So you want to start your own social network? That can actually work wonders for your blog as long as you play your cards right. If you are trying to start your very own Facebook and go head to head with the real one, then you are going to have issues. But there are situations where you can start a social network about your niche and have a lot of success with it as well. Creating a social network around your blog can solidify your community and help you take your blog to the next level. It’s not going to be easy, and you are going to do a lot of planning before launching your own social network. But you won’t have to spend a fortune to get started. Not when you can use these 6 social networking platforms to get the job done:

BuddyPress: BuddyPress is very dear to my heart as it’s created by the people behind Wordpress. It’s very similar to what we have come to see with Wordpress and can be enhanced with themes and scripts. It’s open source, so you have a lot of flexibility there as well.

Elgg: Elgg is a very powerful social networking platform that enables you to create your very own Facebook-like social network fast. Your users can create their own blogs, forums, and groups. It also helps that you can take advantage of third-party enhancements to offer even more features to your visitors.

Pligg: Pligg is another powerful social networking platform that enables you to create your own Digg-like website fast. It’s a bit tougher to customize and the code is not as easy to figure out. But the platform does save you money and can be enhanced through third-party themes and plugins.

Ning: Ning does not need any introduction. The platform is designed to help you create your own social network online fast. You can use the free option to create a social network quickly. The premium option allows you to use Ning on your own domain and gives you more control as well.

Wordpress MU: very similar to Wordpress, but it comes handy if you are planning to create your own blog network. Your visitors can start their own Wordpress blog and have you host it for them.

Social Go: another social networking solution that has a little bit of everything. There are plenty of widgets and themes that you can pick up to give your social network a different look and feel. It’s mostly designed for those who are new to this business. But you can always go with its advanced plans.

There you have it. 6 powerful social networking platforms that enable you create your own social network service fast.

Everyone has a talent. We may come from different backgrounds but we all have something that we are passionate about a talent to build upon. These tough economic times have made people think about ways to utilize their talents to pursue their dream careers. But you don’t have to be on America’s Got Talent to showcase your talent these days. Social network sites such as Talent Trove let you express yourself and share your talent with the world and get hired in the process.

TalentTrove is one of those social communities that is more than just about meeting people and making random contacts. It’s about giving the artists and those who deserve a break a shot at making it big. The site is built to let you share your talents with the world and learn new things that can help push you to the next level. Talent can go only so far if you don’t nurture it and pick up new ways to better utilize it. TalentTrove allows you to do just that.

Whether you’ve got talent or looking for talent for your small or big business, with TalentTrove you have access to the work of a community that is full of talent. The resources available in this community can help you hone your skills and take your talent to the next level. If you are looking to hire a journalist or a TV model, TalentTrove provides you with the tools you need to identify candidates for your project and select those who fit your plans.

The community is growing but I am very interested to learn more about those already sharing their work and talent in this community. It’s always good to know that there are businesses out there that aspire to give others a shot at making the best of their talents. TalentTrove certainly sets the bar high.

Are you on TalentTrove?