 3) Only people within the same subnetwork can
become friends, and 4) Users can only invite their friends'
friends (second-level friends) to become their friends. With
some minor customization, other structures can be implemented
quite easily.
• One-way or two-way friendships
As the admin,
you can decide if users have one-way or two-way friendships.
Example: User A adds User B to his friend list. With a one-way
friendship framework, User B is User A's friend, but User A is
not User B's friend. With a two-way friendship framework, User
B is User A's friend and User A is User B's friend.
• Verified or unverified
friendships
As the admin,
you can choose whether or not users will have to confirm
friendship requests. Example: User A requests to become
friends with User B. With a verified friendships framework,
the two users will not become friends until User B confirms
the friendship. With an unverified friendship framework, the
two users will become friends immediately.
• Friendship types (titles)
As the admin,
you can create a list of friendship types for users to pick
when describing their relationships with their friends.
Example: Your friendship type list may be something like
"Co-worker", "Significant Other", "Acquaintance", "Close
Friend", "Family", and so forth. Users can pick from these
when they add new friends or edit the details of their
relationships with their friends. If you wish, you can also
allow users to enter in their own friendship type instead of
picking from your list.
• Friendship explanations
As the admin,
you can allow users to type in a detailed explaination of
their relationships with each of their friends.
• Public/private sections
As the admin,
you can easily make portions of the social network available
to the public or registered users only.
• Custom privacy levels
As the admin,
you can decide what privacy levels your users can choose from
when they decide who can view (or post comments on) their
profiles, blogs, groups, albums, and so forth.
• Signup by admin invitation
As the admin,
you can choose to allow users to signup only if you have
invited them. This is an effective way to build a small,
exclusive social network.
• Signup by user invitation
As the admin,
you can choose to allow users to signup only if they have been
invited by an existing user or an admin. You can even give
each user a limited number of invitations to send out. By
limiting signups in this way, invitations can become
"valuable," which is a known method of achieving viral growth.
• Customizable signup process
As the admin,
you can decide what will take place during the new user signup
process. You decide what fields they must fill out (and which
are required), whether they are asked to upload a photo,
whether they are prompted to invite other people, and so
forth.
• Email messages
Your social
network sends emails to your users when they do different
things, like signup, receive friend requests, request their
lost password, etc. These email messages are all customizable
- you can easily replace the default messages with your own.
Frontend, Look & Feel
• Template engine
Other social
networking apps give you little in the way of customizing the
look and feel of your social network. Conversely, every aspect
of Megastarmedia.com's visual appearance is customizble.
Megastarmedia.com utilizes the popular Smarty template engine. Every single page of your social network has
an HTML template that you (or your developer) can modify.
Using special tags, you can display virtually any information
from your database on any part of your social network.
• Global CSS styles
A single CSS
stylesheet is used to set the colors, fonts, and other styles
of your entire social network. This makes global changes to
the look and feel of your social network easy!
• No copyright notice
There are no
copyright or "powered by" notices placed on your social
network. Our copyright notices are hidden in the PHP source
code, so they are never viewable to your users. Other social
networking apps charge you a fee to remove their "powered by"
notice - we would never punish you this way! We want your
social network to reflect your idea, not our product.
• Portal page example included
If you're not
integrating Megastarmedia.com into your existing website, you can
use the included portal page as the homepage of your social
network. Like every other part of your social network, this
page can be easily customized to fit your design goals.
• Multi-language support
All of the text
on your social network is stored in a single language file,
which makes translation simple.
• Search engine friendly URLs
As the admin,
you can switch between standard (dynamic) or search engine
friendly (static) URLs. This applies to the URLs of your
users' profile pages, albums, blogs, groups, etc.
Anti-spam Features
• Email address verification
As the admin,
you can choose to force users to verify their email address
(by clicking a link that arrives in an email after they
signup) before they can login to their account. This is an
effective way of reducing fake (automated) account signups and
spam on your social network.
• Random password generation
As the admin,
you can choose to have a random password emailed to each user
that signs up, enhancing the security of their account,
verifying their email address, and increasing the probability
that they are human and not an automated program.
• Automatic "CAPTCHA" images
When your users
signup, you can force them to visually read the alphanumeric
code from an automatically generated image and enter it into a
field. This feature reduces spam and automated signups. It can
be used on several areas of your social network, including
signup and comments.
• Inappropriate content reports
Users can submit
an inappropriate content report if they consider an image (or
any other content) to be offensive or spam-related. These
reports can be managed by you (or other admins if you've
created multiple admin accounts) via the control panel.
• Simple user management
Your admin panel
includes an easy-to-use interface for managing (and deleting)
your users, albums, blog entries, groups, etc., allowing you
to easily delete unwanted content.
• User banning
As the admin,
you can specify usernames, email address, or IP addresses that
are not allowed. This will help you block out abusive users
and spammers.
• Word censors
As the admin,
you can specify words that are not allowed on profiles, blogs,
and albums. If a user posts any of your censored words, they
are automatically replaced with asterisks (*).
• Blocklist
If allowed,
users can choose to block other users. This prevents the
blocked user from contacting the first user or viewing his
content, and is an effective way to deter abusive behavior.
