Over
the past couple of months the team has been working diligently to bring new
functionality to in2community and too fix those pesky bugs that creep up from
time to time. If you are using
in2community for your social network or if you are still contemplating it, this
new stuff will get you excited!
In
addition to performance, stability, and minor cosmetic improvements that are
part of every release, we’ve delivered the following features and functionality
without requiring any downtime:
End
users:
Primary tabs This
one is visually obvious – the map is gone and in its place we’ve changed the
primary three tabs to better represent all of the activity that is occurring in
your community. The Newest Members,
Newest Groups, and Latest Videos are now front and center and within reach to
encourage user interaction.Comments The entire structure of the Comments tab for
profiles and groups has had a facelift, putting some focus on the profile of
the commenter by including the profile image, name and providing a link
directly to the profile itself. You’ll
also find a date stamp and much more space in the comment container.Consistent
layout (groups and profiles) Another facelift ! The layout of the group page and the profile page
are now consistent. Esthetically, it's cleaner
too. Digital assets for
Groups Group members can now upload pics and
videos. A small but significant change
to make groups much more interactive and engaging.
Publishers:
Customization As a publisher you can modify the look and
feel of your social network in one of two ways:
a.
CSS
file For HTML savvy individuals you can
download, edit, and host your own CSS file.
For further information, check the How-To section in the Forum.
b.
Color
themes Choose from one of four new color
themes to apply to your social network.
You can select your color upon creation or modify it through the in2id
publisher control panel by clicking the pencil icon next to the corresponding
website on the Zones panel.
Ad inventory buy-out
& A Special Offer
For a minimal monthly fee you can use
your own Good AdSense publisher account for the ads that appear within
your in2community social network or you can opt to run no ads at all
with the in2community ad inventory buy-out option. However, for a LIMITED TIME we are offering 30 days of ad inventory buy-out for FREE. Log into in2id for details.
This line alone, from a blog posted entitled Social Media for Social Good, is compelling enough to start a social network:"...you can begin to see the swell beneath the surface of a new generation
of social-media-savvy teens and young adults making it "cool" to be
socially aware."
And with whitelabel solutions like in2community, it can be up in minutes, not hours, days or months. So if you have a one-time event, such as a fundraiser, launch a community as part of the initiative and then shelve it for re-use for the next time. Who knows, maybe it will be so successful that the fundraising aspect, supported by your online community, can live on long after the fundraising event is finished.
Call it the reuseable, storable, or gulp, disposable community. in2community is so easy to introduce that you can do it to support a specific event, then take it down, and dispose of it, or store it until next time - whether your event is a one-time only occurrence or an annual festivity.
Check out this one for the NHL playoffs, an annual event that lasts for approximately 2 months in duration, with legions of fans who have a lot of energy that can be translated to an online community. What a great idea - put the power of community behind your team!
So whether it's a marathon, you want to support the playoffs of your favorite professional sports teams, or you want a community to play a part in the launch of a product or service, you can create it instantly with in2community because it just takes one line of code, and it's free!
The
first in2apps convert operation? Not
really, it was more like a silent transition from private to public beta and
even in stealth mode the publisher response to in2community has been
great. And thanks for keeping us honest
- we were even called on the carpet on a couple of features, so we would like
to set the record straight. Like most
other websites, ours tells the story of the application our development team is
working diligently to build. Not
necessarily the ultimate version but the one we believe our customers will be
most happy with. That being said, the
beta versions of our application will contain features in various stages of
completion – from design intent (those you might not necessarily see but for
which we have compensated for in the development process), to partial
functionality on one or all of the standard web browsers, to full functionality
that just may need a bit of tweaking here and there down the road.
We are
still in beta - that developmental state subject to continual evolution. Our development principles are taken into
consideration in every version of our application and are reflected in some
manner in each release. So if a release
contains something that isn’t visually evident then perhaps it was for the
greater good of development principle #1 or #2.
1.
Optimization,
Performance, Stability, and Scalability
These are critical to
both in2apps and to each and every in2community embedded out there (especially as
we happily experience growth spurts). So
we make a conscious decision to include enhancements to the application in
every release with the goal of improving one or more of these areas. These may be noticeable and notable only to
us and within our infrastructure but if we didn’t include them, then what you
would notice would not be pretty - slow response times to perform routine tasks
such as loading the thin-client, uploading an image or video, or even editing a
profile. You have to pour the foundation
before you can put in the skylight!
2.
Ease
of implementation
It’s One Line of Code
and we take this one line very seriously.
