MetroStar Systems Launches Votridea Contest Platform to Meet Open Government Directive

RESTON, Va., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- MetroStar Systems, a leader in full-service information technology (IT) and strategies for new media and social networks, today announced the launch of its new contest platform, Votridea, which is optimized for government use. Votridea fosters innovation by engaging and managing large communities in social networks. The contest platform is designed to foster challenges and capture ideas with proven community management tools.  

On March 8, 2010, Federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients released a memorandum outlining, "Guidance on the Use of Challenges and Prizes to Promote Open Government" [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-11.pdf].  This memorandum was in direct support of the Obama Administration's commitment to open government, and how it can help drive innovation and other national priorities. The memorandum states, "The Administration believes that prizes and challenges have a number of potential benefits…they may allow the government to…highlight excellence in a particular domain of human endeavor to motivate, inspire and guide others…[to] further a federal agency's mission by attracting more interest and attention to a defined program, activity or issue of concern…" Votridea fully complies within these guidelines and the newly released DOD Social Media Policy, allowing agencies to engage and expand their communities.

"MetroStar has proven performance in creating and managing contests to help drive government innovation and grow cultural awareness," said Ali Reza Manouchehri, Founder and CEO of MetroStar Systems. "We've just completed the Department of State's second ExchangesConnect Video Contest. Participants responded to the theme, 'Change Your Climate, Change Our World.' Votridea allows us to utilize our experience and lessons learned to help government drive innovation and public participation, creating the best possible platform and support for our customer."

The Votridea Contest Platform seamlessly integrates with popular Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Ning to catalyze rapid and scalable participant growth. The platform is scalable supporting agency communities, allowing agencies to target focus their contest within a small group or extend to a global reach. Votridea offers a Community Management Dashboard that allows even computer novices to manage the quality and quantity of participant contributions. Votridea supports text, photos and video to encourage participation in the selected medium of agency or contestant choice. For additional product information, please contact Johnny Nguyen ([email protected]) or @metrostarsystem on Twitter.

To learn more about Votridea, please visit http://www.metrostarsystems.com/socialtoolbox/

About MetroStar Systems

For the past ten years, MetroStar Systems has transformed from a small start-up into one of America's Fastest Growing Companies (2009), ranked no. 562 by Inc. Magazine with a three-year sales growth of 481.4%. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, MetroStar Systems is a Small Business Administration-certified 8(a) firm that provides its clients with agile, collaborative solutions designed to integrate people, processes, technology, and learning across an organization and its geographic boundaries. The fastest and easiest way to purchase MetroStar Systems solutions is through our GSA Information Technology 70 Schedule.   For additional information, please visit: www.MetroStarSystems.com

SOURCE MetroStar Systems