I’ve been exploring some of the APIs available for enhancing Flash/Flex applications for social networking, and am excited to start using them to solve our clients’ needs. For the Flash community, open APIs allow developers to tap into some great content and functionality.

The specific platforms I’ve been researching are Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. Here are some of the things I’ve discovered along the way:

• Twitter. While I flinch when people say the word “tweet,” everyone from news programs to large corporations seems to be jumping on board. A few days after Super Bowl XLIII, I discovered an API for Flash developers to tap into Twitter feeds (the New York Times used it in a really cool way to show what’s on people’s minds during the game). While implementation can present logistical challenges (due to time zone issues, “Springsteen,” “halftime” and “commercial” appear in the 2nd quarter, not halftime), we can still use applications like this to help our clients understand their customers better.

   

  
  Enter in a search term in the example above or click on the trends at the bottom of the window to see what people are tweeting about right now. Example built using Lee Brimlow's Flex tutorial.

• Flickr. I love my Flickr pro account. Although the data structure of the Flickr API is a little complicated, it has huge benefits. So many development companies out there reinvent the wheel when it comes to developing a back-end tool for their customers to upload, sort, organize and edit images. Thanks to the API, we can simply have them upload images from their Flickr account, then create custom Flash applications that leverage those images. Why buy a CMS when Flickr has everything you need?
• Facebook. The Facebook API is particularly useful, given the popularity of this social networking website. How many of you have played a game with friends on Facebook? Many of those games are built with Flex and Flash. Say you want an app that puts your face on an animated character (think “Elf Yourself”). Using the Facebook API for Flash, we can do it.

Social networking is the soup du jour right now. People keep connected to friends, colleagues and family on a daily basis using these types of tools. With these open Flash APIs, we can make it look and feel cooler and more engaging than ever.

If you think Dell can’t hold its own with Apple when it comes to getting love from Gen Y, you’re probably Justin Long’s agent. Or you haven’t been to DellLounge.com lately. Either way, shame on you. 

The new Dell Lounge delivers the kind of stuff digital kids go nuts for — authentic, grassroots and ready to share on your social networks du jour. But the site isn’t just winning hearts and minds with original shows, exclusive interviews, UGC and cool partnerships: it’s cementing self-expression and creativity as Dell brand values.  
 
Like any relationship, Dell Lounge is a labor of love. A crush this big doesn’t develop overnight, though. It’s taken years to make it work — and we’ve been there every step of the way.

Stage I: Serious Flirting
Before Dell Lounge was even a glimmer in Dell’s eye, the company tapped us to help promote its role as tech sponsor of Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex LoveShow. They needed to spread the word about the world tour and (ZOMG!) the chance to win an Inspiron signed by JT. Fast.

To get the job done, we created a simple, stylish microsite designed to turn heads and bring the masses on board. It worked, and audience response got the C-suite talking about how to apply this approach to other Dell sponsorships. Since these relationships fell outside of the product-centric domain of Dell.com, everone agreed the solution should, too. Enter Dell Lounge.

Stage II: Courtship Dating
We designed the original Dell Lounge as a place where Dell could showcase its partnerships and its playful side to reach new audiences. For launch, the site featured JT's fall tour, ACL Music Fest, the BMW Sauber F1 Racing Team and the Inspiron Urban Challenge.

Springbox handled every aspect of site development, from creating a fresh new look and feel to cultivating a unique voice. A Flash-based interactive site, Dell Lounge came equipped with custom-built video player, image galleries and MP3 player to provide visitors with a fully immersive multimedia experience.

The resulting site was unlike any other Dell property, yet it tied back to the brand in all the right places. As a result, Dell Lounge began to carve a niche for itself as a lifestyle brand, connecting Dell to young audiences via cool, engaging content. As soon as we put it out there, they wanted more.

Stage III: Gettin’ Engaged
Thanks to big wins with events like ACL Music Fest and the Sound & Jury Contest, Dell partnered with Springbox again to take Dell Lounge to the next level. Dell Lounge 2.0 delivered even more exclusive content, fan participation opportunities and live events — all tailored to suit the audience’s digital tastes.

As Dell Lounge expanded, it embraced opportunities to partner with the likes of Paste Magazine, Billy Bob Thornton and Hot Freaks. The crowd went wild. “The Dell Lounge has quickly become a great destination site,” explained former Dell Lounge project manager Michael Lambert. “Now the 2.0 launch will allow us to become a true lifestyle site.”

So our brand and our audience were making full-on goo goo eyes at each other. It was time for their mutual friends to get to know each other, too.

Phase IV: 2gether 4ever
Our relationship with Gen Y had blossomed in a matter of months. Still, there was one crucial piece missing: a real sense of community. So we completely reinvented the site, extending its reach with a branded social media ecosystem (Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Imeem, etc.), custom tags and RSS feeds so we could create and share our killer content everywhere. Which, incidentally, slashed our production time in half. Then we gave it a coat of neon candy paint and spritzed it with SEO body spray. Voila. The new Dell Lounge.

OK, so it was a little more complicated than that. You get the idea. Fresh look and intuitive feel plus flat IA and easy-to-use CMS equals a site that thinks young but gets along with everyone. Best of all, the site’s design also allows us to fold in branded content from Dell and partners in engaging but unobtrusive ways, so brand skeptics can open their mind at their own pace as they grow to love the site.

