Ross Mayfield's Weblog

Socialtext Mobile Social Software

Today at 9/9/09 9am EDT, Socialtext released Socialtext Mobile. Here is the blog post, press release, and coverage:

Mashable: Socialtext Mobile: Business Activity Streams On the Go
by Barb Dybwad, September 9, 2009
"If you’re one of the many enterprise (and increasingly, small business) users of Socialtext, you’ll be excited about today’s Socialtext Mobile beta launch news. If you’re in the market for an Enterprise 2.0 solution for your business, there’s even more reason to get Socialtext on your roadmap."

Venture Beat: Socialtext builds mobile web apps for collaboration
by Anthony Ha, September 9, 2009
"Socialtext President and co-founder Ross Mayfield says the mobile version of Socialtext should includes almost all the features found on its downloadable application Socialtext Desktop — namely, you’ll be able to read colleagues’ Twitter-style comments and post your own comments in Socialtext Signals, follow co-workers’ activity streams, view their profiles, and also read and edit content in Socialtext’s wiki workspaces."

TechCrunch: Socialtext Launches Mobile Version Of Twitter-Like Collaboration Platform
by Leena Rao, September 9, 2009
"Via a Blackberry, iPhone or Android, users can see and post to their company’s Twitter-like message stream and access their company’s Socialtext Workspace, an enterprise-ready wiki. The platform’s SocialCalc collaborative spreadsheet offering is also accessible via the mobile interface."

eWeek Socialtext Releases Mobile Web App for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android
by Clint Boulton, September 9, 2009
"The lightweight Web app works on Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion BlackBerry smartphones and Android smartphones, allowing users to access Socialtext's Twitter-like Signals microblogging tool and browse through users' activities, content and contacts. Users can then access a contact's virtual business card by clicking to e-mail or call the contact from their smartphone."

InternetNews: Socialtext Mobile Delivers Broader Access
by David Needle, September 9, 2009
"Users won't have to do any extra configuration to use the mobile version. Socialtext Mobile automatically detects when you log in from a mobile phone and serves up an optimized mobile application."

ReadWriteWeb Socialtext Goes Mobile But Forgoes an App
by Steven Walling, September 9, 2009
"Rather than a native application tailored to the iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android, Socialtext chose to create mobile browser version that is cross-platform by default. The site will detect when you're logging on through a mobile device and redirect you to a subdomain with a custom UI, which was built to reflect the desktop version of Socialtext."

Socialtext 3.0 in 60 Seconds

Created by Alan Lepofsky

Hello Socialtext 3.0!

This morning Socialtext launched Socialtext 3.0, a trio of applications for connected collaboration with context:

• Socialtext People - Social networking for the enterprise
• Socialtext Workspace - Group-editable wiki for easy, flexible, enterprise-wide collaboration
• Socialtext Dashboard - Customizable home pages that let each person decide where to focus their attention.

Socialtext 3.0 delivers connected collaboration with context, both internally within the organization and externally with customers and partners in extranet communities. It is built on a modular and integrated architecture that enables rapid integration with other enterprise systems and makes other enterprise applications social.    

Just outta beta, you can get a free trial now.

Socialtext Signals, an integrated Twitter for-the-enterprise

We also announced Socialtext Signals, integrated microblogging for the enterprise. Socialtext Signals is social messaging for the enterprise connected with context. With the rise of Twitter, more people are learning the benefits of microblogging as a medium for conversations and sharing each day. Socialtext developed a standalone version six months ago. Using it internally we've learned how different usage is from Twitter, not just because it is more private, but because it is in the context of a company. The social patterns of what people say and share has taught us a lot about potential use cases. Now in private beta with Socialtext customers, Socialtext Signals will provide an integrated user experience across Socialtext Workspace, Socialtext Dashboard and Socialtext People.

