Posted moods then show up in the activity stream where other users can comment on them:

A user’s most recent mood post shows up in the profile header above the most recent status update.

One great feature of this plugin is that it is entirely customizable through the dashboard, should you wish to change or remove any of the moods in the dropdown list.

In the settings for the plugin you can manage every aspect of the moods. As admin you can add your own custom moods and/or delete any of the existing moods in the list.

Chances are that this plugin will be a big hit with your community if your members love to express themselves and their moods through frequent status updates. Of course, it may not be suitable for all BuddyPress-powered social networks, but the flexibility exists for your to re-purpose it by changing the dropdown selections entirely.

After testing the plugin, the only thing I would change is to have the smileys and the mood attached, instead of selecting them each separately when posting the status update. Other than that it works really well and fits into the BuddyPress interface like a natural feature.

Download BuddyPress MyMood for free from the WordPress plugin repository and test it out for yourself!

Sarah Gooding on Google+

When users give and receive gifts, the plugin automatically updates the activity stream. Members can send each other messages with the gift.

It’s always a good day when an abandoned plugin gets adopted! BuddyPress Gifts Rebirth is a great plugin to use for increasing member interaction across your BuddyPress community. Download it for free from the WordPress plugin repository.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

What does this mean for DevPress members?

DevPress has added the themes available at AlienWP and will offer support and updates for them within the theme club membership.

Now when you visit AlienWP you’ll be greeted with the message:

AlienWP is now a subsidiary site of DevPress. Details and more exciting news coming soon…

With more hands on deck, the future of DevPress is much brighter than before. Take a minute to join today. After all, it’s only $5/year and you’ll get access to all of their themes and support in the forums. You can count on the DevPress team to release some exciting new WordPress and BuddyPress themes in 2012.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

BuddyPress developer @imath has been working on a Check-Ins plugin for BuddyPress. The project first started as an experiment and now imath has released a beta version to the community. BP Check-ins uses the HTML5 geolocation API. It allows BuddyPress users or groups to check-in at their locations by clicking on location marker in the status box. The browser will prompt the user for permission before detecting and braodcasting the location.

Once the check-in is posted to the activity stream, it will have its own permalink. Click on the link and you will see the details on the map:

Members can also visit each other’s profiles to see a map of the user’s check-ins at the top of the page:

Want to see exactly how the plugin works? Check out the demo video:

You can download the BP Checkins plugin for free from imath’s website. It requires WordPress 3.3.1 and BuddyPress 1.5.5. Please remember that BP Checkins is a beta and is still in progress, so you probably should not use it on a production site. Any feedback you can offer will be helpful. Please feel free to drop imath a note on his site.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

BuddyPress

BuddyPress, dubbed “social networking in a box”, is perhaps the most well-known option for turning your WordPress site into a social network. The plugin delivers a well-rounded list of core features, including:

• Private Messaging
• Extended Profiles
• Activity Streams
• User Groups
• Friend Connections
• Discussion Forums

The various components can be turned on off at will, so you are flexible to restrict your site’s features to only those that your members will use. BuddyPress has an active, thriving community with new open source plugins being contributed by members every week to extend the platform. If you like the security of a large community with lots of options to extend your site with social plugins, then BuddyPress might be the ticket for you.

Download BuddyPress

WP Symposium

WP Symposium is a very strong alternative to BuddyPress. Many BuddyPress users have a difficult time getting their WordPress themes to be compatible with the plugin. One of the biggest advantages of WP Symposium is that it fits into your WordPress site like a natural part of your theme. One of the ongoing development goals is to make the plugin extremely user-friendly so that users won’t ever have to do anything at folder/file level.

WP Symposium features:

• Forum
• Activity wall
• Member directory
• Private mail
• Notification bar
• Chat windows and chat room
• RSS activity feeds and support for other plugins such as Groups, Events, Gallery, Facebook Connect and Mobile support

WP Symposium also has a strong support community, a helpful wiki, and a help desk for members who require professional assistance. If you like quick releases with quick bug fixes, instead of long waits between major releases, then WP Symposium might be a great option for you.