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Photo Albums (Plugin)
• All file types accepted
As the admin,
you can choose to allow users to upload files of any type
(such as mp3, zip, etc.). This can be limited by the filename
extension as well as the actual MIME type. This effectively
allows you to use the album feature as a file sharing feature
if you wish.
• Automatic thumbnails
Thumbnails for
common image file types are generated on the fly and stored on
the server. Custom icons for non-image files can be specified.
• Multiple albums per user
You, the admin,
can specify how many albums each user is allowed to have.
• Storage space limit per user
You, the admin,
can specify how much disk space to give each user.
• File size and dimensions limit
You, the admin,
can specify the maximum file size and dimensions (for images)
allowed.
• Automatic image resizing
If an uploaded
image's dimensions are larger than the limit you have set, the
image will be automatically sized down (for most image file
types). Images keep their aspect ratio after resizing.
• Custom CSS styles
If allowed,
users can insert their own custom CSS styles to give their
albums a more personalized look.
• Browse friends' albums
Users can browse
their friends' recently updated albums. This encourages
content sharing and user interactivity.
• Comments
If allowed,
users can post comments on each other's photos and files.
Comments can be moderated by the person that received the
comment. Users can receive notifications by email when they
receive new comments.
• Multiple simultaneous uploads
Users can upload
several files from their desktop at once.
• Album privacy
If allowed,
users can select from several privacy levels when managing
their albums. This limits who can view their albums. You, the
admin, can decide what privacy options are available to your
users.
Blogs (Plugin)
• WYSIWYG entry composer
Users compose
their blog entries with ease using an embedded, rich text
MS-Word styled editor. With one click, users can view the HTML
source of their entry and make changes if necessary.
• Seamless image upload
Users can upload
images and insert them directly into their entries, all
through the embedded WYSIWYG entry composer.
• Custom CSS styles
If allowed,
users can insert their own custom CSS styles to give their
blogs a more personalized appearance.
• Blog entry categories
As the admin,
you can create an unlimited number of blog entry categories.
When writing their blog entries, your users can specify what
category they belong to. This is a useful feature,
particularly if you want to create a page that displays all of
the blog entries on your social network that are about a
common topic.
• Blog entry privacy
If allowed,
users can select from several levels of privacy when deciding
who can view and comment on their blog entries. As the admin,
you can specify which of these privacy levels are available to
your users.
• Comments
If allowed,
users can post comments on each other's blog entries. This is
an excellent way to encourage user interaction. If an
inappropriate or unwanted content is posted, the receiving
user can delete it from his or her blog entry. Users also have
the ability to choose who can post comments on their blog
entries (if allowed by you, the admin). Each entry can be
given a different privacy level if desired.
Groups (Plugin)
• Customizable group fields
When users
create a group, they are asked to provide some information
about it. This information is entered into fields that you,
the admin, can create in the control panel. These fields can
be any of several types, including text fields, pull-down
boxes, multi-line text areas, radio buttons, dates, and so
forth. These fields can be made required, and special error
messages can be specified.
• Group categories
You may want to
allow your users to categorize their groups by subject,
location, etc. Categorized groups make it easier for users to
find and join groups that interest them. As the admin, you can
create an unlimited number of group categories and
subcategories.
• Browse groups
Users can browse
groups by category or search for groups by keyword. This makes
it easy for them to find and join groups that interest them.
• Group photo album
If allowed, each
group is given its own photo album. Like normal albums, limits
can be placed on the allowed file types and image dimensions.
If allowed by the group leader, comments can be posted on
these photos.
• Membership rankings
Groups can
contain three levels of membership: Leaders, officers, and
members. When someone creates a group, they are automatically
made the leader of that group. Leadership can be transferred
to another user if desired. Leaders can also appoint officers,
who have limited administration abilities such as
approving/rejecting new members, changing the group settings,
and so forth. Members can view the group's content, but cannot
alter its settings.
• Membership approval/rejection
Groups can
optionally be set to "allow new members by approval only."
This means that when a prospective new member requests to join
the group, they must first be approved by the group leader or
officers.
• Membership invitations
Group leaders
and officers can send invitations to other users to become
members of their group. If they so choose, members are
notified by email when they receive an invitation.
• Custom CSS styles
If allowed,
leaders or officers can insert their own custom CSS styles to
give their groups a more personalized appearance.
• Comments
If allowed,
group memebers can post comments on their group. This is an
effective way to allow group members to communicate in an open
way.
• Group Discussion Board
Each group
includes a built-in discussion board, allowing group members
to post threaded discussion topics.
Classifieds (Plugin)
• Privacy Settings
As the admin,
you can decide whether or not to allow public viewers
(visitors that are not logged in) to view the classified
listings on your social network.
• Customizable Categories and
Fields
As the admin,
you can categorize the classified listings for your users. For
example, you can create categories such as "For Sale" and
"Wanted" each with subcategories such as "Furniture" and
"Electronics."
• New Classifieds Email
Notification
As the admin,
you can customize the email that is sent to the user when a
new comment is posted on one of their classified listings.
