Open-Social-vs-Discourse-Online-Community-Engagement ...

IntroductionFinding your perfect online community platform

Vendor comparison What is Open Social & Discourse?

Online community esentials

Manage effectively

Share more

Create collaborations

Keep members engaged

Security and safety first

Setup & customize

Conclusion

Table of Contents

This comparison

was created through

consulting the competitor website,

online documentation and publicly

available information as well as

third-party product and company listings.

This comparison was last updated:

July 2021

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Comparison Guide

by Open Social

Open Social Comparison Guide 1

No two online communities are

the same. They have different

types of members, dynamics

and goals. To make the most out

of your online community,

you need a platform that suits

your unique member and

organizational needs.

But with the dozens of tools

available today, which platform

should you choose to build your

community with?

To help you decide, we’ve

taken a lot of the guesswork

out of choosing the right online

community software for

your organization.

In this guide, we compare the

most important online community

features and functionalities of

Open Social and Discourse to help

you pick the perfect platform.

By the end of this comparison,

you will have a clear vision of

which platform will serve your

members best and help you

reach your organizational goals!

IntroductionFinding your perfect online community platform

Vendor ComparisonWhat is Open Social & Bloomfire?

Both companies

provide similar

services, but with a

few key differences!

Company Headquarters

Product Packages

Notable Clients

Pricing

Digital Guide for NGO’s and Non-ProfitsOpen Social Comparison Guide 2

Discourse offers packages based on community size and

storage, while Open Social’s packages are based on unique

community and feature requirements.

Key Takeaway

Open Social provides unique

out-of-the-box online

community platforms for

organizations around the

world using innovative open-

source technology. Open Social

specializes in platforms for

mission-driven organizations

like associations, NGOs and

government bodies.

Discourse is a discussion

platform aimed to reinvent

traditional internet forums. It

offers organizations a place

to host online conversations

and is focused on features

like mailing lists, forums and

long-form chat rooms.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Open-sourceFree public distribution

SaaSOut-of-the-box solution with

integrations and extensions

add-ons

EnterpriseCustom-developed platform

Greenpeace, UNDP,

European Commission

Quote-based on client needs

Standard5 staff users

Business15 staff users

EnterpriseUnlimited staff users

CarTalk, Code School,

Frostbite

Standard: $100 per month

Business: $300 per month

Enterprise: Quote-based

Dover, United States

®

Online community essentials Do you want to make sure your platform offers certain essential online community features?

Basic online community features

allow an organization to bring

their members together online

and create a space in which

they can communicate

and connect easily.

Rich Profiles

Events

Likes & Comments

Groups

Posts

Activity Feed / Content Stream

Topic Pages


Open Social is a far more robust community

platform, while Discourse focuses more

on forum discussions.

®

X

X

X

X

Key Takeaway

Manage effectively Do you want to make sure managing a large membership base is easy and effortless, instead of overwhelming and complicated?

Management tools let you

automate management tasks,

gain better analytics and

insights and moderate your

community effectively.

Admin Dashboard

Google Analytics

User Role Management

Content Tags

Management Task Automation

Member Analytics

Surveys & Feedback Forms

Export Member Information

Push Notifications

Salesforce Integration

Member Directory

X

Open-source plugin

Coming Soon

Limited

X


Open Social offers a much more complete

suite of community management tools.

®

Key Takeaway

Share moreDo you want your members to create strong relationships, connect with one another and develop a community identity?

Sharing and social features help

you turn your platform into a

vibrant and active community

by giving members intuitive

tools to share more easily.

Tags/Mentions

Group Messages

Social Embeds

Real-time Chat

Private Messaging

Video Uploads

Photo Albums X


Open Social offers slightly more

sharing features.

®

Key Takeaway

Limited

Automatically

Create collaborations Do you want to give your members the chance to create and share new knowledge as a team, group or community?

Collaboration tools let your

members seamlessly work

together from anywhere in

the world, share knowledge

and find important resources

without having to leave

the comunity platform.

Discussion Boards

Resource Library

Video-calls

Real-time Document Collaboration

Crowd Innovation

Microsoft Office 365

Zoom & BigBlueButton

X

X

X


Open Social offers far more collaboration tools

to help members create content together.

®

Key Takeaway

Open-source plugin

Keep members engagedDo you want your members to stay interested and active in your community instead of just logging in once a month?

Engagement tools help you create

activities and opportunities

for members to use your

platform and remain active

and interested in being

part of the community.

eLearning Courses

Gamification

Event Calendar

Badges & Certificates

Quizzes

Email Campaign-builder X

X

X

X

X


Both platforms offer a number of engagement

tools, with Open Social offering extra

features like a course-builder.

®

Key Takeaway

Security and safety firstDo you want to make sure you keep your platform secure from spam, bots and bad actors and keep your members safe from abusive content?

Safety and security features

let you rest in peace by

protecting your platform

and your members.

Member Privacy Options

Content Visibility Settings

Data Ownership

Email Encryption

Spam Protection

GDPR

Delete Accounts & Personal Data

Content Flagging

Single Sign-On

Profanity Filter

Technical Support

Business hours

Online helpdesk

Online community

Documentation

Depends on product

package selected

X

X


Both Open Social and Discourse offers a

high-level of privacy and security.

®

Key Takeaway

Setup & customizationDo you want to use a system that is fixed, or would you like to customize your platform to fit your organization and member needs?

Setup and customization features

allow you to choose what your

platform will look and feel like,

what functionalities it will have

and how members can access it.

White-label Platform

Personal Domain Name

Customizable Menu

Mobile App

Client Branding

Customizable Landing Pages

Community Migration

Customizable Content Blocks & Layout

Hosting

API

Multi-language

Open Source

Self-hosting / Cloud-hosting Self-hosting / Cloud-hosting

Self-setup

X

X


Both Open Social and Discourse are

open-source and therefore

highly customizable.

®

Key Takeaway

®


ConclusionDiscourse offers a unique platform based on traditional

online forum discussions. This is great for software developer

communities or for setting up a customer support platform. Open

Social, on the other hand, offers a more robust online commnunity

platform with more features suitable for a wider range of use cases

and types of communities (such as volunteers or associations).

Discourse also offers a lot of extra plugins made by the open-

source community, however you will need some technical expertise

to add these to your platform. Open Social also has a range of

additional features, such as eLearning courses, but these are

offered as easily activated platform extensions.

Full community management suite

UNIQUE ADVANTAGES UNIQUE ADVANTAGES

Mailing list support

More community engagement features Discussion forum focused

More social sharing features Wide-range of open-source plugins

Open Social Buying Guide

Get your personalized Open Social demo

• See what Open Social looks • like and how it works

• Find out which Open Social features fit your organizational needs

• Get a Q&A specific for your • organization and needs

• Share your branded demo • environment with your team • or organization

You can also contact us onwww.getopensocial.com

What’s the next step?Does it look like Open Social is the right choice for you?

https://www.getopensocial.com/about-us/

https://www.getopensocial.com/request-a-demo/

https://www.getopensocial.com/request-a-demo/

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