All in2apps applications follow a single philosophy – to eliminate the
barriers to entry and provide equitable access to tools that deliver content, community,
and commerce opportunities for online publishers of any size and type. Whether you are a blogger or Webmaster,
deploying an in2apps application not takes only just one line of code, it’s
free.
3.
Features
and functionality that will encourage end-user interaction/adoption
Features/functionality
+ end-user interaction/adoption = revenue generation! How do we decide which features and
functionality to introduce? We start
with the baseline and then apply the elements of D-to-C – Distributed (Rich
Internet Applications) for Content, Community, and Commerce, ensuring that any
features encompasses one or all of these.
The 3 C’s in a distributed fashion are essential to creating dynamic
websites and increasing interaction and adoption.
4.
Complementary
applications and integration
Although each in2apps application, like
in2community, can be deployed standalone, our applications are being developed
to work in concert, sharing a complementary feature set that accelerates
monetization and adoption. Eventually
the line between in2classified and in2community will be blurred, one
application seamlessly blending into the other, and so on with our entire
application suite.
5.
Networks,
networks, and more networks
Not networks in the
technology sense, but rather in connecting publishers with like-minded
publishers, their audiences, and their content.
Embracing localization and relevancy is an innovative way to create,
expand, and connect communities, which is why all in2apps applications are
developed to enable publishers to be associated to a greater network(s) based categorical
definition of their website. Classified
sections and social communities, for example, are instantly populated with
relevant and localized information from compatible publishers, so in2apps
publishers enrich the experience of their audiences while establishing a
highly-targeted critical mass beneficial to all publishers in the network. Each in2apps development endeavor undertaken
ensures that the network effect is exploited to the best means possible.
So
where are we going from here with in2community?
We’ve
spent the last couple of months stabilizing the application and on the side,
preparing for a more grandiose unveiling of in2community. Since our development team was concentrating
on the stabilization and performance portion, some of the features found on our
website were understandably shelved, so it is time to get to those. In parallel we are also expecting some
feedback from the publisher community as it expands and they continue to kick
the tires on the application, so we’ll fit those into the development roadmap
as well. But since in2apps is not just
about in2community, we also have to align with our corporate product roadmap
where
additional applications are slotted for development, as is the open three tier
API.
“Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.”
– Author unknown
It seems the powers of social networking is crossing all lines of communication - including a some
fun advice from Elle columnist E Jean!
We experienced a few hiccups coming out of the gate with our support structure - all of our tech support email accounts were down and we were unable to retrieve the voice messages from the mailbox connected to our 1-888 number. Both the email and voice mail issues have since been resolved and we apologize to all of our diligent beta participants who tried to contact us or did so successfully but did not receive a response in a timely manner. We value your input and your ongoing efforts while participating in our beta trial, so please do not let this discourage you from your continued efforts of kicking the tires and telling us (and in some instances really telling us) how you feel. We'll get back to you, we promise!
Inevitably,
your social network started with a great idea, which is all yours no matter
what software you chose to implement it.
Creating your own website or blog also started as a great idea – to
provide important, entertaining information to share with the world. So why should these two ideas be separate in
their implementation? Why send your
audience someplace else to socialize when they can do it directly on your
website or blog and in a contextual manner?
Don’t start from scratch or create extra work! Your in2community social network is an
extension of your established brand – which could be you, your product/service,
or focused around a shared interest, understanding, or philosophy – and the
difference is, it resides on the site you’ve already created, which by the way
also an audience that we know you value enough not to lose.
Your community should not be an island. By embracing localization and relevancy, we
enable innovative ways to create, expand, and connect communities. in2community publishers are associated to a
greater network(s) based categorical definition of their website. Your social community is instantly populated
with relevant and localized information from compatible publishers, so you
can enrich the overall experience of your audiences while establishing a
highly-targeted critical mass beneficial to all publishers in the network.
Put it all into
context. If
your social network is deployed within a context, and an existing website
definitely provides context, then your audience members will be engaging in not
just any old editorial content but contextual editorial content. And if your audience members can be found
there, chances are advertisers will want to be too.
And finally….
Put the social networking mantra into practice – keep building on it, get the
word out as virally as possible, acknowledge your audience (especially super
fans and evangelists), and then embrace your rewards.
Sometimes an idea comes along, not an "ah ha" moment in the sense of "ah ha" moments, but a really good idea about applying a hot technology for a good cause. Two new social networks are doing just that:
- Foster Care Central is a social network created by Stewart Gordon, a California social worker, who is taking a high-tech approach to solving a long standing problem. "Foster Care Central recognizes that the current foster-care system is
broken and uses the knowledge from all those within the system to
recognize the problems and create solutions for better outcomes for
foster youth," Gordon said.
