Build your own social networking community with photo & video sharing and add it to your website using KickApps.

Now, I don't want to mislead you so this week's blog offering is not entirely free.

You don't have to write a check for this type of social network capability you just have to be open to sharing some page real estate.

What it Costs in Page Real Estate

The page include (3) Ad slots.

If you opt for the free version you share the ad slots with KickApps. The page theme (s) is constructed allowing for the ad slots, (one on the banner and two on the right side) above the fold. KickApps runs ads in the banner and one of the right upper slots. The other slot (which they call the skyscraper) is where you can run your own AdSense targeted ads.

If you want control of all the ad spots, or don't want any ads at all, they have a program where they charge you fees based on the traffice on your page. They calculate the rates per thousand community page views. Therefore, you only pay for the page views that your community gets. 

Check out this page if you Want more Details.

This is not a bad deal for all of the capabilities you will have. KickApps offers you a way to add a social network platform to your existing website so you can build your own social media community.Create a new experience for your clients by adding rich media experiences on your websites that drive audience growth.

This is not software but a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, which means that they host and manage all the applications, media and upgrades. So you have no worries about any of this.

Here is how it works

1. You sign up for FREE.

2. The "Affiliate Center" is the WYSIWYG area where you build your actual community. You can use just the WYSIWYG portion or you can add your own Java, html and CSS so you can customize it to match your site.

3. You can point your community to your site URL (using DNS Masking) that is a customization of the URL so that it looks like it is coming right from your site (instead of the KickApps URL where the site is actually hosted).

Their development site explains DNS Masking in more detail if you are interested in learning about this.

4. You can use your social networking platform with your WordPress, Drupal and Joombla sites.

5. To fully integrate your site and community you can also create and use widgets. You create your widgets using the KickApps Widget Studio your widgets can feature your (community) media, content, photos, blogs and videos. You can put this widget on your website next to your site content, to encourage people to participate in your community and drive traffic between your site and your community.

Now, you have a way to set up a social community the next step is to give your site visitors a reason to participate in that community.

To see KickApps in action here are some links.

NPR - Get my Vote - Where you can speak up about politics.

NYRangrs - I am a Ranger - Where fans express their love for their team.

DYI - Show and Tell - Where people post home improvement projects.

Guinness World Records - Yep, you guessed it people post their own record breaking videos!

Condo Trustee - Real Estate community integrated with blog.

Duct Tape Marketing - Community (WordPress site)

So what will your social community look like?