Developer and Partner Relations
Increasingly, partnerships between platform companies involves technical integration. For an open developer platform, this usually means you'll want to devote some attention to the developer relations role, to ensure that developers and partners can access your platform in a multitude of scenarios with a minimum of friction.
Platform Associates performs developer relations services on an outsourced basis. We can develop a developer relations plan and help you execute on that plan to ensure that your developers and partners are getting the right information to thrive on your platform.
We've performed the developer relations role at large and small companies. We originated the concept of developer relations at eBay and led Yahoo's first dedicated developer relations team; we took both programs from closed partner programs to vibrant ecosystems with tens of thousands of developers.
Contact us and let's talk about developer relations for your platform business.
Platform Product Strategy
Platform Associates provides platform strategy consulting for both new and established businesses. Our objective is to work with your management, product, legal and engineering teams to help make your platform business compelling to third parties (including users, developers, and partners).
Our experience in this area comes from a number of start-ups over the years, as well as the developer platforms at eBay and Yahoo!.
A good platform grows from a dozen good strategic decisions up front and a dozen good tactical decisions each day. Contact us and let's talk about how we can assist you with the strategy and tactics for your platform business.
Amazon Web Services
Platform Associates provides consulting practices for our clients who are interested in adopting Amazon Web Services.
Our Amazon practices focus on two areas of Amazon Web Services functionality: storage and hosting.
Our Amazon Storage practice utilizes the Amazon S3 storage service to give your application or web site access to Amazon S3's unlimited metered storage service. We can provide advice pertaining to application architecture as well as implementation of software and web sites that utilize Amazon S3 storage.
Our Amazon Hosting practice utilizes the power of Amazon EC2 hosting product to provide a flexible, scalable way to deploy software. We work with you to architect a solution that will grow as your online business grows.
Our goal is to save your business time and money by paying as you go and using server resources only when you need them.
Contact us for more information on an Amazon Web Services consulting engagement.
Consulting Practices
With more than 200 million users, Facebook is one of the most compelling social networking sites on the Web. Facebook gives third-party software developers access to its users through the creation of applications that run within the context of Facebook.
Platform Associates provides two consulting practices related to Facebook application development: Facebook Product Strategy and Facebook Application Development.
Read MoreAmazon Web Services
Platform Associates provides consulting practices for our clients who are interested in adopting Amazon Web Services.
Our Amazon practices focus on two areas of Amazon Web Services functionality: storage and hosting.
Read MorePlatform Product Strategy
Platform Associates provides platform strategy consulting for both new and established businesses. Our objective is to work with your management, product, legal and engineering teams to help make your platform business compelling to third parties (including users, developers, and partners).
Read MoreDeveloper and Partner Relations
Increasingly, partnerships between platform companies involves technical integration. For an open developer platform, this usually means you'll want to devote some attention to the developer relations role, to ensure that developers and partners can access your platform in a multitude of scenarios with a minimum of friction.
Read MorePlatform Product Evangelism
An evangelist encourages others to join their cause. Platform product evangelists generate interest and excitement for platform products, engaging adopters as deeply as necessary to ensure they get the right product at the right time. Platform evangelism is a hybrid role that falls on the cusp between technology, marketing, training, public relations, product management, and business development.
Read MorePlatform Product Marketing
The landscape of technology product marketing has altered radically in the last five years. As companies seek to engage more deeply with users and partners while opening their products to them as platforms, the risks — and potential rewards — increase.
Read MoreMetrics, Reporting, and Surveys
You make what you measure, as they say. But when it comes to providing platform products it's doubly important to track metrics and remain deeply engaged with your customers and developers. Without the ability to discern what your community is doing with your platform, you may miss useful opportunities for your business.
Read MoreOnline Community Management
Thriving online communities don't happen by accident. They require careful planning and hands-on management. For businesses that engage with customers the benefits are great, but doing online community right requires thoughtful planning and ongoing management.
Read MoreOur People
Jeffrey McManus has spent nearly a decade as a consultant, developer, and writer. He has managed platform businesses and developer relations for two iconic internet businesses, eBay and Yahoo!. He was eBay's first technology evangelist and led eBay's platform evangelism team when eBay was opening its web services platform to third parties. He also championed new technologies within the company, such as corporate blogging, RSS, wikis and open source, creating eBay's first open source developer community.
Jeffrey co-founded and led the Yahoo! Developer Network team, which opened Yahoo! properties to innovation by third-party developers. He has written six books on software development, including the best-selling Database Access with Visual Basic series. He frequently speaks to corporate groups on both strategic and tactical issues pertaining to emerging technologies. As a consultant, he engages with startups, established small businesses, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.
Jeffrey is also the co-founder of CodeLesson, a site that facilitates instructor-led online learning for software developers.
Carole Newton McManus has managed some of the most successful communities on the Web, including BabyCenter, TechTV.com, and the 100,000,000 member Yahoo! Groups community. Her past clients also include E*TRADE, Edmunds.com, HBO.com, CBS Sportsline, Oncology.com and AllBusiness.
As Director of Community Product Management at MarketTools, Carole led a team of developers, designers and producers to build the Idea Network platform. Idea Networks help companies like Frito-Lay foster product innovation using the wisdom of the community. Carole also oversaw the complete redesign of ZoomPanel Moms, where companies like Sylvan Learning and Disney gather insight from moms across the United States.
Prior to joining MarketTools, Carole was the community manager for Yahoo! 360 and Yahoo! Groups. Her team introduced Moderator Central, a resource for Yahoo! Groups moderators worldwide. Carole wrote the product blogs for Yahoo! Groups and Yahoo! 360, and served as a member advocate with the product and engineering teams. While working in the Search & Marketplace team, Carole was the project manager for community integration initiatives on Yahoo! Autos, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Local.
At BabyCenter, Carole managed the largest community of new and expectant mothers on the Web. She was part of the team that designed and launched a new BBS in 2003. At TechTV she managed the Interact Department, which provided community features for all of TechTV.com's program portals, including the late, lamented "Screen Savers".
Our people are eager to meet your people. Contact us to get started.
