Socialtext

Socialtext is online platform that aims to enable sharing of information among team members of an organization in an easy and fast manner. This is done via Socialtext wikis and Social software. The software is used for forming ‘wikis’. This word stands for ‘quick’ in Hawaiian language. The simplest way to define this entity is to state them as ‘websites that are group editable’. With such a tool in the systems, employees of a business house are empowered in the area of translocation of information. People can create immensely useful and dynamic social networks. This enables diluting the effect and constraints imposed by time and space. The uncomplicated and flexible nature of wikis have made collaboration an effortless activity for groups who frequently need to inform others and remain updated of the developments happening around them. The application has won several awards and claims to have been used by at least 4,000 organizations. The application is quite is easy to use and the website provides a great deal introductory information to a new user in order to make them understand the concept and working of the platform. In addition the application provides for flexible deployment options that allow organization the option to deploy the applications on their own servers. Socialtext was co-founded in the year December, 2002 by Ross Mayfield (Chairman/President) and Peter Kaminski (VP of products). Eugene Lee is the CEO of the company. The registered office of the company is situated at 655 High Street, Palo Alto, California, United States 94031. The company presently has a client base of thousands of reputed companies including the likes of BASF, CondeNet, Nokia, SAP, Intel, MicroStrategy, Boston College, and many others. Some of the features in this package are really unique. For instance, ‘Socialcalc’ makes possible the placing of spreadsheets in the pages of wiki. It can either be used in isolation or put partly or wholly in the wiki pages. One can import as well as export .xls and .cvs files using this tool. The more able WYSIWYG editor does its bit to transfer data in and out. Project can be handled in pieces, using this website. ‘Socialtext dashboard’ helps in keeping an eye on the internal and external social activity. With widgets that are standards based and an interface that is drag and drop based, the user is appropriately equipped to manage the collaboration among group members. The website incorporates numerous features and options and at times the site looks overburdened with a lot of information. However it functions and features are second to none and it scores high on usability. The innovative use of black and blue color helps in providing a professional look to the website. The logo of the site includes a picture reminding one of a ‘network’ sort of a thing and the name of the website ‘Socialtext’ in it. One can register with the site easily by providing information such as email address, password, first name and last name (the last two are optional). When a user is through with the completion of information a confirmation mail is sent to the email address of the user. Just after confirmation of email, the user is navigated to the social text website and start using its services. No credit card details are required at the time of registration. Socialtext provides different software solutions to suit the needs of large and small businesses and individuals. These products are priced in accordance to their capabilities to handle the type and complexity of task. For instance, plans by the name ‘Appliance’ and ‘hosted’ are offered for large and small sized companies (starting at $4,950 each). The former are the tailored solutions and latter ones enable direct focus on company’s mission. For small businesses and individuals ‘Hosted’ version is the only option. The personal edition is free for up to 5 users. Socialtext is of use to those who need to have a platform for communicating among team members. One can take the organizational processes to new heights by using such a tool.