Open Source, Drupal and Acquia
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Executive Summary

Social technologies on the web have changed forever how organizations interact with their communities. Companies, government bodies, schools and universities are rethinking the possibilities and relationships they share with customers, constituents, students and faculty.

People congregate more and more every day in online communities, such as forums and social networks, where they share information and opinions about everything from the news and sports, to their work and family lives, to the products and services that they purchase.

This new generation of information consumers no longer relies solely on traditional media for knowledge. They look to bloggers and citizen journalists, a new generation of authorities who self-publish opinions and reviews. They search the web for user-generated content like product reviews, online tutorials, and instructional videos.

Where people interact with organizations, like companies and government entities, preference is shown for organizations that welcome and even invite dynamic, personal interaction. Visitors and members expect to be treated uniquely: for their preferences and patterns to be recalled when they return to company sites, for their contribution to discussion groups or support forums to earn them recognition and authority.

All organizations must, in our view, become social publishers who seek to remove communication barriers and enhance collaboration throughout: amongst employees, between them and their respective communities. In so doing, social publishers embrace the wisdom of the crowd, and build their authority and reputation while mingling directly and joining in the markets they intend to serve.

From the information consumer’s perspective, social publishing companies provide access and influence. When people feel they have access to conversations with in organization, both internally with management, and externally, (as well as with other customers, voters or students), they feel better connected to that organization. With that access, people feel they have the opportunity to influence decision-making – whether to share an innovative concept or opinion, improve product or process quality.

We believe that to fulfill this promise, you need a social publishing platform which is rich in functionality, is built by one of the world’s largest community of developers, and is backed by the support and services to ensure reliability and performance of your company’s web presence. The Drupal project (drupal.org) has built that social publishing platform, and we at Acquia provide the essential software, support and services to ensure your social publishing journey is a safe one.

We also believe that you should get cracking on your social publishing journey now, if you haven’t already – because laggards will be ignored by customers and prospects, and lose progressively more of their authority and reputation, to competitive forces who are moving swiftly, engaging directly and dynamically with their communities.

Download the complete whitepaper (registration required)