Conversations Connected with Context

Socialtext Signals is built upon a Connected Collaboration Platform for an integrated user experience. This provides two forms of microblogging:

• What people are saying and sharing -- through Socialtext Signals
• What people are doing and working on -- through Socialtext People's Update Feeds

One benefit we have observed with Signals is helping the signal to noise ratio. For example, if someone makes edits to four wiki pages and summarizes what they did in a signal. Another pattern is what someone does can serve as a weak signal and through signal conversations be elevated to a strong signal for a broader group to pay attention to. But the general pattern of value for signaling is sharing context. Not only does Socialtext Signals enable people to share context, but it benefits from the context of who people are through Profiles and how they collaborate in Workspaces. Socialtext People contains Update Feeds that are automatically generated by the activity of people. When combined with Socialtext solutions such as Service & Support, connected collaboration with context could increase the integrated value proposition. For a major electronics manufacturer with five thousand employee call center using Socialtext for knowledge sharing and documentation, they decreased time-to-resolution by 10-30% according to their own measures. With greater context and the ability to gain collective insight from the group without costly interruptions, the organizational capability could be substantially greater.

Get answers without interrupting people

A common social pattern on twitter is to ask questions to find information or people. The results can be surprisingly effective, but also efficient. Beyond search, you are tapping into the collective intelligence of participants. Rapidly. And without the costs associated with other communication mediums for asking people questions. This is because the constraints of microblogging actually support efficient communications:

• Messaging is in near real time
• Messages are kept to 140 characters, the length of an SMS message, which encourages brevity, summary and linking
• While you can view all messages, you follow people to create a custom feed of the signals from the people you want, leveraging the social network as a filter
• In most use cases, Signals is implemented as a "Reply-Optional" medium
• @Reply conventions reveal when a message is directed to you in public, while letting others add value or benefit from the conversation

While the integrated value proposition of Socialtext Signals will be greater with process-specific solutions, the broader values include speed of communication, knowledge sharing, context sharing and collective intelligence.

Kudos

I'm really proud of the entire team for getting out our most substantial upgrade in years.  Eugene Lee has brought a great focus on execution across the company and the outside world only sees it through punctuated events like this one.  Also, my heartfelt thanks to Pete Kaminski who developed the standalone version and added greatly to this vision.

Coverage

• Press Release
• TechCrunch
• eWeek
• Cnet
• InternetNews
• BusinessWeek
• ZDnet, Larry Dignan
• Zoli's Blog
• Gilbane Group
• Scobleizer (video)
• Internet Evolution
• L’Atelier (video)
• Justin Kistner
• TinyCrunch
• ZDnet, Dennis Howlett
• New Communications Review
• Fast Wonder
• ITinsider
• Enterprise Irregulars
• bMighty

Pete Moving On

One of my co-founders at Socialtext is moving on.  Pete Kaminski has decided to get back to the kitchen table stage.  He is joining very early stage Sustainability startup Dreamfish.  They are very lucky to have him, as he is at his very best when breaking new ground. 

Such transitions are a big part of foundership, but working with Pete on a day-in day-out basis, in the garage or office, has been an absolute joy.  His post is here.

Marketing 2.0 Webinar by Newsgator & Socialtext

Tomorrow the Marketing & Sales 2.0 Webinar series continues with presentations by Dave Keller, NewsGator, Enterprise GM and myself on Improving Sales and Marketing Effectiveness with Social Software. Learn how business social software is being used by sales and marketing to:

• Ensure messaging and sales tools are informed by field insights
• Deliver timely and relevant information to marketing and sales employees via the location of their choice including web, mobile, desktop, and portal
• Improve market and competitive intelligence Increase knowledge sharing, feedback loops and expertise

Please join us at either 3pm GMT or 11am PDT on August 6th.

Alan Lepofsky Joins Socialtext

Alan Lepofsky just blogged that he has joined Socialtext as Director of Marketing.  I'm excited to work directly with him, as his passion and expertise in collaboration.  He most recently served as Senior Strategist for Lotus Software at IBM.  Ed Brill, who first introduced me to Alan, puts it better than titles:

Alan's contributions to the IBM Lotus business over the last ten years have been immeasurable.  Many know Alan as a visible member of the Lotus community -- a speaker during Lotusphere keynotes and breakouts, user groups and IBM conferences; constant contributor to the "Notes.net" and Business Partner discussion forums; Penumbra "Prism" award winner; and, of course, passionate blogger.  What is less well-known externally are his contributions to Lotus's business and technical strategy over the last ten+ years.  Alan has had direct influence on successful projects in our partner/channels organization, business strategy, and technical direction.  I can honestly say I've never worked with someone as passionate as Alan -- he is always willing to push for what is needed, even when that might be unpopular or politically challenging. As recently as last week, I saw him updating strategy documents, conducting brainstorming sessions, and pushing for more Notes technical integration.

