This is a way for groups like families or friends to communicate and share with each other, but not with the whole world. Community members are able to communicate with each other, share pictures, arrange meetings, and take opinion polls that only other members of the community can see. The members are explicitly trusted and everybody in the community has equal rights to change some of the details (see below).

It respects the privacy of the members of the group (I'll call it a community) by segregating just what the group can see and what the general public can't. It does so without an array of confusing settings that are later revoked, reset, and ignored.

For those of you who are familiar with life on the Internet public communications are arranged like a member's blog and private communications look like a forum. This way a member can conduct public communications he is in charge of, or private communications where anybody in the community can participate in.

example
One example of a Private Social Network is a family with many relatives scattered all over the country. Let's say they are planning an outing in southern California on July 4th but they want it available to any family member who is in the area on the 4th. The outing is just for family members so it can't be public. You want all family members to share the details so using email and phone calls can get clumsy and someone might get confused.

1. They take an opinion poll about which park it should be in. People on the other side of the nation vote on parks near an Airport, but those on the other side of the Atlantic want it near an International Airport.
2. When that detail is decided they set-up an entry in the "event calendar" so other members can see the when and wheres.
3. Then some private communications about the 4th are set-up so people can arrange the details like who will bring the hot-dog buns.

Another use would include setting-up online memorials for lost loved-ones.

flavors
There are also different flavors of a Private Social Network with differing capabilities. There are three available at this time.

• family: which includes a site for research into the families genealogy.
• church: which includes random biblical quotes.
• hobby: which will have "open" enrollments to anybody with the same interested.

If you have other needs please contact RDKSOFTWARE here.

future additions
Some additions in the future include capabilities such as a "wall" for public communications, audio file sharing, a newsletter, an easier way to add pictures, and an easier way to change the skin of the site.

pricing
A Private Social Network charges the person in charge of the network itself based on how accounts they allowed to have.

miscellaneous
While all members are on equal standing, there are a couple of exceptions. Some special users have the powers and permissions to change or censure inappropriate writing or photos, remove obvious spam that got through, and can decide who can become a member. One example of the use of these permissions is that any community member can change a picture's caption or place a picture where no one else can see it, there are only a few who can actually remove a picture from the site.

A personal grade site is a simple web-site that rarely changes and is just there to show one or two pieces of information.

It is not built to change as a business will need. A business is always adjusting itself to the changes in the market so it needs to change on a regular basis. While changes can be made on a personal grade site it would take extra money and it must be done by someone with knowledge of writing web-sites. Therefore, a personal grade site may cost more over time than a business grade site.

A personal grade site makes no attempt to prepare for Search Engines since there is little or no concern about promoting it. Unlike the security needs below, SEO capabilities can be purchased but it does not come with the site automatically.

There is only a small amount of security built in. That doesn't mean there is absolutely no security, only that the security is limited since the web-site itself is limited. For example, a car driven on a paved road probably has to worry less about loose rocks than an off-road truck.

While this product is limited it does all you need if future change is either impossible or improbable, marketing and promotion is not a concern, and you have nothing on the site that can be called a secret and the site does nothing that can't be subverted in a way that can harm you. In those cases, a personal grade site may be a viable solution for your business. Just be sure to look at what you need very carefully because using one of these sites for business could be backing you into a corner.

A business site has several options that are useful to a business.

The goal is to help the business make money

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  In a business site, the initial SEO settings are included and periodic reviews can be in ordered or are included in some hosting plans. This will include everything Google recommends that a web-site does to improve its chances to be positioned well.

• Security
  All sites include some basic security for safe submissions and logins. This includes protection against attacks known as "Cross-Site-Scripting", "Cross-Domain-Redirection", "SQL injection", "session highjacking". In addition, all software on the server is kept up-to-date, all passwords are kept safe, and it makes sure each user logged on only can do what he has the correct permissions to do.

  A business site takes this a little further and protects against someone taking content from a site. Information such as your customer list, any communications you have with them through this site, internal documents, and any digital assets you have are safe.

• backups
  In a business site all backups are done on a monthly basis. Both weekly and daily backups are available for purchase.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  In a business site, the initial SEO settings are included and periodic reviews can be in added. This will include everything Google recommends that a web-site does to improve its chances to be positioned well.

• Security
  All sites include some basic security for safe submissions and logins. This includes protection against attacks known as "Cross-Site-Scripting", "Cross-Domain-Redirection", "SQL injection", "session highjacking". In addition, all software on the server is kept up-to-date, all passwords are kept safe, and it makes sure each user logged on only can do what he has the correct permissions to do.

  A business site takes this a little further and protects against someone taking content from a site. Information such as your customer list, any communications you have with them through this site, internal documents, and any digital assets you have are safe.

• backups
  In a business site all backups are done on a monthly basis. Both weekly and daily backups are available for purchase.