Our social network—Fisharoo

In this book, we will discuss many of the common features that are required for a social network or community to succeed. We will discuss these features as they pertain to a community that I have long wanted to put up about salt water aquariums, their care, and about the people who are so invested in this hobby.

Unlike many books, we will not just discuss core concepts with demos in the form of snippets. We will build an entire working site from the ground up. And we will build our site in such a way that if by chance you become the founder of the next MySpace, you have a site that will form a great foundation for your community. With that in mind, this book will follow a common problem, design, and solution approach to building the site.

When I tell the story of how and why I want to build a community around the salt water aquarium world, I usually start by saying that salt water enthusiasts are very much like golfers. It is not a hobby where you buy a set of clubs and a few golf balls and then never return to buy anything else. You don't just take your new gear out to the course and proclaim yourself as being a golfer. Generally speaking, people buy a set of clubs, a funny hat and pants, some shoes, some balls, a glove or two. And work at golf a bit. Then they return to the local pro shop to find a better club, a funnier looking hat, perhaps different shoes, better balls, and so on. This repeats until they get to a point where they feel comfortable in their game and can call themselves golfers. Once they have reached this point, they still go to the pro shop forever in search of game improvements.

The salt water enthusiast is very much like a golfer. They buy their first salt water tank as a package with what they think is everything they need to set up a tank. They go home and set up their tank only to find out that the filter they bought was not big enough for their tank. Their lighting is not appropriate for their coral. Their filtration system is not appropriate for their fish. The live rock that they purchased contained a crab, which then started to eat all of their fish. And once the salt water tank is set up in a fashion that it is fairly self-sustaining (they are now a golfer so to speak) the owner wants to add new fish, maybe more fishes, have a bigger tank, and so on.

This social network will focus on helping new and old owners of salt water aquariums set up and take care of their salt water tanks. It will also help them to choose the right fish combinations. And, as it is a community, it will give them a place to go to give advice as well as receive it.