• Classifieds Listings
As the admin,
you can see all the classified listings posted by your users.
You can monitor and search these classifieds to delete
offensive material if necessary. As the user, you can view
your own listings, upload photos, as well as browse the
marketplace.
• Listing Settings
The user can
choose to be notified by email when someone posts a comment on
any of their listings.
• Comments
The user can
comment on other classified listings or send a private message
to the seller.
• Classified Listing Photos
Users can upload
a photos and post them alongside their classified listings.
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Events (Plugin)
• Event Calendar
Users can manage
events on their own full-size event calendar. A mini-calendar
is also shown on their profiles, allowing them to share their
events with others.
• Invitations and RSVPs
Users can create
events and invite others to join. When another user receives
an invitation, they can RSVP as "attending", "maybe attending"
or "not attending".
• Event Photos
Users can upload
photos to the events they have attended.
• Privacy Settings
As the admin,
you can decide whether or not to allow public viewers
(visitors that are not logged in) to view event listings on
your social network. When creating a new event, the user can
decide who views the event, who can join, and if comments are
allowed.
• Customizable Event Categories
As the admin,
you can allow your users to categorize their events by
subject, location, etc. Categorized events make it easier for
users to find and attend events that interest them.
• Event Email Notifications
As the admin,
you can edit the emails sent out to the user when an
invitation is made, a new comment is posted about the event,
or when a new comment is posted on one of the files/photos of
the event.
• Event Listings
As the admin,
you can see all the event listings posted by your users. You
can monitor and search these classifieds to delete offensive
material if necessary. As the user, you can view your own
events, upload photos, as well as browse the marketplace.
• Event Browser
Users can browse
events by searching or simply browsing by category.
Chat (Plugin)
• Efficient AJAX Chat System
Our chatroom
utilizes an efficient AJAX backend to avoid annoying
page-refreshing and heavy server loads.
• Smilies, Sounds, and Timestamps
Users can post
chat messages with smilies and stylized fonts. They can also
enable or disable sound notifications and timestamps.
• Privacy Settings
As the admin,
you can allow users to chat, kick users out of a current
chatroom, and decide whether or not the user’s photo is shown
next to their username. You can also ban specific users from
logging into the chat.
• Update Frequency
As the admin,
you can change the frequency with which the server gets new
data. A shorter amount of time will make the chat slightly
faster but will also consume more server resources.
• Who's Online
Users can view
who else is currently chatting in the chatroom. As the admin,
you choose if the who's online list should appear as a series
of user photos or a simple list of usernames.
Video (Plugin)
• Upload Video Content
Users can upload
videos from their computer to your server. The videos are
automatically converted to Flash then stored on your server.
• Embed YouTube vidoes
Users can embed
youtube videos on your site. Megastarmedia.com grabs the thumbnail
from YouTube and stores it locally.
• Browse Videos
Once videos are
uploaded to the server, other users can browse through all
uploaded videos, or videos uploaded by a particular user.
• Video Rating
Users can rate
the uploaded videos using a 5-star scale. Videos can then be
sorted by rating so the highest quality videos bubble to the
top.
Private Messages
• Message inbox/outbox
Users are given
a familiar email-style message manager where they can view
both incoming and outgoing private messages.
• Message limits
As the admin,
you can decide how many messages each user is able to store in
their inbox/outbox. You can also decide who your users can
send messages to - nobody, all registered users, or just their
friends.
• Conversation history
When two users
send multiple messages back and forth, the conversation
history is displayed below the messages. This allows users to
keep track of the conversation and reply accordingly.
• New message notifications
Users can choose
to receive email notifications each time they receive a
private message. This encourages interactivity and return
visits to your social network.
Browse/Search
• Separate MySQL database
The integrated
search engine stores its data in a separate MySQL database. If
your social networks grows to be very large, you can move this
database to another server to save resources and reduce server
load.
• Immediate indexing
Every time a
user updates their profile, uploads something to their album,
writes a blog entry, etc., the search engine's cache of the
page they modified is updated. This means that pages indexed
by the search engine will be searchable on a "near realtime"
basis.
Other Tools
• Email announcements
Through the
admin panel, you can compose and send an email to every user
on your system. This is an effective way to encourage inactive
users to return to your social network.
• News announcements
Through the
admin panel, you can post news announcements which users can
read from the portal page, their welcome page (where they go
after being logged in), or any other part of your social
network. This keeps your users appraised about what is going
on in the social network, and will encourage them that your
service is active and lively.
• Comprehensive statistics
The admin panel
includes a social network statistics area. This area features
automatically-generated graphs that show you the levels of
activity on your social network over various time periods.
Megastarmedia.com also keeps track of the most common referring
URLs to your social network, which illustrates where most of
your traffic is coming from.
• Access log
The admin panel
includes a list of the last 300 login attempts to your social
network. This gives you an effective way of identifying and
banning abusive users.
• Bundled "PHP/Flash charts" class
The popular
PHP/Flash Charts class is bundled with Megastarmedia.com. With some
minor customization, you can display graphical stats about
your social network to your users.
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