Gigya
Encyclopedia
Gigya Inc. is a privately held technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California with additional offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Gigya offers a Saas
-based technology for making websites social. Social services that Gigya offers include social login, single sign-on, identity storage, as well as a variety of social plugins, game mechanics and a raw API that aggregates social network and identity provider APIs such as Facebook for Websites (formerly Facebook Connect), Twitter
, LinkedIn
, Google+
, MySpaceID, Windows Live
, Y!OS
, AOL
and others. The Gigya modules can be used separately, or as a suite, and are seamlessly integrated with each other. Gigya also offers a social analytics dashboard that provides social reports and insights.
In March 2007, Gigya established its headquarters in Palo Alto, California (now headquartered in Mountain View, CA).
In May 2008, Gigya launched the Gigya Social Optimization Platform, also known as Socialize, the second generation of the company’s technology. The service aggregates authentication and social APIs from the major providers including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, LinkedIn, MySpace and AOL.
In March 2011, Patrick Salyer, VP of Business Development, became Gigya's CEO after more than four years with the company. Salyer has since seen the company through several new product launches, a rapidly expanding client roster and growing internal team that now includes more than 75 employees.
, NBC
, CBS
, Time Warner
, Fox News, CNET
, PC World
, the NBA, the NFL, Verizon, The Home Depot
, Logitech
, Lenovo, Dell
, Barneys New York
, Hard Rock Hotel and Tesla Motors
.
, Mayfield Fund
, First Round Capital
, and DAG Ventures
. Software maker Adobe Systems
is also an investor.
Social Login – enables sites to login or register users via an existing identity.
Share – enables sites to offer one-click sharing functionality to social network newsfeeds, email or bookmarking sites.
Community – a suite of plugins for sites including 1) Comments - a plugin that allows users to post feedback on website content and share to social networks 2) Ratings & Reviews - a plugin that allows users to rate and review content and products and post feedback to social networks 3) Activity Feed - a plugin that displays site-specific user and friend activity 4) Social Live Chat - used in conjunction with live events, enables live chat functionality between users of any major social network.
Game Mechanics - a social loyalty and rewards solution that allows websites to reward users and incentivize activity on-site activity. Gigya’s Game Mechanics solution provides both plug-and-play and fully customizable integration options, and is interoperable with all Gigya plugins and Social Analytics. The plugin allows sites to reward users for activities like driving social referral traffic or commenting on content.
Mobile – a set of SDKs enabling direct API calls to the complete Gigya platform from a native iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile application.
Analytics – a reporting and analysis dashboard that consolidates user activity and demographics across social providers for a given client.
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
-based technology for making websites social. Social services that Gigya offers include social login, single sign-on, identity storage, as well as a variety of social plugins, game mechanics and a raw API that aggregates social network and identity provider APIs such as Facebook for Websites (formerly Facebook Connect), Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
, Google+
Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
, MySpaceID, Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
, Y!OS
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
and others. The Gigya modules can be used separately, or as a suite, and are seamlessly integrated with each other. Gigya also offers a social analytics dashboard that provides social reports and insights.
History
Eyal Magen, Rooly Eliezerov, and Eran Kutner founded Gigya in October 2006 in Tel Aviv, Israel.In March 2007, Gigya established its headquarters in Palo Alto, California (now headquartered in Mountain View, CA).
In May 2008, Gigya launched the Gigya Social Optimization Platform, also known as Socialize, the second generation of the company’s technology. The service aggregates authentication and social APIs from the major providers including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, LinkedIn, MySpace and AOL.
In March 2011, Patrick Salyer, VP of Business Development, became Gigya's CEO after more than four years with the company. Salyer has since seen the company through several new product launches, a rapidly expanding client roster and growing internal team that now includes more than 75 employees.
Clients
Gigya's client roster now includes more than 400 different content publishers, brands, retail and travel sites. The company's technology is used by seven of the top ten media companies in the U.S. Some current clients include: ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, Fox News, CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, PC World
PC World
PC World may refer to:* PC World , a computer magazine* PC World , a British computer store chain...
, the NBA, the NFL, Verizon, The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
, Logitech
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
, Lenovo, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Barneys New York
Barneys New York
Barneys New York is a chain of luxury department stores headquartered in New York City. The chain owns large stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale, and smaller stores in other locations across the United States.Brands sold include...
, Hard Rock Hotel and Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...
.
Investors
Gigya has financial backing from investors Benchmark CapitalBenchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
, Mayfield Fund
Mayfield Fund
Mayfield Fund is one of the oldest venture capital firms in the US, focusing on early-stage to growth-stage investments in information technology companies with a focus on enterprise software, Internet consumer & media services, and communications....
, First Round Capital
First Round Capital
First Round Capital is a venture capital firm that specializes in providing seed-stage funding to technology companies. Managed by Josh Kopelman, Chris Fralic, Rob Hayes and Howard L. Morgan, the Philadelphia-based company typically provides seed-stage investment that ranges from $250,000 to $500,000...
, and DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. It is known as a "coattail" fund for co-investing in later-stage private financing rounds alongside more prominent top-tier venture funds such as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Accel Venture...
. Software maker Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
is also an investor.
Products
Gigya’s main product is the Gigya Social Optimization Platform that encompasses the following services and plugins:Social Login – enables sites to login or register users via an existing identity.
Share – enables sites to offer one-click sharing functionality to social network newsfeeds, email or bookmarking sites.
Community – a suite of plugins for sites including 1) Comments - a plugin that allows users to post feedback on website content and share to social networks 2) Ratings & Reviews - a plugin that allows users to rate and review content and products and post feedback to social networks 3) Activity Feed - a plugin that displays site-specific user and friend activity 4) Social Live Chat - used in conjunction with live events, enables live chat functionality between users of any major social network.
Game Mechanics - a social loyalty and rewards solution that allows websites to reward users and incentivize activity on-site activity. Gigya’s Game Mechanics solution provides both plug-and-play and fully customizable integration options, and is interoperable with all Gigya plugins and Social Analytics. The plugin allows sites to reward users for activities like driving social referral traffic or commenting on content.
Mobile – a set of SDKs enabling direct API calls to the complete Gigya platform from a native iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile application.
Analytics – a reporting and analysis dashboard that consolidates user activity and demographics across social providers for a given client.