Hello? Is this thing on? ... I know I've gone mostly quiet on the social channels this summer, but today I'm breaking the radio silence to share some exciting news. I'm extremely pleased to announce that HiveLive is joining RightNow Technologies, a leading provider of on demand CRM solutions and an incredibly sharp team out of Bozeman, Montana.

With 1,900 customers worldwide, RightNow is a powerhouse in the industry. And what's driving this acquisition forward is a powerful vision. Combining its market-leading CRM solution with HiveLive's online community platform, RightNow will emerge with the broadest social CRM solution available in the marketplace. Plans are already in motion to bring the two technologies into tight integration. I believe the benefits will be enormous for organizations that are focused on the customer and intent on delivering a great customer experience.

HiveLive's platform and expertise will play key roles in driving the social experience -- engaging customers, enabling peer-to-peer support, increasing loyalty, gathering insights, and driving innovation. These have been our core competencies since our launch in 2007, and I'm happy to say that they'll continue to be an important part of RightNow's value proposition. RightNow knows CRM, and they also know that the social web is fast becoming a major part of the customer experience.

We're looking forward to sharing more details as we can over the next few weeks about this exciting opportunity.  As always, we would love to hear your thoughts and comments.  And of course, never hesitate to contact me directly.