Member Avatar for dyniquee

Well, I am now developing a new idea for a social networking website similar to that of digg and twitter maybe linkedin. I am looking to partner up with a tech guru to get it going.

However, as my programming knowledge and skills are virtually zero, my question is what kind of web developing experience is a must-have for my tech partner? and what language's used in the above mentioned SNS websites?

BTW, anyone in Shanghai or around area that's interested?

Thanks in advance!

Stay cool,
D

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mackone

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This thread is about what technical skills a partner needs to build a social networking site. asked the original question; and raised stack and hosted-platform options. Below is a compact, practical checklist and a short build plan focused on hiring the right person, launching an MVP, and avoiding common pitfalls.

Essential skills and experience to look for

  • Backend/API design: proven experience building stable APIs, session/auth flows, and data models that represent users, follows, posts, comments, likes and notifications.
  • Data and performance: strong SQL skills plus familiarity with at least one scalable storage or caching approach, indexing and background job queues for async work (notifications, digest emails, feed generation).
  • Real-time and push: experience with websockets or equivalent for live updates, and with push notification flows for mobile/web.
  • Front-end & UX: responsive HTML/CSS, client-side code, and an eye for simple, mobile-first interfaces.
  • Security, privacy & moderation: OWASP-aware practices, input sanitization, rate-limiting, spam mitigation, and a plan for content moderation and privacy compliance.
  • DevOps & monitoring: git, CI/CD, deployment automation, logging, alerts and backups.
  • Product sense and test discipline: ability to scope an MVP, instrument metrics, write tests and iterate fast.

Practical MVP and a simple feed query
Start by shipping: user accounts, profiles, a follow/friend model, posting, a chronological feed, basic notifications and moderation tools. A basic feed query for small scale looks like:

SELECT p.* 
FROM posts p 
JOIN follows f ON p.user_id = f.followed_id 
WHERE f.follower_id = :me 
ORDER BY p.created_at DESC 
LIMIT 50;

For growth, plan whether to precompute feeds (fan-out-on-write) or compute on read, and introduce caching for hotspots.

Hiring and process tips
Ask candidates for past social features, architecture notes, and references. Start with a clickable prototype, run a small closed beta, collect engagement metrics, then iterate. Use short milestones, clear IP/equity terms, version control and automated tests. Finally, plan for moderation and abuse-handling from day one — those are common failure points.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for sasivashok

Hi

U use .Net or PHP is better to develop for SNS.

stay cool
Ashok.S
INDIA

Member Avatar for sasivashok

Hi

U use .Net or PHP is better to develop for SNS.

stay cool
Ashok.S
INDIA

Member Avatar for mackone

Along with .Net platform and PHP. Check out some services like Ning provides the best platform for setting up good-looking, sophisticated social networks with minimal effort. KickApps provides the best platform for integrating social networking components into existing websites. CrowdVine and Haystack are viable options for organizations that are looking for simple social networks to improve personalized communication online.

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