CRM and Social Networking: Strike 1 For Microsoft

I'm still catching up with my backlog of news, feeds, etc - but this caught my attention - but not in a good way - it seems to be a fairly feeble attempt to cover the brand monitoring / reputation space. Demo is simplistic with lots of assumptions that are unlikely to be credible. For me, it just didn't make the grade - lots of better options around. Maybe it's just a bad demo ... also - being on Codeplex means (I believe): no formal support, that the code does not go through the normal Q&A process, etc etc. If there's good news - at least Microsoft realizes that the intersect between social media / social networking and CRM is important to address.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Announces New Solution Accelerators: CRM Accelerators have exceeded 50,000 downloads to drive customer and partner value.

Social Networking Accelerator

The Social Networking Accelerator allows business professionals to monitor and analyze customers’ conversations on social networking sites, and as a result, provides real-time status updates about their products and services. This accelerator delivers integration with Twitter; other networks will be introduced in future releases. The Social Networking Accelerator can be viewed online at http://crm.dynamics.com.

“In this market, insight into what customers are saying is extremely valuable,” said Warren Wilson, senior analyst at Ovum Inc. “These new social networking features can provide greater visibility into customers’ experiences and opinions, helping companies to make better decisions and, ultimately, to improve brand awareness and customer engagement. This is a smart enhancement to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.”

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Announces New Solution Accelerators: CRM Accelerators have exceeded 50,000 downloads to drive customer and partner value.

Social Networking Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Comments

[social networking software development]

The term "social network site" to describe this phenomenon, the term "social networking sites" also appears in public discourse, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. We chose not to employ the term "networking" for two reasons: emphasis and scope. "Networking" emphasizes relationship initiation, often between strangers. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of them, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC).

[social software]

at a certian point a good social network focused on science and scientific discussion will appear (if any programmer interested in such an idea is reading I have a few suggestions!) but, up to now, the best way I found to network with people is still meeting at a conference and exchanging e-mail/skype addresses (even the old-fashioned phone number is useful from time to time).