With today’s announcement, we’re moving beyond Enterprise Microblogging. While it’s still a key feature of our technology platform, we’re now focused on offering robust integrations with other systems as well. It’s not just employees who can share updates to the network – machines, systems, and processes should be able to share information, too.

Key features of Socialcast Ease include:

• Activity Stream Engine: Our new real-time interface aggregates information from existing business systems with employee-generated messages, including microblogging updates, into a live, searchable activity stream that provides employees with a unified view of data and activities flowing across the enterprise.
• Complete Microsoft Outlook Integration: A first-of-its-kind Outlook connector integrates Socialcast Ease into the actual Outlook application, offering users a familiar, cohesive interface for their entire messaging toolset. Socialcast Ease works seamlessly within traditional email workflow to eliminate “just another-tool” burnout. Messages and updates from a company’s Socialcast network stream into dedicated Outlook folders, where employees can read, respond and share new information directly from their inboxes. This integration works with Outlook 2003 and 2007, with support for Outlook 2010 coming soon.
• Behind the Firewall or On-Demand: It is now possible for security-minded customers to build a secure, robust social network since Socialcast Ease can be deployed behind the firewall as a rapid-install virtual appliance, leveraging VMware, Hyper-V, or other server virtualization platforms. Our free hosted deployment option is also still available.

Socialcast Ease and our available enterprise integrations are immediately available to all customers*. Visit your network today and try out the new features and capabilities.

*Note: On-premise customers will receive the Ease update in 1-2 weeks.

Now, when the desktop app is open, users will receive pop-up notifications each time a new message appears in their home stream. These brief, small messages will appear in real-time and will hover over any application you’re already working in. Users will no longer have to check the desktop app for updates, but rather, updates will automatically appear. These notifications are an unobtrusive way to see what is going on in a network without interrupting users’ workflows. Also, clicking on the message will take you directly to the message in the desktop app interface.

To get the desktop app, or to download the latest version, visit your network and click on “View All Socialcast Applications” in the right hand navigation bar. Then, click on the Desktop App icon to either install for the first time or download the newest version. Current users do not need to delete the old version.

New Socialcast iPhone App Features Include:

Push Notifications

Users can now receive real-time notifications on their iPhones from their Socialcast community without needing to check or open the app.

• Broadcast messages and @Mentions will trigger immediate alerts, including sounds and pop-up messages
• Notifications for unread messages will display a red badge with the number of new messages, identical to the iPhone’s new email or text message badge
• “Blackout periods” are available for notifications; users have the option to turn off updates during a set period of time

We recognize that employees often have their phone with them, but not a computer, when out of the office. These new notification capabilities were designed to give users instantaneous access to important information when being in front of a computer isn’t possible.

Image and Video Uploads

Socialcast users can now upload images to the community directly via the iPhone app. Video uploads are also supported for those with the iPhone 3GS. With this new functionality, it is possible to share any image or video immediately after it’s captured. For example, marketing can post images of the latest ad campaign on display downtown, or a video shot during fieldwork can be shared for instant discussion.

Other improvements in this update include:

• Multiple file attachments (photos and videos) now supported in messages and comments
• Improved login workflow, bug fixes, interface improvements

Many of these updates were suggested by our customers – thank you to all those who have given feedback on the app! Download it today and let us know what you think.

New Socialcast Features:

Email to Groups

Stuck in Outlook all day with no time to log into Socialcast? You can now email a message into one specific group. Inside each group, find the unique email address in the right hand navigation bar. Use this email address any time you want to share a message into that group directly.

Beacon

Have you been away from your desk, and need to see what messages you’ve missed? Now, Socialcast has a “beacon” feature that alerts you to unread messages in each of your streams. Look for the blue bubble to the right of a stream, indicating that you have unread messages there.

Desktop App Updates:

The desktop application has been completely refreshed to be very similar to the web app.  We received such great feedback on our new version of the platform that we wanted to make the desktop app just as feature-rich and fast.

Enhancements include:

• Completely new user interface
• Beacon feature shows you when there are new messages in any of your groups or streams
• Edit, delete, and flag posts from the app
• Sort posts by type, and run a full search of the network
• Smaller memory footprint and improved performance

To get the desktop app, or to download the latest version, visit your network and click on “View All Socialcast Applications” in the right hand navigation bar. Then, click on the Desktop App icon to either install for the first time or download the newest version. Current users do not need to delete the old version.

