Now that the email notification issue is solved, we're finally out of Beta1. ;)

If you're part of the Joomla Chicago User Group, and you've spent any time at all in the Community Area of the site, it's likely you woke up this morning to at least one or two (or ummm...150) email notification emails from the site's social engine (we run JomSocial 1.7.15).

While I'd like to apologize for that little snafu, it wasn't a mistake or due to anything improperly operating.

Nope, rather, after many months of working on the site, I discovered how to toggle-ON the ability to send members email notifications when they receive friend requests, responses to their discussions, and a whole littany of other goodies (called cron jobs). In doing that, several months of important and overdue pent-up social messages made their way OUT of the bottleneck created by yours truly.

So, with this discovery, I can officially announce, we have graduated out of the 7 month Beta1 Phase of the new JoomlaChicago.com site existence. We are now in Beta2, until further notice. ;)

Life is a continuous beta test, after all. Cheers and enjoy your weekend!

-JC

The JoomlaChicago Site Squad has been busily making progress on the JoomlaChicago website over the past few months, including a whole new interface design, upgrading to Joomla 1.5x, and a whole lot more. 

Now, the big push over the next 60 days will be improving the "Social Side" of the website. We installed and have been using JomSocial, a great Social Networking extension from Azrul Studios, built especially for Joomla!

We're also in the midst of deciding whether a Forum is a needed part of the site. We've been having some technical difficulties tying together a forum with JomSocial, so in the interest of not turning folks off, we've temporarily disabled (unpublished) the Forum. We still have the data and comments, but we're actively pushing toward a solution which will incorporate both JomSocial AND a Forum. We're encouraged by what we see on the near horizon, especially by the folks over at JVitals, makers of Agora Forum. We'll see how the coming weeks go as we work on integrating the two!  If you want to get involved, jump in, the water's warm.

;)

If you haven't gotten started yet, now is the time to get involved in the Joomla Chicago online community.  In just the last few weeks, there have been daily increases in activity -- and that means more opportunities for all of us to network with other Joomlaistas and expand our web skills, our web activities, and our web businesses.

Try these three simple ways to get into the swing of things:

• * log onto Joomla Chicago and update your profile to tell the rest of us about yourself
• * take a close look at all those snazzy pictures of the other members and pick a few to "friend" - it's fun!
• * follow the links to recent updates to discussion posts. Add your two cents! You'll start getting emails as other people join the conversation

Get started now! You'll be amazed a month from now to see how many great connections you've made!

What's your favorite way to interact with the Joomla Chicago online community?

We're making updates to the site on a nightly basis, so keep watching for improvements, especially to the Social Network and Blog Areas of the site. Thanks again to all the folks helping out on the new site design and development. If you're a Member of JoomlaChicago, and you're interested in blogging here on "The Loop," please contact one of the JoomlaChicago leadership team right away. Thanks! -JC

We're now ramping up "Phase Four" with re-engineering the usability of the Community Area, including JomSocial and our Forum. Our goal is to fully integrate (seamlessly) the JoomlaChicago Social Network, Forum, Blog and Commenting. There's some really, really cool software we got our hands onto that you're going to love!

Being so active within the Joomla Development Community and recently talking so much about the benefits of social networking recently I was thinking about all of the resources that I knew about that most other people using Joomla probably never knew existed. I thought I would share some of these valuable resources here with you.

For those that have a Twitter account and want to follow primarily Joomla related tweets here are a few links that you WON'T want to miss. You can follow everyone on these lists in one easy click.

Main list of Joomla Experts
http://tweepml.org/Joomla/

Some of the best Joomla Extension Developers
http://tweepml.org/Best-Joomla-Extensions-Developers/

http://tweepml.org/joomlaextensions/

Some of the best Joomla Template Developers
http://tweepml.org/joomlatemplates/

There are also 2 additional and might I add, very complete lists of RSS feeds from everything Joomla that you can imagine. 

http://start.joomlaworks.gr/

http://joomla.alltop.com/

Although this is a short list of resources in this blog post if you click on these links you will find that these links will provide you with an extreme amount of very valuable information right at your fingertips.

I suggest that you bookmark these links as they are constantly being updated and added to.

Enjoy!

Have you ever wanted to join a social networking website before?  A large number of internet users have, but not all decide to join one.  If you are like many other internet users, you may be worried about the networks that can be found online. Many of these networks, including Facebook and MySpace have rapidly increased in popularity. This increase in popularity has led to a large number of members.  In fact, some might say too many members.

One of the many reasons why Facebook and MySpace have increased in popularity is due to the fact that they cover a wide variety of different topics, issues, and interests.  Facebook and MySpace do not focus on one particular group of individuals or one particular hobby. Instead, they invite all internet users to join.  While this may be good, it gives you a wide selection of online friends to choose from, it can also be considered bad. On many of these websites a competition has brewed.  That competition has been to see who can get the most friends. This may result in you not really getting an online friend, when you are supposed to be.

