“Toyota Friend”: A New Social Networking Initiative

In conjunction with SalesForce.com, the auto manufacturer Toyota has announced that it will work with Microsoft to create a service that emulates features of Facebook and Twitter. The service would not only allow Toyota owners to share their experiences with other owners, but would also allow owners to receive messages from their vehicles! The network, to be called “Toyota Friend”, will provide a separate Internet space in which Toyota owners could post comments similar to Tweets on the web site and receive messages from their cars based on their cars’ sensors. The service will first be launched in Japan in 2012 using SalesForce.com’s open-source cloud platform, in collaboration with Microsoft. Electric and plug-in hybrids will be the first vehicles to offer the service. The project is estimated to cost $12.4 million, with investments of $5.5 million, $4.1 million, and $2.8 million, respectively from Toyota, Microsoft, and SalesForce.com. Toyota demonstrated the proposed system in a Tokyo showroom recently. In the demo, a Prius owner received a reminder message from his car regarding the need to recharge the battery. After being plugged into a power source, the car would then send a message to the owner with the exact time that the car would be fully charged. Not surprisingly, SalesForce.com says such a service will provide Toyota with valuable information on its buyers, their vehicles’ performance and the relationship between cars and owners. For more information, visit: http://tinyurl.com/42xz9gt Summary by: Cindy Vergara