The new trend in Social Networking space is all about finding a niche and having a reasonable registered users which will help you grow your community slow and steady. Keep it real, if you think you will be as big as MySpace, Orkut or Facebook then you are thinking too hard, don’t disappoint yourself.

Following is the list of Open Source Social Networking Softwares which will help you run your own Social Networking Website.

• Elgg.org

"Elgg is an open, flexible social application engine, designed to run at the heart of any socially-aware application. Building on Elgg is easy, and because the engine handles common web application and social functionality for you, you can concentrate on developing your idea."

• iSocial

"iSocial is a free social networking CMS software that allows you to create your own Friendster and Orkut like sites. Use bookmarks, dating and create groups with just one mouse click. Start your profitable social networking bussiness now!"

• Mahara

"Mahara is an open source e-portfolio, weblog, resume builder and social networking system, connecting users and creating online learner communities. Mahara is designed to provide users with the tools to demonstrate their life-long learning, skills and development over time to selected audiences."

• The PeopleAggregator

"PeopleAggregator is an DLA (digital lifestyle aggregator) and is based upon the principle of open standards connecting social neworks and blogging systems together.  The PeopleAggregator’s social networking APIs enable any software product, service or web site to become ’social’ – to add the basic building blocks or social networking and blogging."

iTimes.com (Is a social networking site run by India Times) is based on The PeopleAggregator platform.

• Dolphin (My recommendation is on Dolphin. Its a wonderfully built application, very flexible and come for free)

" YouTube, MySpace, Odeo, Flickr, Match and Facebook – all in one, customizable and under your full control. You’re limited only by your imagination – not by software. Dolphin Smart Community Builder is a universal, free, open source software that allows you to build any kind of online community. With a huge variety of features & options, you can quickly develop your very unique and successful website."

Following is the list of Social Networking Services which will help you kickstart your own Social Networking Site in minutes without spending a dollar but the catch is, if you want to run this site for free you will have to share your ad revenue with the service. These services also offer Enterprise Solution for Social Networks

• KickApps

This site offers two options. 1) Run the application for absolutely free on their servers with your personalized domain and you get only one Ad spot on the page, and 2) You have the option of buying the entire Ad inventory for 100$ per 5000 page views.

One of the things they say is "Your success is Our Success".. hmmmm looking at the options above.. its hard to believe

"The KickApps hosted, white-label platform puts social media and online video functionality directly into the hands of every web publisher who aspires to be a media mogul and turns every web designer and developer into a social media rockstar! With KickApps, it’s now easier than ever for web publishers to leverage the power of social and rich media experiences on their websites to drive audience growth and engagement."

• OneSite (Among fully/partially paid Social Networking my recommendation is to go with OneSite. This recommendation is only based on the features and look and feel offered by OneSite.)

OneSite is better between the two. But its pricing is based around typical "Make Money" theory, at least they don’t claim "Your success is Our Success". If I can afford to spend about 200$ a month then I’d probably choose OneSite over KickApps.

"The OneSite Platform offers a complete community experience with Blogging, Photo and Video Sharing, Tagging, Rating, Flagging, Commenting, Built-in Messaging, and Groups built on patent-pending technology. We offer the most extensible, flexible, scalable, and customized solution in the marketplace. Our Widget and API libraries make it easy to integrate a OneSite community with existing web properties, search, registration, and authentication systems."

If you know of any other/better Open Source or partially paid Social Networking Softwares, do leave a comment.