4 ms·

Social Networking Goes Open Source With Insoshi

37 points by jasonlbaptiste 19y ago

garbowza 19y ago
This could be a lucrative space, especially in the enterprise. While the field is a bit crowded, I think Insoshi differentiates themselves by providing the source code, and for secure intranets that is a necessity.
- ryan 19y ago
  Plus, he wrote the book! :)
- jsdalton 19y ago
  I know of two other open source social networks that also offer their source code: Loved By Less and Buddypress. Here's the problem I have with Insoshi and Loved By Less: They don't seem (as yet) to offer any kind of architecture to modify and extend the code base. If you want to customize, you are altering source code. Contrast this to Wordpress, which has an awesome plugin architecture and an extensive system of hooks to allow for customization, all without touching a line of source. Though I haven't seen BuddyPress source, I am hopeful that it follows Wordpress's suits. It is the ability to customize and extend, coupled with a super powerful and slick admin system, that has made WordPress such a successful venture. That's my opinion at least, from an admittedly cursory review of the source code on these projects.
  - mhartl 19y ago
    They don't seem (as yet) to offer any kind of architecture to modify and extend the code base. That's part of the plan. Remember, WordPress wasn't born with plugins and hooks; it grew them. "Release early, release often", right? This is the "early" part. :-)
    - jsdalton 19y ago
      Awesome, go get 'em. I think you'll have some stiff competition from BuddyPress, particularly since they've got a head start on the extensible platform, but I wish you guys the best... it's anybody's game at this point. Ning is really the platform to beat, in my opinion at least.
- 1gor 19y ago
  There is another social network on Rails out there: http://code.google.com/p/railscoders-net/ http://code.google.com/p/railscoders-net/. You can see it in action at http://railscoders.net/ http://railscoders.net/. It is also associated with a book ('Practical Rails Social Networking Sites', published by Apress).
subwindow 19y ago
"the code he released under an MIT License in July 2007 should be considered the first RoR open source code." I hope that's a typo. If the writer honestly believes that sentence, he has no business writing for TechCrunch (or anyone, really). I think he's talking about "the first RoR open source code for a social network." But even that is a sketchy claim. I've contributed to open source RoR projects that were loose social networks as early as 2005.
- mhartl 19y ago
  He meant the latter. RailsSpace was to my knowledge the first open-source source social networking platform in Rails (with the profiles, friending, avatars, blogs, etc. that we associate with a modern social network). Mark certainly didn't mean to imply RailsSpace was the first open-source project in Rails.
jasonlbaptiste 19y ago
as much as rails isnt my weapon of choice, i really think this could be big. anyone have a demo setup somewhere to play around with?
- mhartl 19y ago
  The developer site for Insoshi is here: http://dogfood.insoshi.com/ http://dogfood.insoshi.com/ It's not just a demo site, though; we're using it to coordinate the project itself. Contributions should be incorporated into the live site within a week or two. You can find the source code at GitHub: http://github.com/insoshi/insoshi/ http://github.com/insoshi/insoshi/
kul 19y ago
well done dude, remember talking to you at the Joe Kraus dinner, nice to see the execution!
- mhartl 19y ago
  Thanks!
simianstyle 19y ago
Can someone explain the difference between this and http://lovdbyless.com http://lovdbyless.com to me?
- mhartl 19y ago
  Lovd is made by Less Everything (http://lesseverything.com/ http://lesseverything.com/), which runs a thriving contract development firm and makes a beautifully elegant accounting application (http://lessaccounting.com/ http://lessaccounting.com/). We think Lovd is great---in fact, you'll find some Lovd code inside the current Insoshi code base, with more to come---but it's a side project for them. In contrast, Insoshi is our sole focus, which means we have more resources for community-building, documentation (http://docs.insoshi.com/ http://docs.insoshi.com/), and future development.
- 1gor 19y ago
  Lovdbyless is impressive, but it is mysql-specific and depends on some non-standard plugins to work (one of them is proprietary, somebody correct me pls if I've understood it wrong). Insoshi on the other hand is DB agnostic, works beautifully out of the box with sqlite3 (or mysql) and does not require any esoteric plugins. Elimination of unneeded dependencies is a major requirement for me so I consider Insoshi a winner.
  - stevenbristol 19y ago
    I am pretty sure that lovd is db agnostic. And it uses no proprietary or "non-standard" plugins. Can someone tell me what a "non-standard" plugin is? For that matter, what is an "esoteric" plugin? This smells like fud me.
    - 1gor 19y ago
      >And it uses no proprietary or "non-standard" plugins It does. http://ostatic.com/158658-blog/is-lovd-by-less-really-open-sourcess http://ostatic.com/158658-blog/is-lovd-by-less-really-open-s...: "Lovd by Less touts itself as an open-source platform for social networking. And indeed, the software itself is released under an open-source license, and provides some useful functionality. However, restrictions on some of its essential plug-ins raise questions about its actual licensing status."
mtts 19y ago
This may be just the TechCrunch blurb, but if they really want to be the WordPress of social networks, using Rails will be a problem for them. Part of the success of WP is that it uses PHP and MySQL, two technologies that are ubiquitous, and that installing it is a simple matter of dumping some files on some shared hosting space. Installing a Rails app, on the other hand, is nothing to sneeze at.
- 1gor 19y ago
  That's right, but understanding and customizing a Rails app is a walk in a park, while a dissecting and adapting somebody's PHP app is a tough task.
- mosburger 19y ago
  At least it wasn't written in Java. http://weblogs.java.net/blog/ddevore/archive/2008/03/call_for_reason.html http://weblogs.java.net/blog/ddevore/archive/2008/03/call_fo...
- mhartl 19y ago
  Our model will probably end up being more like MySQL than WordPress, but that's a harder analogy to understand. In any case, though, we think Heroku (http://heroku.com/ http://heroku.com/) is a game-changer when it comes to hosted Rails apps.
  - mtts 19y ago
    A MySQL model actually makes more sense. Thanks for clearing that up.
- khangtoh 19y ago
  huh? You never heard of ModRails? Check out ModRails.com Installing and setting up Rails is getting more and more easy since the days of 2005. The only disadvantage now is the memory consumption of each Mongrel instance that loads your entire Rails app into your memory.
wheels 19y ago
There was also a German Open Source (CC licensed) social network that launched last week: http://inside.gruenderszene.de/2008/04/18/open-socialnetwork/ http://inside.gruenderszene.de/2008/04/18/open-socialnetwork...
neilcauldwell 19y ago
Congrats on TC, Michael, Long - and thanks for helping me to get up & running with Insoshi a while back. As far as I'm concerned, a business like this (mysql/wordpress for social networks) was bound to happen. I'm just glad it's written in Ruby, running on Rails, version controlled via Git, and founded by the guys who taught me Rails (via RailsSpace). There's loads of enterprise social networking consultancies popping-up, and they all want their own custom made platform , written in the latest web development framework, to sell straight in to the SMEs. Insoshi should fit the bill quite nicely. The only major question is how hosting services fit in to this (WordPress.com?), but I'm sure the guys already have this planned out. As for the WordPress plugin comparison; Rails already has a convenient plugin architecture, so there's no reason why Insoshi can't piggyback this, at least for the time being.

