Frequently Asked Questions

About Ringside

What is the Ringside Social Application Server?

While today's white label social networking solutions enable companies to create their own social networks, these solutions operate at arm's length with existing corporate websites. The Ringside Social Application Server is focused on enabling companies to build and integrate custom social applications directly into corporate websites.�Benefits include more compelling user engagement, increased customer and brand loyalty, and transparent insight into vibrant community interactions that extend and grow through friend and associate recommendations. Please visit www.ringsidenetworks.com/products for more details.

What is the target market for Ringside?

While we feel that almost any internal or external website could benefit from integrating a social context to web content and applications, as a business, we are targeting companies that have externally facing websites where they are trying to build their brand or conduct e-commerce. Within that, the businesses where there is a strong PASSION or a strong NEED will be the most likely to invest and see real benefit since there is a stronger connection to their users. As an example:

  • Passion-Based Businesses
    • Sports - Nike, New Balance, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Donovan McNabb
    • Recreation - Jeep, Harley Davidson, Ferrari, Piper, Cessna, Nikon, Sony, Ticketmaster
    • Media - Disney, Comcast, Time
    • Food - McDonalds, Olive Garden, Wegman's, Whole Foods, General Mills (Betty Crocker)
    • Clothing - Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, DSW
    • Art - Fulcrum Gallery, Smithsonian, Sotheby's, Patek Philippe
  • Need-Based Businesses
    • Travel - American Airlines, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Bermuda
    • Health - J&J, University of Pennsylvania Hospital
    • Caregivers - Del Webb, Holiday Retirement, United Healthcare
    • Money - Schwab, Merrill Lynch, Vanguard, Northwestern Mutual Life
    • Shopping - Toyota, Macy's, Home Depot, Dell, Sony, Best Buy
    • B2B - Associations, Providing platform for channel (New Balance for all running stores)
What is a Social Application?

There are three main features to this new social wave of the web: 1) User generated content, 2) Social connections, and 3) Social applications. The large social networking sites provide the generic social applications. By opening up their API's, they have allowed others to create social applications. Many of these new applications have targeted fun and interesting ways of getting user generated content with applications like 'Super Walls' or connecting to friends (and enemies) with 'Vampire Bites'.

However, Social Applications are starting to become more interesting. You might think of this new wave as a website mash-up with social networking; where a traditional application or business meets up with social networking. For example, an e-commerce application might have some user generated comments on their site, but with social networking I can narrow that view down to people I know and trust – or I could be kept up to date on my friends buying habits interactively.

Websites will have to be clever in how they make the social applications relevant to their users and truly engaging. Take a look at a relatively new website that allows people (women mostly) to assemble a collection of clothing and accessories in interesting ways - www.polyvore.com. A very rapidly growing community has built up around this already – something a Macy’s could be doing for their customers to engage them much more closely! Which is more engaging? Would Macy's benefit from having an engaging social application like this on their website? Ringside Networks is betting the answer is yes, and hopefully we will make that easier for your website

Why should advertisers consider Social Application alternatives?

Taking your own website to a higher level by introducing a social context is something that aggregates value directly to your business. Think of social networking as an integral part of your advertising program. Think about how social can take advertising to the next level. It is not just putting an ad on TV, a newspaper and a web page. It is about how to really engage your current customers, how to get them to involve their friends or colleagues. It really enables a whole new generation of advertising.

Look at www.jeep.com or www.babycenter.com for ideas on what to do to get people more involved and think about how you could take your advertising spend to a whole new level and target market your customers and their social network. Look at the tools and games and take it to the next level.


We're not another White Label Social Network - We're an App Server!

Is the Ringside Social Application Server another White Label Social Network?

While today's white label social networking solutions enable companies to create their own social networks, these solutions operate at arm's length with existing corporate websites, minimizing the potential value that social applications can deliver. Businesses need something designed to operate at the intersection of social networks, social applications, and existing corporate websites. Ringside Social Application Server integrates social networking as an integral part of the user experience of corporate websites so companies are able to directly engage their global communities. Benefits include more compelling user engagement, increased customer and brand loyalty, and transparent insight into vibrant community interactions that extend and grow through friend and associate recommendations.

Where would I want to use a White Label Social Network vs. using the Ringside Social Application Server?

If you are interested in an out-of-box social networking solution that includes a set of standard social applications, then a white label social network may be right for you. If you are interested in a development and deployment platform that enables your existing corporate website content and business applications to become socially aware, then Ringside may be right for you.

Interoperability with other Social Networks

Why did you implement the Facebook API?

In May 2007, Facebook became the first of the large social networking sites to open up their platform to 3rd-party application developers. Since then, a growing and vibrant development community has developed more than 19,000 applications targeting the Facebook platform. There are also about a dozen books listed on Amazon.com covering the Facebook platform.

In order to tap into this large and vibrant developer community, we have implemented the Facebook API, as well as the Facebook Query Language (FQL) and Facebook Markup Language (FBML). It is important to note, however, that the Ringside Social Application Server is designed with the intent of supporting other social network APIs. For example, support for the OpenSocial API (which Google, MySpace, and others are working on) is a key item on our roadmap.

Can I write a social application to run on both Facebook and my website?

Yes. Since Ringside Social Application Server provides Facebook compatibility and interoperability, you can deploy your social applications on both Facebook and your own website(s) in order to gain maximum reach.

Will any Facebook application run on a Ringside Social Application Server?

Most Facebook applications should be able to run on Ringside with minimal changes. For example, if the Facebook application contains hardcoded links to Facebook.com, those would need to be changed to become configurable in order to support deployment to either Facebook or any Ringside-enabled website.

Will I be able to run an application on my website with Ringside as well as Facebook and MySpace?

Yes, our intent is to enable social applications that currently run on the major social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to run on any website using Ringside Social Application Server. Our initial focus has been to enable this compatibility for Facebook applications. We plan on leveraging the OpenSocial API in order to provide this same level of compatibility with MySpace applications and other social networks that support the OpenSocial API.

Does Ringside intend to support Open Social?

While we have initially targeted Facebook compatibility and interoperability, our intent is to also support the OpenSocial API as it continues to emerge and be embraced. We have designed the Ringside Social Application Server with the intent of supporting other social network APIs and support for the OpenSocial API (which Google, MySpace, and others are working on) is a key item on our roadmap.

Can I run Ringside with a White Label Social Network?

Yes. Ringside is designed to work with existing social networks and applications, extend their capabilities, customize their behavior, and make them more meaningful to a given website's users and business.

Open Source

What license are you using and why?

The software is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) - a free and open source license. The LGPL allows any website to use and any software vendor to bundle the Ringside Social Application Server, while encouraging everyone in the community to give back changes and improvements in order to make the community and the software that much stronger. The use of LGPL also keeps the promise that the software will always be free and in open source.