Back to the features. Whether we're talking user-generated or premium content from Springbox, Super! Alright!, VBS, Perez Hilton or whoever, Dell Lounge makes it easy to find what you love. Users can scan by category (Music, Style, etc.) or browse our channels (Koi, Motherboard, Comrades, Candy and Limelight). They can also click, search or create tags to drill down directly. No matter what, the most popular stuff always rises to the top. Digital democracy at its finest.

Apparently, people just looove democracy. “When Springbox pulled up the new site for me, I was simply awestruck,” says Lisa Martin-Louro, Music and Entertainment Digital Content Integration for Dell Global Consumer Online. “The Dell Lounge has evolved in so many ways — it’s amazing to see where it’s at today.” And with plans to go global, the love is spreading. Fast.

What will the masterminds at Google think of next?

The latest development: Google is now syndicating Tweets across its AdSense network, for a price. Currently, advertisers have the option of streaming their five most recent tweets to a larger audience. Inuit, the maker of TurboTax, is the first to try it — just in time for the April 15 rush.

Many see Google’s interest in syndicating Twitter messages as another step the Silicon Valley giant is taking toward an eventual buyout bid. Others think it goes further, suggesting the company’s real motive is to enhance its search algorithms.

My concern in this matter centers not on Google’s continued push for online dominance, but what it means for online advertising. A Google-Twitter hybrid not only changes online media buying practices, it creates new concerns for content:

Message relevance. Marketers should create a separate twitter account specifically for Adsense use. Using one account for all brand communications is not synergetic, nor is it an integrated marketing effort — it’s the mere repetition of messages across different channels.

Message life. The life of a microblog post is ephemeral, in most cases. Audiences always expect quality, but how the conversation lasts — the quantity of posts and replies — is what creates followers. Brands that can harness a conversation might benefit from syndicating their messages, especially to new audiences looking for new information.

Message impact. In the case of TurboTax, the success metric was to increase their number of Twitter followers (the assumption being this would lead to an uptick in sales). Marketers considering this new option need to understand the role that more followers on Twitter would play towards their marketing objectives.

What do you think about this move? Are you willing to pay for premium placement of your tweets? Is anyone?

Choosing a CMS, or Content Management System, for your site is like choosing a house. You want something that:

1.    Meets your needs right now; easily expanded later  
2.    Is affordable
3.    Meets your needs
4.    You can find help when you need it
5.    And finally, did I mention, it meets your needs?

CMS solutions are, at their core, a means to an end. That end is ease of updating your site, organizing your information, and giving the end user an intuitive, consistent and satisfying user experience.

We recently completely rebuilt The Dell Lounge to be a fully dynamic, social networking, CMS-driven site. In doing so we had to evaluate several different options for our platform. We ended up choosing from three packages: Community Server Professional Edition, Graffiti CMS Server Edition, and Kentico CMS Enterprise Edition. All three solutions are extremely capable options and we’ve in fact used them all for different projects. For The Dell Lounge 3.0, we needed an extremely robust solution to support our traffic and a very specific feature set that could be extended to meet our future needs. We were also under a very tight deadline so it needed to be easily customized. After creating our feature matrix, seen below, we felt confident that Community Server was our answer. 

We were right. The build went smoothly and finished ahead of schedule. Creating templates with Community Server’s Chameleon theming engine was surprisingly easy to do.

Speaking on a SXSW Interactive panel is an engaging experience, if you ever have the opportunity. My topic was one of the many featured in SX ‘09’s array of interactive panels, which covered everything from creative tactics to account management.

My panel focused on account service’s role in an interactive agency; more importantly, the method behind building and maintaining client relationships. The information I presented was geared toward a beginner audience — everyone from account service newbies to smaller shops to freelancers looking for pointers.

When I arrived, the house was packed with folks ready to ask questions and engage the conversation. Taking my audience into consideration, I wanted to touch on the key areas that really hit home. Here’s a rundown of what I emphasized from an account service angle:

Relationships. Client relationships make the agency world go ‘round, and there are countless things you can do as an account service professional that can make or break them. That’s why it’s smart to approach any client relationship as you would with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Set the ground rules, and clarify roles and responsibilities from the get-go.

Trust. Get to know your clients as people and partners. Gain their trust so that you can educate them with confidence. Realistically, it’s not just about delivering on time with your project schedule: it’s about getting the client to like you as a person. The more you win your clients over, the more you’ll succeed.

Mediation. Being positioned between the client team and internal teams puts tons of responsibility on your shoulders. We also have to deal with a lot of preconceived notions about our role (we only care about what the client wants, we don’t take creative recommendations into consideration…you get the idea). But good AEs fight to keep everyone happy — both on the client and the agency side.

Decisions. To guarantee that both sides of the new relationship are satisfied, there are countless choices that you have to make. After a launch, good reps conduct post mortems, noting when and why things may have gone wrong. Even if you just completed an amazing website that took the client’s brand to the next level, you have to ask, “was this project successful regarding time spent and resourcing?” It’s the best way to ensure you’re making the right decisions.

The points I touched on hit home with some and raised questions with others. A woman came up afterwards and said the panel had really opened her eyes about client relations, especially when I addressed the issue of when to drop clients. On the flipside, there were also some who felt the topic really didn’t resonate with them. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a professional, it’s this: you can’t always make everyone happy. Just focus on being personable and working hard to find the right balance and you’ll succeed in the end.