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Ask HN: market for Facebook clones?
Every now and then, you see a blog post about some business guy asking a programmer to build a Facebook clone for this or that niche. Usually followed by derisive laughter from the programmer's part because the business guy was offering too little money.
Fair enough, but it would seem there is indeed some market for Facebook clones. Do you think a "build your own Facebook" web service has any future?
- byoung2 16y agoIn a way, that's the need Meetup.com serves, though with more of an emphasis on in-person interaction. There are quite a few Meetup groups that have grown into their own kind of social network. I suppose you could recreate these as Facebook Groups, but I think there is a need for a customizable social network platform for niche groups. An example that come to mind is www.modelmayhem.com. It is a social network of models, photographers, makeup artists, photoshop experts, etc. It would be tough to recreate this on Facebook because you wouldn't have centralized control over photo upload approval, and you couldn't monetize membership. If there were a platform available that let you create your own social network (and maybe there already is), it should give you the flexibility to charge for membership, give the admins control over admitting members, restricting content, access, etc. Then you can target any type of group, like teachers, tutors, and students, or the local car club, Boy Scout troops, you name it.