At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference it was made clear on more than one occasion that to build better BlackBerry apps and maximize your app's awareness (and downloads/sales) you need to embrace all delivery channels (App World, Mobihand, etc.) and especially engage BlackBerry enthusiast sites such as CrackBerry.com.

During one DevCon session in particular, mention was made of a free service we offer here at CrackBerry that not all developers were aware of but encouraged to take advantage of, and that is getting your own dedicated forum within our CrackBerry forums. The BlackBerry Software and Service Companies forum is the place for developers to maintain a presence and reach out to our enthusiast community. Read on for more details!

CrackBerry.com BlackBerry Software & Services Company Forums

Here's the scoop. If your company develops BlackBerry apps, we want you to be part of our CrackBerry Forums. We'll set you up with a dedicated subforum for your company and make you "moderator" of your own forum.

What can you do with your forum? Communicate directly with our CrackBerry.com members and communicate your message directly to the greater BlackBerry-using world!

Released a new software app? Announce it in the forums! Need beta testers? Recruit them in our forums! Been wanting to provide tech support for your products/services via a forum but don't want to go through the hassle of setting it up and maintaining it on your own site? Use our forums! Our member community is comprised of thousands of active BlackBerry users and the forums also have a huge audience of passive users who browse through on a regular basis. These forums are not intended to be a simple billboard for promotion, but rather a venue to develop a real relationship with our community that will help you build better apps and generate loyal users. 

As moderator of your own dedicated forum, you will be able to keep your forum organized and current - create sticky threads, edit your own posts/threads, etc.

Criteria and Sign-Up:

• You must be an established BlackBerry apps developer
  • have existing or almost-ready-for-launch apps, a corporate website (you need to be legit), be reachable (we should be able to talk to you (or someone from your company) on the phone or via email/BBM should the need ever arise!)
• If you are not already a CrackBerry.com member, register as a new user at CrackBerry.com with the username you would like associated with your moderator account/company forum
• Send an email to adam at crackberry.com. Please make the subject "BlackBerry Company Forums"
  • include your username, the company name you would like your forum to appear under, and include a BRIEF (just a few words) forum description of your company or key app
    • check out the BlackBerry Software Companies forum for an example of how companies are using their forums
  • be sure to give us a little background on your company, and provide your contact information
• We'll send you an email back with some more details. Assuming things are good to go, from there we will get you set-up so you can use your forum! The process could take a few days to a week to complete.
• Cost? NONE. This is a free service to you as we feel it is a benefit to our members and to the BlackBerry ecosystem as a whole.
• If you want to take advantage of this offer, you must ensure you use it! A designated person in your company should visit the site regularly to make sure questions, etc. get responded to.

If you have any other questions on this initiative, feel free to email us - adam at crackberry.com. Please keep the subject "BlackBerry Company Forums". Our Forums Manager, Adam Zeis, will be the point man for this ongoing endeavor. See you on the forums!