In addition to creating the jam concept, IBM was the first to develop, experiment with and package the technological tools that make jamming possible for governments, businesses and other organizations eager to tap into the power of the open community. Jams rely on a suite of innovative analytics, data visualization and hosting technologies developed in house at IBM.
Bilingual jamming
n.Fluent is an IBM Research technology now offered as a jam capability. The real-time application translates text between English and 11 other languages, helping organizations break through internal language barriers by enabling them to conduct jams in English plus one additional language.
Jamming technologies
Visualized discussions
Jams use advanced text and data analysis techniques and tools developed by IBM Research to collect, filter and interpret the huge amounts of online content that are generated during each jam. Technologies that create “wordles” like this one—from a 2010 jam held for the City of Coventry in the UK—help reveal how frequently certain words appear, in relation to other words used, across the thousands of online posts that comprise a jam.
Real-time analytics
IBM Research’s COBRA text-mining tool scans the discussions in real-time to identify—and label—emerging themes to help jammers get a quick snapshot of what the conversations are really about. Jam themes are displayed in a “cloud” similar to a tag cloud. But unlike a tag cloud—which simply captures word frequency—a theme cloud is the result of a sophisticated content algorithm that recognizes emerging conversational themes. Shown here is the final theme cloud for Social Business Jam, during which participants brainstormed about the role of social networking in the future of business.
Detailed participation data
Using the Many Eyes research tool, jam administrators can see a real-time visual snapshot of participation—who is logged in to the jam and who is participating—as well as who may be missing. Through a customized dashboard, client administrators can parse participation levels by demographics, then use that data to drive engagement by communicating the right messages to the right segments of jammers.
A world-class hosting environment
IBM’s unique jam hosting environment provides immediate scalability and topnotch reliability. The system is built to handle massive demand that falls away and surges unpredictably—the norm during any jam event. A triple-redundant infrastructure allows for the site to be “turned off” for adjustments or repairs, minimizing disruption to users. This same hosting environment is the engine behind several sporting events that draw enormous audiences and heavy online traffic, including the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open tennis tournaments.