Architecting Enterprise Social Computing - Free Whitepaper

Are you involved in the selection or implementation of an enterprise social computing solution?
Architecting Social Computing platforms for optimal business value can be difficult and time consuming.

NewsGator would like to make your job easier by sharing the knowledge we have gained from implementing 100s of social computing solutions. Our VP of Products, Brian Kellner, has written a great whitepaper that details the architecture components that are critical for a successful social computing implementation.

To download the whitepaper, visit our website.

To learn more, read our press release. 

SAP Selects NewsGator Widgets for SAP Developer Network

SAP just selected NewsGator to host widgets for its Developer Community and Business Process Communities.  Craig Cmehil, a technology and community eva ngelist at SAP, provides a great summary of the SAP use case in this blog post.  My favorite quote…

“It didn't take us long before we realized that when you want quality, scaleability and extreme flexibility NewsGator was the name we continuously came across. We did at one point even considering using our own considerable resources and building a solution but it was NewsGator's millions of feeds and content that also interested us, not to mention their attention to detail and professionalism!”

Check out the post to learn more about how SAP is using social computing/widgets to enhance its customer interactions.

Transform Your Content into a Profitable iPhone App – Free Webinar

The latest iPhone has far exceeded sales expectations.  A recent Bullish Cross blog post estimated that Apple sold 7 to 7.5 million iPhone units in Q3 2008 – 80% above plan.  A November 2008 article on UPI.com stated that “brisk sales of Apple's iPhone have catapulted it to the No. 2 position in so-called smart phone sales, jumping ahead of the Blackberry”.

Would you like to target this large and growing audience with your brand?  Learn how easy it is to deliver your content (video, text, images, audio) to users via an iPhone App by joining NewsGator for a live webinar on November 19, 2008 at 2pm ET.   During the webinar, we will help you better understand the following:

• Why iPhone users are an important audience for media companies and content providers
• What are Native iPhone Apps and how do they differ from iPhone Web Apps
• How to monetize an iPhone App and leverage the Apple App Store

We will also highlight the success we have had with porting our NetNewsWire RSS Reader to an iPhone App.  NetNewsWire for iPhone was downloaded by over 150,000 people in the first 6 weeks after it launched. Using this experience, we can help you deliver a market tested and robust iPhone application for your organization.  Click here to register for the webinar.

Enterprise Communities - Winning Over Your Curmudgeons

Perhaps “curmudgeon” is too strong a word, though don’t you find them endearing?  In an “I am going to strangle you” sort of way?    With a little nurturing and attention, you might find that your curmudgeons become some of your most ardent evangelists. 

First, why are some individuals so resistant to participating in an effective and cooperative manner with your social computing efforts?  Some reasons may be:

·         Resistance to sharing information because “knowledge is power”.  This is very common.  In the olden days, it was easy to keep your information close to the vest and dole out tiny scraps of info on a “need to know” basis.   

·         An attitude that one is too important to participate with the masses.  This is related to #1, but is obviously more arrogant.

·         Fear that one’s ideas will be critiqued and questioned.

·         Skepticism about enterprise 2.0 efforts as just another technology that will provide no real value to the individual.

So, what do you do to turn them around?

·         Appeal to their affinity for critiquing – curmudgeons tend to be drawn to pointing out what is not working.  And, healthy criticism is an important part of a community discussion.    Draw them into a discussion that calls for debate.

·         If they suffer from, um, I mean are blessed with an inflated sense of self importance, exploit that by asking them to share their ideas and content with a broader group.

·         An inflated sense of sense of self importance can accompany a fear of critique, so consider enhancing their contributions with positive ratings and/or commentary.  Not forever, mind you, just long enough to instill a sense of confidence and encourage participation.

·         Consider finding a very specific community contribution – a shared feed, web page, blog contribution – that will directly benefit the skeptical user.  Sometimes all it takes is that little nugget to convince someone they should come back for more.