HYVE AG builds their own online community platforms, but also use existing social media. For instance, they have have made a matching game on Facebook that can be used for rating designs by first allowing one user to choose between two designs and then allowing another user to determine which design the first user liked better. As Giordano says, "You can't cheat!" One of the biggest challenges of working with communities is getting the necessary amount of users to a community and creating the momentum. Another challenge is getting the right type of user. Although at times you simply need end users, at other times you might need experts or lead users. People are not walking around stating what type of user they are on their t-shirts or posting it as Facebook updates.
“If organizations don’t allow for transparency and invite people in, they are not going to survive in the long run. Today’s systems must be open.” Even though small to medium-sized enterprises typically are a bit skeptical towards adopting the concepts of user innovation, this is the way things are going. "The big companies are increasingly trying to incorporate open solutions like the ones we are providing," Giordano says, "and it is even spreading in politics now. We had the Bavarian Government as a client. If organizations don't allow for transparency and invite people in, they are not going to survive in the long run. Today's systems must be open."
59