Vision for a Community Experience Platform
As Open Social marks 16 years, co-founder and CEO Taco Potze shared his vision for the future during the summit in Amsterdam. Reflecting on the company’s 8-year cycles of transformation, Taco introduced the Community Experience Platform (CXP), a groundbreaking solution to modern community challenges.The CXP is composed of six interconnected products aimed at revolutionizing the community experience:
- Community Management System (CMS): Flexible, split into software and hardware.
- Cloud Platform: Ensures robust hosting and performance.
- Gaia AI: A private, cloud-based AI system for seamless information interaction.
- Engagement Automation: Automates and personalizes user workflows.
- Customer Data Platform: Centralizes user data across touchpoints.
- Identity Access Management: Secure, centralized access control.
Taco highlighted that the platform is designed to be open and composable, staying true to Open Social’s roots in open-source software. This ensures flexibility and integration with existing systems, paving the way for a more connected future.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Open Social’s Vision for a Community Experience Platform
A Leap Forward in Innovation, Flexibility, and Security
At the summit, co-Founder and CTO Bram ten Hove delivered a compelling presentation on the advancements and future directions of our Community Experience Platform (CXP). Bram discussed our journey from a product-centric approach to a comprehensive platform model, introducing four new products alongside our existing Community Management System and Cloud Platform.Key highlights included:
- Event-Driven Architecture: Utilizing Apache Kafka for real-time processing and integration, enhancing scalability and fault tolerance across our expanding suite of products.
- Engagement Automation and AI Integration: Personalized user experiences driven by privacy-focused AI, ensuring secure data processing and analytics.
- Cloudflare Integration: Improving performance and security, particularly for users in Asia, Africa, and South America, while reducing our carbon footprint.
- Expanded GraphQL API Capabilities: New developments in the Graph API and Groups API to facilitate seamless data extraction and integration with external systems.
Bram reaffirmed our commitment to open-source principles, robust security, and user empowerment, setting the stage for continued innovation and community collaboration.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Bram ten Hove’s Presentation on Innovation and Security
Live Q&A with Open Social co-Founders, Taco and Bram
During the summit, Taco (CEO) and Bram (CTO) hosted a live Q&A session, addressing key questions from our community. They discussed the challenges and opportunities ahead for Open Social, touching on topics like personalized service, user insights, and new feature development.
- Watch the Q&A: Live Q&A with Taco and Bram
Unveiling the Open Social Community Handbook
Jamila Kheil introduced the Open Social Community Handbook, a comprehensive guide designed to support our clients in building, growing, and nurturing their online communities. This resource is packed with practical tools, templates, and methodologies tailored to the needs of community managers and stakeholders.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Open Social Community Handbook Introduction
Embracing Automation and Open CXP
At the summit, Dominique de Cooman, CEO of Dropsolid, shared his insights on leveraging Mautic, the leading open-source marketing automation platform, for enhancing community engagement. He discussed the integration of Mautic within the Open Digital Experience Platform (DXP), highlighting its ability to streamline business processes, personalize user experiences, and drive operational efficiency.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Dominique de Cooman’s Insights on Automation and Open CXP
The Essence of Community Building
At the summit, Kirsten Wagenaar, Founder of Sense of Community, discussed the crucial aspects of building genuine connections within communities. She emphasized the importance of psychological safety, trust, and organic role development, as well as integrating physical and digital interactions. Kirsten also touched on the potential of AI in enhancing community management.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Kirsten Wagenaar’s Insights on Community Building
Pioneering Digital Engagement with SparkBlue
At the Open Social Summit 2024, Nina Grinman, SDG Engagement Specialist at UNDP, highlighted SparkBlue's impact in advancing global collaboration. Launched in March 2020, SparkBlue emerged as a key digital platform, adapting swiftly during COVID-19 to foster inclusive, global dialogue. Nina underscored the blend of technology and human insight in successful engagement, shared lessons learned, and discussed future potentials with AI.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Nina Grinman on SparkBlue’s Journey and Digital Engagement
Ending Violence Against Women and Girls:
Raíssa Vitório on the SHINE Hub
At the Open Social Summit '24, Raíssa Vitório, Knowledge Exchange and SHINE Hub Coordinator at the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, detailed SHINE Hub's groundbreaking work. She highlighted how SHINE facilitates global knowledge exchange, prioritizing practice-based insights and ensuring ethical standards. With over 2,300 users from 177 countries, SHINE exemplifies the power of collaborative platforms in combating violence against women and girls.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Raíssa Vitório on the SHINE Hub’s Impact
Community Metrics that Matter:
Manuela Capraro's Insights
At the Open Social Summit '24, Manuela Capraro from WAGGGS shared critical insights on measuring success in community-driven platforms. Her talk highlighted the need for adaptive metrics that reflect long-term outcomes and the non-linear nature of community growth. She emphasized setting realistic milestones, leveraging data for informed decisions, identifying and nurturing super users, and focusing on impact over vanity metrics. Manuela also stressed the importance of storytelling to complement data and benchmark effectively.
- Watch the Full Presentation: Manuela Capraro on Metrics that Matter
Community Building Strategies: Insights from Experts
At a recent panel discussion hosted by Jamila Kheil of Open Social, David Gray (World Bank), Airah Cadiogan (International Seed Federation), and Frederic Williquet (European Commission contractor) shared their strategies for successful community management. They emphasized the importance of clear roles, internal support, and adapting staff to collaborative methods. Effective engagement involves events, training, and gamification, while continuous feedback and emerging technologies like AI enhance personalization. The panel also discussed the need to prevent fragmentation by integrating platforms and maintaining simplicity and security.
- Watch the Full Discussion: Expert Strategies for Building and Managing Communities
We think the Open Social Summit '24 was a resounding success, and we’re excited to continue building on the ideas and connections made during the event. We encourage you to explore the linked videos and blog posts to deepen your understanding and stay engaged with our community. Let’s keep the momentum going as we work together to shape the future of online communities.
You can also directly watch the full playlist of the Open Social Summit 2024:
