This weekend, I have been experimenting with replacing OpenSimWI with open source social networking software – Elgg. For those who haven’t used or seen Elgg before, it is very similar to things like Facebook – user profiles, groups, etc.

The key with what we are aiming to do however, is eliminate the duplicated data. That is, if you have a group “inworld”, the exact same data should be used on the website. Join a group on the website – it should show up in world. The way we have done this has been to rewrite the Elgg database layer so that it reads and writes from the same databases the OpenSim Grid Servers do.

The result is you can participate in the grid, without needing to be logged in. Grab an RSS feed of your group notices or send someone an offline IM from the OSGrid website.

Custom Profile Pages (Editing)

A Sample Profile

Friends List (Detail)

Group Listings (Popularity Tab)

Group View

When?

There is no deadline for when this will be launched, but we’re hoping to do so within the month.