Download WP Symposium

WP Mingle

WP Mingle is a free plugin that will instantly add social features to your WordPress site. The plugin aims to provide a social experience where users never need to see the WordPress login or admin. The look and layout is a little different from the other plugins, similar to the old Facebook or LinkedIn.

WP Mingle features:

• User Profile Pages and Custom Profile Fields (configurable by the admin)
• Pretty Profile Urls (to help with memorability and Google Indexing)
• Ability to Upload custom avatars (with Gravatar fallback)
• User Friending and Friend Activity pages
• User Profile Posting and Commenting (for friends)
• Login, Navigation, Random and Recent Users Widgets
• Email Notifications and User Email Notification Opt-Outs
• Front end login, logout, lost password and registration system
• Twitter-Like user tagging (using the @ symbol followed by the user’s name)
• Private Messaging

WP Mingle is also known to work well with both Wishlist Member and Affiliate Royale if you need to integrate a premium membership option with your Mingle community.

Download WP Mingle

The needs and interests of online communities vary wildly. When selecting the platform for your social network, you’ll want to consider each of these plugins’ strengths, features, interfaces, available extensions and surrounding communities. If you’ve used any of these three plugins, please feel free to leave your personal review in the comments below.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

BuddyPress Extend Widgets lets you select the users’ profiles or group pages where you wish to display or hide a specific widget. All active widgets will get these extra BuddyPress specific options, even if the widget is not generated by a BuddyPress-specific plugin. So for example, you might show a “members” widget only in the Members Directory. Or perhaps you don’t want to show your “recent posts” widget in the groups directory. All of this is possible with BuddyPress Extend Widgets. Download it from the WordPress plugin repository.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

Check out the live demo at infinitythemes.net to see the theme in action.

If you’re interested in purchasing the Balance theme, make sure to stop by and sign up on the PressCrew website. Pre-orders will get a nice discount when the theme is officially released. You don’t even have to pay early – simply fill in your name and email address to get the special discount coupon. Follow @PressCrew on Twitter to stay on top of the latest news on their WordPress products.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

I highly recommend this presentation if you’re thinking about getting into BuddyPress design. The focus is on designing for human needs, including emotional needs like love, belonging, self-esteem and safety. Tammie outlines many useful rules for community design. Creating an emotional response in the user is one of the important things you can do to get a user hooked. She also suggests ways to facilitate communication and interaction among your members.

Here are the slides from her “Designing For Humans with BuddyPress” presentation:

Understanding human needs and instincts is critical for designing a successful social network. Tammie’s presentation will help you to grasp the basics of what it takes to create a personal and engaging experience for your community members. This is one BuddyPress presentation that you definitely want to bookmark and review when planning and designing your next BuddyPress community.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

Individual users will be able to edit their profile field visibility on a field-by-field basis.

If you don’t want to leave the privacy options up to the users, site admins can select a default visibility level for the fields they create and then force the field to maintain the defaults.

There are two new filters available for developers who want to work with the profile field visibility. Boone will be creating a sample plugin in the near future to help developers get started with some of the possibilities. Find out more details on how to work with these new features at the BuddyPress Development Blog.

Sarah Gooding on Google+

The BuddyBox theme has several interesting features worth noting, including uniquely designed real time activity streams that auto update:

Directory pages are designed with a grid-style layout:

The BuddyBox theme focuses on encouraging signups to your community. The registration and login forms are custom designed to reinvent the clunky default WordPress interface. New users can easily register and quickly begin using the website:

The BuddyBox theme also integrates fully with bbPress and is already themed to seamlessly match your site.

BuddyBox is priced at $97, which includes:

• All files/source code
• 12 months of free updates
• Support via E-mail
• Extensive documentation

The team at BuddyBox was kind enough to offer our faithful readers a 10% discount on the theme. Just use the code WPMU10 at checkout and you’ll be good to go! Visit the BUddyBox site to take a tour and check out the live demo.

Sarah Gooding on Google+