This could be a lucrative space, especially in the enterprise. While the field is a bit crowded, I think Insoshi differentiates themselves by providing the source code, and for secure intranets that is a necessity.

ryan 19y ago
Plus, he wrote the book! :)
jsdalton 19y ago
I know of two other open source social networks that also offer their source code: Loved By Less and Buddypress. Here's the problem I have with Insoshi and Loved By Less: They don't seem (as yet) to offer any kind of architecture to modify and extend the code base. If you want to customize, you are altering source code. Contrast this to Wordpress, which has an awesome plugin architecture and an extensive system of hooks to allow for customization, all without touching a line of source. Though I haven't seen BuddyPress source, I am hopeful that it follows Wordpress's suits. It is the ability to customize and extend, coupled with a super powerful and slick admin system, that has made WordPress such a successful venture. That's my opinion at least, from an admittedly cursory review of the source code on these projects.
- mhartl 19y ago
  They don't seem (as yet) to offer any kind of architecture to modify and extend the code base. That's part of the plan. Remember, WordPress wasn't born with plugins and hooks; it grew them. "Release early, release often", right? This is the "early" part. :-)
  - jsdalton 19y ago
    Awesome, go get 'em. I think you'll have some stiff competition from BuddyPress, particularly since they've got a head start on the extensible platform, but I wish you guys the best... it's anybody's game at this point. Ning is really the platform to beat, in my opinion at least.
1gor 19y ago
There is another social network on Rails out there: http://code.google.com/p/railscoders-net/ http://code.google.com/p/railscoders-net/. You can see it in action at http://railscoders.net/ http://railscoders.net/. It is also associated with a book ('Practical Rails Social Networking Sites', published by Apress).

subwindow 19y ago

"the code he released under an MIT License in July 2007 should be considered the first RoR open source code." I hope that's a typo. If the writer honestly believes that sentence, he has no business writing for TechCrunch (or anyone, really). I think he's talking about "the first RoR open source code for a social network." But even that is a sketchy claim. I've contributed to open source RoR projects that were loose social networks as early as 2005.

mhartl 19y ago
He meant the latter. RailsSpace was to my knowledge the first open-source source social networking platform in Rails (with the profiles, friending, avatars, blogs, etc. that we associate with a modern social network). Mark certainly didn't mean to imply RailsSpace was the first open-source project in Rails.