I look forward to raising the bar in our marketing efforts with Alan, and also enhancing our partnership with Lotus Connections.

Who is on my team, anyway?

Larry Irons digs ups some old research to show that distributed collaboration isn't just about getting your team on the same page.  But figuring out who the team is in the first place.

Those advocating Enterprise 2.0, especially wikis, may consider the benefits described back in 2002 by Mortensen and Hinds obvious. However, I’d be surprised if managers in global organizations using cross-functional teams would agree that, on average, only 75% of the employees on any given distrbuted team agree about who is, and who is not, on their team. The implications for collaboration are significant. At the same time that wiki applications such as Socialtext People provide increased awareness of the boundaries of a team, they also increase the likelihood of finding people outside the team with expertise relevant to team challenges, resulting in more boundary spanning across teams. Overall, information sharing within teams and across teams increases.

Sounds like the making of a great Dilbert cartoon, outside the cubicles. 

But this distributed problem is widely distributed.  85% of knowledge workers engage in distributed collaboration.  That's a lot of nebulous teams.

Socialtext Turns Wiki into a Killer Web Platform

Alexander Wolfe of Wolfe's Den on Information Week posted a video on Socialtext Turns Wiki into a Killer Web Platform, including footage of me demoing the latest stuff on the tradeshow floor of Enterprise 2.0:

Putting People in the Wiki

Today Socialtext launched Socialtext People and Socialtext Dashboard, significant enhancements that make people a first class object in the wiki platform and give them greater control over their internal and external information.  We also launched Four Solution areas that I've mentioned before, that turn features that demo well into strategic implementations, but they need greater explanation.

For now, let me link elsewhere:

• TechCrunch: SocialText Putting A Little Social Into…Enterprise Wikis
• Mashable: Socialtext Makes Wikis Social; Announces People and Dashboard
• Webware: Socialtext enterprise wiki getting social network features
• Scott Schnaars: Socialtext is Made of People
• Social Web Strategies: New Socialtext innovations
• Alan Lepofsky: Socialtext Expands with People and Dashboards
• CIO Mag: Socialtext Adds Features to its Enterprise Wiki
• Tom Raftery: Enterprise wikis reviewed update
• Dennis Howlett: Socialtext moves the collaboration goal posts
• Pete Kaminski: Socialtext 3.0!
• Press Release

 

Why Wiki's Aren't Your Daddy's IT

Michael Idinopulos blogs  Why wiki's aren't like other IT:

First, wikis are not a scale play. A single business unit, a single team, even a single person can derive business value from using a wiki. Of course the network effects are exponentially greater at larger scale, but there's a lot of benefit even without the scale.

Second, wikis are not a standardization play. Traditional IT systems are all about trying to limit variation and get everyone to do things the same way (often for good reason). Wikis area all about morphing, molding, and adapting to the way people and groups want to work. So the grassroots appeal is not surprising.

Finally it's difficult to force someone to use a wiki. It's relatively easy to force compliance around a Purchasing, HR, or Finance system: simply mandate usage and take away the alternatives. But the alternative to wikis is email, and who's going to take that away? People will use wikis only if they want to, so the adoption has to come from front-line workers freely choosing the wiki over other alternatives equally available to them.

He goes on to note the economics of SaaS and Appliance models provide further differentiation.  I'd note that his second and third points get at the difference for collaboration something you can't mandate from the top down.  Andrew McAfee would chime in here pointing out the freeform difference of Enterprise 2.0, where the structure emerges as a byproduct of using the tool, rather than being defined in advance.  Often and unfortunately by IT.