The launch of Socialtext 3.0 indicates that enterprises are adopting the Enterprise 2.0 culture. The use of different Web 2.0 tools and technologies within the enterprise increases business productivity, stimulates greater innovation and improves connection between employees, partners and customers – the ultimate goal of an enterprise! Enterprise 2.0 focuses on collaboration and this is what Socialtext 3.0 features. Socialtext 3.0 blends Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and Wiki to assist enterprises to quickly and efficiently respond to changing customer needs by improving collaboration among different stakeholders. From a simple enterprise wiki, Social Workspace, Socialtext has transformed into a complete Enterprise social software suite that aims to fulfill Enterprise 2.0 promises. Socialtext claims to be the Enterprise 2.0 leader. Let’s see if Socialtext 3.0 will be able to rule or not.

Socialtext 3.0 is an Enterprise social software suite that includes three Enterprise 2.0 applications - Socialtext People, Socialtext Workspace and Socialtext Dashboard – along with hot Enterprise Workspace Wiki. These applications are built on a connected and integrated platform to deliver connected collaboration with context to individuals, workgroups, organizations and extranet communities. Another feature application of Socialtext social software suite is Socialtext Signals, a Twitter like micro-blogging application to support communication within and outside of enterprise.

Ross Mayfield, the co-founder of Socialtext Incorporated, has given an overview of the newly launched Socialtext 3.0 in his post, Socialtext Delivers Socialtext 3.0, Trio of Enterprise 2.0 Applications, Built on a Connected Collaboration Platform. He has written about the features and functionality of different applications included in this suit.

• Socialtext People (optional module available to platform customers) — social networking adapted for the enterprise. Profiles and a user directory make it easy for colleagues to describe themselves and discover implicit and explicit expertise. People can subscribe to the activity of colleagues. Tagging enables users to declare interest and expertise on their profile and others’ profiles, making group forming simple and powerful. Throughout the Socialtext wiki, profiles are made visible so at any time you can pivot to the people behind the content. Integration with LDAP and Active Directory means companies will be able to make their corporate directories
  social.
• Socialtext Dashboard — personalized and customized dashboards to manage attention across internal and external social network updates, conversations, data and applications. The alert feed of your colleagues’ activity provides attention management with work context and relevance. Since Socialtext Dashboard supports the OpenSocial gadget standard, users can select widgets from a large library provided by Socialtext as well as from third parties, and arrange them with a simple drag-and-drop interface.
• Socialtext Workspace — This significant upgrade, based on deep engagement with, and feedback from, Socialtext’s large customer base, delivers dramatic usability enhancements, improved navigation, tight integration with Socialtext Dashboard as well as Socialtext People and continued advances for IT administrative efficiency and directory integration.
• Socialtext Signals — provides safe and secure social messaging with context. Unlike standalone “Twitter-like” tools, Socialtext Signals delivers unique value based on its integration with the rest of the Socialtext platform. Integration with Socialtext People provides context around who is signaling, while integration with Socialtext Workspace provides context around what and why they are signaling. Integration with Socialtext Dashboard provides context around activity updates and the rest of a user’s conversations. Finally, planned integration with email in and out of Socialtext Signals (as Socialtext has supported in its wiki offering for years) enables on- and off-ramps to the tools people already use. Socialtext Signals is currently available in controlled pre-release to a select number of customers.

Whether or not social networking is effective for businesses is no longer a question. Enterprises are using different Web 2.0 tools and techniques like social networks, blogs and wikis mainly for advertising, but Socialtext 3.0 social software focuses on using these applications in a specialized way to improve the performance of employees and increase overall productivity of companies. This software seems quite promising and critics are hoping that it will greatly help enterprises to adopt the new Enterprise culture – Enterprise 2.0.

In his post on the launch of Socialtext 3.0 on TechCrunchIT blog, Steve Gillmor foresees this social software as the platform of choice.

“SocialText 3.0 has the feel of a technology that emerged in the open source, community-driven culture, yet is now well-positioned for adoption by small and medium-sized businesses that more and more are linking together across corporate domains and between workers, partners, and customers. The strategy enhances SocialText’s positioning as a loosely coupled platform significantly more malleable and distributed than standalone products, with a substantial buffer from larger players who don’t have the incentive to move aggressively or as quickly as a small company can.“

References:

Ross Mayfield. (2008). Socialtext Delivers Socialtext 3.0, Trio of Enterprise 2.0 Applications, Built on a Connected Collaboration Platform. Retrieved Oct. 16^th, 2008 from http://www.socialtext.com/blog/2008/09/socialtext-delivers-socialtext.html

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