Private Label Social Network Vendors

Have you ever thought that it would be a good idea to have a more vertically focused social network (i.e. art, video games, philanthropy, <insert_your_topic_of_interest_here>,  etc.), rather than a massively horizontal social network like MySpace, Facebook, and Instant Goodness?  Do you have a topic or community of interest that is getting lost in the Facebook and MySpace crowd?  Do you have a vision for a next-generation social network website?

If so, then a private-label social network is for you.  These days social networking features are becoming more and more commoditized.  As such, building a social network from scratch to support your community or topic of interest doesn't really make sense anymore.  For less cost and a faster deployment time, you can license software from a vendor that has already done all the hard work of creating and deploying a social network platform.  Also, private label social network vendors typically have deep expertise in user experience and design as it relates to social networking and user generated content.

In addition, private label social network platform vendors typically provide everything you need to deploy your social network in a "one stop shop" model.  For example, rather buying servers, Internet access, data center space, hosting, security, monitoring, redundancy, backup, programming services, etc., private label social network vendors provide all these services as part of their licensing model.  Social network vendors typically deliver their software as a service (SaaS), this licensing model provides for a lower up-front cost and an "all-inclusive" package that frees you to focus on the features and value proposition of your community, rather than all the plumbing commonly associated with deploying Internet applications.

So.... if all the reasons laid out above make sense for you, then you may want to consider contacting the following companies:

1. Ning - These guys are the 800 pound gorilla in the space.  They have raised over $100M.  Marc Andreeson, the founder of Netscape, is the CEO and founder.  Their hosted solution boasts thousands of social networks.
2. KickApps- According to their website, "The KickApps hosted platform enables you to easily create, deploy and manage a branded social and rich media community on your website."
3. Pringo Networks- Pringo provides a non-hosted solution for those that want to run their own servers.  They are based out of Los Angeles.
4. Pluck - Has some big name media companies as clients.  They are based out of Austin, Texas.
5. Leverage Software - They have lots of enterprise software company clients (i.e. Microsoft, Apple, SAP, Oracle, Sun, etc.).  Their community building platform seems more oriented to product development and customer feedback sites.