IBM developerWorks gets more social
April 30, 2009 —
Software developers are not normally known for their social skills. But IBM is hoping that adding social networking features to its developerWorks site will bring out the friendlier side of their users.
Officially launching today, the new developerWorks site enables users to provide information about their education, experience and projects they’re working on, as well as to categorize their areas of expertise.
“We are enabling professionals to set up a robust profile in developerWorks that speaks to what their education is and what their experience is," said Stephanie Martin, director of developerWorks. "That profile will follow them throughout their entire experience at developerWorks. If they go into a forum, their virtual business card will pop up next to their name. That entire community can see how credible is that answer."
This is just the beginning for developerWorks' planned community-building project, said Martin. For now, developers can build their own project groups and link up with other likeminded people using the service. The goal, said Martin, is to allow those connections formed in developerWorks to propagate into the actual development world, either through collaboration around open-source projects, or through a better, more complete catalog of interpersonally exchanged advice.
The possible points of collaboration are extended by the inclusion of social bookmarking and blogging software in the platform. Developers can share links and log their daily activities within developerWorks, said Martin.
The developerWorks social networking code is based on Lotus Connections, which adds such social connections and user profile capabilities to the Lotus business suite. said Martin. Already the IBM team has created some generic groups around topics such as Java and XML.
The developerWorks site already hosts more than 8 million users, said Martin; IBM employees are counted among that number. She added that developers already using the site will not have to recreate their personal information, nor will they have to reregister. Current users will find that their profiles are waiting to be filled out now. Once that's complete, users can also create a launch page, with links and news feeds customized to their desires.
“This is the strategic weaving of social networking capabilities into the fabric of developerWorks,” said Martin. “We have a huge audience today, so it's not creating an audience, it's providing more value for those already there.”
Related Search Term(s): IBM
Share this link: http://sdt.bz/33440
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
|
|
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
|
|
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
|
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Top five apps to manage your workload
Web applications offer new ways to track your “to-do” lists
|
|
Not so fast when it comes to testing in the cloud
Developers face outsourcing, virtual lab management and mobile devices as obstacles
|
|
Xceed releases UX-focused suite for Microsoft’s WPF
"Blendables" helps match user experiences to developer visions
|
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
|
|
Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
|
|
RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
|
|
GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
|
The Hidden Costs of Software Licensing
Moving beyond paper-based software licensing to more flexible, software-based licensing is a business decision. There is a growing trend tow...
|
|
Case Study: You May Need a Development Mechanic
As a contractor for a major financial player in Germany, SOBEGE, a German-based consultancy specializing in embedded IT and web services, wa...
|
|
Ensuring Software Quality at a Major International Bank
One of the world’s leading international banks has adopted AgitarOne technology for delivering generated unit tests for their Java software...
|
|
Load Testing Adobe Flex Applications
Adobe Flex applications may be different from applications you’ve worked with before. For classic HTML web applications, the server does all...
|