American Mensa

Based in Arlington, Texas, American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted, standardized intelligence test. In addition to interacting online, members attend local and national events, join special interest groups that range from astronomy to yoga, and serve in their communities.

The team at American Mensa was looking for a proven social software platform that would allow them to expand on the services provided to their members. Their goal was to transition from software that didn't meet their needs to an enterprise platform that could provide online community features but also offer single sign-on capability and email interface. Based on user ratings and opinions posted on a product comparison Web site, the team at us.mensa.org chose Community Server to serve as their long-term solution.

With a user base of more than 56,000 members--throughout the United States and ranging in age, level of Web savvy, and personal interests--American Mensa needed a product that would work well for its collective group.

American Mensa's new online community uses the Community Server platform to power its member discussion forums. To date, the team has implemented file sharing and top-down journals (blogs) with the intent to expand the gallery concept and member- and officer-driven Web logs. The updated social network provides a meaningful, centralized gathering point on the Web for American Mensa members who are geographically isolated or who have been previously inactive. One immediate benefit of the Community Server implementation was that community participation nearly doubled!

The more attractive and more useful interface has garnered a large number of positive comments from Mensa members. In addition, the Web services team now has the ability to expand beyond simple threaded discussions and easily manage the back end (even when additional coding is necessary).

Telligent provided the Community Server 2007 Professional Edition license, and American Mensa's Web services staff performed the implementation and customization.

"Community Server has allowed us to expand Web services for our membership, specifically in the area of member interaction. The software is easy for us to maintain and to build on. We're very pleased with this product." J. Howard Prince, Director of Operations, American Mensa, Ltd.

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