Spot.IM – Build an Active Community

Online platforms, apps, and websites that operate as one-way streets can leave visitors isolated and yearning for ways to connect. Rather than expecting online readers to consume their content and then go elsewhere to discuss it with friends, Spot.IM is giving publishers and website creators a way to develop active communities within their own domains.

Spot.IM turns websites into singularly-focused social networks, or “distributed social networks.” Copy/paste a few lines of code into your website, and you’re able to add a live chatting feature that visitors can use to connect with likeminded peers without having to click away from your site. Spot.IM’s live chat widget overlays the content on your website, and it can be customized to reflect your site’s esthetic, design, and branding. Visitors can see each other’s profiles, they can chat about the content you post from their desktops or their mobile devices. They can also opt to receive notifications when new content has been added. This keeps social traffic on your site, and prevents people from leaving to discuss your content on networks like Facebook and Twitter.

By growing their own communities, publishers are able to increase subscription rates and drive engagement. Spot.IM gives publishers a way to learn more about what types of content their visitors are most interested in consuming, and circulate users around their websites more efficiently.

Practical Uses:

• Drive user engagement by offering social features
• Allow users to chat about the content you post
• Promote the latest articles that have been posted on your site
• Keep visitors from leaving your website to discuss your articles

Insider Tips:

• Publishers can host conversations with an unlimited number of users
• Use automatic filtering tools to weed out inappropriate content
• Enable users to sign up through their social media accounts
• Users can participate in conversations from their desktops or mobile devices

What we liked:

• Publishers can add Spot.IM to their sites in as little as five minutes
• Spot.IM’s widget can be designed to blend in with any existing site design
• Advanced filtering tools let publishers block bad language or spam
• User conversations happen in real-time

What we didn’t like:

• Nothing

Alternatives:

• None

Company Info:

• Launched: October 2014
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
• Founded by: Nadav Shoval and Ishay Green
• Web site: https://www.spot.im

Costs:

• Free

Rating:

• 5 out of 5 (wow)