Social Network Anchors Customers in RCL Community
Posted on: Tuesday, 6 May 2008, 06:00 CDT
By Bridget Carey, The Miami Herald
May 6--California-based introNetworks has been working with Royal Caribbean to create the social network RoyalConnect.
IntroNetworks is among several companies offering templates of social network tools that companies can brand and customize to work with their needs. The company has created more than 200 communities so far -- and they are very closed communities, such as corporate employee networks or learning communities.
Royal Caribbean did not disclose how much it cost to develop the site, but Mark Sylvester, chief executive of introNetworks, said the company's starting price for building, hosting and supporting a basic network is $675 a month.
The features of RoyalConnect:
You need to be a member of Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society to join the social network.
Users are presented a collection of words to describe themselves, what ships they have sailed on and what cruise activities they enjoy. Users rank the words in order of importance and the answers are used to compare similar interests with other network members.
On the main page, the community is on one big circle, and you are in the center. Other users are push pins on the circle, and how close they are to the center shows how similar they are to your interests and personality.
You can search community members that have a certain phrase in their profile using various filters. For example, you can tell it only show people who have been on the ship Freedom of the Seas.
You can send messages to other members via their profiles. E-mail addresses are not revealed, but if you receive a message, a notification will be sent to your personal e-mail account. You can also send video messages to other members.
There is a community message board. Royal Caribbean has control over the main categories of discussion, but users are free to post what they want.
The last tab in the menu is for a section on news and special deals for Royal Caribbean vacations.
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Source: The Miami Herald
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