Mark Ragan Interview: Sparkplug, July 14, 2009

Mark Ragan knows communications. As CEO and owner of Ragan Communications, Mark has become a leading voice in the communications industry to inspire practitioners and encourage innovation. In fact, Ragan.com recently launched its first Sparkplug idea marketplace to capture, cultivate and prioritize ideas to help communication professionals leverage Twitter. Mark spent some time with us after the launch to talk about the importance of unleashing the power of a community's brain trust.

PollStream: Thanks for joining us, Mark. What benefits will idea marketplaces offer organizations?

Mark Ragan: Most companies don't realize that the solutions they're looking for are within their walls - or more accurately, within their firewalls. In the old days, we had something called 'upward communication.' It was a laborious process: inter-office mail, paper suggestion boxes, and so on. Not very efficient or visible. These days it's quite easy with Web 2.0 communication tools for managers to get front-line employees to help manage and solve internal problems and provide feedback that could lead to breakthroughs in productivity or customer service. The amazing thing is that people are willing to voice their ideas and opinions if you give them simple and quick tools that eliminate barriers to participation. Increasingly, it seems to be a standard among enlightened companies to provide tools and solutions that help facilitate this process. Moreover, these tools are very efficient and inexpensive when the return on investment is considered.

PS: Mark, you mentioned the importance of visibility. Can you explain why this is important?

MR: Sure. Blogging, social networking and idea marketplaces help people speak up, and reveal exactly who has ideas and opinions to offer. Utilizing these solutions means no longer having shy or introverted employees holding onto their ideas somewhere within the forest of cubicles. The social and collaborative nature of Web 2.0 tools allow employees to shine! A great aspect of these tools is revealing hidden talent, especially within huge companies. Tapping into the thoughts of people who might not normally participate in an equivalent real-life discussion is powerful. Customer service reps are a good example of this - they're very busy and not normally able to take part in many meetings or town hall sessions. However, they're most in touch with customers. By providing them with an online idea marketplace, companies have an easy way to tap into the experience of those who are on the front lines of your business. This is going to provide answers to the questions that have been nagging your company.

PS: You recently launched a Twitter 'idea marketplace' with Sparkpug. What value did Ragan Communications obtain? What did you like about Sparkplug?

MR: We learned that people are willing to participate if you give them simple, quick tools to do so - eliminating the barriers to participation. Of course, it's important to remember that your responses will only be as good as the questions that are asked. We had hundreds of community members read the idea submissions and dozens of participants actively voiced their opinions and ideas.

The thing I like about Sparkplug is that people are not only able to easily suggest an idea, but also rate, comment on others' ideas, and see their own idea branch into a larger discussion. I was also impressed by Sparkplug's sheer speed and simplicity to solve problems. Sparkplug could be leveraged by organizations to reveal hidden talent and provide employees with earned visibility. Tools like these enable you to discover people who you may have never met.

About Mark Ragan
Mark is the CEO of Ragan Communications in Chicago. He arrived at Ragan after working for 15 years as an award-winning political and investigative reporter for newspapers throughout the United States. He ended his career as a journalist in 1992 after covering three presidential elections, including Ronald Reagan's landslide victory over Jimmy Carter in 1980. Today, Mark is back into the journalistic swing of things at the company his father founded in 1968. In addition to overseeing new product development and the day-to-day operations of the company, Mark acts as editor in chief for the daily Ragan.com news site, the MyRaganTV video platform and the MyRagan social network. For additional information, please visit: www.ragan.com

About PollStream
PollStream is a leading provider of interactive engagement and community building solutions for large organizations. Its proprietary Sparkplug (idea marketplace), Comment Engine (blogging and rating), The Hive (social networking) and Poll solutions tap into participants' fundamental desire to declare, share and compare ideas, opinions and recognition. PollStream quickly transforms this desire into a relevant and rewarding exchange that increases engagement, productivity and retention.

For more information, please go to http://www.pollstream.com or call 1.416.588.7324, extension 111 or, email