How to Add Video Conferencing to a Social Networking Website
Adding video conferencing to an existing social networking site is a large task. Many options exist to do so, and hundreds of options to think about in terms of customization and usability. The project will require an experienced web developer and a solid existing platform for this component to work from. Another option that requires less work is to integrate the site with existing video conferencing tools like Skype, using a widget system.
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Instructions
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Hire an experienced developer. Depending on the level of sophistication, integration (with existing social network) and customization desired from the video conferencing component, the job could require a team of developers. The cost of such a project varies greatly depending on what is desired but easily run into thousands of dollars. Even if the developer simply inserts canned/existing technology into the interface, it will not be cheap. Developing the project from scratch could cost much more.
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Use a canned solution. Some video conferencing software packages allow a site to simply "plug" in video conferencing. However, a fairly good knowledge of code and programming will be required to implement a canned package with the existing social network. Customization will be limited. The tricky part will be having the social network integrate with the video conferencing tool. For example, will only "friends" be allowed to conference with each other. Will multiple cam conferencing be allowed? What security measures will be in place to ensure that random users will not be able to hack someone's cam feed? Issues like this are the reason why many social networks like Facebook and MySpace have only toyed with the idea of adding video conferencing.
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Partner with an existing video conferencing provider by adding widgets. By far the easiest solution is to create a widget that links the social network profile with third-party video conferencing software, like Skype. The user simply enters in their Skype name in their profile and a widget will appear on their profile allowing the people who can view the profile to call on Skype. Programming a widget like this is fairly simple (for a programmer) and adds video conferencing to the social network.
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References
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