Building a social network isn't an easy task, let alone a successful one. As developers our job is to create, build, and bring to life the gears and functions of a social network. When it comes to marketing, well that's a different department in most cases. We build then later deploy, and in order to develop a highly efficient and functional social network we'll need to use a few tools.Most developers are switching from building networks from scratch using PHP to highly-customizable social network platforms that give way to flexibility. Below we're going to cover several of the most sought after open-source platforms that allow you create your very own social network and run it on a server of your choice. These networks will give you a hyphened control over the front/back end design along with a social networks most valuable asset; the database.

As I explained in my last piece, skilled immigrants are leaving the U.S. in droves. This is because of economic opportunities in countries like India and China, a desire to be closer to family and friends, and a deeply flawed U.S immigration system. It doesn't matter whether we call this "brain drain" or "brain circulation"- it is a loss for America. Innovation that would otherwise be happening here is going abroad. With all the stories we read about weak infrastructure in India, authoritarianism in China, and corruption and red tape in both countries, the perception is that these entrepreneurs are facing major handicaps back home. They have no chance of competing with us, so we have nothing to worry about, right?