Hi, I am looking into AS to see if it will fit our needs. We are looking to create a Social Networking site combined with classified ads. Specifically for job searching in a particular sector. I am not sure if AS will meet the need of Classified Ads. Many social networking sites offer personal and business listings. So that in our particular situation personal accounts would be for people looking for a job and business accounts would be for companies advertising their position as being available. The personal account would be available by invitation only while the business accounts would be publicly viewable. Is this situation possible to create with AS? Is it relatively straight forward or would this be a complex/difficult configuration to achieve? Thanks, Pat

Some folks have used Ventrian Property Agent. I use Active Forums for classifieds and it works great. You could use permissions for AF as far as viewing of ad forums.

AS itself won't allow classified ads (unless you set it up as Will suggested - not seen this) - but it will integrate well in the sense that you can link buyer and seller profiles, show My Ads etc.

I use Ventrian Property Agent for my classifieds (Home Poker Game ads) - you can see it in action on PokerDIY - not flawless but templatable and customizable enough for my needs.

You'd prob. have to use Roles to secure different types of access to the classifieds to achieve what you want.

Posted By Dr. Pat on 06 Oct 2009 03:41 PM
Hi, I am looking into AS to see if it will fit our needs. We are looking to create a Social Networking site combined with classified ads. Specifically for job searching in a particular sector. I am not sure if AS will meet the need of Classified Ads. Many social networking sites offer personal and business listings. So that in our particular situation personal accounts would be for people looking for a job and business accounts would be for companies advertising their position as being available. The personal account would be available by invitation only while the business accounts would be publicly viewable. Is this situation possible to create with AS? Is it relatively straight forward or would this be a complex/difficult configuration to achieve? Thanks, Pat

I'm setting up a system just like that at http://www.superiorsocial.com using Ventrian's Property Agent.  Feel free to test it out if you want, the site isn't live yet.

How about job postings (not internal jobs, but a monster/hotjobs/whatever type of job posting site).  I have yet to find a module that does what I am looking for (closest was dotnetjedi's job board, but it's was too clunky).

Well, one thing I can tell you is that the Ventrian Property Agent is one of the most flexible modules I've ever seen. I see no reason whatsoever you cannot use that module and modify it so that it would display jobs postings in any format you desire.

I agree. I use Property Agent for a lot more than properties.

Is there a payment integration component that can be used to let users pay post their ads (i.e. one-time payment not a subscription role).

I use PA, for almost everything I implement.. Everything I think of, I think of it first.. In the future, all of the classifieds that my site users post, will show up as a tab on the AS profile.. The same could be applied for jobs, or anything else you create with the PA.

You might also look at the Classifieds module from Dotnetjedi.com.
Steven

I have checked dotnetjedi but I think its not that great personally. I think its better if you create something either custom, xmod, or with PA.. I would choose PA and build it out yourself through templates.

The "custom" approach has it own set of benefits and drawbacks. The customized versions require a lot of time and modifications (and a bit of expertise), but also gives you the best chance of producing something that looks like it really is part of your site.

Is it just me, or does the dotnetjedi module look just like a modified Property Agent install?

I actually bought the dotnetjedi job board module, and tried to use it. It was an OK fit, but it was so archaic (i.e. the UI is still the old IBUYSPY UI ! ) that I just abandoned it.

I would recommend against using dotnetjedi classifides module. We used it on a project and it was very difficult to customize. A real rats nest of old school code. If you want something that looks web 2.0 like Active Modules I'd suggest Property Agent, build your own or wait for AS Classifides in 1.4.

I agree - I use Ventrian Property agent for my poker games classifieds... I use Netism map to plot the properties (and am looking at Property Map)

Posted By Smart-Thinker on 18 Dec 2009 11:26 AM
I agree - I use Ventrian Property agent for my poker games classifieds... I use Netism map to plot the properties (and am looking at Property Map)

Property Map is pretty sweet. I especially like the latest version as it allows you to run the map "alongside" the PA search. Much better layout control than before....plus you and pre-roll ads.

The only thing I am missing with the PA approach is a "watch" feature. Where someone is interested in an item listed and would like to get notified about any change in status/comments, etc...

Is there a way that you guys know of to do this?

Dan - we're going to sponsor that enhancement with Scott. We've done a few sponsorships before and it's worked out great. It'll work like a "Saved Search" with email notifications. Thinking lately about way to integrate it into AS.

Cool!

Smart-Thinker, what do you use for a payment mechanism for the posting of ads? That is one feature that dotnetjedi did have (PayPal integration) that I need...