- Voices Who Care, launched by The Healing Project, is an innovative social networking website for individuals dealing with
life-threatening or chronic illnesses. This website is designed to
connect the patient and caregiver communities by providing individuals
with a forum where they can meet online.
These are two extraordinary examples of cause-related social networking initiatives and now anyone, including you, can follow their lead.
In the Times Online Sunday edition, Mary Baird uncovers Cisco System's strategy for facilitating creativity and collaboration amongst its employees - its own social network called the Idea Zone or i-Zone for short. Some interesting points covered in her article, Learn to love social network sites, are for universal consideration about social networks, and specifically for applying social network concepts to the corporate culture:
- It’s a natural human instinct to
collaborate. Technology can be used to create huge collaborative
communities - a great example is Procter & Gamble's use of a social network to link
100,000 scientists across the world to come up with new products.
- Social networks pull innovation up from the roots of an organization rather than expecting it to come down from above. The new Web 2.0 technologies are suited more to collaborative
environments than to organizations that operate command-and-control
management.
- For
many corporations banning social networking it’s a trust issue, not a
technology issue. Innovative companies keep their people busy enough
for this not to present problems.
- Bans on bringing one’s
personal life into work time is a reach when companies now harness the
internet to such effect that employees can never entirely escape from
work. The line between business and social matters was blurred long
before the internet came along. How many business people have chugged
for years around the golf course, hating it but knowing that 18 holes
is good for business?
....but we at in2apps already knew that! This is why we developed in2community - so any company (or individual) could create a social network effortlessly. This
recent article in the Wall Street Journal is about the appeal of social networks for all companies. They are even so bold as to state that they have become the Website of this decade. And we couldn't agree more. Our only departure from the content, is that the cost to build one should be nothing.
This IS a great way to pull virtual teams together! As the web generation we might tend to take some of our online knowledge for granted, but this
article from
Nancy Settle-Murphy outlines some good points to take into consideration when your virtual team is composed of individuals from differing ages and backgrounds. We'll overlook the fact that it mentions Facebook and Linked-In, it's hard not to utter those words in social networking circles today, because the advice it contains is sound. Instead of just creating groups on these sites, you can create an entire social network for your virtual team with in2community.
It isn't a secret that advertisers are trying to reach the mass populations of individuals on social networking sites but now an even smarter approach is being taken by companies that produce consumer related mass products - think toothpaste, shampoo, and laundry detergent. It appears they are creating niche sites, inviting customers, and using them as focus groups to shorten their product development lifecycles. The companies gather input, the consumers voice their opinions about products they really want and they get rewarded along the way with coupons and samples. This seems to be a win/win situation all around - just ask the dogs who get Snausages Breakfast Bites from Del Monte Foods on a regular basis.
If you're a company who develops consumer mass appeal products (or hey, even niche products), you can set up a site effortlessly and start gathering valuable focus group feedback today! And remember, in2apps is also open to inputs for template designs to meet the specific needs of your community, so you can bypass the time, effort, resources, and financing required to build a social network for your next focus group initiative.
Currently the in2community solution provides three basic templates for your social network - personal, business, or band - chosen because the information people captured or wanted to capture in their profiles revolved strongly around these three templates . However, the fields for entering data for the in2community solution is by no means static. Check it out:
If you are creating a sports community, the columns found in the Top 10 of everyone's profile can be changed from bands, books, films, and tv shows to teams, players, coaches, and game highlights. Under Interests capture your favorite position on the team, favorite piece of game memorabilia, and least liked player. And the Personal tab could be motivates my play, motivates my team, fanatical fan scale rating 1-5, and 5 favorite game time snacks.
in2apps is open to inputs for creating templates to meet the specific needs of your community - sports, foodie, non-profit, professional association you name it! So if you have a suggestion, or two, please let us know by posting a comment to this thread or sending an email to marketing@in2apps.com.
David Nour, a social networking strategist and a foremost
thought leader on the quantifiable value of business
relationships—Relationship Economics includes in a recent article, the importance of incorporating a social networking strategy into the strategic relationship planning process of every corporation. Although the article sights another, established business social network, the
Top 5 Lessons sighted still provide valuable insight for all executives. So if you remain in contemplation mode about introducing a social network into your corporation, your doubts may just be alleviated after this read.
It seems advertisers are tuning into the smaller niche social networks as a place to spend a few of those $2.1 billion in ad spend growth estimates - "
Smaller networking sites gaining ads". So there is no better time than now to create a niche social network and since you can do it for free, instantly, and with just one line of code there simply can not be anything else stopping you!