jasonlbaptiste 19y ago

as much as rails isnt my weapon of choice, i really think this could be big. anyone have a demo setup somewhere to play around with?

mhartl 19y ago
The developer site for Insoshi is here: http://dogfood.insoshi.com/ http://dogfood.insoshi.com/ It's not just a demo site, though; we're using it to coordinate the project itself. Contributions should be incorporated into the live site within a week or two. You can find the source code at GitHub: http://github.com/insoshi/insoshi/ http://github.com/insoshi/insoshi/

kul 19y ago

well done dude, remember talking to you at the Joe Kraus dinner, nice to see the execution!

mhartl 19y ago
Thanks!

simianstyle 19y ago

Can someone explain the difference between this and http://lovdbyless.com http://lovdbyless.com to me?

mhartl 19y ago
Lovd is made by Less Everything (http://lesseverything.com/ http://lesseverything.com/), which runs a thriving contract development firm and makes a beautifully elegant accounting application (http://lessaccounting.com/ http://lessaccounting.com/). We think Lovd is great---in fact, you'll find some Lovd code inside the current Insoshi code base, with more to come---but it's a side project for them. In contrast, Insoshi is our sole focus, which means we have more resources for community-building, documentation (http://docs.insoshi.com/ http://docs.insoshi.com/), and future development.
1gor 19y ago
Lovdbyless is impressive, but it is mysql-specific and depends on some non-standard plugins to work (one of them is proprietary, somebody correct me pls if I've understood it wrong). Insoshi on the other hand is DB agnostic, works beautifully out of the box with sqlite3 (or mysql) and does not require any esoteric plugins. Elimination of unneeded dependencies is a major requirement for me so I consider Insoshi a winner.
- stevenbristol 19y ago
  I am pretty sure that lovd is db agnostic. And it uses no proprietary or "non-standard" plugins. Can someone tell me what a "non-standard" plugin is? For that matter, what is an "esoteric" plugin? This smells like fud me.
  - 1gor 19y ago
    >And it uses no proprietary or "non-standard" plugins It does. http://ostatic.com/158658-blog/is-lovd-by-less-really-open-sourcess http://ostatic.com/158658-blog/is-lovd-by-less-really-open-s...: "Lovd by Less touts itself as an open-source platform for social networking. And indeed, the software itself is released under an open-source license, and provides some useful functionality. However, restrictions on some of its essential plug-ins raise questions about its actual licensing status."

mtts 19y ago

This may be just the TechCrunch blurb, but if they really want to be the WordPress of social networks, using Rails will be a problem for them. Part of the success of WP is that it uses PHP and MySQL, two technologies that are ubiquitous, and that installing it is a simple matter of dumping some files on some shared hosting space. Installing a Rails app, on the other hand, is nothing to sneeze at.

1gor 19y ago
That's right, but understanding and customizing a Rails app is a walk in a park, while a dissecting and adapting somebody's PHP app is a tough task.
mosburger 19y ago
At least it wasn't written in Java. http://weblogs.java.net/blog/ddevore/archive/2008/03/call_for_reason.html http://weblogs.java.net/blog/ddevore/archive/2008/03/call_fo...
mhartl 19y ago
Our model will probably end up being more like MySQL than WordPress, but that's a harder analogy to understand. In any case, though, we think Heroku (http://heroku.com/ http://heroku.com/) is a game-changer when it comes to hosted Rails apps.
- mtts 19y ago
  A MySQL model actually makes more sense. Thanks for clearing that up.
khangtoh 19y ago
huh? You never heard of ModRails? Check out ModRails.com Installing and setting up Rails is getting more and more easy since the days of 2005. The only disadvantage now is the memory consumption of each Mongrel instance that loads your entire Rails app into your memory.

wheels 19y ago

There was also a German Open Source (CC licensed) social network that launched last week: http://inside.gruenderszene.de/2008/04/18/open-socialnetwork/ http://inside.gruenderszene.de/2008/04/18/open-socialnetwork...

neilcauldwell 19y ago

Congrats on TC, Michael, Long - and thanks for helping me to get up & running with Insoshi a while back. As far as I'm concerned, a business like this (mysql/wordpress for social networks) was bound to happen. I'm just glad it's written in Ruby, running on Rails, version controlled via Git, and founded by the guys who taught me Rails (via RailsSpace). There's loads of enterprise social networking consultancies popping-up, and they all want their own custom made platform , written in the latest web development framework, to sell straight in to the SMEs. Insoshi should fit the bill quite nicely. The only major question is how hosting services fit in to this (WordPress.com?), but I'm sure the guys already have this planned out. As for the WordPress plugin comparison; Rails already has a convenient plugin architecture, so there's no reason why Insoshi can't piggyback this, at least for the time being.