We’ve made sure that all conversations are threaded in this app, giving you the clear context around messages you find and share from your phone.

With this app, Socialcast is keeping its focus on activity streams – making filtering information and people easy on your iPhone. In the app, you can switch between activity streams, allowing visibility to your home stream, group activity, and custom streams.

Other functionality allows you to:

• Share messages, comments and likes
• Search the entire network for information
• View anyone’s profile and contact information
• Browse employee photo galleries
• Follow and unfollow users

The app can be used by on-demand and behind the firewall users for instant access to their communities.

Download it today and let us know what you think.

Today, we’ve launched a brand new interface designed to make using Socialcast easier and more intuitive. Focusing on activity streams – or custom pages of information that you follow based on people, topics, and groups – Socialcast has made finding and navigating through all of your steams simpler than ever before. The new improvements include:

Simpler “Share” form that makes it easier to send messages (the system also supports line breaks)

• All of your streams are listed on the left hand side of your screen, making browsing and searching quick and easy
• Flagged messages let you follow up on important topics
• Socialcast applications that you haven’t tried yet appear on your homepage
• Real-time trending topics and a tag cloud are available in your Home stream
• Network History helps you find recent information post-vacation or after being away from the network for some time
• Custom streams and new groups can be created directly from your Home stream
• Export RSS feeds of any stream into your RSS reader

The new interface surfaces all of the tools and options you need in one straightforward location – your Home stream. One of our clients that tested the new interface noted that, “This is a whole new way of experiencing Socialcast – I feel like I just ‘get it’ now. It’s so easy to use.”

Stay tuned for more upcoming features and improvements soon – and follow us on Twitter for the latest product updates and announcements.

No other microblogging software offers the depth of data that Social Business Intelligence® provides. Our analytics are designed to measure the previously immeasurable aspects of a network, such as important discussions, informal relationships and influential individuals, through quantitative data.

Social Business Intelligence® isn’t just about tracking basic signup, usage and posting statistics. Instead, the platform will tell you – in real time – the topics, people, groups and conversations that are promoting active use of your community. At the same time, it will show you the passive usage and “listening” behavior of members, demonstrating the value that newer or less vocal employees are gleaning from the network.

At the center of Social Business Intelligence® is the conversation. The tool tracks the movement of information between people, teams, and departments. It keeps a pulse on the data that’s generated by members, exposing the most important topics as identified by a workforce. With real-time access to the front lines of the company, management can instantaneously understand what’s happening in the business.

Social Business Intelligence® also seeks to tackle the challenge of participation inequality – the principle that in a social community, approximately 90% of users do not contribute. Our analytics track data about what topics and which employees help transition inactive users into more active participants with the goal of creating more participation and active listening. With this information, companies can drive adoption by making meaningful conversations more prominent in the network, or by formally empowering socially influential employees to onboard or teach new users.

Social Business Intelligence™ is available now – details of the platform are available here.

With all the reading and watching I have been doing in San Francisco at Socialcast, I wanted to ask some people who work both in education and the corporate world exactly how they use social media. I have been giving examples of why and how to use social media in the workplace, but the employees at Socialcast have essentially been using new media since their school days. I understand that every workplace is different and has different needs, so I wanted to branch out to learn how non-technical employees in academia use social tools at universities and in their business roles. The media can tell me what percentage of the population is on a social networking site, but they cannot tell me how it is being used.

Using LinkedIn and Santa Clara’s email address book, I was able to track down two professors at Santa Clara that I know actively use social media. I wanted to ask these professionals how they effectively use social media to do work.

Terri L. Griffith, PhD is a Professor of Management at Santa Clara. She teaches Organizational Analysis and Design, Technology and Innovation Management, Managing Innovation and Change. She writes her own blog about technology and how it is used within teams and full organizations.  When I asked what social media sites and tools she uses, she said Twitter, Facebook, tools from Google and a variety of wiki providers.

