Part of the IBM Innovation Jam™ suite of products / Copyright © IBM, 2010 / All

rights reserved

WHAT IS A JAM?
A Jam is an online brainstorming event whereby participants collaborate on a variety of pre-defined topics
via asynchronous discussion forums. IBM’s MiniJam is used for sparking collaboration and innovation
among a specific group of participants where the target audience is less than 20,000 registrants. For
events that exceed the participant size and scope afforded in a MiniJam, we offer our InnovationJamTM
solution. These larger-scale events are intended for massive audiences, upwards of hundreds of
thousands.

JAM OVERVIEW
IBM has been ‘jamming’ with it employees since 2001. In 2003, IBM used its Jam solution to reexamine
the company’s core values. Through ValuesJam, IBMers came together to define the essence of the
company. The result was a new set of core values – defined by IBMers for IBMers – that now shape
everything we do and every choice we make. In 2006 and 2008, IBM hosted InnovationJamTM a massive
online event for IBMers, IBMers’ families, and business partners to share ideas, opinions, and insights on
how to apply emerging technology to both business and society.

Over the past decade, IBM’s Jam Program Office has executed
over 35 internal and external Jam events. Recently,
over 10k participants from 175 countries joined Figure 1 – USAID sponsored
Global Pulse 2010 (see Figure 1), a MiniJam event Global Pulse 2010 Jam
sponsored by the US Agency for International
Development (USAID) with the active support of the White
House. Global Pulse 2010 evolved in response to President
Obama's Cairo speech where he called for new and different
ways to engage the world in conversation.
In February 2010 the European Commission and NATO joined
to back a worldwide online brainstorm called the Security Jam.
This event allowed thousands of public sector leaders, security
representatives and experts from over 124 countries to take
part in an online debate on key issues that govern our safety
and development in the 21st century. Key findings from
the Jam were presented to NATO’s Secretary General. Figure 1: USAID Global Pulse 2010 Jam

HOSTED SOLUTION

IBM’s InnovationJamTM and MiniJam solutions are hosted by IBM’s Special Events team in a secure, triple-
redundant hosting environment. (The same environment used for such massive online events as
Wimbledon, The US Open and The Masters). There are no special hardware or software requirements for
participation in a Jam. The Jam is available throughout the length of your event.

COBRA TEXT MINING / DATA ANALYSIS

The Jam events include the analytical outputs of IBM’s COBRA, real-time text mining and analysis tool.
Developed by IBM Research, COBRA is used to identify themes and steer live discussion trends in the
event through a series of ‘Theme Clouds.’ After the Jam, COBRA is used to generate additional custom
reports – based on user demographics collected as part of registration – to aid in the post-Jam content
analysis.
 Part of the IBM Innovation Jam™ suite of products / Copyright © IBM, 2010 / All
rights reserved

IBM JAM PROGRAM OFFICE: DELIVERY

Successful Jams rely on effective preparation, hands-on management during the event and post analysis
with discrete recommendations. To that end, IBM’s Jam Program office works with each of the key
workstreams throughout the planning and live event. Workstreams include:
• Project and stakeholder management, responsible for the management of the event from beginning
to end
• Content workstream, responsible for the collection and organization of content forums, sub-topics,
and related content
• Communication and marketing, responsible for working with an organization on stakeholder
communication, participant communications, and marketing of the event
• Facilitation/SME support, responsible for preparing event facilitators and SMEs to engage Jam
participants in the conversation and to identify significant ideas and trends
• Participants, responsible for identifying and recruiting key target audience groups
• Research and analysis, responsible for publishing text analysis findings throughout the event and
during the post-event analysis