I have the same urges. You need to carefully consider what you truly want and the realities surrounding those desires. How large do you envision this social ne

I have the same urges. You need to carefully consider what you truly want and the realities surrounding those desires. How large do you envision this social network becoming? Do you aspire to be the next Reddit, Hacker News, or Lobsters? Large social networks need to grow to survive, and growth requires funding. Are you pursuing a commercial venture or a non-profit one? If it's commercial, you will likely need to seek external investors. They will expect a return on their investment and will exert influence -- often in the form of ad revenue or otherwise increasing costs to your end users. It almost always ends this way, unless you stay a small bootstrapper. If it's non-profit, you will still need to secure funding through various fundraisers and donations. It would help to brainstorm (to yourself, at least) what you want to accomplish in lucid detail. This post is not it.