Griffith uses social media consistently for classes. “I use Twitter to be ready for class topics, find new blog ideas,” she said. “I’ve used the wiki sites to run class presentations and real time conference collaborations.” The speed of communication allows her to coordinate more efficiently than with previous technology.

Professor Chuck Byers is a Marketing Communications Executive and lecturer at Santa Clara University. I know him as my public relations professor, however, he has worked in the semi-conductor industry managing global marketing since 1995.  He is using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and writes a blog that focuses on B2B marketing.

Although he uses multiple social networking sites, it seems that Twitter is the social media tool that brings the most value to him. “The PR agency of one of the companies I consult with uses Twitter to alert the media to news release that just crossed the wire. That has paid dividends with a couple of editors calling and asking for interview follow-ups,” Byers said.

Twitter has also opened new lines of communication with editors that weren’t available to him before. “I have always had a policy of not annoying editors with phone call asking if they got a news release and if they planned to do anything with it,” he said. “Being able to Tweet an editor with simple, “you may want to check out the latest news about XYZ Company at this URL” is effective and appreciated by the editors.

Byers sees social media as a necessary tool in the communications industry. “I think we need to go and need to be where are constituencies go.  If important audiences are using Twitter to point people to a site that may have unfavorable comments about our companies, we need to know about it and be proactive.  I don’t think it is a matter of choice.  Social media … depending how you define it … is part of our constituencies’ workplaces.  To ignore it is to do so at our own peril,” Byers said.

I think it’s important that professors who also understand the workplace are embracing and teaching social media to today’s college students. My dad is Tweeting, my mom is on Facebook and my 80 year old Grandma IM’ed me on Yahoo messenger today. Employers from past jobs have asked me to help them learn social media because they know that it is a force to be reckoned with. College students are the driving force behind many social networking sites even as the rest of the population begins to adopt these tools. Byers’ and Griffith’s ability to understand the importance of social media in their professions has helped them to be successful in the classroom and in the corporate workplace at the same time.

I spend hours every day reading news about how to use social media and all the ramifications (positive and negative) that come with it.  Social media is evolving quickly and it has been a challenge not only for myself, but also for most Gen Y employees to learn what is acceptable to post and what isn’t.  Where do you cross the line between personal and professional – or is there really even a line?

Recent social media scandals show that people often forget that the world is watching everything they do when it is on the Internet. The infamous “Cisco Fatty” incident showed just how much employers are watching social media outlets for anything and everything involving their company. Tweeting about how much you are going to hate the work of a job you just got hired to do is the quickest way to lose it.  It’s a dose of reality that new employees have to learn – you’re being watched online.

To some degree, employees are to companies what athletes are to sports teams. Recently, athletes have been causing quite a stir with inappropriate tweets; as people who are always in the spotlight, it is surprising what they are putting out on the web.

Minnesota Vikings’ Bernard Berrian recently tweeted about a teammate spraining a knee ligament at practice and that he would be out for the rest of the season. The player then tried to cover his tracks and tweeted that his teammate would return in a few games. However, he had exposed his teammate by announcing his injury over Twitter for opponents to exploit and for the media to write about. How is this any different than a corporate employee tweeting about his or her own company’s proprietary information? Social media provides an outlet for fans to get close to celebrities, but as “Cisco Fatty” found out, anyone can be a celebrity via social media. Just like professional athletes, corporate employees must be cautious about what they tweet.

Although this sounds like a public relations nightmare, it’s not. In my time at Socialcast, I’ve learned that there are ways to use social media properly and a way to use it poorly. The more word-of-mouth buzz there is about a company, the more recognizable the brand, and the more people will watch their social media activity.  Shaquille O’Neal has over 1.8 million followers on Twitter. He spends his time tweeting about anything and everything. During basketball season, Shaq created intense excitement by tweeting during halftime of Cavaliers games. He got people to watch him by using Twitter – just as companies like Socialcast hope to engage customers using Social media.

So what have I learned? I have learned that anyone can gain attention using social media. People are watching all the time, and the idea of private versus work life has disappeared as social media becomes more prevalent in the workplace. However, with the incoming workforce being well versed in social media, companies and sports teams alike cannot shy away from social media out of fear. They should educate themselves on how to use the sites properly so that they can take full advantage of the public platform that social media provides.