If you are looking to join a social networking website that is more focused on creating friendships or partnerships between internet users that have the same interests, you will want to focus on social networking websites that have a particular focus.  Many times, these websites are known as specialty social networking websites. Online, you should be able to find a number of these specialty social networking websites. Many have focuses on important issues, topics, and hobbies, such as pet owners, religion, travel, and much more. 
When it comes to many specialty social networking sites, many individuals want to know what sets them apart from the rest. Honestly, it is the community. As previously mentioned, specialty social networking sites tend to focus on a particular topic, issue, or hobby. This means that if you are a devoted Christian and you would like to speak to other Christians, you will want to join a Christian networking site and so on.  The difference between specialty social networking sites and traditional ones is that you will automatically be paired with hundreds, if not thousands, of other internet users who share the same interests, views, or beliefs as you.

Another one of the many benefits to joining a specialty social networking website is that you are, in a way, safer than those who are members of other networks.  Not all, but a large number of specialty networking sites require activation before joining the site. Before activation can occur, many internet users are required to state their reasons for wanting to the join the network or they may be required to fill out a small questionnaire, often pertaining to the social network in question. In many cases, this will help to determine whether or not an internet user really has an interest in the topic focused on by the network in question.
As previously mentioned, specialty social networking websites allow you to automatically be paired with a group of individuals who share the same beliefs, views, and interests as you do. This mean that you don’t have to spend hours researching a person or speaking to them, just to learn what they are or are not interested in. Essentially, this enables you to jump right in and start making friends, almost as soon as you are granted access to the site that you have chosen.

The November 11 Joomla Chicago meeting promises to be a sell-out - the presentation will provide a preview of Joomla 1.6.

I've seen a couple of previews so far, and it looks like 1.6 is going to have some powerful features, especially with respect to Access Control Levels (ACL). I can't wait to start developing in 1.6!

As for existing sites . . . what will the path to upgrade look like?  One of the important topics we covered in Joomla Chicago meetings during 2009 was the 1.0 > 1.5 pathway.  Presentations included hands-on programming steps, as well as decision model for site managers about if and when to make the migration.

What do people think?  Should we get some similar events on the calendar for 2010 with respect to the 1.5 > 1.6 upgrade path?

With so much hype being put on social networking websites these days I thought it would be a great idea to post an article with specific focus on your website profile. A great website profile could help you land that next big client. Or you never know, you could end up life long friends with another person that shares your interests. Whatever your interest, your profile is your billboard to the world.

How you would like to meet and communicate with other internet users, especially ones that share the same views and beliefs as you do? If you would then you may want to think about joining a social networking website, if you haven’t already done so. When it comes to easily finding and communicating online with other internet users, social networking sites are, perhaps, the best way to go.

If you are interested in joining a social networking website, the first thing that you will need to do is find a network to join such as JoomlaChicago.com. You can easily find a number of networks by performing a standard internet search. For the best search results, you may want to search with the words social networking or social networking websites.  In your search, it is likely that that you come up with a fairly large number of different networking sites.  Popular sites that may be included in your search results may include, but will not be limited to, MySpace, Orkut, Yahoo! 360, FriendFinder, FriendWise, Facebook, and Classmates.

Once you have made the decision to join a particular social networking website, whether or not it is one of the ones mentioned above, you will need to need to register with the site.  Even free networking communities require that you go through the registration process. Once you are registered, you should be able to start communicating with other community members.  Before you start communicating, you may need to develop your online profile or profile page, depending on the networking site in question. Although it may seem easy enough to create a profile, there are many internet users who are unsure exactly what they should and should not include.

Perhaps, one of the most important things to include in your online website is your picture. While a personal picture is optional, it is ideal. Many internet users enjoy taking to someone that they can see in their minds, without a picture this is difficult.  If you are looking to use social networking websites just to meet new friends you may not necessarily need to post a private picture, but you may need to if you are looking to find love online. When it comes to internet dating, many individuals will not even view an online profile if a picture is not included.

In addition to your photograph, you may want to include your name.  Now, when it comes to your name, you need to be cautious.  You are advised against giving your full name, especially if your profile or profile page contains a personal photograph of you.  In addition to your name, you may want to put down your location.  As with your name it is important to display caution.  Your picture, your address, and your full name can be dangerous, especially if it falls into the wrong hands. As much as you would like to fill your social networking profiles with personal information, you are advised to think about your safety before anything else.

You may also want to include information on yourself. This information may include your hobbies, issues that are important to do, your likes, and your dislikes.  With many social networking websites, including MySpace, you will find that there are preset profile fields for this information. In addition to preset questions or categories on your likes and dislikes, you may also find additional information, including fun questionnaires.  Many social networking websites will ask that you describe your favorite color, your goals in life, your most embarrassing moment, and so on. As with your other personal information, it is important to stay as vague and possible and not use any full names, especially real ones.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should not only be able to create an online social networking profile that is filled with valuable information, but you can do so while staying safe at the same time.  Your safety on the internet is in your hands, that is why it is important to think about safety, as well as internet popularity.

This is a question that came up in our poll of Joomla Chicago members.  They're trying to compare the benefits and disadvantages of standalone social networking communities (like the Joomla Chicago site, with its JomSocial install) vs. mega communities like Facebook. So . . . 

I'm trying to assemble as many thoughts on this as I can.  My first goal is to identify "10 Benefits of Standalone Social Networking Communities" . . . .

C'mon everyone . . . help me out!