Flockpad for social networking buffs

Internet buffs, students and professionals involved in e-learning, bloggers and members of social networking portals such as Orkut or Facebook can now create their own interactive platform to discuss favourite subjects or register votes.

The software called Flockpod, developed by Herbinger Group, enables a user to express his or her opinion over information provided on a particular web page (his own or that of his friends).

FlockPod can be embedded in any web page you want and allows peer contribution on the page without affecting its original content. You don't have to leave the content page and go to another social networking site to discuss it with others.

It helps by making your page visit more visual, concise, and collaborative. It presents data that you're interested in, pulls in new relevant information and organises everything in a neat little widget that you can view in the web application.

FlockPod is a service to which individuals, organisations and groups can subscribe. It can be used in various ways. The service is free of cost for a group of five individuals. As the size of the group increases, one has to pay for using the same.

Harbinger Managing Director Vikas Joshi is optimistic that the new Web 2.0 concept of FlockPod will succeed with companies that run e-learning services.

One can join FlockPod through a simple registration process through www.flockpod.com. The website also provides demos and assistance to use the software. The software currently supports Internet Explorer and needs a Flash player to operate.

People who visit your (or your friend's) website will see an icon and click on it. This will bring up FlockPod. They will interact within FlockPod, and tuck it away when they don't need it anymore.

"FlockPod provides an informal e-learning platform along with a discussion forum. An individual handling an e-learning activity can interact with many others doing the same work globally through FlockPod. Members can initiate debates, obtain feedback on products, subjects, decisions, conduct polls and surveys of employees through this platform while performing the regular tasks," Joshi says.

While an individual is learning a process or a tool through an e-learning system, he or she can also use FlockPod to learn it through a lateral process.

"The trial version has been used by few individuals and we have now launched the commercial version. Pricewaterhouse Coopers has already subscribed to this service, and we are expecting few more corporations to take up this facility," he says.

The platform can also be used to hold training programmes of a multinational company where employees sitting in various countries can join.

The company plans to promote this software through social and personal networking portals such as orkut.com, facebook.com, bharatstudent.com and others.

"Currently, we are looking at generating revenue through advertisements. The aim is to promote this software. Once people start using it, then we will open new cards," he states.