Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff walks among attendees as he delivers his keynote address at the Dreamforce event in San Francisco, California August 31, 2011.ROBERT GALBRAITH
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Salesforce.com, the global enterprise software company, takes the wraps off of two new products that they hope will become game-changers in the social content space.
The first is Salesforce Rypple, a web-based performance management app that allows companies to engage and align every employee, whether it's setting goals, managing objectives, providing feedback and recognition, within the employee's social network. It also incorporates badges and other social gaming concepts. Companies (including Facebook, LivingSocial and Spotify which have already started using he application) can integrate the application into their social networks with:
● Salesforce Rypple for Salesforce: customers will be able to motivate their teams by giving them Thanks directly from within Salesforce on leads, accounts and more, which will appear in a person's Chatter feed, providing managers and peers with visibility into achievements in real-time.
● Salesforce Rypple for Chatter: managers and teams will be able to create custom badges to recognize team and individual achievements. Appearing in the Chatter feed, others can see, comment on, or 'like' them.
The second is Site.com, a cloud content management system built for the social enterprise, that allows users to quickly deliver fresh and relevant content such as videos, images and social widgets to various publishing points, including mobile-enabled devices. FICO, The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company and Hewlett-Packard are a few of the companies currently publishing sites using Salesforce Site.com.
"With Salesforce Rypple and Salesforce Site.com, we're excited that companies will now be able to extend their social enterprise to reach every employee and every customer," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com in a press release.
Entrepreneur advice from Shaq
Known for his athleticism on the court, Shaquille O'Neal has proven to be just as skilled in more entrepreneurial endeavours. He has ownership in fitness centres, car washes, Five Guys franchises, nightclubs, and real estate, has his own shoe brand, and equity positions in companies like Google, Vitamin Water, and Muscle Milk. In this Q&A, Inc.com interviews the man with four championship rings, an Olympic gold medal, an MBA and on his way to earning his Ph.D.
Successful people don't send these types of e-mail
Along with the "ask for permission" e-mail, you'll never see successful people sending the following five types of e-mails, according to Penelope Trunk, the co-Founder, Brazen Careerist, whose post appears here on AMEX Open Forum:
1. Screw-up e-mails - If you need to tell someone they did a bad job, tell him or her in person.
2. Sick-day e-mails - Don't send send automated e-mail response to say you are gone for one or two days. No one cares.
3. Cold-call e-mails - Leverage your network so you don't have to rely on these types of e-mails, which often lead nowhere.
4. Lunch e-mails - People are busy. Don't invite someone to lunch unless you plan to give them money.
5. Photo e-mails - If your photo shows up with your e-mail, do not include your spouse or children. The former implies you are announcing you don't have an independent identity and a kid implies you are not working long enough hours.
EVENTS AND KEY DATES
NBTC Conference 2012
The National Business and Technology Conference (NBTC), which runs from Mar. 23 to 24 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, has been Nspire's annual flagship event since it started in 2001 by a group of University of Toronto students with the goal of merging the fields of business and technology. This prestigious event brings together 300 young leaders and numerous industry professionals from across North America to participate in interactive workshops, listen to inspiring speakers, compete in the Consulting Case and the Entrepreneurship Competitions, and enrich their networks. For a full list of speakers, click here.
NYT's Make Your Pitch
The New York Times wants to hear your business pitch on video. All video pitches that meet the submission guidelines will be featured on NYT small-business Facebook page, plus, selected videos will be featured on this blog, where Carol Roth - a business strategist, and a recovering investment banker, will review them.
EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS
Strategies imported from home countries
They labour under some disadvantages, but their willingness to take risks, attitudes inherited from entrepreneurial cultures, and outsiders' view of Canada allows immigrants to spot gaps where there are business opportunities. Click here to learn more about Canada's entrepreneurial immigrants.
FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES
The face of ethnic media
When Slava Levin took to the airwaves in 2004, he set out to create a market for broadcast content in a variety of languages, and bring a taste of home to communities across the country.
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Katherine Scarrow