JomSocial's new service is still in Beta mode; however, there is a demo site to familiarize yourself with the offering, and this new option could be perfect for those needing a good social media solution for their Joomla websites but who don't want the hassle of maintaining infrastructure.
Yes, JomSocial has jumped on the hosting bandwagon as some extension developers are beginning to do, offering their service as a hosted solution instead of an installable extension. What this means is that you no longer have to worry about updating code when new releases come out, and you always have the latest and greatest version available.
The downsides to using a hosted solution are that you do have to rely on their servers and equipment to be always up and available, and you don't have the same kind of control and decision making ability when you install your own extensions. There is also some discussion about how European law could affect this type of setup, so do some homework before committing to any platform if you need to take this into consideration.
This solution will most likely prove to be an excelent option for some and does show the possibility for much improved server speed and stability.
For more information and to view the demo, visit JomSocial's website.
